Saying it out loud

Greetings and salutations!

In this day and age, we do a lot of communicating. But how much talking do we do? I mean in the literal sense of actually opening our mouths and speaking? Sure, we text, FB messenger, DMs on instagram, Snapchat, etc. But how often do we actually sit down, spend time and convey information verbally? If you’re like me, probably not very often, or as often as we should.

“As often as we should.” If there isn’t a word that has more freight and causes more consternation, I’ve yet to hear it. SHOULD. It’s like a command, or mandate that we have to undertake something. It’s laden with values and judgement. Depending on who’s saying you should do something, it can be akin to an order or a very strong request. Should. And still, I stand by it.

I think we lose something by not talking to each other. There’s so much nuance when we speak. The sound of our voices, the pace of our speech, the inflection. There are so many messages that we can send that are lost as our words and thoughts get filtered through the keyboard. So much of the metamessage disappears.

When infants are young, the first words that they say are things to be celebrated and noted.Why? I think it’s because we know that we have power in our voice, and it’s momentous when we first discover it–even if we don’t know it at the time.

When we talk, yell, shout, scream–our emotions are on display and are unmistakable. People know our meaning for the most part. There is no confusion that breeds within messages that are electronic based.

Additionally, saying something out loud makes it real. At least I think so. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that you are speaking it and expressing your view and hearing it at the same time. I mean, I can write out a blog entry, for example, but reading it to someone would be different than sending them a link. I’m hearing my own words and it’s reinforcing the message.

I’ve been learning to say things out loud. Or trying to. To verbalize things instead of sending a text message for example.Talking about me, I’ve come to some conclusions about my feelings. In a typical introverted fashion, I’ve written them, texted them, thought about them in my head. But I never actually SAID it out loud. That recently changed. I admitted something to myself that I’ve been fighting, but needed to do in order to move forward. Friday night, in bed, looking up at the ceiling, I whispered those words to myself. Then I said it louder.

I slept like a log afterwards. I think it was because my conscious, subconscious, intuition, gut-feeling, etc, were all fighting. When it’s in your head, it can get jumbled up. Saying it out loud provides clarity. It also can cause tears, and grief. That’s the power of your voice. That’s the power of your words and your voice. Say it out loud.

Marshall McLuhan, a great Canadian once said, “The medium is the message.” In short, the medium or form in which a message is transmitted is as or MORE important than the content of the message.

How does this relate to me, or to you? It means that the way you give a message, and the form may be more important or seen as such than the actual content, OR that the medium needs to be considered as strongly as other factors since it will be taken into account.

Say it out loud. If there’s something important that needs to be conveyed, say it out loud. It will make a…different impact than if it’s typed. Pick up or use your phone. Start digging into your talk minutes! Or better yet, if there’s something in your life you want to change…or something you need to accept…don’t think about it…well, let me rephrase. Don’t just think about it. Look in the mirror, or the ceiling, or while on a walk, and slow down. Open your mouth and say it out loud. Say your story out loud. Cry your pain out loud. Spread your joy out loud. Be proud out loud!

Say it out loud and watch what happens. And if you’re lucky, things won’t just happen to you, but to others too.