Conversation, skills & story-telling
How we communicate – our conversation, our listening, our understanding, and our interaction – determines the influence we have with others. The better our conversation and communication, the better our relationships and development.
Winston Churchill was one of the masters of communication. Recognized as one of the best known speakers of the past century, Churchill had a great impact in both areas of communication: as a speaker and as a listener. A boring speaker was rambling on and on, addressing Parliament. The longer he rambled, the heavier and heavier Churchill’s eyes became until finally his eyes were closed. The speaker noticed the Prime Minister’s response and called him out. “Mr. Churchill, must you sleep while I am talking?” Without so much as opening his eyes, Churchill replied, “No, sir, it is purely voluntary.” On another occasion, Churchill was engaged in a war of words with a female opponent in Parliament. Exasperated, the woman squealed, “Mr. Churchill, you make me so mad; if you were my husband I would put poison in your tea.” “Madam,” quipped Churchill, “if you were my wife, I would drink it.”
Standing at the Center
Communication stands at the center of our relationship with God, our spouse, our family, our co-workers, our neighbors, and our friends. Information in this section will help you become a better at communication by stressing that you speak with relevance, with clarity, and with passion. To excel as a communicator, you must learn your own communication style and, as both a speaker and a listener, learn to interact with others who have different styles of communication.
Dorothy Nevill once remarked, “The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”
Skills of Faith
Communication skills are indispensable for the person of faith. Paul tells the Corinthians, “Anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start. The old life vanishes. A new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and Him. God then calls us to settle our relationships with each other. By forgiving sins, God put the world square with himself through the Messiah. We now have a second chance. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences. When they do they enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you” (2 Corinthians 5:17-20 MSG).
Critical Conversation
People around the world revere Charles Swindoll as a minister of God’s Word. In his book, Saying it Well, Swindoll writes, “I am a preacher. As a child, I never would have imagined myself saying that. The last place I wanted to be was standing in front of other people to speak. Not only was I not interested, I lived with a major struggle: I stuttered. Who knows why? By the time I entered high school, speaking in front of a group was my least favorite place to be. Our fears or limitations don’t hinder God’s plans. The journey from stuttering to “saying it well” took a lot of time. It was neither easy nor quick.”
Talk about a critical conversation!
