September 28, 2016

September 28, 2016 

Written by Maximus Peperkamp, M.S. Verbal Engineer

Dear Reader,

Although we don’t know about the distinction between Sound Verbal Behavior (SVB) and Noxious Verbal Behavior (NVB), we seem to agree to have a lot of NVB, but very little SVB. The little SVB we still have is meaningless. SVB is meaningful only to the extent that it is increasing, but unfortunately for the vast majority of us the opposite is true. 

Even if we were raised with fairly high rates of SVB, as we get older we have less and less of it. Only a scientific conception about our way of talking will increase the rate of SVB throughout our lives.  So many problems are created by NVB, but we haven’t done anything to stop it. 

Only when NVB stops can SVB begin. NVB was stopped at times, but never long enough to make us want SVB more than NVB. We never had enough SVB to notice these different ways of talking. Presumably, we are free and responsible individuals, but our NVB tells another story. 

What does our so-called freedom of speech mean if not a word is said about the importance of listening? In NVB the listener who is not him or herself the speaker is the only one who tries very hard to listen, but the speaker him or herself is not listening to him or herself at all. 

In SVB each speaker listens to him or herself while he or she speaks. This natural phenomenon of speaking and listening simultaneously is seldom carefully examined. We may think we know it, but fact is that we don’t. 

Once people engage in SVB they realize how beautiful it is. We have had it, but we turned away from it as we knew from our own experience that positive behavior was punished. SVB happens at such low rates as there are not enough people who know how to reinforce it.