Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Talking: when less is more
Have you ever seen the excitement on the parents’ face when their baby utters the first word? And to those parents, that wonderful and proud moment when your baby said his/her first word will sure remain for many years to come. As a matter of fact, talking as a form of communication is an integral part of life. It is such an important skill for interacting with others, to make a living, to be sociable, to learn or to impart knowledge or simply to make things happen. Teachers use their skill of talking to the fullest to impart knowledge to their students, sales persons use this skill to attain success in their business, and great leaders and philosophers use this skill to inspire and encourage others for the betterment of mankind.
So from the time we were born, we were taught to talk. As we grow older, we learn more words and we learn to talk more. So we just talk and talk. And now, we are so confident, so skilful and so comfortable in talking that we talk every minute, every second, and everywhere. We talk in concert hall while the show is on; we talk in lecture hall while the speaker on stage is delivering a speech; we talk in restaurant while we are eating; we talk while the movie is on. We even attempt to talk while the school examination is on or while we are asleep. It is now a familiar scene that people are talking on mobile phone while crossing the road, while driving or while seated in a restaurant.
Speech is a powerful tool. While it can inspire and give hope to others, it can also cause hurt and ruins the lives of others. It can communicate knowledge and goodwill but it can also cause hatred and incite violence. So being able to talk is not everything; it is just a basic skill. We should learn to talk sensibly with wisdom and to promote the betterment of mankind. We should learn and decide when to talk and when not to talk. We must not just talk but talk with thought. This requires us to think before we talk. Very often, the thinking portion is the missing part of the talk process. Without thinking, less is more as far as talking is concern.
So from the time we were born, we were taught to talk. As we grow older, we learn more words and we learn to talk more. So we just talk and talk. And now, we are so confident, so skilful and so comfortable in talking that we talk every minute, every second, and everywhere. We talk in concert hall while the show is on; we talk in lecture hall while the speaker on stage is delivering a speech; we talk in restaurant while we are eating; we talk while the movie is on. We even attempt to talk while the school examination is on or while we are asleep. It is now a familiar scene that people are talking on mobile phone while crossing the road, while driving or while seated in a restaurant.
Speech is a powerful tool. While it can inspire and give hope to others, it can also cause hurt and ruins the lives of others. It can communicate knowledge and goodwill but it can also cause hatred and incite violence. So being able to talk is not everything; it is just a basic skill. We should learn to talk sensibly with wisdom and to promote the betterment of mankind. We should learn and decide when to talk and when not to talk. We must not just talk but talk with thought. This requires us to think before we talk. Very often, the thinking portion is the missing part of the talk process. Without thinking, less is more as far as talking is concern.
