This is a truism that can be best proven by watching body language. Let's
say someone gives you a meal that, when you eat it, suddenly makes you sick
to your stomach. Your face wrinkles up, your lips pucker, your eyes squint:
ick. Then you say, "That's awful!"
A week later you're with that same friend, at that same restaurant. The waiter
approaches and announces that the special of the day is the same dish you
had last week, the one that made you sick to your stomach. Your friend glances
at you and sees your face subtly congeal into something like disgust.
"No, thank you," he says, seeing the nonverbal cue you've given
him. "We'll take the Tortellini."
In a very simple, basic way your actions have spoken louder than your words
ever could. Perhaps even the waiter could understand your meaning without ever
hearing a word pass from your lips.
We all tell each other things and never utter a single word. We do so with
our bodies, our first and primal communication devices.
Children point to the baby bottle when they're thirsty but unable to articulate
their desire in English.
Dogs spin in circles in front of and whine at the front door, making it clear
that if you don't let them out mui pronto, you're going to have
a big mess on your hands to clean up- and they won't be to blame for it.
A teacher will give you the dirtiest look imaginable for making
a wisecrack in class- a look that says, "Go ahead, punk. Make my day."
We speak to each other in so many ways that there are times when our mouths
are useful only to eat. Not so? Consider how a monk, who's taken an Oath of
Silence, gets around. Or a deaf-mute- how does such a person communicate
to someone who doesn't know sign language? Or your parents- after all these
years, how come you're so certain that they love you?
In ways that we cannot even count or comprehend, actions speak louder than
words.