You’ve seen them. You’ve read them. You’ve heard them. I’m talking about powerful words. You knew they were powerful the moment you read them or heard them because not only did you read them and hear them, you felt them.
You felt them deep inside. Perhaps they caught you by surprise and moved you in ways that were unexpected. Perhaps they served to propel you into some kind of action. Maybe they made you feel angry, or thrilled, or grateful, or maybe they made you cry.
You remember them because they changed you. They left an indelible impression on you. For you, they were powerful words. The powerful words that each of us remembers will not all be the same because most of our experiences are different. Yet, some will be the same for all of us because they are part of our collective consciousness.
Powerful words do not have to be long, or technical or complicated. The most powerful messages are simple, comprised of simple words arranged in a simple way to convey a powerful meaning.
They surprise us. They delight us. They can build us up or tear us down. The effects of simple but powerful words are always underestimated at first. Their strength is always realized in the fullness of time. Such is their majesty. I love to hear and feel powerful words.
I remember the powerful words I heard growing up. I heard them in JFK’s “Ask Not What” speech. I heard them in MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech. I heard them on Sunday mornings as Norman Vincent Peel delivered inspiring messages using the most simple yet powerful words. I felt the power in the message “Houston, the Eagle has landed.”
I have come to the following 5 conclusions concerning powerful words and why we are so influenced by them, moved by them and why we remember them so keenly.
- All humans are human. As much as we are different, we are all the same. As much as we are the same, we are all different.
- We all emote. We all share, feel and express a range of emotions. No one is completely bereft of feeling.
- Words can elicit an emotional response. How much depends on how closely we identify with them.
- Words that elicit the greatest emotional response are the most powerful words. They tap into deeply shared experiences, those kindred connections.
- The most powerful words and messages are remembered, sometimes forever. They are able to do this because they remind us of who we were, who we are, who we are becoming, who we hope to be.
Ever since I began to hear and understand powerful words and messages I have wanted to write and deliver them to others, just as they have been delivered to me. Such was their effect on me. But, I have come to understand that all of us as humans have a voice and all humans can deliver powerful words and messages.
Our own powerful words have already been written and delivered to us by the timeless stories of our past glories, disappointments, experiences, present circumstances and future expectations. They come to us from the chronicles of our lives.
Some people have become so burned out, so burdened by living that they have lost their voice. They have come to believe that they have nothing to say or nothing to contribute. They fear they have no power left in their words.
Never believe that this is true. If you have a past, you have stories. If you have stories, you have something to say, something valuable that will help someone else along their way.
Never think that you do not have a voice. Never believe that you can not deliver powerful words. Never feel that no one is listening. Some one is always listening. Someone may be there now, waiting, listening for you to deliver your powerful words, words they need to hear.
We all have something to contribute. We all have something that we desperately want to share. If events in your past have moved you then they will move someone else. It is important for you to deliver your message to the world, your powerful words.
It doesn’t matter whether you whisper them or shout them, just speak them. Powerful words are never diminished by whispering, nor amplified by shouting. Their power lies in the simple truth of their telling. Speak your truth and powerful words will come.
Do you have a message you want to deliver? Do you feel you have something to say?