Communication. How many times have we been told that this application is key to any and all relationships? If we can’t communicate, the relationship cannot flourish. If we don’t communicate well, we cannot get our point across and sometimes end up hurting the other person’s feelings.
Hmmm…so lately I was listening to a podcast that my counselor had sent me for homework. Yeah. I have homework. Bummer. But I digress…I was speaking about communication. During the podcast, the woman (it was a father and daughter) spoke about communicating with her husband. She said she wasn’t communicating well one night and got angry with him. His response was “What did you hear me say?” Wow! That was not what I expected. She replied honestly and they cleared up the misunderstanding quickly.
How much better would our communication be if we made sure that the other person understood what we were saying? It’s almost like we’re speaking different languages if we don’t.
Think of that old game of telephone where you would start with a simple message, whispered to the person sitting next to you in the circle. They, in turn would whisper what they heard to the next person in the circle and so on and so forth. Did you ever get the same message that you started out with when it came back to the first person? I know I never did!
So, if we mirror back what we heard the person say, and then mirror back what we say, we are truly on our way to open communication. Just be honest, but listen intently. Now is not the time to plan your rebuttle! Now is the time to listen and then say “What I hear you saying is…” Yes. It’s that simple! God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason, people, so go use them!
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