Actions speak louder than words, but what speaks louder than actions?

09 July 2009

We’ve all heard and probably used that saying "actions speak louder than words" but what does it really mean to you? There have been many other quotes over time about the power of action, one that springs to mind is Benjamin Franklins quote; “Well done is better than well said”.

What kind of actions and when should I act? Does it really make a difference if I act now or if I act later? What about the consequences of my actions? I’m sure these are all thoughts that have often hindered us into inaction.

When you look at the way people communicate with each other, and you imagine that over hundreds of thousands of years, there was hardly any verbal communication, you can probably agree with me that body language is an extremely important part of our communications with other people.

In fact, scientists have shown that approximately 55% of our personal communication is done using body language, so perhaps actions really do speak louder than words. The other 38% is our tonality in the way we speak, and the last 7% is the language.

Take note the next time you are out socialising and just stop to notice how peoples body language really gives away a lot more than you realise at first glance. In fact on the base level, a lot of communication is really happening at the animalistic level. Did you know that a large percentage of the time when you laugh at something, it isn’t because it is funny, but it is a natural defence mechanism for something you are trying to avoid or hide. Think about that for a second.

For me, the thing that speaks louder than actions is RESULTS. No matter what action you take, there is always going to be a result, one way or another.

The question then remains, are you happy with the results, and if not, do you try to learn what you can from it and move on?

This is perhaps the more powerful thing that you can take away from all this, and that is, when you act, you always get a result, and often times it is not the expected result in your perception. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s bad. In fact there is no good or bad, but that is another subject entirely.

No, the results you get will teach you something about yourself, about what you are trying to do, and will MOST IMPORTANTLY, teach you how to do it better the next time. When you were a baby learning to walk, didn’t you get back up and try again to walk after the 5th time you fell down?

So, go out there and get some results. Don’t be “self-talked” into inaction and therefore deny yourself of all those learning experiences. Go and act and get some real experience for yourself before you are too quick to judge based on something you haven’t actually experienced for yourself.