 but pray and then we'll just get started. Okay. Father God, we thank you, Lord. We thank you for this day. We thank you for this time, Lord, that we could spend in your presence, Father God. We, yes, Lord, your word declares that the scriptures are, Lord, powerful, Lord, breathed by you and Lord, they're sufficient for equipping a person, Lord, for the good works of Father God. And we thank you for the wisdom in your word, Lord. We thank you for the wisdom that is there in our proverbs and ecclesiastics and, Lord, the wisdom that we can, Lord, put forth in our own lives and apply in our own lives, Father God. We thank you for the principles in your word, Father God. We thank you that Spirit of God, you just breathe life and quicken it to us, Lord. And we thank you for opening our eyes to the Lord immense riches that are there in your word, Father God. And maybe never lose sight of that, Lord. Father, we thank you that it's all there for us to walk in, for us to understand, for us to walk in. And yes, Lord, we thank you for empowering us to walk in that, Lord. And we give you all the praise and glory at this time, even as you've given us this privilege to do it. In Jesus' matchless name, we pray, amen, amen. Okay, so today we'll continue where we left off. Last class, we looked at personal planning, right? And the last section that we looked at was goal setting. And one of the things is that, we could have short-term goals, we could have long-term goals, and also what we can call as life goals. So these are big goals that we as people of God, we as a human being, as a person that we are setting, life goals, these are goals for life. And it's good that we have those because then we can work towards it, okay? Now it seems very, very unspiritual, when we hear some people say, okay, what are your goals? And are you working towards your goals? And you need to have a plan in life and so on. But the fact is that for us as believers, we can involve, invite the Holy Spirit invite God into this whole thing and then proceed to plan and even pursue that plan. So we involve God because God is infinite in his wisdom, he's omniscient, which means that he's all-knowing, he knows the end from the beginning, and he's more than willing to reveal his heart to us. That he's more than willing to reveal his plans and he's more than willing to help us. In fact, James chapter one talks about how if a person is lacking wisdom, we can actually ask God and he will not hold back. But one thing that is required is that we need to ask in faith, okay? That's what we see, right? Let me just quickly read that verse before we start off. So it says that James chapter one and verse five, right? If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally. So when we ask, he gives liberally, meaning the wisdom is given generously liberally, right? Then it says, and without reproach, meaning he's not going to look at you, look at us and say, hey, you don't even know this and you're asking us such a silly doubt, asking such a silly, he's not going to say that. It's without reproach, okay? And it's wisdom that coming from him, right? So it's a good source and what does it say? And without reproach, and it will be given to him. So we lack wisdom, we lack the ability to make certain decisions based on the knowledge, experience or the information that we have. We can ask God that he gives to all liberally, without reproach, it will be given. But only thing is let him ask in faith, verse six. Let him ask in faith with no doubting. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind, for let not that man, suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He's a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. So the importance of all the other things, right? We grow in faith and faith is not a formula, faith is a relationship that we journey with him, we walk in faith. So we're able to ask in faith and what will enable us not to be double-minded is when we renew our mind to the truth of God's word, okay? So the natural man, the carnal man, the fleshly man has a way of thinking. But the spiritual man thinks like God because we have the mind of Christ, okay? So in every situation, I love the thoughts of God and that's why we spend time reading the word, we spend time meditating on the word of God. It's not just, it's going to make God favorable to us or we are pleasing God in some way or the other. He's already pleased, right? Because he died for us on the cross while we were yet sinners, so that's the thing. So we don't have to do anything to win the favor of God. But we do it, we read the word, we allow the thoughts of God so that we can be single-minded about the purposes of God. Thoughts are renewed, renovated, changed, in line with scripture. Therefore, we can think in faith, we can act in faith, okay? So we see this important instruction here. So in all our planning, in all our goals setting, like life goals, we can go ahead in faith and do it. And not be afraid, right? Many times we, in our prayers also, sometimes we hold back because we're not sure, hey, is it the will of God that I'm asking this? We're not sure, maybe it's something to do with healing, maybe