Yes a Reported Speech has so much power.
Let me paint a scenario to shed more light.
Mrs. A was invited by a close friend to a wedding Party and Mrs. B asked Mrs. A if he will be attending…
Mrs. A gives a sad look and replied saying “I’m not sure I can make it, for right now I haven’t got the wherewithal for the expenses I would have to make….” TAKE NOTE!! The expression on her face could actually depict sadness or regret because she would have loved to attend the party….
Now the Question Comes.
Why did Mrs. A not attend the Party??
Narrative by Mrs. B to Mrs. C
“She said she couldn’t afford the expenses and she had an expression on her face”
Reported Speech by Mrs. C to Mrs. D
“Mrs. A didn’t attend the party because she couldn’t spare the extra money to spend. She was not even happy about the idea.”
Reported Speech by Mrs. D to Mrs. E
“Mrs. A said she cannot waste her Hard-Earned Money to attend the wedding, you need to see the look on her face when she said it “
Reported Speech by Mr. E to Mrs. F
“Mrs. A said didn’t consider the wedding worth spending her money or time to attend…. Her facial expression alone showed that she was not happy for the couple, she doesn’t wish them well I guess.”
Reported speech by Mrs. F to Mrs.G
“Mrs. A is not a good woman at all, she has a bad heart and doesn’t wish the couple well. If you hear what she told someone ehnnnn! you will be shocked…”
What did she tell someone?
“Hmmm! she said there is no point spending her money to attend a wedding when the marriage won’t last. She has the money oooo! but because she doesn’t like the couple she refused to attend the wedding.”
How do you know she doesn’t like them?
“Her Facial Expression alone showed that”
Now let us stop to think for a while, Go back to Mrs. A’s response and compare it with Mrs. F’s response – a Great difference right?
Do you now see how a simple harmless response by Mrs. A has been misinterpreted by 4 different persons?
This is the POWER of reported speech. Sadly many are GUILTY of this…
Unfortunately, a thing like this has caused strain in many homes and even destroy long term Relationships…
Let us imagine that the couple eventually get to hear the narrative by Mrs. F. Consider these scenarios; they get in touch with Mrs. A to find out why she said what they heard? Or they absorb all that they heard, believe what was heard and form a wrong opinion about Mrs. A… Or worse still consider her an ADVERSARY and keep their distance.
WHAT IS THE LESSON…?
A False Narrative can be Highly Destructive
Please when giving a narrative or recounting an experience, refrain from adding ‘SUGAR or SALT’ and ‘PEPPER’ to make such stories Sweet and Tasty… Learn to narrate stories the way you heard them…
We should avoid TWISTING words
And for you who savours narratives, reach out to the character in the center of the rumour for explanation instead of keeping it to heart and thinking the worse of the individual. It may just surprise you to know that he was only misunderstood…
Deduction;
Be Careful when you narrate stories
Be mindful of Reported Dialogues
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