Shut Up

By Al Tauber, Stories from the Streets Co-Director

Sometimes i think i just open my mouth and activate my larynx in the hope that something useful will dribble down my beard. I really have nothing to say, but i keep talking. This is a trait i have noticed in quite a few people other than myself. Do you do this?

I often wonder what the world would be like if we only spoke when we had something to say. What if we focused that energy on asking good questions and helping others say something worthwhile?

Last weekend i filled in at our Volunteer Training for Sill, our Ministry Director. Sill’s part of the training is brilliant, so i knew going in that my version would be a poor substitution. I rambled, trying to fill an hour-and-a-half slot with maybe 15 minutes of solid material. Ironically, the best advice i gave during my talk was to try to spend most of your time listening.

Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes i have a good story to tell, a point i feel needs to be made, or a feeling i need to express. But honestly, most of the time i don’t. I’m put in situations where i am forced to speak (or write), or i talk because i don’t want to look like an idiot. But, “Better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” (A great quote that is probably not from Abe Lincoln or Mark Twain.)

OK, i think i’ve gone on long enough. I’ll shut up now.