it's something to do with, we're not sure. When we're not sure, we cannot ask in faith. We don't have the confidence. But here, the Lord says, ask that your joy may be full. Right? The Lord Jesus said, ask that you're, is it to not ask anything, ask that your joy may be full? And when we ask for wisdom, we have the scriptural backing for it. So wisdom, even when we plan, and it's something that we can do, when we make life plans, we ask in faith, we ask for wisdom, involve God in the process, and we can plan, okay? So we don't have to be too minds about it. When I'm planning, maybe there's some of, you haven't had a doubt, okay? Is it a spiritual thing to plan? Is it a spiritual thing? Am I going against being led by the Spirit? Yeah, you can plan two ways. We can plan according to the flesh, plan according to the Spirit. But we who have known the Lord, who are spiritual, we can plan according to the Spirit, okay? So life goals. So the thing about life goals, when we, any goal that we are setting, it's good to review it from time to time. It's good to go back to it and review it. What does a review mean? Review means that you take another look, okay? It just means read and view, another look at it. And when you take another look at it, after some time has passed, okay? You plan and say, okay, this year I want to do this, this and this, you know, these three things. So we start with January, we have January is over, February is over, March, you know, and that's a time to take another look to review and go back and look at the plan and say, you know, am I working anything towards it? Am I accomplishing anything towards this? You know, because so many things happen, challenges and even the, you know, you know, this year like pandemic and all that sorts. It's good to go back and review those plans and say, okay, yes, the environment has changed. There are, you know, these are limitations. So what adjustments do I need to make to the plan? Okay, I review and, you know, we can review and make changes. As also in life, right? Okay, so now let's move on to the next chapter about certain skills. Okay, so we looked at personal goal setting as a skill and also interpersonal communication skills, chapter five, interpersonal communication skills. Now, God has created us to be social beings in the sense to be with people, to communicate with people and so on. So that is why, you know, he instituted all these social structures like we see, you know, marriage as a design by God. We see family as something designed by God. We see church as something designed by God. And in fact, it's referred to as the body of Christ. And the parallel is that just like a physical body as members, we're also members in the body. So each member is connected in some way or the other, right? So here we see that we are members, we are social beings and we are created to communicate. We are created to communicate with God. We are created to communicate with people. So it's important to understand that, that this is how we are designed. Now, some of us might communicate more, some of us might communicate very less, but nevertheless, we are created to communicate, okay? So what does it mean to communicate? Okay, what is communication? I remember one incident, you know, when I went for doing my PG for my post graduation and which was a management course. So when I went for that, the admission process was, okay, you'll have a group discussion, then you'll have an interview. And of course, you have a written exam, group discussion interview, right? So those who clear the written exam will have to go for the group discussion interview and then the selection process happens. So in the group discussion, the thing is everybody wants to be heard, right? You want to be seen as person who is wise and good things to say. So everybody's trying to power their way in and say the things that they want to say, okay? So everybody's talking at the same time and it's like, at one point, everybody's saying something. Nobody's listening, right? And it's supposed to be a discussion, right? I don't know if some of you have, you know, attended or been part of a group discussion where everybody's saying, because the objective is, it's a selection process. I better say something. I want to be noticed. I want to be heard. And, you know, so everybody's screaming, shouting, and I'm sure, you know, if you've seen some of those TV news channels, like, you know, which one is that? Republic TV or NDTV and some of those, some of the things, you know, some of the programs where there's a group, there's a panel and they're discussing some, you know, some hot topic or some controversial things or just everyday politics. We see that everybody's got a strong opinion. Everybody's shouting and saying things and nobody's listening, right? Except we, you know, on this side of the tele, viewing that program and we're trying to figure out what is everybody saying? Like, so communication, the question is, is that communication? Making a lot of noise. Always speaking, is that communication? Well, the answer is no. Communication, you know, if you look at it, communication is a two-way process, which means that it involves