Pastor Francis and Mary
W14D3 - Values

W14D2 - Persuasion

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" - James 1:19.

Someone once said that we have two ears and one mouth; therefore, we should probably listen twice as much as we talkor at least more than comes naturally for us to do. That can be difficult for leaders because they're often intelligent, quick thinking, and competitive, so they often want to overcome their opponents and win their doubters with persuasive arguments and presentations. Yet the art of persuasion that doesn't coerce others is actually practiced through asking good questions and listening intently to the answers. This goes right along with Stephen Covey's fifth habit of effective people, which is first to understand others, then attempting to be understood.

LEADERSHIP STEP: In the first two entries on persuasion, you did a study of the tongue in Proverbs. Today you will do the same but this time search Proverbs for the words listen, ear, and hear. Next time you'll do the same in the gospels, but for now, see how important the concept of listening was for the wisdom writer. Then work over the next month on asking good questions and listening intently so you can better understand others. A good place to start doing this is at home or with friends.

Comments

The comments to this entry are closed.