Etiquettes of the tongue

     

             Hey, have you been hurt because of somebody's words? Hmm, it is something that we all have been through at some point of our lives. Wait a minute, have your words shattered somebody? If the answer is yes, you need to understand why it is so unacceptable and can have some serious adverse affects.                                                                                                    

Tongue is a small soft flesh with no bones. What is interesting is, even though it is a small organ of our body it has an influence that is wholly disproportionate to its size. 

It is a word generating machine. The tongue can utter words that can revive a depressed person by an inspirational talk and on the other hand we can depress a normal person with a deleterious talk. As it is rightly said ‘words can help and heal but they can also hurt and kill.’ 

 We should guard our tongue as something precious as gold because if we let it loose it can invite some serious consequences. There is a proverb that says - A person’s tongue can give the taste of his heart. It is so true! Our tongue uncovers about our inner thoughts and feelings. It also helps us to express so that there is understanding among people. Each of us introduces our personality when we talk. The tongue unveils the curtain and displays our real character. A speaker can direct the human society to goodness and prosperity or a speaker can lead the human society towards moral degradation and rampant corruption.  

In my humble opinion we should tame our tongue and control it. There are some etiquettes of the tongue that can be followed 

 

1.  Stay silent unless if you think the words that come out of the mouth are ill and do not benefit others. It is better to be silent. In today’s world I think it equally holds good for our thumbs and fingers too, as what we text or tweet.

 

2.  Considering the consequences- Take just 10 seconds to analyze before you utter the words that the mind wants to push out through our tongue. Try to realize the damage and embarrassment that can ensue. Sometimes even if the other person is mindless in their words we have to learn to hold over tongue because negativity always breeds negativity. If we hurl abuses to people close to us in our anger or mindlessness it can seriously damage the relationship. Remember words once they escape the tongue, the damage is done. 

 

3.  Listen - listening is a very important skill. Most of the time we want to talk and give little importance to listening. Listening helps us to rule out assumptions and also understand what topics can be sensitive to the other person. Politics, sex, religion and finances can be avoided with people outside of our close circle as people can get easily offended. Even sarcasm and jokes can be misinterpreted as discriminatory.

5.  Apologize - Alright, sometimes mistakes happen. If the tongue slipped because you felt defensive instead of calming down, immediately apologize after the realization. A private message can also be sent. This will at least try to do damage control before the relationship can spiral downward. 

 

4.  Some don’ts 

-Don’t scream or shout

-Don’t make empty promises

-Don’t use slang of the riffraff 

-Don’t do exaggerated praise

                  So you see my friends, the importance of taming our tongues! Positive and kind words should be used as they empower, motivate and encourage other people to be better version of themselves. The effect of good words is endless and they accomplish a lot. Don't forget to share and leave your comments below:)

  Until next time, Be kind

  Fizz          

This article was published in the newsletter of toastmasters international. Link given below :

https://www.flipbookpdf.net/web/site/38e83ba4d97eb9ae8d91e12efa5608a299b5b564202010.pdf.html#page/13