Five Essential Communication Skills for Calming Conflict
/When facing a difficult conversation with an employee or parent, do you feel a nervous pit deep in your gut? I do, and I’ve been in the Christian school business for a long time! Facing a difficult conversation with a problematic person never gets easy, but it can get easier.
Over the years, I’ve learned to fine-tune the way I prepare for and enter into difficult conversations. I’ve also realized that how I communicate can be as important, and sometimes more so, than what I say.
Effective communication is a leader’s most important skill and responsibility. The ability to persuade, inspire, connect, calm, correct, and teach depends on communication skills. We are responsible for communicating our school’s mission and values persuasively. We share biblical truth and how it applies to people, programs, and policies. We communicate in groups and individually with parents, staff, and students. And we often find ourselves speaking into conflict and controversy. The ability to communicate is a wondrous gift and a powerful tool. James reminds us, “The tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things (James 3:5). We are told in Proverbs, “To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!” and “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver (15:23; 25:11).
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