One of the excuses I hear for why people choose not to study communication skills is that the Lord will give us the words we need when we need them. In other words, God will speak through all of us and, presumably, in every situation. There is some scriptural precedent for this. Here are a few instances where the Lord tells us that some people were given the words needed in a particular situation. “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.” Matthew 10:19 “Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said...
Your English teacher always told you to study your vocabulary words because it was important. Why? Because the bigger our vocabulary, the stronger the likelihood that we will choose the correct word for the situation. Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” The more words we have at our command, the more precise our description and the more effective our communication. To that end, today's Word of the Week is: pansophy \PAN-suh-fee\, noun: Universal wisdom or knowledge. From the Greek, pansophy is comprised of the root words pan meaning “all” and sophy meaning “wisdom.” As I looked at this word, it reminded me...
Yogiisms are, of course, famous sayings by Yogi Berra. Many of the things he has said seem silly at first glance, but upon further inspection, are actually brilliant! Take a look at this one: "You can observe a lot just by watching." -Yogi Berra One of the problems in communication is that we don't always slow down long enough to pay close attention to others. We are so caught up in our own "stuff" that we don't often take the time to really see others. We may not notice their pain, a way we can help, an opportunity to share and connect. Yogi's seemingly obvious statement is actually a pearl of wisdom, a pearl of communication wisdom we would do...