Strong Verbs, Short Sentences: Words Become Practice

Strong Verbs, Short Sentences- Bernadine Healy

I first heard this phrase in a 'Revisionist History' Podcast by Malcolm Gladwell. The story was about an amazing woman, Bernadine Healy, the first woman to head the NIH, National Institute of Health. She ruffled feathers, did extraordinary things and left a legacy of strength and fortitude behind. This sentence, her motto, stuck with me. It changed me somehow. If you say it aloud to yourself, really internalize it, it will impact you too.

Strong Verbs

Strong verbs are action verbs. Motivational verbs. Do something verbs. To me, they evoke ownership, empowerment, and vitality. Words like cultivate, supercharge, transform and innovate. They are words I have incorporated into my vocabulary, my language, my voice. Rather than say "I will do my best to stay focused today"- I say, "I will cultivate new opportunities, transform my outlook and supercharge my drive and determination." This simple update of mindset, has exposed my hesitations, magnified my interests and revitalized my daily routine. The dull has become vibrant. The simple exciting. The hectic pace of education, more stream-lined. The end is in focus and the journey punctuated with a sharpness of clarity and adaptability.

It is a matter of mindset, an acceptance of uncertainty, with a plan. I am a person who tends to strategize a lot, in my head. The procedures, proposals and projects, may seem fluid and scattered, but they are very much formulated and methodized. They are just in my head. Then as class starts, the pieces align, the words formulate, the lesson assimilates and no one is the wiser, except me. This drives people crazy, but it is the only way I can teach. Strong verbs, mental strength, concise, developed, purposeful words. This mental chitchat pumps me up, motivates me and gives me a sense of freedom to alter and mold my world on a whim.

Short Sentences
When you have an active brain, one where a quiet moment is rare, a Dyslexic brain, you tend to talk a lot to yourself, in your head. I have long conversations where I debate topics, analyze the pros and cons of a situation and just talk things through, make sense of things. I have to do this a lot. I feel like I am a few steps behind most people, I spend time replaying conversations over and over, making sure I picked up on all the context clues. That I am making judgments based on fact, not on a misunderstanding. For this reason, I tend to prattle on when I am speaking to other people- because I want to make sure I am clear with my thoughts and ideas. Short sentences, this part of Bernadine Healy's amazing motto, is still a work in progress. 

I have had to go dormant for a bit to create a new framework on how I want to express myself. I spent time building up my confidence- convincing myself that I have something important to say. I had to update my mindset. Less is more. Be clear and concise. If they want to know more they will ask. But, also don't be abrupt, curt or make others feel like you are disinterested. Just speak with strong verbs and short sentences. This doesn't mean without elaboration or description. It means, for me, with a conciseness that means I am thoughtful of someone else's time.

When I was growing up my mother always used to say "You have diarrhea of the mouth." as a child I tended to never stop talking, because all of my jumbled, hyper-active thoughts just had to be materialized with words. They had to come to life with language, or else they would stay inside and distract me. This over indulgence of verbal articulation followed me into adolescence and adulthood. I have two modes: talkative and quiet. These days I am more quiet and reflective. Trying to bring a more 'Strong verbs- short sentences" mindset into my life. I know I appreciate it when others are clear and concise, especially when I am in a hurry.

Awareness and Articulation

With this new mindset, comes an awareness. Not only of how my mind works, but how my words impact a conversation. Also, how other people speak. How other people respond to my voice and my vision. Articulation in a classroom is very important. The clearer you are with students, the better they understand and can follow your lead. While speaking with adults, we often feel like we can be more cryptic, less forthcoming. We often just want to get out of the conversation quickly or we are so deep in conversation, we lose track of ourselves, we listen, only waiting for our turn to talk. Especially when the other person is long winded. I do not want to be that person. The one everyone wants to end a conversation with quickly.

Strong verbs, short sentences - this keeps me articulate and aware. Switches my focus to not only on what I have to say, but listening to what other people have to say. It is amazing how in the conversations, I have been having since my focus, on this statement, have been more productive. They have been more focused and the other people, I am speaking to are aligning with this as well. They simply follow my lead and their sentences become more concise. Our purposeful dialogue becomes more focused and steam-lined. Strong verbs, short sentences. 

This preciseness has made meetings more productive and conversations more meaningful because they are more harmonious, a blending of ideas and language. This is why I am focusing on my speech, my attention, my patience. The more I can learn from others, the greater my list of strong verbs becomes. The more my sentences leave room for others to speak. This is community. This is collaboration. This is the gift of language. This is strong verbs, short sentences.