Power Of Words

In Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, Brutus a Roman General along with other conspirators kill Caesar. Immediately after the assassination Brutus addresses a shocked and angry Roman mob that is all set to take revenge. "Romans, Countrymen and Lovers hear me for my cause and be silent that you may hear... "Though he commits a crime, with his speech Brutus justifies to his people that what he had done was right, making the mob agree to his decision. 

Immediately after Brutus, Mark Antony takes over --- "Friends, Romans, Countrymen lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar not to praise him..."

With his eloquence he is able to convince the same crowd, change its opinion to an extent that it turns frenzy, chases the conspirators, sets their homes ablaze and finally takes revenge. 

                  

Can we ever forget Swami Vivekananda's flawless discourse at the World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago 1893 ? "Brothers and Sisters of America..."

he began and eventually even before he could conclude he carved a cozy niche in the hearts of all present there and thus introduced Hinduism to America. 

The above orations are just a few examples of the power of speech. Words are the food and dress of thoughts. We have often heard people say, "words are more powerful than actions." Words can not only make us think they can change the way we live our lives. Yes, "Actions speak louder than words". This explains that actions are more powerful, and can hurt more. In reality, physical actions do hurt us but words flung at us with an intention to hurt cause mental damage and are more harmful. Haven't we often heard people say, "I wish he could slap me across my face for the wrong that I had done, but the words that he used pained me beyond repair. " Words are so powerful, they can crush a heart or heal it. They can shame a soul or liberate it. They can shatter dreams or energize them. They can obstruct connections or invite them. They can create defenses or melt them. We ought to taste our words before using them and utter them wisely."

Whichever age group we belong to, it is a natural human tendency that we prefer to be spoken kindly and in a pleasing way. A majority of us even immediately obey such people. We look up to them, we approach them frequently and find ourselves most comfortable in their company. Some people opine that being brusque is the correct way of putting people in place or keeping them at bay. At times, rudeness is even a weak man's imitation of strength. For the moment they might become successful in shutting the mouth of the other person but in the long run this becomes a habit and such people are despised or better avoided. Let us bear in mind, it takes a moment to make someone's day and one word to destroy someone's life. A few at the helm of organizations think that being kind and soft spoken can be disadvantageous because then, we will be taken for granted, but haven't we worked under people who made an impact with their encouraging words and motivated their employees to give their best without extracting work by unfair means ? Words are magical !! Let us use ours to heal, inspire, encourage and empower !!

This doesn't mean we need to adopt blandishment. No one is a fool not to understand when we are being flattered. There is a manner in which we can communicate, a way in which we can make the person we are talking to feel endearing. Most often, we are worked up with our own little created stresses, take the others for granted and talk anything at all. At times, we feel speech is our birthright and wrongly put it into use. We forget that a bad mood is never an excuse to use cruel words. Bad moods pass, but cruel words hurt the soul forever. In such cases, there is a total absence of empathy and that causes the damage. In certain exceptional cases, sometimes it is okay to put people in their places, especially when they cross the borders of civility and decency. At this juncture let us draw a line between good communication and discipline .

A good communicator will be a good listener, will understand the needs of the other, put his view through clearly and correctly and get the required work done. Some may argue that talking softly and sweetly is like being lenient and may eventually result in indiscipline. Not necessarily. If we have the speaking skills we can discipline the other with our soft speech too. This especially applies to children. We can spare the rod and not spoil the child too. 

In various other aspects the planet is gradually heading towards doom and disaster. It is getting torn apart with conflicts. Jealousy, ego, competition, adamancy and such other vices are playing a dominant role. With the power of speech, let us bridge the gaps created in relationships. Marcus Garvey exhibited profound wisdom when he said, "The pen is mightier than the sword but the tongue is mightier than them both put together." Nobody can touch words, but words do touch everybody. Let us carve gentleness into our words so that they soothe and give solace. Words are the only weightless things in this world that could actually make us heavy. Therefore, let us speak cautiously, correctly and conscientiously.