7 Pitfalls to Avoid While Talking with Women in Crisis

Written by Jacque Truitt

This article is adapted from a chapter in Transformed Lives: Taking Women's Ministry to the Next Level.

Transformed Lives: Taking Women's Ministry to the Next Level

Most hurting people are dealing with some form of grief. Many times, the best help for a grieving woman comes from those who have effective communication skills, including what communication barriers should be avoided.

In this article, we’ll focus on certain verbal phrases and nonverbal approaches you should avoid while ministering to the woman in crisis. These things tend to shut down communication:

1. Advising, Giving Solutions
"Why don't you just tell your husband to spend more time with you?"

2. Directing, Commanding
"Stop talking such nonsense; you'll be all right." "You get that notion out of your head right now."

3. Moralizing, Preaching
"You ought to look at the bright side." "You should pray more about it."

4. Disagreeing, Blaming
"You're not thinking clearly, if that's how you feel." "You're off base to think everyone has deserted you."

5. Ridiculing, Shaming, and Labeling
"You're acting very immature." "How can you say that when so many are worse off than you?"

6. Praising, Agreeing
"I agree that people have mistreated you." "Well, you're just more perceptive than she is."

7. Warning, Promising
"If you will calm down, I'll listen to you." "If you stay in that mood, you will just get worse."

Keeping these basic tips in mind will help you communicate more effectively with the hurting women who are within the reach of your church.

Looking for the full list of communication barriers to avoid, what listening skills you need, and more ideas for ministering to the hurting woman? Purchase Transformed Lives for your women's leadership library today.