Taming
Our Tongues
The
Incredible Power of the Tongue
"Sticks
and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." Do
you agree with that statement? Why or why not?
“The tongue has the power of life and death…”
(Solomon)
The power of words is immense. A well-chosen word
has often sufficed to stop a fleeing army, to change defeat into victory, and
to save an empire. (Emile DeGirardin)
How to Tame the Tongue
Don’t you hate it when…
1.
...people say the wrong thing at the wrong time?
Management
guru Peter Drucker claimed that 60 percent of all management problems result
from faulty communications.
-
Think
before you speak.
-
Ask
yourself, how will this person respond to what I am about to say?
-
Be
sensitive to the people you are speaking with.
-
Notice
people's response.
Timely, well-crafted statements can touch lives!
2.
...people respond from emotion rather than reason?
“Better
a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes
a city.” (Solomon)
3.
...people talk about others behind their backs?
The assassin and the
slanderer differ only in the weapon they use; with the one it is the dagger,
with the other the tongue. The latter is worse than the former, for the first
only kills the body, while the other murders the reputation. (Tyron
Edwards)
''Speak
ill of no man, but speak all the good you know of everybody.'' (Benjamin
Franklin)
4.
...people lie?
When a person regularly lies, what affect does it have on them? (People don't
trust them and hesitate to get close to them.)
5.
...people talk too much?
“Even
a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his
tongue." (Solomon)
Rx
for the Blabber Mouth:
a.
Become truly interested in other people, not just getting other
people interested in you.
b. Practice the "2/3 rule". Try to get
others talking 2/3 of the time by asking open-ended (cannot be answered by a
"yes" or "no") questions.
c. Have a friend give you a signal (like a tap on the shoulder)
when you're dominating the conversation.
d. Other ideas?
6.
...people will never admit it when they are wrong?
7
. ...people talk incessantly about themselves?
“Let
another praise you, and not your own mouth;
someone else, and not your own lips.” (Solomon)
"You
can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people
than in 2 years of trying to get other people interested in you."
(Success Expert Dale Carnegie)
8.
...people dwell on the negative?
9.
...people don't listen?
Action
Points:
1.
2.
3.
(Copyright
August, 1997 by Legacy Educational Resources)
