Commentary, Opinion

Choose your words wisely

August 21, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Several years ago, I attended a seminar as part of my job.

It was all about workplace safety, and as the safety representative in my department, I was required to attend.

The group delivering the seminar was made up of consultants and experts in workplace safety. They provided a lot of good information and some rather graphic examples of why lockout procedures in industry are so important.

Believe me, you don’t want to be the guy who flips the ‘on’ switch after your friend has just climbed inside a giant mixing machine to clean it, but forgot to carry through with proper lock-out procedures.

The key speaker at the seminar was an older man who spoke clearly, concisely, and with authority. His voice constantly shifted in tone and cadence as he spoke.

He was a rather captivating speaker.

I recall thinking at the time that he was either the most naturally gifted speaker in the world, or he had formal training in elocution and oral delivery.

He was perceived as intelligent and knowledgeable about the subject of which he spoke, just based on his delivery.

William F. Buckley was an American conservative writer, intellectual, public commentator, and novelist. He hosted the long-running public affairs show Firing Line.

Buckley’s command of the English language was outstanding. He spoke with a peculiar Mid-Atlantic, Harvard, elite East Coast type of speech pattern, with a twinge of a Southern drawl type of accent, which just added to his mystique.

He spoke easily, while at the same time he used words beyond the normal vocabulary of most people. I don’t know if this came naturally to him or if he pored over the dictionary every night looking for new words to dazzle his audience.

Several of his close friends later said that when the cameras were off, he spoke like any other person.

Buckley came off as highly intelligent, very well spoken, and in command of the conversation when he had his TV show.

He was well educated, no doubt about that, and he had a long list of credentials, including working for the CIA for a couple of years.

How you speak and present yourself will make a huge impression on other people. Your vocabulary and way of speaking will create an impression on everyone you meet, whether you want it to or not.

Imagine being in need of legal or medical advice, and when meeting the professional you are seeking wisdom from, they start off with “hey, how the ‘bleep bleep’ are ya? I just got a great ‘bleep bleep’ deal on this shirt at ‘bleep bleep’ Wallymart.”

Most likely, you would immediately start thinking you need to look elsewhere for help.

At the same time, if you presented yourself at a job interview or any other type of situation where your personal presentation would provide you with a benefit to yourself, most reasonable and intelligent people would choose their words wisely.

It seems our society may be slipping when it comes to conversing in an intelligent manner. The use of expletives is more common now than ever before.

I’ve heard people carry on conversations where half the words in each sentence were both unnecessary and vulgar.  

Is it really necessary to insert an expletive before the start of each phrase or noun? It makes the speaker seem like someone who doesn’t have the intelligence to form a rational sentence.

A lot of vulgar and slang words have derogatory meanings toward women. And yet, now, it seems common to hear women using those same phrases to insult or belittle someone else, both male and female.

I once had a friend who couldn’t say more than two words without swearing. I actually once had to tell him to watch his mouth because my sister, who was around 12 years old at the time, was hanging around us in the backyard and didn’t need to hear that.

When I visited his home, I was surprised to hear his entire family spoke the same way. His sister used words that even my buddies in high school wouldn’t say.

The entire family sounded like a bunch of half-wits because of the way they spoke.

Most people may hiss out a curse word when stubbing their toe, but in everyday speech, the way you speak creates an image of what people think of you.

And remember, you only have one chance to make a first impression.  

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