He had a point to make and was going to make it for sure. A little irritated at the group in the meeting and what was being discussed, he raised his voice and went on a tirade. Becoming more and more animated the longer he went on, he seemingly lost control of his point, and lost control of the audience. People just checked out.
He made a point, that's for sure. Only the point he made was that he wasn't good to work with, thought he was the smartest person in the room, and didn't care about the others. Well done. We have all been in that meeting, and most of us have been that guy.
"Go out and stand before me on the mountain,' the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:11-13)
I love this interaction between God and Elijah. It's a great example of the trap we so often fall into when trying to make a point, engage in a conflict, or get someone's attention. We raise our voices, thinking that's going to help. We become animated, shake a little, and spew fiery words. And it rarely works. We are perceived simply as a blowhard and fail to connect.
Contrast that with the effectiveness of dialing it back...a lot. Lowering your voice, slowing your pace, giving great thought and intention to your words, and keeping them to a minimum, almost every time, is far more effective and influential.
Next time you are feeling like blowing up, making the ground shake, or raining fire down on someone or something, pause. Breathe, lower your voice, think, then calmly and slowly say what HAS to be said, not what you WANT to say. It's in the wisdom of a whisper that we get people to move.
It's in the wisdom of a whisper that we get people to move.