The other day I blogged about the latest trend for pre-teens where they sit around a birthday party texting each other! How sad that technology gets in the way of face-to-face communication which is rich in content and complexity in favor of a more restrictive, impersonal and limited form of communication fraught with miscommunication.
Don't get me wrong. Technology is a wonderful thing. It allows us to reach across the world and share, fellowship, encourage and learn. It affords us the opportunity to reach more people with the causes the Lord put in our hearts. But technology has become a stumbling block for true communication. It has eroded our skills and has become a nuisanse.
How many times have you heard a cell phone go off in church interrupting the service? How many times have you heard someone strike up a conversation only to turn and find he was talking to an individual yet unseen? How many times have you tried to have a conversation with a teenager who can't put two words together articulately? How many times have you received an email you can make neither heads nor tails of?
I noticed this trend several years ago when I wrote...
Communication Technology Doesn't Replace Communication Skill
My generation has gone from ABC, NBC and CBS to Cable TV, CDroms and DVDs. We have lived through the biggest technological advancements in history. We can now communicate with people around the world through cell phones, email, voicemail, videomail ...and we can see political events unfolding as they happen! The internet wasn't fast enough for us so we now have DSL and Cable that are 50x faster than the modems of two years ago! Computers weren't portable enough so we now have laptops and PDAs. The technological world is obsessed with making communication technology faster, smaller and more powerful.
With so many ways to communicate, we are the most connected society that ever lived! So...what's the name of your neighbor who lives three houses down from you? When was the last time you sat around the dinner table and had a good, old-fashioned conversation? How often do you feel ill-prepared to discuss important issues with your children? Is there a family member or business associate you are avoiding because you don't know how to handle a delicate situation? How many times have you felt ineffective in getting your point across to others?
Did you know that 87% of what you do all day is communication related? Or that only 43% of people surveyed said they are effective communicators? Effective communication is a dying art. Know how I know? Call any company and see how fast you can reach a live body. When you get one, how often are you frustrated with the customer service you receive?
Here are a few statistics you might want to consider:
Companies with the highest levels of effective communication experienced a 26% total return to shareholders from 1998-2002, compared to a -15% return experienced by firms that communicate least effectively according to a study done in 2004. Read More
The Lord shares with us in His Word about how vital communication skills are literally HUNDREDS of times! He cautions us about the power of the tongue and to keep the door of our mouth, but He also shares why and how we SHOULD communicate.
"Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Colossians 4:6
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:" 1Peter 3:15
"From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied." Proverbs 18:20
"He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend." Proverbs 22:11
" A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs 25:11
"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Proverbs 16:24
"The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment." Proverbs 10:21
"-So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11
It isn't just that we should keep from speaking evil; we should use the power of the tongue God gave us for good things of the Lord. We cannot be effective in doing this if we allow our skills to wither and die for lack of use. We need to train up our children in the way they should speak so that when they grow up they will not depart from sharing the truth in a respectful and articulate way.
If you want to train your children up in the way they should speak, you can do it with creativity and humor! Visit Art of Eloquence today! Don't forget to check out all our free resources and events too!
From JoJo's Purple Crayon
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