Support4Change Blog

July 9, 2008

By Arlene Harder, MA, MFT

When I was sent a link to the film I include in today’s blog, I thought I was too busy to watch it. But the woman who forwarded the link often shares offbeat, humorous, and inspirational pieces she comes across, so I decided to check it out. I discovered that this film, titled “The Power of Words,” by Alonso Alvarez Barreda, won the jury award in the Short Shorts Film Festival in Mexico City. It has also been an official selection at the San Diego Latino Film Festival, Cine Festival in San Antonio, Texas, Short Shorts Film Festival Monterey, and the Short Film Corner in Cannes.

The title attracted my attention because I have a section on Support4Change called Words of Inspiration and Action and I wondered whether it might be related to those ideas. It is. But check it out for yourself and then read my comments below.

I was impressed with the way in which a simple rewording of a sign could make a big difference. Of course, this is a film and not a documentary, so perhaps in real life the result would have been different. Nevertheless, I believe the rewritten sign at the end of the film demonstrates how powerful are the words we use.

Now I invite you to read Words That Change Our Minds and share a quotation, affirmation, fact, phrase or question that caused you to change your mind and take a different action from the one you previously would have taken.

I am also interested in whether the re-written sign affected your views of begging. If you had been there, would that new sign be any more likely to encourage your giving? Please either add your comments below or contact me at Support4Change.

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