WHEN IN NEED TO SEND A STRONG MESSAGE THAT LASTS, WRITE IT

Some people think that talking gets a message across. It might, but it also conveys other elements, meanings, not intended in the desired communication, and the substance of the message can get lost, shadowed, in the process by facial gestures, power determined relationships; while writing can go into areas of the brain and heart not affected by the spoken word. It also allows the writer and reader to go back and reflect upon what has been written about. A few years ago, one of my students was having some problems with a professor. Whenever she met with the professor, she felt lost at words. English was not her native language. I told her to stop meeting with him regarding some course requirements, and to write to him. Forced to write about it, both her’s and the professor’s tone and focus of the conflict changed. If the writer has clear ideas -which can be polished as they are put on the page, reflected upon, edited and changed- writing will be reduced to what it wants to communicate; even saying it in the plainest words. With speaking it’s the opposite: having good ideas is an alarmingly small component of being a good speaker. Writing must be self contained: there is no body language or vocal emphasis as everything must be in the words themselves. But the ability to revise and edit dozens of times narrows the gap. With enough work you can revise your way into competence. Writing has also shaped parts of literate societies’ brains, that are not found among the few isolated oral communities left, creating a physical, message processing space in the brain that forces both the writer and reader to deal with its product -the texts- in particular ways. Although, there is no equivalent research on writing and the heart, it is not a mystery, that it can be a very personal experience, where solitude is the best companion. Writing also provides enough room for the message to cover areas beyond the pragmatics or specific intentions of the text. As I write, I grow or confirm how perfect I am.