303. Responsible Speech

It follows from the rule "Say and do nothing unnecessary and be usefully occupied at all times." that you should take responsibility for those things that you do say. Never promise that which you cannot deliver, never say anything that you don't mean. Always think of the consequences for the other person of what you are about to say. Never be flippant in your speech. Never speak without thinking. You must never, by your speech, plant in anyone's mind a thought that could be harmful to them or to those they care about. Refrain from useless chatter.

Words have effects. The meaning of a word is what it does. The effects of some words can last for centuries or millenia.

"Words change how people behave. Words are the most powerful drugs that we have." - Mark Twain.

A wrong lecture I once received from someone who didn't know what they were talking about changed my behaviour and limited my behaviour for nearly 26 years. I was told to separate my professional fuction (testing in the consulting room) from the selling function in the dispensing room. This meant that during the test I was not sewing the seeds for the sale of value added items and so making it easier for the patient to go for the cheapest items.