Personal Leadership with Christine Caine and Propel WomenSample

Communicate

God is the original Communicator who spoke the world into being and who invites us into personal communication with Him through prayer so that we may bring our gratitude, needs, and concerns before Him.  Being created in His image, we have also been called to use the power of communication to love and serve the world around us.

Healthy communication is key to growing as a leader. If you communicate clearly and effectively and do what you say, people will trust you enough to listen to you. 

Scripture says to “let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6 NLT). So how can we communicate with grace using words seasoned with salt? The Bible is rich with guidance, but here are a few questions to think about today that can help us to be more intentional about demonstrating grace in our communications:

• Am I Modeling Jesus and Acting as His Ambassador? Show respect and, as Scripture reminds us, “whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17 NLT). 
• Do I Really Hear What Others are Saying? When in conversation, listen! Try repeating back or summarizing what a person just told you. This communicates that you heard, understood, and have respect for what was said. 
• Do I Use Wisdom? Wisdom allows us to know when to speak up and when it is better to remain silent. If we lack such wisdom, the Bible tells us to ask God for it and it will be given.

Words are significant, but body language also matters in showing respect for others. In his book Silent Messages, Dr. Albert Mehrabian reveals that 7% of a message is communicated through words, 38% is conveyed by voice and tone, and the remaining 55% is through facial expressions, gestures, and posture. Remember that with every interaction, what you don’t say may be saying the most!

Reflect: How can your words and nonverbal communication “breathe life” into another person or group of people today? 

Adapted from Personal Leadership Conversation Series by Propel Women. Reprinted with permission of Propel Women Women. All rights reserved.