JOIN USIt often transpires that people are too pre-occupied with their busy bee worlds of activity that they fail to take heed of how they speak and the repercussions their words may have.
This faux pas in spoken communication does indeed paint a dismal picture which does not augur well because one's spoken communication affects and influences the thoughts and actions of others.
One must indeed make a concerted effort to channelise one's thoughts by articulating thoughtful, effective and meaningful words without rambling or blabbering. I don't subscribe to the view that "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me". I staunchly feel that more than sticks and stones, one can get hurt more by words, their hidden nuances of meaning and the tone that they are expressed in. One can often see the unprecedented damage and emotional scars caused by spoken words on one's mind and psyche.
On the other hand, if one measures or weighs one's words, it will do wonders for everyone's morale. A talkative, garrulous and boisterous person differs diametrically from a serious, introverted and thoughtful person who mulls over and speculates over the words he is going to say to see that no harm is caused. The following 3-gateway test by a well-known philosopher will show one the necessity of careful spoken communication.
In this test, one should see that the words one is about to utter passes through three gateways. The first gateway is, "Are the words true?" If one has even a one per cent niggling doubt that what one is going to say may not be the verbatim truth, one must refrain from uttering these words. There are enough floating rumours - there is no need to add to them! If the person has reason to believe that the words are 100 per cent true, one should allow the words to pass through the second gateway, "Are the words necessary?" Sometimes, the words may be true, but it may not be necessary to spread the words to others.
Thirdly, if one finds that the words are true AND necessary, the words should pass through the third gateway, "Are the words kind?" Sometimes, the words may be true and necessary but they may not be kind, gentle and congenial words and they may hurt and cause chagrin to another. They may affect and besmirch a person's reputation and standing in society. They may destroy or annihilate a person's faith and trust in others. In such cases, it would behove the person not to utter those words. However, if one finds that the words are true, necessary and kind, one can articulate them in gay abandon.
Finally, one should ponder over the following quotation: "The wise, intuitive person talks because he has something to say, whereas the foolish person talks because he has to say something."