“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” – Colossians 4:6
We must speak as Christians, which means our words must be gracious and always deliver with etiquette. We must always speak with respect. Christ has shown us to love all people. No matter who they are. By speaking with respect, grace, and season with salt, we will avoid miscommunication.
What is Communication?
The Oxford dictionary gives us a succinct definition of miscommunication:
“A failure to make information or your ideas and feelings clear to somebody, or to understand what somebody says to you.”
Here are some ways we can avoid miscommunication:
Avoid Under Communication
Often times our shyness gets to us, and we try to avoid speaking in front of people. When we speak, we shorten our message to avoid long conversations. As result, under communication happens. Another cause of under communication is when the speaker encounters difficulty during his talk or speech. In order to avoid this, you must learn to create a communication plan. A plan will help in preparing your speech for delivery to be smooth, easily understood.
Eyes, Ears, Mouth, & Gut
It is vital in communication that you not only learn how to speak well, but also to listen and observe your listeners. Communication should be delivered from the mouth while making eye contact with your listener. Also, listen to your gut when you feel that your listener is about to talk to you. Once you notice that he/she wants to speak, you respect that and listen with your ears.
Think Before You Speak
A church is an organization composed of people from different countries and backgrounds, and houses people of all different races or ethnicity. As a speaker, you have to be sensitive to your listeners whether you know the demographics or not. People are always watching and listening, now more than ever. It is the responsibility of the Church to be a light and a voice of hope and promise. When it comes to communication, you have to provide the right information and set the right example, or the efforts of your team members will be doomed to failure.