sending out information. Okay, it involves a medium or a method or a vehicle for sending that communication. Like, for example, now, you know, when I'm speaking, we are using this digital medium. We are doing this, you know, online and I think it's something called a voice over internet protocol, VOIP, voice over internet, where you hear my voice and the technology is such that it's transmitted to you. And it could be newspaper, it could be social media, whatever, you know, there is a medium that is involved and there is a receiver, okay? There is a sender, there is a receiver and communication is two-way, okay? It's not the same as a one-way thing. There are one-way, you know, broadcasting kind of thing. Let's say, for example, the newspaper, it's one-way, right? Unless you choose to write back to the newspaper, which I don't know if that happens, you know, majority of the time it does not. Like, maybe some people do that. But it's not, it's a one-way connection. It's a one-way transmission of information. So, but communication is two ways, is both ways. It involves speaking, it involves receiving that, it involves listening to that information and also it involves responding to that information, which means that I, as a speaker, I speak something, the other person, you, you listen and then you speak and I also take time to listen to what you have to say. Okay, so that's communication. So, there is sharing, in other words, of information and it becomes common, okay, to both of us. So, it is, which means that we are communicating that information is now common to both of us, right? So, it can be, you know, if we are, if you're the recipient of the communication, it means that we listen to the information that is being said and we, you know, we understand and reflect and check about it and discern it and then maybe if you're not understood, we ask questions. You know, you see, that's the whole communication process. So, it's an active process. It involves all these elements in communication, right? So, now, to be effective in communication is very, very important, okay? In all, in all of, you know, different social settings, you know, you could be a working professional in office, you could be, you know, you could be in college, you could be studying something or even, you know, basic things at home, right? When we say there's no communication, that means that, you know, something has happened there, that home. You know, I'm sure that you've walked into some homes and maybe, you know, some homes, you know, you're doing a house visit, you just go and everybody's very quiet, okay? The husband and wife have had a fight, right? And there's been drop silence, you walk in, you can almost feel the tension, right? There's no words spoken, there's no word nothing. It's like, it's quiet, full tense, right? So, well, what makes communication effective, okay? What makes communication a success, okay? So, these are the skills that we can learn. This is a skill that we can develop and it's good, it's a valuable skill. So, we can communicate well to those who are listening and then, and we can actually convey certain things. And, you know, as people in ministry, you know, in the, or preparing for ministry, what are we, you know, we've been given a great message. Our life is, of course, needs to be a strong message, but we've been given a message that is to communicate the gospel, right? That is to communicate the message of God. We are called, you know, in other words, scripture says that we are called to be ambassadors of Christ, ambassadors of Christ, you know, an ambassador of a nation is a representative of the nation, is a spokesperson for the nation, okay, for a particular country. And so, we have been called to be ambassadors of Christ. We are called, we are looked at as ambassadors of Christ. So, we need to, you know, improve on our skill or upgrade our skill of communication so that what we share is understood the way we share, okay? And we can communicate this all important message. We can share this, we can present this life-changing message in a clear manner, okay? And the truth of God's word, not just the gospel, but everything that is there in the word, instruction for life, the deeper life, the gifts, everything that is there, we can present it or communicate it, share it well, okay? So, it's a very important skill to develop, okay? Now, to be a master in communication is going to be a process, it's going to take some time, but, you know, if we keep at it, we can certainly develop our skill of communication. You know, the thing is this, that in all walks of life, you know, like we said, you know, whether it's an office, whether you're applying for a job, whether you're applying for a, you know, a ministry position and so on. Yes, there are certain jobs, there are certain things that require you to maybe, let's say, you know, design certain things, okay? Like maybe you're a software programmer and you design some things. Maybe you're an artist, you're a graphic designer, you're designed something. You know, so the importance is on that skill, right? To be able to design something. But also, you need to understand that, even as a software