Speak to be Understood Not to Impress.

A few years ago I was waiting to board a cruise ship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For some reason they had been late getting the ship cleared to disembark the folks just returning from the cruise just preceding ours and we had to wait outside th terminal. While there I struck up a conversation with a man who was a number of years older than myself. Turns out he was there with a group composed of the members of three synagogues from New York and New Jersey. 

Turns out, as we exchanged niceties, I learned he had several terminal degrees but was now retired from a career of teaching both Theoretical and Quantum Physics at some university. We had a marvelous discussion of just plain old every day things.

Later, once we were onboard and in our cabin as Susan and I were talking she said to me, “It was nice to have someone so willing and interesting to talk with while we waited.” I responded in the affirmative. Then she added, “He talked just like regular people.”

Now to give that context you need to understand that we have spent a large portion of our lives with academics who don’t seem to know that every language has a vernacular that enables us to converse with “ordinary” people - people outside of our area of expertise. In short she was saying he was not only a man of high intellect in his field but that he was also a man who could move easily with people who had not the foggiest of idea about the realm of study in which he had invested his life.

Contrast that with the young theologue from Baylor University who stopped by my office one day just to visit. He spent the first ten minutes using just about every theological buzz word I could imagine. I had the distinct feeling he was trying to impress me with what he learned at Baylor. At some point I remember saying to him, “You know we can go on speaking in theological jargon or we can actually have a conversation.” 

Here is my point, The old man I spoke with on the dock in Fort Lauderdale knew instinctively that I knew nothing about the field of his expertise so when I asked about what he did he told me and then went on to talk about thing ordinary people talk about. He saw no need to impress me with what I did not understand. You see over time he had added wisdom to knowledge. My young friend felt the need to display his newly obtained knowledge without realizing it was “old news” to me. I already new he was bright. I am happy to say that with time he also added wisdom to his knowledge.

In my world view it is the wise man who learns to communicate great thought in the vernacular.  Speak to be understood not to impress. The Apostle Paul managed in his day. I would rather speak five words that can be understood by all than use ten thousand words only a few will understand.”   

P.S. Try to listen more than you speak (try to understand). The world will not come to an end if the air is not filled with the sound of our voice waxing eloquent.