How to Talk About Race: A Panel Discussion

How to Listen Without Judgment

Choosing to listen while in a conversation is not a passive effort. Making the choice is an action that is thoughtful and vital to the life of that communication. To listen well requires concentration. It requires tuning in and removing distractions that compete for the listener's attention. As much as we know this, it is difficult to do. Many of the distractions that cause us to tune in and out several times in a given conversation come from within our own minds. We have this constant murmur of chatter going on underneath the discussion in which we're engaged. While someone is speaking, we're responding to their comments silently; formulating opinions in our minds that we can't wait to share. We're not totally listening; we're just waiting to reply. Even worse, in some cases, we're not even permitting the speaker to finish their thought. We interrupt with our often not-so-well-thought-out opinio...

The Communication That God Hates

The book of Proverbs describes six things that are detestable to God. Right off the bat it lists "haughty eyes" (arrogance) and a lying tongue . Farther down lying is mentioned again in the list so that it looks like there are seven things. But actually, it is reiterated that God hates lying. Verse 19 says, "a false witness who pours out lies..." Apparently, God abhors lying so much it has to be mentioned twice. Well, I'm willing to bet that you don't have to be a Christian to detest lying also. If you've ever been the target of someone's lies or witnessed someone intentionally deceiving someone, you know how hurtful it can be. I remember when elders used to say if you lie, you steal; if you steal, you kill. Meaning, one bad action leads to a worse action. Since I blog about communications, this is one pitfall in our conversations that should not be overlooked. Is it common sense...

Talk Ain't Cheap

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