Speech Is Silver but Silence Is Gold
Time and again, we are reminded that a certain individual has delivered a perfect speech! The speaker is often applauded and praised. For speeches delivered at conferences, seminars, at university lectures and other official cases, they require adequate preparation and detailed proofreading. In other unofficial meetings such as at political rallies, speeches are not formal and the speaker may speak without having to prepare for long. However, the argument that speech is silver but silence is gold has time and again made sense as argued in this paper.
Many a time we have been compelled to turn our backs on friends and colleagues for a reason or two. Among the chief reasons for this is the speech! Some friends opt to speak badly about us and we are left with no option but to severe our ties with them. The tongue is a small but very powerful weapon, it is said. Hence when an individual opts to speak words that harm others, he or she becomes an enemy of more than just the target. In a public place, some speeches earn the speaker much praise while others earn him or her much hatred. One such case is that of President Donald Trump who is loved and hated in an almost equal measure within and outside the United States due to his stand on various issues. He has been vocal in his speech against Muslims and this has landed him hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of haters all over the world. Before he became vocal on his stand against Muslims, he was only known to be a successful business and Muslims harbored no ill feelings or negative attitude against him.
Silence is precious. Without uttering a word, no one can know or read a person’s line of thoughts. It is only after a person opens his mouth and speaks that others can know his views, attitudes, perspectives towards an issue or life, and his behavior. Arrogant speeches, talk that seems to belittle other people, and uttering gibberish or irrelevant words portrays one in a negative light.
Furthermore, many people have suffered losses worth millions or billions of dollars as a result of their speeches. Some have been sued for words that contravene the public law or causing damage to and injuring other’s people’s reputation. In other cases, businesses have lost customers once senior representatives of firms say words that customers interpret to be against their expectations. Such losses and fines could have been avoided through silence. It is better for one to keep quiet and be considered a fool than to say words that immediately cause havoc and hatred.
In other cases, families have been separated as a result of their speech. Negative talk has seen husbands divorce wives, and wives have left their husbands causing suffering to children. It is better for a family member to remain quiet and converse only when necessary than open up and say words that hurt the feelings of other people. Rumors, gossip, innuendoes and other forms of negative talk have been cited in many occasions as key causes of family and friendship breakup. In the long run, a quiet person is more respected than one who does not know how to keep things to him or herself.
In conclusion, silence is golden. Speech may be the key to opening negotiations and letting others know one’s thoughts. However, in some instances, speaking may cause more harm and may damage one’s reputation if he or she does not take into consideration the other people’s feelings, welfare, expectations, and situations. Ultimately, speech is silver but silence proves to be golden.
