Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Many people have the habit of overstating what they are speaking about and making their statement sound like an exaggeration, such as: “I’d like to introduce to you the most beautiful lady in the Mekong Delta,” or “This is the best history book ever written.”

Overstatement always sounds dishonest and untrustworthy. The reverse of it, understatement sounds honest and trustworthy, such as “I think this is a good history book. I woud recommend that you all read it.”

Understatement means presenting something as smaller, worse or less important than it actually is. Understatement demonstrates your humility and honesty and thus is convincing.

In conversation, a statement like “Wow, this is the best statement of the year” is not as convincing as “That is a logical statement.”

Understatement also indicates that the speaker is mature, because teenagers regularly use overstatement in speaking.

So, brothers and sister, use understatement in your speaking and writing to improve you communication skill.

With compassion,

Hoành

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Trần Đình Hoành
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