Talk to Me Backwards: Introduction to Reverse Speech

Some people may remember the "Paul is dead" phenomenon of 1969. Beatles fans believed that if they played the track "Revolution 9" backward, they would hear the statement "Turn me on, dead man." This was an apparent clue to the fact that Paul McCartney had died. Fast forward to 2007. We know that Paul is not dead, and just as Paul is alive, so is the so-called "reverse speech" movement.

Proponents of reverse speech believe that human speech consists of two modes and functions: the overt and the covert. The overt mode is what we generally think of as "speech." The words we speak go 'forward' and they are under our conscious control. Comparatively, the covert mode of speech is 'backward." It occurs at the same time as conventional speech, but it reverses the sounds made in the forward mode.

These two modes are dependent on each other, and they are both integrated into the communication that occurs when people talk to one another. One mode cannot be completely comprehended without the other.

Proponents of reverse speech believe that the covert, or backward, speech develops in humans before conscious (overt) speech. Children, they say, speak backwards before they speak forward.

The leading researcher into the topic of reverse speech is David John Oates, an Australian who has spent some 20 years investigating the phenomenon. Oates says he is the first person to document reverse speech, having done so in 1983. He continues to research the area and maintains a therapeutic and consulting practice as a certified hypnotherapist and trainer. He has written several books about reverse speech and appeared on a number of television programs, including Larry King Live, Geraldo, and Today. He had his own television show in the U.S., The David John Oates Reverse Speech Show, for three years.

According to Oates, "reverse speech is the voice of truth" and "If a lie is spoken forwards, the truth may be spoken backwards." He claims that reverse speech analysis is a useful therapeutic tool for psychoanalysis, and when it is used in combination with hypnosis, it can lead to dramatic behavioral change. Oats says employers can use reverse-speech techniques when selecting job applicants, while lawyers can make use of it to analyze witness depositions.

One of the most famous examples of reverse speech is the statement by Neil Armstrong, the astronaut, when he landed on the moon in 1969. Reverse-speech proponents say that if the words "small step for man" are played backwards, you will clearly hear the statement "man will spacewalk." You can find recorded examples of reverse speech featuring speech from figures such as Ronald Reagan, Hillary Clinton, and Bob Dole at http://www.reversespeech.com.

Of course, there are skeptics who question everything claimed by Mr. Oates. At the Skeptic's Dictionary, for example, you can read another view of Oates and his research. Critics say that some of the claims can be checked against discoveries made by neuroscientists and physiologists in their studies of the brain and speech development. His idea that reverse speech occurs in the right brain is not supported by empirical evidence, for example. Additionally, academic researchers have ignored Oates' discoveries, and his attempts to have his theories tested at major universities have been rejected. This is not so much because of closed-minded, but because his theories show ignorance of the basics of physiology and neuroscience.

To read more about reverse speech visit http://www.reversespeech.com, http://www.Wikipedia.com and http://www.skepdic.com

(c) 2007, Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights reserved. This article may not be distributed or used elsewhere.

Stephanie Korney on assignment for New Age Center.