For many people and certainly for me, speech and writing don’t come from the same place. Sure it’s all about communicating, but there can be such a mismatch in the prowess a single person displays between the two. It reminds me of my late friend Robert Nwosibe, who was an accomplished playwright and engineer. Yet in person he was pretty diminutive and not nearly as expressive as his play’s sparkling dialogue. Even more personal – one day, I was going home one day, with a huge headache. Sustaining a conversation at that point would have been tasking, even unpleasant. Yet I could maintain a stream of text conversations with friends which included light and witty banter; at the very same time. As an aside, it amused me no end to playfully think that this is because my mouth is close to the throbbing brain and my hands are much further away and much freer to express themselves (yeah, this not how it really works).
It feels obvious that mastery of speech that is much more connected to the intent of the speaker is a great skill, especially for influence and leadership. Yet it seems like the ability of writing to endure and continue to change and shape the minds of people is unparalleled. It intriguing to think that the man who speaks is very different from the man who writes and that their effect on people’s lives are bisected between the immediate and the more enduring.
This is why the man who can write and speak in a way that commands respect from his peers should be considered formidable.
