Day 78 - "Say" by John MayerOne of the most poignant messages I've seen involved no words. It was a pair of photos (recreated here) in the liner notes for John Stewart's "Last Campaign" CD. The first was of Bobby Kennedy, relaxing on the campaign trail with friends while getting a haircut.
The second picture was of the barber's chair.
Empty.
Waiting.
When we encourage new advocates to "speak their mind" the message seems to come across as "Please, feel free to ramble on to your heart's content".
Is it any wonder we live in a "tl;dr" era?
"Say [What You Need To Say]" was written for the Rob Reiner film "Bucket List", released on Christmas Day of 2007. Acolytes believe "say" is the operative word but, with experience, speakers learn that "need" is the key. Less is more. Be concise. Say what you need to say and then stop, if only to give others a chance to contemplate the weight of your words and, perhaps respond. (Unless it's a song or chant, don't repeat it 40 times.)
Over the course of a career or campaign, this is how we gain listeners or readers.
Lyrics:
 |
| Songwriter John Mayer. |
Every little past frustration
Take all of your so-called problems,
Better put 'em in quotations
Say what you need to say [8x]
Walking like a one man army
Fighting with the shadows in your head
Living out the same old moment
Knowing you'd be better off instead,
If you could only . . .
Say what you need to say [8x]
Have no fear for giving in
Have no fear for giving over
You'd better know that in the end
It's better to say too much
Than never to say what you need to say again
Even if your hands are shaking
And your faith is broken
Even as the eyes are closing
Do it with a heart wide open (a wide heart)
Say what you need to say [24x]
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