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Watch Every Word
by Napoleon Hill

Every new person you meet is a judge. You are the defendant. Each tries, consciously or unconsciously – on even the most casual acquaintance – to judge what sort of person you are, how you think, what makes you tick.

What these persons think of you during such brief encounters will depend on two things – how you look and how you speak.

You must make the best impression possible in every instance. For the very next person you meet may be the one who can give you a tremendous boost up the ladder to success.

Your manner of speaking and choice of words will carry far more weight for or against you than any other factor. Therefore, you should make this a rule for life: Always choose your words with the same thought and carefulness you would exercise if you were speaking in a stadium before 100,000 persons with your words being carried to 10,000,000 more by radio. That doesn’t mean that you must use high-flown, formal or stilted language. Simple, conversational English will carry far more force and meaning.

And while grammatical correctness is highly desirable, some of the most profound thoughts have been expressed ungrammatically, as in the case of Einstein. But an absolute essential is a good vocabulary. For almost invariably we think in terms of words. And without a goodly store of them our range of thought is narrowly limited. If you lack a good vocabulary, make a daily habit of browsing though a good dictionary. Study Roget’s Thesaurus for the shades of meaning between synonyms. Learn one new word each day, writing it down in at least 10 sentences for practice. Go out of your way to use it as frequently as possible. The word may not be long or difficult, but it should be packed with meaning. Concentrate on the verbs and those words carrying subjective ideas that are hard to express unless you have the right word at your fingertips.

Then learn to use the right word in the right place at the right time. This comes only from practice in everyday conversation. As of this moment, erase completely from your vocabulary all profanity, blasphemy, obscenity, or irreverence. The use of profanity or blasphemy is a dead giveaway that one lacks the word-power to express his emotions properly. Obscenity, off-color jokes and the double entendre are resorted to only by the boor who lacks the cleverness to be really funny or amusing. Irreverence, to one’s own Deity or that of others, is always in unforgivably bad taste.

This discussion on the use of appropriate words calls to mind a story I once heard about a grand dinner given by a former Prime Minister of Britain. One very distinguished-looking gentleman showed up in impeccably correct attire. His appearance impressed everyone. But no one seemed to know him. As dinner was served, a waiter offered the well-dressed stranger a platter of baked potatoes. The guest smiled broadly and spoke for the first time.

“Ah! Thems’ the pups for me!” he proclaimed in a raucous Cockney accent. He was ejected instantly as a party-crasher.

The moral of the story is: If you don’t know the right word for the occasion, keep your mouth shut and you’ll stay clear of trouble.

Source: Success Unlimited. Vol. VIII, No. 8. August, 1961. Pgs. 30 & 31.