engineer who's just doing coding or, you know, or a designer, the work will involve interacting with people, right? So it's never, without people, the work will involve, you know, interacting with people. You know, as a doctor, a doctor talks to the patient, asks the patient, you know, what is it? How are you feeling? You know, what is wrong? Trying to understand what the patient is saying, try to understand the symptoms so that doctor can actually make a decision, okay? This is the treatment, okay? This is the line of treatment or the medicines and everything, what to do, what not to do. To communicate that again to the patient, you know, after having listening. So that the patient understands and then does what is required to get well, okay? So you see that any line of work, there is a need for good communication and in any line of work and in industry, definitely, you know, to be able to communicate. So, so if we are at that line, all of us can, you know, improve, right? In this, maybe, no matter how we look at ourselves and maybe as great communicators there's always something that we can improve. And if you're saying that, you know, I don't know, whenever I say something, people misunderstand me or, you know, we can always improve on that communication. It takes some certain simple things to put in place and it'll make a big change, right? So here's a skill that we can look at, okay? So if it's in the case of an interview, for example, you know, you're going for a job interview, then again, the communication. In the job, good communication. Many times, people would, you know, interview, you're meeting people, you read the resume and you're meeting people and you're asking them the questions, you know? And people ask the questions, okay, what did you do? When did you do this? And to be able to share that without, of course, you know, we're all a little nervous, you know, when it's job interview, will I get selected, will I get rejected, and so on? Will they ask me some question that I don't know? You know, all that is there. But to be able to share about yourself, right? To be able to share clearly to the point and also descriptively, well, it takes a certain amount of skill to do that, okay? For some of us, maybe it comes naturally and for some of us, we need to learn, okay? But the good news is that we, all of us can, okay? So all of us can be good communicators. All of us can be, and it bears fruit, okay? In whatever line of work or ministry that we are in. Okay, so communication also is important because you're able to discuss certain things with people, discuss with the team. Maybe you're a leader and, you know, maybe you're called to pastor, you know, a church or maybe it's a youth group or whatever it is, you know? God places you over, it gives you oversight, site or spiritual oversight over his people. Now, there is a need for good communication to be able to plan things, to be able to work things out, to be able to guide and so on. So the thing is this, it is important. It is something not to be neglected. It will take effort, but it can be done, okay? It is possible, it can be done, okay? So let's look at developing communication skills, okay? How can we develop communication skills? And we need to give some thought to it and focus on it because if we don't develop it, if our communication skills are poor, then it affects relationships, okay? That's the thing, that's the key thing because communication is about people. It affects relationships, doesn't get the job done at the end of the day or maybe people do it in a poor manner, okay? One of the factors, you know, it could be a lot of other things also, but then, you know, one of the factors it's that it affects relationships, it doesn't get the job done. Or also, you know, in a, like in a home setting, in a family, let's say, husband and wife, you know, when the communication is bad or when the communication is poor, then the relationship suffers, you know? There is misunderstanding, there is conflict, there is no reconciliation, there is offence, bitterness and so on. So everything, we see that relationship breaks down because of bad, poor, or no communication. No, that's the worst, when there's no communication at all, you know, then the relationship does not happen. It's basic wisdom, right? There is no relationship if there is no communication, okay? So let's look at, you know, developing communication skills, okay, because it can improve our lives, it can improve our relationships, and it can give us that edge in the work that we are doing, in the ministry that we are doing, okay? So communication involves a lot of things. So let's look at that one by one, okay? First of all, let's look at verbal communication, okay? So we're not looking at, you know, written communication, we're not looking at, you know, creative writing or stuff like that, but we're just, you know, narrowed down and we're focusing on verbal communication. What does it mean? What does verbal mean? Okay, something that is spoken, verbal, you know? When you say somebody's verbose, that means that, oh, a lot of words, right? Verbal means something that is spoken. So when it comes to verbal