Speech and Silence

I have read from somewhere that a man who speaks well is akin to silver, while one who is adept at being silent is akin to gold. If so, then a man who knows how to do both shares the worth of diamonds.

Words are a form of currency. Obviously quantifiable yet rarely quantified. Utter too many words and you risk weakening the sentence altogether due to the polluting nature of meaningless words. On the other hand, not saying enough will create blanks in which your listeners will fill in, often mistakenly. Parallels of these can be found in the general currency of money. Use too much and you lose the ability to invest them in the future. Use too little and you will fail to attain what you desire.

Silence is not merely the omission of words. It is a currency on its own that must be used in conjunction with words. Safe to say that a good speaker is simply a man who balances his usage of words and silence. Not an equal amount of both but a correct proportion of them according to the circumstance. I believe that most people find it difficult to discern when to speak and when to stay silent. There is never a static answer for this question as there is an infinite variation of conversations that may occur in one's lifetime. Regardless of a man's disposition towards socialising, there will be times when he must speak until his throat dries and there will be times when he must remain painfully silent. The skill lies in training oneself to say the right words, to remain silent when needed, and most importantly, to instinctively recognise the proper time to employ the two.

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