Politics is around the corner. I decided to search all my sources for all the wisdom I have learned over the years. If you want to speak to influence and be heard, below are some of the best figurative words to consider adding to your speeches to spice them up. Remember for originality, and to be unique, try first converting them into your local dialect, and then express them in English.
You will keep your audience wanting to listen to you for long. That means you will look intelligent and therefore, more votes for you. Ok, here we go:
1. There is a TIME for everything
If you are not enjoying life now, wait for your time which will surely come.
Use this to console someone who has missed an opportunity – by saying “there is time for everything. Their opportunity will come.
2. TIME is a great healer
Even if you are going through too much pain now, with time, you will be healed. Just focus on your life. As time goes on, you will be healed.
3. TIME is money
Remember that Time is Money.
He that can earn Ten Shillings a Day… and… sits idle one half of that Day… has really… thrown away Five Shillings. ‘You don’t come often to the club, Stout?’… ‘No, time is money.’ So, next time someone comes to visit you, remember time is money.
4. Man fears TIME, but time fears the pyramids
‘All things fear time,’ says the Arab proverb, ‘but time fears the pyramids. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the sole survivor of the Seven Wonders of the World. An Arab proverb says that: ‘Man fears time, yet time fears the Pyramids’, a reference to the fact that the pyramid has survived for about 4,500 years.
5. The TONGUE always returns to the sore tooth
The tongue touches where the toothaches, as the saying goes. This means that people are apt to talk of what annoys them most at the moment.
I think this one has finished Ugandans. There is a general tendency to forget the old “issues.” Now the budget has been read, everything on social media shall become #budget, and it will trend. The discussion shall be about budget allocations. And before you know it, something else shall come up.
6. TRAVEL broadens the mind
He may be a trifle cracked… but that’s only because his travels have been too much for his intellect. They say travel broadens the mind, but you must have the mind.
7. TRUST in God but tie your camel
Arab proverb. The origin is an anecdote about the Prophet Muhammad: ‘one of Muhammad’s followers came to him, and said,’ “O prophet of God, I shall turn my camel loose tonight, and trust it to providence”; but Muhammad very wisely answered, “Tie your camel up as securely as you can, and then trust it to providence”.
8. While TWO dogs are fighting for a bone, a third runs away with it
This one applies to Sanyu FM. While some people were undermining their jobs, someone called Salvador came and ran away with it.
9. There are TWO sides to every question
Do not take any answer without analyzing it.
10. One VOLUNTEER is worth two pressed men
Pressed men were those who were forced into military service. If someone is being forced to do something, they cannot do it better. A man who is volunteering would do it better. Working with people without passion is that bad.
11. If you want something done, ask a busy person.
Busy people know how to manage their time. They can achieve more in less time.
12. It’s not WHAT you know, it’s who you know
‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,’ is the cry
of the disappointed and excluded around the world. How true: intelligence and
application help in life, but contacts are what count.
Copyright Mustapha B Mugisa, 2020. All rights reserved.
