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| Wooden Man |
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| When Speech Was Fun
Photos
from Basic Principles of Speech, 3rd Edition
(Sarett, Foster, Sarett)
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Recall
a time when you were quite “tongue-tied” or speechless. What
happened? How did you recover? (Serendipity Bible 10th
Anniversary Edition, page 1159).
Repartee:
1) a : a quick and witty reply b : a succession or interchange of
clever retorts : amusing and usually light sparring with words 2) :
adroitness and cleverness in reply : skill in repartee
(Merriam-Webster).
I
have often wondered which is more important and which trait comes
first– spirit or intelligence? In my view skills in repartee open
a window upon the answer to this question. Nothing comes close to
portraying capability in human affairs more than the mastery of
repartee. Think of any truly effective leader and you are certain to
find agility in this skill. For most of us the manifestation of
repartee has a strongly situational component. A child, for example,
can be very timid and tongue-tied in public, but very outgoing and
expressive within the safety and comfort of home. In other words at
home the child is given “permission” for the exercise of a free
spirit – a freedom that she does not enjoy within the company of
strangers. This has immense and profound implications for the depth
and extent of cognitive brain function. I have been astounded by the
creativity and intellectual capacity of people (I initially adjudged
second-rate) once they entered friendly environments—once they felt
truly free. Certainly a major component of any leadership training
will emphasize self-confidence and knowledge less and this spiritual
dimension more. The most direct route to this result is the
acceptance of the reality (nonbelievers would call it conceit) that
God loves us and has made us unique for unique
contributions—contributions that only we can make—and this
permission to be free can occur literally anywhere and at any time
for God is everywhere and never abandons us. In other words, there
is no place (high, low, or in-between) that we cannot be spiritually
at home and effectively free.
In
this light leadership can be seen as telegraphing stability—but a
very special type of stability. Not the stability of one ossified in
habits or ideology, but paradoxically the stability of one firmly
anchored by a spiritual freedom that enables creativity and
openness to present reality. In meeting current challenges, for these people
history is a guide providing principles of endearment and instruction
without paralyzing them with the dead hand of precedent. The human
role is seen as a vital exercise of creativity and consciousness upon
the cusp of history—even a history that can be immediately personal
and contemporary. I cannot think in these terms without remembering
the press conferences filled with kindness and grace presided over by
John F. Kennedy. The press loved JFK for the supreme compliment of
equality he shared with every reporter—even hostile ones attempting
to enshroud him in dark clouds of controversy. JFK’s repartee
filled the room with light and goodwill. In this sense he charmed
would-be venomous snakes and made them friends.
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