The apophthegm “deed is of a more reverberant quality compared to locution” is certainly not abstruse.

The saying “action speaks louder than words” is certainly not difficult to understand.

The two sentences above convey the same message but the second one is much easier to understand and does not require the average reader to Google any of the words.

If I were to use the first sentence for a news article back in the day when I was a junior reporter, my boss would likely crumple the copy and throw it to my face while giving me a few choice words of his own.

The general rule is that big, archaic, rarely used words are best to be avoided to ensure the information that we want to convey can be understood by people from all walks of life.

I would be delighted if my writing can be understood by a seven-year-old, but I am still striving to reach that level of readability.

There are internationally recognised readability scales such as Flesch-Kincaid and Gunning Fog that can be used to check readability levels of written text.

Thanks to the internet, an article’s readability level can now be checked with just a click of the cursor on your computer or smartphone.

Of course, there are exemptions; a medical journal containing terms such as otorhinolaryngology is not just acceptable but expected, so is the inclusion of words like stoichiometric and adiabatic in an automotive article discussing the burning of fuel in internal combustion engines.

Those are big words for a general audience but very common and of everyday use for the specific audiences that the respective articles address.

Big words and technical terms are sometimes used as smokescreen to hide claims that lack substance.

A few years ago, a brand of engine oil claimed to be the best in the world as it employs tribology technology. The fantastic-sounding word awed many into believing the unsubstantiated “best in the world” claim.

Tribology is the study of friction between surfaces, the wear it generates and lubrication that can minimise or prevent them.

As such, all engine oils and even the baby oil people use to massage tired feet falls under tribology, for lubricating engine parts and preventing chafing of the skin from friction, respectively.

Some of my friends have had knee surgeries to improve the tribology of their aging knee joints. Yes, we have lubricants in the knee joint that prevent friction between the different bones and ligaments there, so tribology is not limited to engine oil.

The Malay language has a more eloquent way to highlight how meaningless empty words are.

Manis madahmu tersusun rapi, (Sweet are your words, composed and dapper)
Terbayang juga wajah berseri, (Reflected by a cheerful face too)
Mulut tak hangus berkata api, (The mouth won’t get burnt by saying “fire”)
Memang tak nampak sakit di hati. (Nobody can see that the heart is wounded so)

The four lines above are from the song Seloka, sung by the late Ahmad Jais and they highlighted not only the futility of empty words but also how people can get offended by those who peddle them.

Of late, there have been a flurry of fantastic words and terms used by our leaders when conveying important messages about the way forward for the nation.

Even the highly-educated struggled to digest the meaning of some of the words used by our leaders and by the feedback, or rather the lack of it, the message those big words are supposed to convey just flew past those who were not bothered to look up what they mean.

It was no surprise that the speech of Senator Dr Lingeshwaran R Arunasalam on civil servants having problems getting transfered to be with their family was well-received.

He conveyed not just the problem but also the possible solution using simple words.

It was so well-received that some of my friends who are known to be diehard supporters of the opposition also shared the video of his speech in Dewan Negara on Facebook.

It has been a year and by now those in the government should realise they have the power to take action. Leave the rhetorics to the opposition.

And the same also goes for state governments not aligned with the federal government; keeping on blaming everything on the federal government will not guarantee a good showing in the next state elections.

A conviction of the corrupt shouts volumes about the government’s intent to weed out corruption, way more than any beautifully worded speech against corruption could ever do.

Likewise, action to ensure the availability and affordability of essential items will allay the rakyat’s worry than speeches about food security.

In his book The Five Levels of Leadership, author John C Maxwell shared the story about how George Washington showed action is far more effective than mere words.

The excerpt is as per the following.
One day during the American Revolutionary War, George Washington rode up to a group of soldiers trying to raise a beam to a high position. The corporal who was overseeing the work kept shouting words of encouragement, but they couldn’t manage to do it. After watching their lack of success, Washington asked the corporal why he didn’t join in and help. The corporal replied quickly, “Do you realize that I am the corporal?” Washington very politely replied, “I beg your pardon, Mr. Corporal, I did.” Washington dismounted his horse and went to work with the soldiers until the beam was put into place. Wiping the perspiration from his face, he said, “If you should need help again, call on Washington, your commander in chief, and I will come.”

Some may choose to be the corporal and others may take action on what had been said like Washington, but always remember that action speaks louder than words.