{"id":5303,"date":"2014-09-30T23:30:42","date_gmt":"2014-09-30T23:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2014\/09\/30\/how-leaders-talk\/"},"modified":"2014-09-30T23:30:42","modified_gmt":"2014-09-30T23:30:42","slug":"how-leaders-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/how-leaders-talk\/","title":{"rendered":"How Leaders Talk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Words, words, words! They are everywhere. Said by everyone. How about leaders? They talk different. Their words stick. They seem important. Why is that?<\/p>\n\n

Here’s a list. You guessed it. Three-word phrases. Some complete sentences. All strong thoughts. Or attention grabbers. Shorter the better. And more memorable.<\/p>\n\n

You’ve heard them. You’ve said them. Now read them. What’s the message? Use less words. Have more impact.<\/p>\n\n

    \n
  1. Change creates opportunity.<\/li>\n\n
  2. You’ll see someday.<\/li>\n\n
  3. Make it happen.<\/li>\n\n
  4. Embrace the truth.<\/li>\n\n
  5. Know what’s real.<\/li>\n\n
  6. Forget all that.<\/li>\n\n
  7. Keep moving forward.<\/li>\n\n
  8. The right time.<\/li>\n\n
  9. The right thing.<\/li>\n\n
  10. The right person.<\/li>\n\n
  11. In God’s timing.<\/li>\n\n
  12. I don’t know.<\/li>\n\n
  13. Please find out.<\/li>\n\n
  14. Perception is reality.<\/li>\n\n
  15. You tell me.<\/li>\n\n
  16. How’s that working?<\/li>\n\n
  17. Are you sure?<\/li>\n\n
  18. Don’t be afraid.<\/li>\n\n
  19. Keep it brief.<\/li>\n\n
  20. In the budget.<\/li>\n\n
  21. Consistent with strategy.<\/li>\n\n
  22. Let me think.<\/li>\n\n
  23. What could be?<\/li>\n\n
  24. What if we?<\/li>\n\n
  25. What’s the downside?<\/li>\n\n
  26. What’s the alternative?<\/li>\n\n
  27. What’s the upside?<\/li>\n\n
  28. Better try hard(er).<\/li>\n\n
  29. The bottom line.<\/li>\n\n
  30. Jesus loves me.<\/li>\n\n
  31. This I know.<\/li>\n\n
  32. For the Bible.<\/li>\n\n
  33. Tells me so.<\/li>\n\n
  34. Someday is today.<\/li>\n\n
  35. I am grateful.<\/li>\n\n<\/ol>\n\n

    Add your ideas. Leave a comment. Thanks for reading!<\/p>\n\n

    David Staal, senior editor for Building Church Leaders<\/em> and a mentor to a second grader, serves as the president of Kids Hope USA<\/em><\/a>, a national non-profit organization that partners local churches with elementary schools to provide mentors for at-risk students. David is the author of Lessons Kids Need to Learn<\/em><\/a> (Zondervan, 2012) and Words Kids Need to Hear<\/em><\/a> (Zondervan, 2008). He lives in Grand Haven, MI, with his wife Becky. His son Scott and daughter Erin attend Valparaiso University.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Words, words, words! They are everywhere. Said by everyone. How about leaders? They talk different. Their words stick. They seem important. Why is that? Here’s a list. You guessed it. Three-word phrases. Some complete sentences. All strong thoughts. Or attention grabbers. Shorter the better. And more memorable. You’ve heard them. You’ve said them. Now read Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[1351],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[154],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[156],"tax_ctp_tags":[3613,4351,4352,4498],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-5303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_ctp_authors-david-staal","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-church-leadership","tax_ctp_tags-leadership","tax_ctp_tags-leadership-development","tax_ctp_tags-motivation"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nHow Leaders Talk - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Words are powerful.\" 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