Issue 260
Based on Luke 10:25-37
How do you convince someone else of a truth that is vital for them to know and for you to communicate? Every day in every workplace people cross the most challenging of chasms, namely that of the distance between two human beings. On one side of this chasm stands an individual with a history, set of baggage, collection of prejudices, bundle of assumptions, and range of agendas; not to mention the pressures, struggles, and distractions.
On the other side stands you – with an equally expansive repertoire of variously functioning attributes. It may be teacher to pupil, boss to employee, colleague to colleague, supplier to client. It may be man to woman, older to younger, or English to French. All these chasms create the terrain of the working landscape. It is a wonder that the workplace is not filled with misunderstandings; come to think of it, it is!
So it might be worth watching how the Master Communicator himself got his message across. Here are a few tips from the Jericho Road:
Jesus started where the person was. The enquiry came from an expert in the law, so Jesus invited him to state his own understanding of the law. It’s valuable to observe that Jesus didn’t second-guess the man’s expert knowledge; he used a question to draw that knowledge out of him.
Straight away Jesus is getting past assumptions. By using the technique of good, open questions directed at what the man already knows Jesus establishes the starting point from which he can take this expert into greater expertise. With this respectful approach, built on the expertise already acquired by the man, Jesus avoids teaching him what he already knows by starting where his is and affirming his position. The expert’s answer to Jesus’ diagnostic question receives a further affirmation in verbal form from Jesus – “you have answered correctly”. As the learning continues, Jesus then uses the power of story. The story which follows remains one of history’s most profound narratives. Storytelling is a technique sometimes forgotten, but often used more than you think. How often have you said to someone “it’s like this” or “imagine that” or “I’ll tell you what happened to me” – then in a sentence or two, or in a five minute monologue told a short story.
People watch movies, read books, and tell jokes because they love stories. If you want to communicate in your workplace, learn your own stories. Learn the stories of your work, get in touch with your imagination and you will find Jesus is whispering in your ear.
But this was not any old story; this was a story of exquisite relevance. Everybody knew about the Jericho road, everybody knew about Levites and Priests, and everybody hated the Samaritans. This is a custom-designed, made-to-measure perfect fit of a story. The ability to tell such stories flows from detailed observation, careful listening, and reflective thinking
If you watch and listen, people will tell you the language which you need to use in order to communicate with them. The chances are that if you work in the same field you already speak it well anyway.
Complicated and profound ideas can be distilled into delightful drinks for people to taste and from which to learn lessons.
The communication style of Jesus was dialogue throughout. Questions kept coming right to the end. Communication is always a dialogue. The Jericho Road starts and finishes with a call to action: “Do this and you will live” is followed by “go and do likewise”. Learning is not learning if no action follows. Stories, questions and dialogue are not just designed for transfer of information into an empty space. Real learning results in real action. Jesus has shown us a variety of the elegant techniques that he employed as he crossed the communication chasm – go and do likewise.
Luke 10:25-37
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
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Geoff Shattock
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