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How a Movie Taught Me to Watch My Mouth (and My Fingers Too)
In short, shut up if you have nothing good to say.
If You Only Have 1000 Words Left to Say for the Rest of Your Life
My Communication Skills teacher once recommended a movie called A Thousand Words. She wanted us to understand how humans communicate with each other beyond just verbal exchanges.
The movie is about a talented salesman named Jack McCall. Thanks to his gift of speech, Jack easily advances at work and builds a successful career. However, what Jack says is often meaningless and shallow. He doesn’t hesitate to make empty promises and is willing to lie to get things done.
Because of his habit of speaking without substance, Jack finds himself in trouble with a strange tree in the garden of a famous spiritual master — Dr. Sinja. The tree suddenly appears in Jack’s garden and becomes connected to him. Every time Jack says a word, the tree loses a leaf. Once the tree loses all its leaves, Jack’s life will come to an end.
The question, “If 1000 words were all I had left to say in life, what would I say?” has been on my mind ever since. Expanding on this, I want to discuss how we use words to communicate with one another in today’s world, and how we often misuse…
