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Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Becoming wordless

I read a story this week about a business meeting where the situation began to a little tense, even a little heated. One of the men -- the principle involved -- stopped the conversation and said, "Excuse me, I'll be right back." Then he got up and left the room and left us there waiting.

Five minutes later he returned, and said, "I didn't like where the conversation was going, and I didn't want to say something I would regret. I decided a few minutes of silence would do us good."

They continued their discussion on a softer level, and ultimately came to resolution.

Solomon said, "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." (Proverbs 10:19)

I am really trying to work on that. Being the competitive person that I am - it's hard.

There's a time to talk things out; we all know that. But there's also a time to put our words on hold. We need to learn to identify those moments when added words won't really bring about a solution, they'll just cause us to dig a deeper hole for ourselves.

When you're tempted to go on and on and on about something, (this happens to me most times when I know I'm right) try this instead: Take a break from talking about it. See what a little silence can do.

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