James Earl Jones is answering questions about his movie career and as I'm enjoying hearing his mellifluous baritone voice, I suddenly realize the most remarkable thing about this experience:
I'm "hearing" the voice of James Earl Jones, while reading the interview with him in the New York Times.
And it occurs to me, what a great illustration this is of the singular power a human voice.
With 65 pictures to his credit, the one character he is most often identified with happens to be the one to which he lent only his voice: Darth Vader.
Can you can hear him speaking?
That's the penetrating potency of the human voice.
Decades ago, sales trainer Jim Williams drilled a principle into our heads, to help radio salespeople appreciate the power of our medium:
"Speech is man's primary form of communication; print is an imitation of human speech."
