By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou.
Words are powerful. You cannot underscore the importance of words. They are like two edged swords, and can either be used to heal or kill. Just imagine a knife having a sharp and blunt side. If you use the sharp side, it can cause more harm than good, but if you use the blunt side, the harm won’t be much.
The book of life made us understand that the power of life and death lies in our mouth. Many homes, businesses, friendships/relationships, and networks have been destroyed by wrong use of words. The ability to use your diction can be a game changer in your life. Great leaders have risen and fallen by the impact of their words.
One of the most admiring skills anyone can have is the ability to speak. However, it’s one thing to know how to speak, and another to know how to speak to the hearts of people. Anyone can speak but it’s not everyone that knows how to communicate. As a leader, you must know how to speak to your subordinates; as a mentee, you must know how to speak to your mentors; as a parent, you must know how to speak to your children, and as a businessperson, you must know how to communicate with your customers.
According to Les Brown, if you want to be successful in life, you need to practice these three skills: change your mindset, have only quality people around you and have great communication skills because once you open your mouth you tell the world who you are. In fact, communication is the most important because no matter how intelligent you are, if you are unable to communicate your message, your potential customers and benefactors will lose interest in your product.
Let’s elaborate a little about communication. In this 21st century, the two most admirable skills anyone can have is the ability to write and speak. Once you have both, you will be highly sought after.
The challenge most people have is that they don’t know how to use their words for positive effects. Instead of creating with their words, they destroy with their words. For instance, there’s no doubt we all worry, but the danger of worrying too much is that your worry can’t solve the problem, rather it will aggravate the problem. Instead of using your energy to worry too much, how about using your words to challenge your problem. Use your words to love, create, manifest, glow and grow, and you will see the impact it will have in all areas of your life.
To make an impact with your words, you must be intentional with the words you use when speaking or writing. Before you write or speak, chew your words by listening to yourself again. To practice this, speak every word as though it were your last word. This will help you to create a positive impact in the life of anyone you care about.
According to Maya Angelou “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Speaking the right words also has a lot to do with timing; you must say the right words at the right time, at the right moment. According to Benjamin Franklin, “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”.
For instance, the ability to use words to show gratitude in a timely manner can enhance one’s social currency. Words can be used to show gratitude like thank you. Words can also be used to show apology like I’m sorry, words can also be used to show love, like I care for you.
As mentioned above, the ability to use words can be the game changer. Progressive minds have been able to tap into the skill of communicating by researching about people, organization and potential benefactors by communicating the right words to them, while uninformed minds have lost opportunities due to improper and unprofessional ways of communicating.
It’s important to note that we live in a connected economy where the internet has made the world a global village. Your ability to use social media very well can transform your life. To achieve this feat, you must surround yourself with the right people who can be mentors, friends, associates, and mentees.
Words can show how a person perceives and understands life. You can tell how a person feel by what he or she says at any point in time. A person’s choice of language can affect not only how another person feel, but how they perceive events around them.
In conclusion, it is imperative for one to be intentional and deliberate in the use of language. You must mean what you say, and you must say what you mean. Above all, if your words will cause more harm than good, please refrain from using it, otherwise, you are likely to regret it.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate and creative writer Design Your Destiny and Unleash Your Destiny. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
