The Law of Connection Part 9
Construction Follows Connection-Nehemiah 2:17, 18
Nehemiah connected with the hearts of his volunteers before asking them to sacrifice their time and energy. He appealed to their sense of dignity, identity, and responsibility. The wall went up in record time because he won the hearts of the builders prior to winning the hands of the builders.
Job’s Friends Fail-Job 16:2
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar accused Job of acting foolishly, of speaking wrongly, of leading wickedly. But they never got their message across for two reasons: First, they didn’t have all the facts; and second, they didn’t practice the Law of Connection.
Many leaders are tempted to make the same mistakes. We voice our opinions even though we remain ignorant of important information and lack any heart connection to our audience. Job called his friends, “miserable comforters.” Every good communicator seeks first to understand before being understood. Note how they differ from public speakers:
| Public Speaker | Communicator |
| 1. Seeks to be understood and liked | 1. Seeks to understand and connect |
| 2. Ask: What do I have? | 2. Asks: What do they need? |
| 3. Focuses on techniques | 3. Focuses on atmosphere |
| 4. Is self-conscious | 4. Is audience-oriented |
| 5. Wants to complete the speech | 5. Wants to complete the people |
| 6. Content-oriented | 6. Change-oriented |
Join me next time for The Law of Connection Part 10
