Who Said “People Will Never Forget How You Made Them Feel”? Not Angelou

Read Time:9 Minute, 46 Second No. “People will never forget how you made them feel” was not written by Maya Angelou. The earliest record anyone has found is a 1971 book called Richard Evans’ Quote Book, where the line is credited to Carl W. Buehner, a church leader from Salt Lake City. His version was shorter: “They may forget what you said — but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Angelou’s name was not attached to it until 2003, more than thirty years later. Nobody has found her saying it in any book, speech or recorded interview that can be checked. Almost everyone credits her, and it is easy to see why. The line sounds like her. It has been read at funerals, printed on cards and put at the bottom of a thousand email signatures with her name under it. If someone you love gave it to you, they were passing on what they had been given. The saying is real. Only the name is wrong.

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