CREEDE HINSHAW: Who’s a smooth talker?

Who is a smooth talker? This is not an idle question, especially for a preacher and a writer. But even for citizens who do not juggle and balance words as a calling it is appropriate to care about how we use language.

From an early age I was fascinated with vocabulary. As a long time subscriber to the old Readers’ Digest I invariably completed their 20 question “Increase Your Vocabulary” quiz. Well before a Kindle Reader could define a word with the touch of a finger I would put a bookmark in whatever I was reading and find the dictionary to thumb through it to define a difficult word. Then on one side of a blank 3×5 card I would write that new word, annotating the pronunciation if necessary, then copy the definition on the reverse side, using the growing stack like flash cards to expand my reading comprehension and writing ability. This was long before I was called into the ministry. Words are important. They explain, describe and make life colorful.

But words can confuse and confound. In Genesis 3 a subtle serpent speaking with subterfuge misleads Eve and then Adam. You can almost hear the hiss. In Genesis 11 God, frustrated by humankind’s effort to make a name for self, confuses their speech. Now we have a multiplicity of languages.

Though learning another language is a challenge it is also difficult to understand one another even when speaking the same language. We use and define words differently. Language evolves over the decades and centuries. New words emerge while others grow quaint.

Then there are those smooth talkers. Paul warns the church in Rome to “keep an eye on them” because by their “smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the simple minded.” (Romans 16: 17-18) Paul does not elaborate on what makes a person a smooth talker, but I suspect most of us recognize such a person.

Once I attended a church finance committee interviewing a professional church fund raiser to conduct a potential capital campaign. When this representative finished his pitch a committee member looked him in the eye and said, “You sound like a snake oil salesman.” Ouch! Nobody wants to make that impression. The rest of the committee heard things differently, though, and hired the man. Apparently we don’t all hear smooth talk with the same critical ear.

Our country is awash in words. It would be tempting in this article to segue to Trump and Clinton by lambasting their words. But that’s not today’s point. I am responsible for my words. You are responsible for your words. That’s a big enough project for us on most days.

We must speak – and write – without flattery or smooth talk. But we must season our speech with grace and love. And we should employ our rich language to communicate expressively. Those who desire to relate deeply and meaningfully – in pulpit, print, the body politic or the neighborhood – are sorely needed.

Contact Creede Hinshaw, a retired Methodist minister, at [email protected].