It’s a skill. It’s a gift. It’s something wonderful to experience.
You just have to give some people the slightest opportunity and they will get to chatting for ages.
They will talk and talk and talk and talk and it’s a great effort for them to finally reach the end of what they’re saying. Then it’s only a brief pit-stop, because as soon as you give them another chance they’ll be right back at it.
Meanwhile, there are those others who are so closed that getting them to utter a few words is an achievement in itself. It might be shyness, it could be an inferiority complex, it could be a well-conditioned defensive position that says if they say nothing they give away nothing that could be used against them later. In fact it could just be a reticence to converse because they don’t feel comfortable doing something like that.
This is why I have a lot of admiration for those individuals who are able to subtly conduct conversations in such a way that gets a flow of sharing going for everyone’s benefit. Those who are clammed up have pearls to share and the ability to prise it from them in a way that doesn’t look overtly like a forceful operation is a blessing. Getting the motormouth to ease up so everyone can appreciate some of the pearls they have shared without completely putting them off is a treasured gift.
It’s not always going to be possible to get that done without upsetting a few people or leaving a bruised ego here or there. That’s not really the goal. Avoiding offence in itself turns something not just inoffensive but often ineffective. The blunt hammer is sometimes required. The goal in mid, though, is the environment in which sharing can take place in the conversation. That way the riches that God placed in the folks can be put on display for everyone to enjoy.
It’s a skill. It’s a gift. It’s something wonderful to experience.
(Photo by Elaine Casap on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 