I recently met a young woman who made me think about the impact our words, as writers, speakers, and human beings, have on the people around us.

I was sitting in the reception room of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, waiting for someone from the Current Affairs department to pick me up for an interview.

The woman was in her early twenties, well dressed, and seemed a little nervous. So I thought she was an interview subject for one of the shows. That is, until she mentioned that she was in the studios to intercept a radio host who was on air.

“Is this a scheduled meeting? Does he know you’re here?” I asked. Maybe I’ve been watching too much TV, but the words “stalker” kept flashing through my mind.

“She’s a woman, not a man” said the fan with a soft smile. “And no, she doesn’t know I’m here. I brought her a present.”

I had never heard of the presenter who was there to watch, but I don’t listen to much radio or music either. Words and images are my thing.

But I was amazed at the kind of attraction that the presenter has to inspire someone to get up very early on a Sunday morning, travel any distance to bring her a gift in case they meet outside the studios. Then there is the question of whether the presenter would be kind enough to be mugged after the shift by a stranger and/or accept the gift…

What words or deeds inspired this kind of love? Did the host ever stop to wonder what part of her radio talk moved anyone to this extent? Or was she just out there, continuing her work and hoping the public loved her enough for the station to renew her contract?

As is often the case on a busy day, I soon put the fan off my mind and got on with the business of life. Until I got home and checked my emails.

One of the emails was from a gentleman named Osborne. He reminded me that we met 15 years ago, in a taxi from Johannesburg to Nelspruit (it’s a 4 1/2 hour drive, so conversation with fellow travelers was unavoidable). He says that I told him that I am a writer for hire, that I write about family problems and that he felt that he had a passion for my craft.

“His inspiration led me to write a silly novel in 1995, which I have yet to publish,” Osborne writes.

I remember the trip, although the passage of time has erased many of the details. More importantly, I don’t even know why my face stuck in Osborne’s mind, or what I told him that made him pick up the pen and write the novel.

But I am grateful that we met and the words we exchanged had a positive impact on his life, however small that impact may have been. I’m happy that when he saw me on TV, he went to the trouble of looking up my contact details online and sent me an email to tell me how much he appreciated us getting to know each other.

I am also aware that when you are in the business of sharing words, thoughts, and opinions with other people, you affect them in ways you never fully understand. As you go about your business, writing to meet the next deadline, your words stay with your readers. And sometimes these words change lives.

So, as a writer/speaker and a human being, how do your words impact your readers and the people you meet?