Communication

Proverbs 18:20-22 NKJ
A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; from
the produce of his lips he shall be filled. DEATH and LIFE are in the
POWER OF THE TONGUE, and those who love it will eat its fruit. He
who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord.
Five Levels of Communication:

1. Cliché: “How are you doing?”
2. Factual: “Donald Trump is our new president.”
3. Opinions: “Are you going to wear that?”
4. Emotions: “I am so tired of the way you treat me!”
5. Transparent: “Can we talk about what’s really going on in our
   marriage?”

Three Reasons Why People Fail to Communicate Well:

1. Low self-worth
2. Fear of criticism or judgment
3. Internally disconnected

Six Keys to Effective Communication:

1. Make Jesus your role model.
   Ephesians 5:25-28 MSG
   Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did
   for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love
   makes the church whole. HIS WORDS EVOKE HER BEAUTY.
   Everything he does and SAYS is designed to bring the best out of
   her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that
   is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing
   themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage.
2. Seek to understand one another.
   1 Peter 3:7 AMP
   In the same way, you husbands, live with your wives in an
   UNDERSTANDING way [with great gentleness and tact, and with an
   intelligent regard for the marriage relationship], as with someone
   physically weaker, since she is a woman. Show her honor and
   respect as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will
   not be hindered or ineffective.
   You will never believe in someone you don’t understand.
3. Wait for positive environments before having deeper levels of
   communication.
4. Learn to value listening.
   James 1:19 AMP
   Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be
   quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a
   speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient,
   reflective, forgiving]…

Listening Involves Four Things:

1. Eye contact
2. Affirming words
3. Repeating what is said
4. Asking questions
5. Learn the power of affirmation.
   Ephesians 4:29 NLT
   Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good
   and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those
   who hear them.
6. Learn to connect together in Spirit.