APPROPRIATENESS

I have found thoughts and words to be the foundation for success and failure in life. I’m teaching my kids when to whisper and when to shout.

—Diana Ross

As adults we have by now learned that there are indeed times to whisper and times to shout. Shouting all the time is not effective; people cease to hear you after a while. So, too, there are times to speak up so as to be heard and not ignored.

Just as our children must learn when to adjust the volume, they must also know that there are times to say nothing—to do more research, think things over, sleep on it. When they are ready, they can then put their thoughts into the kind of words that will be compelling, persuasive, and effective.

Call to Action: On this day, I will take five minutes to talk to my child about how different situations call for different kinds of verbal persuasion: sometimes soft, sometimes aggressive, sometimes emotional, sometimes intellectual.