There is probably a comparable saying in many countries to what we say in the U.S…. “Talk is cheap!” That phrase can take on meaning at various levels. It may mean that it is easy to say something, hard to do it, or live it. It could mean that “much speaking” is not necessarily a virtue. And while we are communicators, we need to choose our words carefully.

Valerie Geller travels the world teaching communication principles to broadcasters. Her book Beyond Powerful Radio has become a classic and contains wisdom for all in the media field. In fact, the subtitle of that book is A Communicator’s Guide to the Internet Age. I have drawn wisdom from it for courses and seminars I have taught over the years.

In a section called Avoid Useless Chatter, Geller says, “Just because you can say something doesn’t mean you should.” This applies no matter what medium you are using: radio, television, or social media. Wow. Half or more of Facebook might disappear if people took this to heart—my posts included!

Valerie Geller also quotes air personality Turi Ryder, who says, “Think of all the available content as crude oil. There may be a lot of it, but it’s no good to you unless it’s refined.” One of your roles as a communicator is to take raw material and refine it for the audience. Your role is not to just replicate what you hear or read. Many have been caught on the internet passing on “fake news” because it sounded good, only to (hopefully) retract it when the false story was discovered.

Our communications need focus. We need to know our topic and the point we are trying to make. We need to be aware of the “brand” we are building. People associate what they see, hear, and experience with a person, a station, a blog, or even a product. Most of us have been disappointed when we purchased a consumer item based on the brand and discovered the brand had produced a low-cost, inferior product. Just because they could do that, should they have done it? Not if it costs them their reputation.

The Bible even addresses this topic. Solomon was pretty direct in his writings in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes:

...too many words make you a fool.

Ecclesiastes 5:3 NLT

Sometimes, we can improve our communication process by simply finding the “off-ramp.” We may make a solid point, then continue to ramble on, with the result that the good point is lost in our many words. Use your words carefully and communicate truth in a clear and powerful way. That has the greatest impact on your audience.

God’s best…