THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK
To speak ‘ is to talk to somebody about something or to have a conversation with
somebody.
Speech which is the noun form of ‘speak’ means talk,
dialogue, communication, conversation, discussion, address, discourse, lecture,
etc.
The manner in which you speak is far more important than your
speech itself.
The best way is to speak gently, softly, sweetly,
appropriately, pleasingly, amusingly, relevantly, inspiringly, appreciatively,
etc.
To speak angrily, harshly, irrelevantly, excessively,
hatefully, discouragingly, bitterly, inimically, hurtfully, is not only
undesirable but also dangerous.
It is worthwhile to have a sweet tongue even for your rivals,
competitors opponents, enemies and friends.
A good speech wins friends and influences people.
It is shocking to see influential people speaking bitterly
and critically against not only each other but also their kith and kin and predecessors.
Somebody rightly said: Speech is a faculty given to man to
conceal his thoughts.
The English writer Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) said:
“According to Solomon (a monarch of ancient Israel) , life and death are in the
power of the tongue; and as Euripides (ancient Greek Writer) truly affirmeth,
every unbridled tongue in the end shall find itself unfortunate; in all that
ever I observed I ever found that men’s fortunes are oftener made by their
virtues, and more men’s fortunes overthrown thereby, also, than by their vices. “
A German proverb says: Speech is silvern, silence is golden;
speech is human, silence is divine.
Finally a very valuable quote: Remember not only to say the right thing in
the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing
at the tempting moment.
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G.R.Kanwal
22 September 2024
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