The downside of INTELLECT, in the world of speaking and writing:
Who does it actually serve?
Hmm… I watched an interview with Tucker and Russell Brand a day or so ago. Brand is brilliant, articulate and authentic. I’ve liked him since before he ‘followed’ me on the old Twitter, probably not long after I joined that platform in 2009.
Perhaps it’s due to my ADD traits, but between Tucker’s predictable, and (for me) increasingly annoying laughter punctuating that meeting of two brilliant minds, and Brand’s magnificent (yet somewhat distancing) vocabulary and verbosity, I had to mentally stretch my self discipline almost to its breaking point, to hang with it till the very end.
I guess I wonder at times, is this only Me?? Are others experiencing what I do, when listening to loquacious guys like Jordan Peterson and the like? Perhaps there’s a downside to brilliance, as well as an upside~ and how many find it to be off-putting?
When I launched my website back in 2004 (Happy 20th Anniversary to ME!) I had only 3 articles that I’d written and uploaded. I think there’s about 50 or so, now ‘cause I haven’t taken a count in many years~ but 25 of ‘em are solely on BPD, and there are numerous other topics I’ve covered, as well.
When I would re-read my 3 pieces, I noticed myself getting groggy. After having this occur several times, I deduced that if my own writings were putting ME to sleep, it made perfect sense that many others could have a similar experience!
It was at that point I went back into each article, and began taking my “Big Words” out of ‘em. Do I possess a pretty good vocabulary? Yes, I do. Is it the best vocabulary? Certainly not. Who was I trying to impress I asked myself, with this less-than-common vernacular? Did I need people to recognize how intelligent I was??
If I couldn’t keep my ‘peepers’ open while reading my own stuff, was I achieving my purpose of educating and illuminating my audience about human nature within the realms of life and love?? Honest introspection can be a powerful thing. It can spawn healing and growth~ and if nothing else, I am steadfastly all about that.
These self-reflective questions helped me figure out what I genuinely wanted to accomplish by sharing my authentic Self with the world, because I believe that’s what real writers are always doing. It’s a courageous endeavor, but also more gratifying than most pastimes~ at least the ones I’ve tiptoed into.
The upshot is, I radically altered my writing voice to match precisely how I speak. It wasn’t difficult. In retrospect, I’m utterly certain this change was the secret to my success. My articles took on a life of their own. Hundreds remarked on how they felt as though I was “speaking” directly to Them. My website pieces became much less erudite, and far more emotionally accessible and relatable. This is what I think many writers (and our egos) might easily tend to forget.
I abruptly stopped being grammatically correct. I started using more slang and abbreviated words, such as ‘em to designate them. I started writing just like I talk, and the results were pretty phenomenal. Magical, even.
Whether we are speaking or writing our truth for the world at large to ingest, if it’s not palatable and readily digestible, it misses its mark~ which is (in my not-so-humble view) to awaken, enlighten, educate~ and perhaps, lift one’s spirits. I will never stop being totally naked for my reading audience. They can love me or hate me, as either is their prerogative~ but I’m gonna let ‘em KNOW me, so they can make up their own mind about it.
We can all sound smart~ but whether it be in speech or text, if we are unable to portray the pictures we have in our mind’s eye with deliberately chosen words that enable others to mentally see them as well, are we serving their higher good . . .
or even, ours?