The way we speak is in itself an art. Some people speak what comes to their mind. Others speak in a more measured way. They think carefully about what words come out of their mouth. There is a 3rd category, who speaks anything out of their mouth. They don’t think (I assume to a large extent) what they speak, but they speak in a way that would make the measured speaker look like an idiot. How do their minds work? Are their minds super computers that it can make these people speak without having to think or their minds so useless that it let these people speak whatever comes out of their mouth? I left out those who rarely speak. They are a class of their own.
There are people who others presume to be a measured speaker, but when they open their mouths you would think that they have verbal diarrhea. They just couldn’t stop talking once they start. But should we reprimand them for speaking their mind? Haven’t we been told to speak our mind.Can we really do that? If everyone in the world starts speaking her mind, can we live together as a society? Wouldn’t that be a sight to behold? People speaking their minds all the time. Students will tell their teachers how they teach? Employees will tell their employers how they feel? People might even tell to their elected representatives what they think? Will it make any difference? The point is not about speaking your mind, it’s about listening what others say. If there are only speakers and no listeners, it would be mere noise.
Coming back to reality, how one ought to speak? The answer might be a bit of everything. Sometimes in a measured way and sometimes speaking our minds. The question is how to decide which one would work at which instance? Do we really teach our kids all these? Or do we even teach ourselves how to do this in the first place? Can we change the way we speak after a certain age? One would like to think that the way we speak is determined very early in our lives. And very few of us have time to sit and think through how we speak. May be in future we would be in a state where people don’t have to speak. All the AIs and whatever comes in future will make speaking a relic of the past. People might discuss ideas without having to speak to one another. Telepathy anyone?
In Short Speaking is an art, just as anything with our lives. One must master oneself the art of speaking, to be taken seriously. Why should someone take you seriously, one might ask. Isn’t that all we long for? To be taken seriously. Although we know deep in our hearts that it absolutely doesn’t matter if one is taken seriously or not, as we all are living in an indifferent world. Even in an indifferent world, people need something to feel good about themselves. One of that things is to be taken seriously. If you are one such person, master the art of speaking before wanting others to take you seriously.
PS : If you think this post as a “Textual diarrhea” welcome to the club ✌️
agamthedal 