Making an impression with the spoken word

How we speak rivals in importance how we write. As Warren Buffett advises those seeking success, communicating clearly ranks with the most crucial decisions we make.

He says we must treat our business practice as a reflection of ourselves. Failure to communicate clearly risks the loss of confidence we seek from customers, partners, co-workers and friends.

In a moment, an example of communication that defies Buffett's advice. First, key advice from Prince Hamlet. He devised a play that exposed the murderer of his father, the king: It was his uncle, who then married Hamlet's mother, the queen.

Hamlet instructed the actors: "Speak the speech, I pray you … trippingly on the tongue." Trippingly means nimbly, fluently.

Now, that example: The speaker fails to speak trippingly; rather, he keeps tripping on his tongue. The speaker, a notable host of a cable network news program, asked a guest why Americans remain politically polarized, even in the face of COVID-19.

Here's the host's question, verbatim:

"Is this, you know, is this make — is this a reminder how divisive we end — how divided we ended up being after this pandemic, and here we are at the, we're sort of at a point where it looks like we may, we may win — OK, we may finally win the battle over this virus — and yet we're not looking, you know, it's still, despite these efforts, I guess I looked at it, is — do you now conclude that nothing can bring us together?"

The victims are language, clarity and the confidence of listeners. The host's question highlights the difference between an aroma and an odor. He could have said, "Americans remain divided, even about a deadly disease. Can anything bring us together?"

Speaking of speaking: I recently invited readers to submit examples of misuses of language. Two beauties came in: "Pundant" instead of "pundit," and "gambit" instead of "gamut."

So, have we run the gamut, from Buffett's guidance to Hamlet's gambit?