The Art of Speech

      My favorite author once wrote, "You are what you say" and this is correct. I don't think a lot of us understand or realize that how powerful our words are. When a person complains about life a lot, people think that they're whiny. When a person swear all the time, people will think that that person is rude. On the other hand, if a person says thank you a lot and compliments people daily, others will think of this person a nice and polite being. Speech and words can also be used in a negative way, like insults and bullying. Maybe words and sounds might not be the most important part of us, but it sure does influence what others may think of us. 

      I swear sometimes, usually with jokes. I do think I can work on it, but what makes it acceptable is the attitude. Words can be heard differently based on your tone of sound and your attitude. If I say something bad in a funny way, I need to make sure that people actually laugh and not get offended. It's hard because everyone's different, and everyone has a different taste in jokes and different limits to jokes. I often apologize right away when I feel like someone isn't happy with what I've said.

      I can not stand when people joke about death and suicide. I sometimes say, "Don't talk to me hun, I'm having a bad day and I might strangle everybody," but I almost never say that anymore. People annoy me when they joke and say, "go die." Maybe it's just that I don't get along with the person who said it, but I think he really needs to have better tastes in jokes. When you aren't respectful to the people around you with your jokes, you seem like you're rude, uneducated, and tasteless. I do think that jokes and being funny is a talent and it is an art of speech. 

      Mastering the art of speech is VERY IMPORTANT !!! Everywhere, humans are communicating with words. So learning how to speak is basically learning how to socialize. If we don't know what to say and often say the wrong things, we can lose friends, get into trouble in school, and might even make our future boss or workmates dislike us. I have three simple tips for learning the art of speech: be classy, be thoughtful, and observe the other person's expressions when you say something.