communication, okay, we're gonna be focusing on that. What is it about and how do we get our message across and we are, of course, talking about what is spoken, right? So one of the things is the language itself, okay? Knowing the language itself, you know, that is very, very important, you know? Of course, if we don't know the language, then we can always learn the language or we can always have an interpreter or a translator, but that is always a, you know, it's a longer process, but that can also be done. But the best thing is to, of course, learn the language, know the language in which you have to communicate, to get the work across, you know? To know the language and to know it well. So the thing is to improve on it, okay? To continue to improve on the language, knowing the language and getting to know what are, what is the usage, right, common usage, you know? I'm sure you have these books, you know, learn Hindi in 30 days, okay, or learn a certain language in so many days. And the way, these are some old books, you know, I still have, I think, learn Hindi in so many days, but if you look at it, it's like a very, what is the language? It's a very bookish thing, you know? It's very formal, it's different from the way we would actually speak and communicate, right? And it follows some very rigid rules and so on. And that's not really helpful, you know? People are not going to actually make fun of you, if you, you know, and you say, I'm just trying to think of how to say it, but I guess, you know, my Hindi is bad, so I just won't attempt it, okay? But the thing is this, you know, you understand, right? If you learn a language that way, it's going to be difficult to communicate. Of course you can communicate, but it's not really effective, okay? So verbal communication, if it needs to be, and if you learn the language, you learn the language, if it's how it's spoken, and some of the idioms and phrases, like for example, you know, you learn to, we need to know how it is spoken in a certain place, right? In a certain place, like, for example, you know, I remember asking someone, okay, how was the exam? And this person answered, it was cool. Oh, it was cool, very cool. Okay, so we need to understand, just an example, right? So we need to understand that, hey, what is cool? Cool is actually, what is actually meaning? It means that it's an indicator of temperature, right? If it's cool, it means that it's pleasant, it's not hot, okay? You cool down, okay? You take a cup of coffee, and then you, you know, you keep it aside if it's too hot, and it becomes cooler, and you drink it. So here I am asking about an exam, right? How was the exam? The person said, oh, it's very cool. So I need to know, what is that cool, I don't know, what does that cool mean? Right, it was a usage, it was a common usage, just, what does that mean? You tell me, what does cool mean? If somebody answers and says, oh, it was cool, what does it mean? Anyone? Dave also uses this word cool, okay? So Dave, as you tell me, so what does it mean if I ask you something and you say it's cool? You know, it's cool, pastor. So, so what does that mean? The word cool, anyone actually, not just there? Anyone? Ah, okay, it was well done. It was, in the context of exams, it was fine. It was more than good, okay? Excuse me. So yeah, so much in that, in those letters, very relaxed. I remember an advertisement for Sprite, I think, the drink Sprite, you know, cool drink Sprite, which was, the whole thing was about cool, right? And cool being, not the drink being cool, but the attitude being cool, okay? And I think the character's name was Fido, Fido de doh. Very cool, just relaxed, yeah, very relaxed, that's right. So, so that's the thing, right? So for us to be effective in communication, you know, like some people might say, can I serve this food? Let's see, asking, and then they say, no, I'm good, okay? I'm good, so what is the question? Do you need some more rice, or can I serve you some more biryani? And the person answers, no, I'm good. So, well, you didn't say, you didn't ask the question whether that person is, you know, good or bad, but the person said, I'm good. So what does that mean? That means that colloquially it means that, that person saying, you know, I'm fine actually, it's okay, enough, enough, you know, I'm good. I'm good with this, I'm good with whatever, you know, they're on my plate, I'm fine, I don't want anything more, no, I'm good. Do you want something to, you know, you want a coffee or tea, would you like to drink something? No, I'm good. That means that person is saying that I'm fine, I don't need anything, no, thanks, I'm good. So, you know, as a communicator, if you are, you know, if we are among people who talk like that, then it's important that we understand that. It's important that we, you know, I'm sure in your own languages of Hindi or Telugu or, you know, Tamil or Kannada, you have that usage, right? So you need to understand that, okay? It's not that you don't need to know the grammar and everything, but this would help us communicate that it's not like it's a bad word or anything, not advocating that, but to know the common usage. So language, very