Big Talk

It has bothered me for a long time

that big talk

is not the opposite of small talk.

Big talk... for whatever reason,

has come to mean boastfulness,

charlantry, and the invitation to folly,

rather than the discussion of big and uncomfortable ideas.

Big Talk is Big-Thinking.

This is a great tragedy of the English language,

a subtlety put in place, I suspect, by the same folks

who don't want us discussing religion, politics, or our salaries on the job.

Because big talk

is the effort to understand the world around us

and to understand ourselves.

And these things run counter to our centuries of operant conditioning

aimed to make the human stock more docile and productive.

Idle hands are the devils plaything.

If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

The early bird gets the worm.

Actions speak louder than words.

When in doubt, leave it out.

Silence is golden.

Remember that you are quietly discouraged from engaging in Big Talk.

Those of you (most of you reading here) who do it anyways, know that it often comes with a cost.

In most situations - where immediate action isn't required, Big Talk is the most important thing you can do.

It makes you wiser and more aware, and usually, improves the quality of your decisions.

Measure twice, cut once.

If you have 5 hours to cut down a tree, spend the first three sharpening your axe.

If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.

We know deep down the value of honest dialogue. Of going through the discomfort of hard conversations, to reveal real points of contention, and also common ground.

Big Talk is how we learn about the world, each other, and ourselves. It's a form of wandering - an agreement between two or more minds - that gives all the participants the time and space they need to be heard.

So I encourage you, whenever feasible, to break free from the safety of small talk, and engage in Big Talk, even when it's a little dangerous.

I find myself wondering what it would be like to live amongst a humanity

where Big Talk was a virtue,

instead of a sin.

Mox

Written in The Well. Midday.