Pause Before Answering Questions

One of the things the Lord has been encouraging me to do is to take a breath -- and let it out -- before answering a question.

This is hard!

You see, I'm usually already done with my answer before the question is finished. I know what I want to say. I'm chomping at the bit, waiting for that first microsecond indication that the person is finished speaking the question. (I do want to be polite, after all, and not interrupt anyone :-).

Dialogue trainers have a saying: "Don’t wait for silence before speaking. Wait for the silence to end."

If you desire great dialogue, real conversation, then pause after their question. A good discipline is to take a breath and let it out. That's probably five seconds. Consider their question again.

I am learning that my original "answer" -- the one I have before their question is fully spoken -- is often not the best answer, or even the answer to their actual question. That pause lets me be attentive to the Holy Spirit, and answer the real question. Sometimes I'm even able to recognize the question behind the question, and address that.

So I encourage you, dear teacher, to take a breath, and pause before you answer. Watch and see how the Lord works!