SPEAK GENTLY

 

 

                                                SPEAK GENTLY     

          Speak gently to everybody; as parents to children, as teachers to students, as bosses to subordinates; as colleagues to co-workers, as masters to servants, as hosts to guests, as leaders to followers; as citizens to other citizens, as natives to foreigners, as men of property to those who are poor, as employers to employees, and as locals to strangers, etc.     

             In all situations, prefer request to command. Use the sweet words like please and thank you. Remain patient and tolerant in provocative situations. Keep your anger under control.  Part as friends, never as foes. Believe that today’s enemies can be tomorrow’s friends. Return blessings for curses. Don’t threaten as a speaker; rather appreciate your listener’s difference of opinions. Humility, not arrogance, makes you a powerful speaker.  Be affectionate, not hostile, in your voice and vocabulary.  

 

            The English poet laureate Robert Southey (1774-1843) said: There are three things that ought to be considered before some things are spoken. ---the manner,  the place, and the time.

 

            The Chinese philosopher Kong Qiu Confucius (died 479 BC) said: A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

           

            To conclude, here is an anonymous poem. Its title is “Speak Gently”.

 

Speak gently; it is better far

To rule by love than fear.

Speak gently ‘ let no harsh word mar

The good we may do here.   

 

Speak gently to the little child;

Its love be sure to gain;

Teach it in accents soft and mild,

It may not long remain.

 

 

Speak gently to the aged one;

Grieve not the care-worn heart,

Whose sands of life are nearly run;

Let such in peace depart.  

 

Speak gently; ‘tis a little thing

Dropped in the heart’s deep well;

The good, the joy that it may bring

Eternity shall tell.

                                                            ********

G.R.Kanwal

21 September 2025