Some Things are Better Left Unsaid

The past couple of days I have experienced an unexplained loss of voice. A friend asks, "Have you been yelling too much at your students?" And the truth is, no, but I wonder if I have been talking too much.

One of the first things you learn as a music teacher is to talk less and play more. Explaining the intricacies of the portato bow stroke as demonstrated in Dvorak's 9th Symphony is REALLY BORING and takes a lot of time. But in about 14 seconds, I can demonstrate it on a cello to a group of 8th graders. And about 1 minute later most of them can mimic it back to me. Success might be accomplished both ways, but it is accomplished a lot faster when some things go left unsaid.

This whole less is more idea translates to a lot of things: phone calls, emails, comments in church, and business meetings. Imagine your listeners to each have a flashlight representing their ability to focus. If you only give them one thing to focus on, then it is an easy target. The more things that need to be in focus, the less light is going to be on each object. Each word is something else to focus on.

So why do we talk so much? I submit that it is because we each learn from our own voice, and think that others should too. We understand ourselves (or pretend to) and like hearing the sound of our own voice. Therefore we think others should understand us and enjoy the sound as much as we do. They don't.

Now, don't misunderstand. Vocal communication is important. But there are many other forms of communication that we often neglect for the very fallible aural type: body language, facial expression, example vs. non-example, and the list could go on forever. Try some of them. The quickest way to make someone laugh is not to tell a joke, but to trip over your own feet or make a funny face. Gets 'em every time.