Cultivating Empathy: Asking the Right Questions to Build Better Relationships

【KRC Trends】2

Brandon Morgan and Matt Reffie of the KRC English Arctos ministry team went on a mission for the first time. Brandon was invited to give a lecture on "Communication" at the English church of Bay County Episcopal Church in North New Jersey. Matt went with him to share the vision of Arctos.

Brandon is not only a member of the editorial team of the English unit of KRC magazine, but his daily job is to go to companies in Boston to train leaders, strengthen communication, build better team relationships, and increase work efficiency.

Brandon said that he is not a "lecturer", but a "coordinator" who helps everyone open communication channels. This time he opened the course by "asking good questions." I hope that through group exercises, everyone can understand the importance of "asking questions". More importantly, listening to others' answers is the first step in building empathy.

Nearly 50 people came to the English church of Bay County Episcopal Church, ranging in age from primary six students to grandparents. Brandon's lively hosting style was refreshing, and he used activities to allow everyone to walk around the hall, and young and old mingled together.

During the group practice, Brandon asked everyone to practice using the questions on the PPT. For example, A answered the questions in the PPT, "What do you want to do more but don't have time to do?", "How does God call you to have more?" Grow?", B listened carefully, restated his understanding of A's answer in his own words, and asked A to confirm whether B's understanding was what A wanted to express. In the back and forth of answering and listening, the answer often appears in A's answer. Listener B just respects and absorbs it carefully, repeating it with empathy and deepening A's understanding.

The empathy we hold when communicating is the model set by the Lord Jesus; He became flesh and lived with us, full of love and mercy. No matter what relationship you are building, it starts with listening and empathy.

There is a need for more such lively communication courses in the church. If you would like to invite the Arctos team to host similar study courses in your church, please contact KRC (contact@e-krc.org).