The most dangerous weapon is a writers words

Let me put you in a metaphoric situation and really take a minute to think about the answer.

You are in a room with 1000 people. You have 2 tools in front of you. A pistol loaded with 12 shots and a well  thought out speech. Which tool is the most dangerous and will effect more peoples lives?

My answer to this is going to come from looking at both options.



The Pistol
So you pick up the pistol and fire off the 12 shots into the crowd. Say you manage to kill 12 people. Each person on average has about 5/6 family members. (I will use 6 to create a larger number)

So 12 shots fired, 12 people hit. Lets assume all people are in good standing with their families.

12 x 6 = 66.

So so far 66 people have been affected. Lets assume each person has 1 best friend, 4 good friends and 8 friends they might meet on occasion. So 13 more to account for.

12x13 = 156 more people affected.

156 + 66 = 222 people affected.

Im going to leave the figure at that. It can get higher as you consider friends of friends etc but im using this as a base figure assuming basic relationships with friends and family.


The Speech
Instead you reach for the speech. Now remember this is a room full of 1000 people. 1000 people hear the words of your speech. Lets say only 25% take heed of what you say.

1000 x 0.25 = 250

Now lets use the same basis as above to keep it fair. So this 25% of people each gather their family members and passes on the words from your speech

250 x 6 = 1500

So that 1500 people who your "weapon of word" has effected in one way or another. So now they pass on the message to their friends which above I decided on about 13.

250 x 13 = 3250

1500 + 3250 = 4750

So in total your speech has effected 4750 people. That is 4528 higher then if you reached for the pistol. The whole point of this post is, be careful with how you use your power of speech. It is a mighty weapon and can wreak havoc if used irresponsibly. But at the same time, use your words to inspire people. It doesn't take much to spark a bit of hope with people using a well worded, well thought out and well presented speech. Words are powerful, use them responsibly.


(Please note, im not claiming any scientific fact in this blog. The figures are ones I decided to use as I was writing)