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Hearing Well and Being Heard Well
Everyone wants to be heard well, but are we as willing to hear others well? In order to understand ourselves and others, different ways to categorize people have emerged over the years such as Myers & Briggs, DISC, and Enneagram. I recently read about another way to categorize people in a book dealing with how we communicate, 5 Voices: How to Communicate Effectively with Everyone You Lead.[1] The book describes 5 different voices with which people communicate—the Pioneer, Creative, Connector, Guardian, and Nurturer. Each voice (think communication style when I use the word voice) has positive inclinations and negative tendencies. In analyzing the book through a biblical worldview, I discovered…
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Manners Matter
For the past four days, I've walked the streets of Washington, D.C., with a group of eighty-nine 8th graders and twenty other chaperones. We averaged 9 miles—walking—daily, from monument to museum to house of government and back again. Beautiful June weather also meant we encountered other tourists, which added to the crowds and waiting time. Most 13- and 14-year-olds I know aren't the most observant, patient, and thoughtful people. But that's what chaperones are for, right? To guide their behavior, to watch out for them in unfamiliar territory, to help them see the significance of their surroundings. To warn them not to hog the sidewalk so people can pass by in…
