“You Could Read by the Light of Her Smile”—Use of Visual, Evocative Expression to Emphasize One’s Point

Last week, while helping a public speaking coaching client develop some stirring language to describe someone’s smile, I was reminded of CBS’s John Dickerson using a fresh and extremely evocative expression to compliment the late Gwen Ifill.  Dickerson’s words: “Gwen’s smile. It was so strong it greeted you before you met her. You could read by the light of her smile.”

Note that the words “You could read by the light of her smile” are not originally by Dickerson. A single Google search reveals that they first appeared in Patti Austin’s 1989 song “The Girl Who Used to be Me.” [...Oh, the girl who used to be me, she could fly, she was free
You could read by the light of her smile...]

© Copyright 2019  V.J. Singal