Big Man, Big words

Ever read an interview granted by the Rev. Kris Okotie, or attended one of his services? I assure you all except the very few hardened professorial types would come away from the experience the same.
The man has a penchant for big, no, gargantuan words! Even the creators of the English language did not intend for all of those words to be used together in one sentence, or even in one speech session, lest the listeners go away with a migraine – which, more often than not, is what happens when you have an ‘encounter’ with the Rev.
Now let me say that I have absolutely nothing against the Rev., in fact I used to be a huge fan of his, little as I was, in his singing days. By the way, those days aren’t really over yet. He’s the lead singer in his church choir; the congregation is the rest of the choir. Plus he’s the progenitor of most of the songs that are sung in his church, with the resultant effect that a stranger or visitor to the church might actually be incapable of participating in one single singing session in the course of an entire service because none of the regular commonly known and compiled choruses (a la the Rev. Sunny Okosuns and other likeminded ‘gospel singers’) are sung in this assembly.
Reference a recent interview granted by the Reverend to one of the nation’s more prestigious newspapers. The occasion was the launching of a political association calling for our youth to be more politically savvy and to participate in governance in one form or the other. Now I’ve been told severally that I possess an above average command of the English language, and even I had cause to stop and ponder a number of times at the use of certain words. I assure that not a great percentage of present day Nigerian youths would have been able come away with a full understanding of the very important issues which he raised in the course of the interview. Particularly not in these days when there’s so much to distract our youth from the true purpose for which they’re sent to schools – secondary and tertiary. Distractions abound in the way of cultism, student or lecturer ‘unrests’, fuel scarcities, lack of accommodation and other facilities on campuses, etc etc. ‘Nuff said -This is a topic for another discourse altogether.
Today’s call is for the embrace of simplicity in communication. There’s enough risk of distortion from the other person’s perception, without the communicator complicating things further.
Even the good book admonishes religious leaders to be careful lest they lead their congregations into sin. I daresay, a distortion in communication, an error of understanding of the message – which is wont to happen in a situation like this – may constitute a ‘misdirection’ of whatever audience is being addressed.
When people do not understand a message they do one of two things – switch off from the message or messenger, or assume something and move on based on that assumption they have made. The latter is a potentially dangerous situation.
Communication has to be targeted at the potential audience and should therefore be presented in a manner that would be attractive, understandable and digestible by such an audience.
Ever heard of ‘He stoops to conquer’? Go to the level (by descending or ascending) of your audience and really reach them.
‘Simple’ words don’t necessarily mean a simple mind.