Tones

Words are not magic. They are simply a means to an end. They communicate ideas. What about words, then compel people to action both positively and negatively? A couple of days ago, I experienced a drive-by yelling match. A truck drove by a parking lot in which I was standing. I heard two very loud FUs coming from a truck that was driving by. The truck stopped in a nearby parking lot and the really loud yelling continued. Mostly the yelling was FUs exchanged between 2 menat the top of their lungs. One man got out of the car, checked a locked door to a store front, then got back in continuing his lambasting of the other in expletives. I reassessed my thinking that words were not magic. Words seemed to negatively motivate these two men against each other. On further reflection, though, revealed that it was the pitch of the words that were the motivation. They could be yelling "banana" at each other. The loud tones made for the injured feelings. Soft tones have the opposite effect. They show care and concern. No tones don't show anything. If I receive a card from someone, I then know that someone took the time to send it caringly no matter what the words say. So, I stick with the premise—words are not magic. Loud tones, soft tones, actions are magic. In a proverb of English, they are worth 1000 words. This new year, I will concentrate on tone quality and actions first, good word choices second.