Ask people their story.
Remember that time Jesus was sitting at the well and a Samaritan woman came to draw water? Jesus told her all about her troubled past and present and she didn’t run away. In fact, it seemed that she was drawn to Him even more. Whenever I meet a new person at work, church, or just out in the world who has moved here from some far off place I always ask, “Well, how did you end up in Dickson, TN?” This has given me the jumping off point for some of the best conversations and insights. Who doesn’t love to talk about themselves? It's one of our basic tendencies. Asking about another person’s story may give you the perfect platform to ask about a relationship with God or another person. One of the hardest parts of listening to another person’s story is all the not talking. Just waiting for my turn to say what I want or to try to add to (or top) what the other person is telling me is not really listening, or a conversation for that matter! In the book Fierce Conversations, author Susan Scott advises using the “secret rule” to really get deep and meaningful stories from others. Want to know the secret? No advice or statements while the other person is talking. Only questions. Preferably questions that don’t contain judgment. See what happens when you try the secret rule. It works and you’ll be surprised at how deep a conversation can get. James cautions all of us to be swift to hear and slow to speak. Maybe he knew the secret rule, too.
James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
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