important, we understand that and we speak it, et cetera, right? Okay, so also know that there are formal communications and informal communications, you know, formal communications, the way you would address a meeting, you know, a formal meeting, maybe it's a business meeting, maybe it's a, you know, meeting of leaders, maybe it's a meeting of staff, you know, depending on the setting, the language differs, right? You don't, you know, you don't go into a business meeting and you don't know the people and you don't say, you know, you know, hi everyone or, you know, there is a certain formality, okay? Or, you know, if it's informal sitting, if it's just some friends, and there's no need to be formal and say, okay, I'm very glad to be here this evening, I'll be among you as friends and, you know, there's no need to be like that and everybody's going to think, hey, what's strange? This is strange, what is weird? This is weird, right? This person's talking like this, right? So, but we need to understand that a formal is informal and accordingly, you know, addressing in that tone or in that way will help our communication, right? It helps the message to be received well, right? There are no barriers to communication, right? Okay, so let's look at the next one, which is nonverbal communication, okay? So, when you say verbal, when you say communication, what we're saying is, okay, the words that we speak, the language that we use and things like this, like the slangs that we use or the phrases, the metaphors that we use are to speak. But also, there are in communication, there is this nonverbal communication which forms part and parcel of the message, whether you like it or not, okay? So, for example, okay, suppose you ask me a question, so how are you doing, Pastor, okay? And I'm answering, there are two ways I'm gonna answer. Okay, response number one, I'm great, okay? You got that, you asked me the question, how are you? And I'm answering, oh, I'm great, I'm doing great. And the same question, you know, how are you doing, Pastor? And I'm saying, oh, great, okay? First, I answered, great, great. Secondly, I'm answering, great, okay? Now, same words, I'm doing great, oh, I'm doing great. So, what do you make of that, of these two responses? Let's look at response one, let's look at response two. What do you make of that first response? Or, you know, what did you understand? That first response, anyone? Kiran, first response to my quest, you know, to your question, let's say you asked the question, how are you? And I responded that way, okay? So, based on that first answer, what do you understand? Strange, what was strange? The first response or the second one? My first answer or the second one? First one, okay, so I'm saying, you know, you're asking me how I am and I answered, I'm great, I'm doing great. So, okay, so is that strange? Because the answer was, yeah, there was excitement, I said, I'm doing great. How did you know? Because I'm just, you know, I'm waving my hands. Okay, that's one thing, gesture, okay? Okay, for one second, you know, just understand that the words were the same, right? Okay, so body language, yes, there was excitement, there was body language, I waved my hand, okay? I waved, I gesture with my hand. And what else did you notice? How was my phone? Phone of my voice, right? It sounded, there was a lot of energy, right? I sounded excited and I'm saying, oh, great, right? And the second one, the words were the same, oh, great, or I'm doing great, but the body language was, you know, I just put down my shoulder, broke my shoulders and my, you know, my eyes were, I didn't even look at the camera, I was just looking down and oh, great, okay? The tone was down, there was no energy, sounded tired, okay? So the importance of knowing non-verbal communication, understanding non-verbal communication, because if I, you know, some of us, we understand it, you know, right from, like, especially babies and children, you know the tone, from the tone, you know that mother is not, mother is upset, okay? From the way they call you, okay? They call Jake Maher, you know, I remember, then oh, something is wrong, why? They're just calling my name, it's the tone, right? From the tone, I know that something is off, okay? So the tone, the gestures, the body language, okay? It conveys something, something added to the words, right? So that is also communicating, you know, that's communicating either the person is interested, not interested, person is, you know, fear, afraid, all those things. So in communication, in order to be effective communicators, we need to learn this thing, or we need to understand that there is something called non-verbal communication, right, is the person. So as a listener especially, we need to, we're going to look at, you know, another section, another category called listening, so as a listener, I need to know, well, people are saying something, but then what are they actually really saying, right? They are saying those right words, but the expression is not matching with the words, right? Now, when you're doing something online, it makes it even more difficult, right? It's, so that's a challenge, like to communicate