Shortstories

Speechless

In the past many mighty speeches have been given by powerful people like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Barack Obama... My speech will not even come close to the level they have reached, but I'll try to sound as convincing as possible.

Some people think speeches are just words, nothing more, nothing less. Just a way to say what you want. Just a way to get attention. Just some blah blah blah... They take too long. They repeat too much. They don't DO anything.

I don't think of it in that way. A speech can put in words exactly what you want, what you feel, what you think, what you dream about. You feel connected with the speaker and with the audience. There is some kind of energy, some kind of vibe, difficult to describe. You have a good feeling: people know what is important. Everything is going to be all right.

But sometimes they don't say what you want to hear. That doesn't mean you don't agree with what is said. It can give you new ideas. Put things in a new perspective. Let you see things in a whole new light. It is like a powerful poem. Like an inspiring song. You all know that one song that says exactly what you feel, isn't it?

And what happens after you have heard a speech? There will be people who disagree. There will be people who think about it one day, two days... There will be people who nod, who understand. Speeches don't DO things. It is up to the people who talk and listen to do something. Sometimes one person is enough to make a change. A small change. Only if that person has the courage to bring forth his idea, and convince a lot of other people to join him, he can start a chain reaction. And what is better to do so than with a speech.

You can think about speeches what you want. You can believe what you feel. I don't mind if you think this is boring. I'm just trying to reach that one person. Someone who is willing to change himself, the unjust, the world. Throw away his prejudices about speeches, about people, about me.

What I am trying to say is: is it really too hard to just listen, for a couple of tiny minutes, to anyone but yourself? You can move on with your life after this last paragraphs. Or you can think about this for the rest of the life you'll live. Have respect for words. For the people who spoke those words. Because you may see speeches as 'just some blah blah blah', but maybe, just maybe, that's because you didn't listen. You want people to listen to you too, don't you?

When someone is trying to say something, let them say. You can be speechless for a while. If you don't care about what that person is talking about, then do it because that person wants to tell you something. Something that is important to THAT person. If people wouldn't have listened in the past, where would we be today? Now think back to the beginning of this speech. Think about all speeches. They are worth listening to.