THE POWER OF SPEECH

Many people have not realized that the ability to speak is a powerful
ability, possibly the most powerful. It is true you can defend yourself from
aggression with your hands, you could escape danger with your feet, and
with your eyes you could spot danger before you are in it. These truths
notwithstanding, your speech has a somewhat unparalleled power that
would make other body organs green with envy!

One of the numerous powers in speech is its potential to impact lives, you
might be in a situation where what you say determines whether some other
person lives or dies, even you. You could influence the course of people’s live
s with what comes out your mouth. Very importantly, people judge you on
what you say. In the spiritual/religious sense, utterances play a very
important part in what happens to people in their life’s journey.

A good example of the impact of how speech impacts on lives is seen in

the pilosophical greats like Obafemi Awolowo, Mahattma Ghandi, Wole
Soyinka, Karl Marx, Martin Luther King jr. Karl Marx’s model of an ideal
government was what communism developed from. We all know that
communism impacted on the lives of almost half the earth’s
population.Obafemi Awolowo was a democratic socialist who was at the fore
front of the agitation for independence in Nigeria.Though he was popular due
to his championing of the struggle for independence in Nigeria. His words
are still being utilized as the backbone for some political ideological groups
especially in the south-west where his legacy lives. Even more influential are
the examples of Mahattma Ghandi who eschewed the virtues of non violence
in every aspect of human endeavour.Now through his wise sayings he was
able to contribute to the Independence of India from the British and provide
political ideological bases for subsequent generations.Professor Wole
Soyinka was able through his numerous satirical plays to nlighten the world
about the situation of post-independence Nigeria and in general post-
independence Africa.Martin Luther was a notable camoaigner against the
racial discrimination prevalent in the United States of America. Refernces are
still being made to his very famous speeches delivered during the era of
racism. That is to show that his words impacted on so many people then and
can still impact on many even inthis moderna age.

It may sound unreasonable to say with your words, you have the power to
cause the death or survival of someone.A look at the judicial system of
several countries shows that testimonies from eyewitnesses are very
important pieces of evidence admissible in law courts. Imagine being an
eyewitness in a trial for a capital offence. Your account of events could
determine his fate. I am not undermining the need for the truth in such
situation, I’m simply trying to make a point. In light of the rash atmosphere
of this country, especially Lagos,where people get lynch merely on the
allegation of having committed some type of misdemeanour in public,
Accusing someone of stealing in a public place is as good as pronouncing a
death sentence on him.

It is an established fact that people are affecte in no little way by other

people’s opinion of them, their work, lifestyle e.t.c. AS human beings, we all
want to be respected and loved and some people are so influenced by such
cravings as to take extremes measures just to win the approval of other
people. Positive appraisal brings about motivation and the will to even
surpess the current level of acheivement while critcism is enough to end the
desire of some people. Due to widespread acceptance dating before
marriage has receivedas a means of selecting a marriage partner, the
essence of communication during a relationship must be considered. What is
said is a major player in determining the course of a relationship.

Going to spiritual parlance, It is a widely held belief that that the spoken
words from the mouth have important spiritual ramifications. This is
someway rooted in the belief of the christians that the universe came into
being through the words of the creator(GOD)

Finally, people tend to judge you based on what you say. You only say
what’s in your mind and that also determines what you do.therefore from
what you say conclusive evaluation of your personality can be made
In light of all these, It is advisable for us to be extremely cautious of what
we say because like an egg which when broken can never be returned to it’s
original states,so also is our utterances which when released can never be
recovered again. We should strive to choose our words carefully because
when we talk, different people interpret it in different ways. It is evident that
the greatness of the power of speech comes from it’s potential to affect the
lives of numerous people, linger for a lon time and travel long distances. We
should all strive to wield this weapon we have against evils in our society for
good purposes.