My wife has told me more than once to think before I talk. My wife speaks English with a Spanish accent and her grammar is less than perfect so her exact words to me were “think before to talk” 
We were both told once by an elderly monk that before we speak to each other, we should take a deep breath in, exhale and then smile. Now imagine if everyone in this world took a deep breath and smiled before speaking.
This is a simple technique that we can all use before we speak to each other. Smiling is infectious and as I’ve said before, sometimes we need to act ourselves into right thinking as opposed to thinking ourselves into right action. Getting into the habit of smiling more, even when we’re not talking to others, is a great habit to develop. Smiling signifies happiness and the more we smile the happier we can become. By smiling more, we are training ourselves to look at others and the world differently, from a happier, more positive place. This is a very simple way that we can all begin to increase our happiness.
At first this will likely feel a bit artificial because it probably is artificial. But isn’t that the way with so much of what we newly learn? When we begin a new job, try to learn a new language, learn to play an instrument or learn how to use a computer for the first time, we may at first feel awkward and frustrated as the task we are trying to perform is not yet comfortable for us. But as time passes we become more comfortable as what was once new to us is now natural. The more we smile, the more natural smiling becomes until we become that happy person who is always smiling.
Smiling as we’re speaking to another person makes the experience of speaking with us more pleasant for that person. Have you ever spoke to a person who appears miserable? I would rather be around a happy person than a miserable one and smiling is a sign of happiness. We are also more approachable when we‘re smiling and smiling attracts smiles. Of course, I realize that this simple technique of smiling is not going to solve all of your spiritual and psychological problems but it can help, even if only a little I am also not suggesting that you stuff all of your problems, ignore them and hide them with a smile. Smiling more is just a simple way that can help you to better communicate with others while becoming a little happier yourself.
By taking a deep breath in and then exhaling prior to speaking to others, we calm ourselves. Then, by consciously smiling we are reminding ourselves to speak nicely and pleasantly. Hopefully, after doing this for a while it will become natural to speak pleasantly and with kindness. This technique can be especially helpful when we are angry as speaking with anger is usually wrong and not beneficial to anyone. Smiling before we speak to those closest to us is also very important, as we may be so comfortable with them that we may not think before we talk and we may not use our built-in public edit button, which results in our loved ones getting the brunt of our harsh speech.
You can implement this practice immediately without much thought. Try it…smile right now. Are you smiling? As you remember to smile before you speak to someone, even the dog, you cannot help but be reminded that you are smiling so that you will speak pleasantly and with kindness.
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