online, where you can't necessarily see the people, right, you're communicating with, right? Okay, so non-verbal communication, very, very important for us to know, but you can use non-verbal communication in order to reiterate or reinforce the word you're speaking, okay? So when you, when we, because of our posture, you know, we lean forward to say something, or when we gesture to say something, and the tone, you know, when we, when we are excited about the message that we are actually sharing, it creates a very positive environment, and the messages goes out forceful, okay, than before, okay? So people are responding to the message, what is being communicated. So as a communicator, as one who is speaking or presenting something, I can be aware of all this, okay? See, we did the class on Biblical preaching, right? Homiletics, was it last semester or before that? Maybe before that, right? So you, you know, or last year, sorry. So each of you, you know, you recorded the messages, you put it online, and then there's a lot of feedback, right? We, we, we shared that. So that's the thing, you know? In one of the, some of the things, it could have been even more animated, right? I remember sharing this feedback, you know, look at the camera when you, when you're speaking, because some of you were looking at your notes only and you're not looking into the camera when you were speaking. So you remember, you know, we looked at all that. So, so all that helps in order to communicate the message well. So just remember that. Okay, so when you're, you know, what we need to understand is that our facial expression, our tone of voice, and our body language tells people how we are feeling emotionally, okay? And the words also convey it. But all this, it is also speaking something, communicating something, okay? So this non-verbal communication, it helps to reinforce relationship with people, okay? Now, they, let's say you realize that, you know, somebody is saying something, but then they are being very defensive, okay? Somebody's saying something, but you realize that, yes, the words all sound great, but you realize that they are being guarded, okay? Then we can actually do something in order to improve that. Improve that, or let people loosen up. You know, you see that people are all very, very tensed up. They're all sitting very stiff and you're speaking to them, you're addressing them. You can actually help people relax a little more. Just find out why they're doing that, right? And then you can actually draw people out from their stiffness and, you know, so you can do that as a person, right? So which means that we need to understand, are people stiff, are people, you know? Why are they like that, right? And I asked them a question and they answered, but still I feel that they're, you know, based on their answer, based on the tone of their voice, they are angry with me. I can find out and dispel that anger, right? So it helps us to reinforce our relationship and set right our relationship, okay? Verbal, non-verbal communication also gives us feedback, okay? Like I don't know, one place where I was a long, many years ago, just sharing the message. And the fact is that normally, you know, you look at people and then you share and then you say amen and then they would also say amen or praise the Lord and they were also, you know, maybe not their head, right? You're looking for all that, you know? Isn't it? And then they say, yeah, they agree with it. And sometimes it's difficult, you know, when people don't do that, right? So I remember speaking at this place and then like, I would look at them and say something and they would turn their eyes away, okay? So I had a tough time finding out why, why were they doing it? Okay, and I'm trying to do my best, you know, to communicate and I'm thinking, you know, what am I doing wrong, right? I'm sharing and they're turning their eyes away. They're looking away and this particular audience. So then I realized that that, the culture of that particular group, you know, that particular ethnicity is that, that they, for them to look at the eyes of a person who's a elder or a spiritual leader is a sign of disrespect, okay? So I was trying my best to look into them, to look into their eyes and share and speak, you know, so that I can connect. I can tell them, so that I can, that's my natural thing, right? You look at them and you speak. But they were turning their eyes because in their culture, to look at a leader or a spiritual leader or an elder and directly as a sign of disrespect. So, you know, you see the difference, subtle difference. It was conveying something, right? They were conveying something. They were actually conveying respect. But for me, it was a disconnect, okay? So the, you know, at a regular audience, are people watching? Are people nodding their heads? Or are they having a blank expression on their face? All this is communicating something to us. So we can make those changes. We can make those adjustments, right? We either, we can slow down or we need to maybe speak a little faster because people are feeling a little sleepy and, you know, because of that they are, you know, they got that blank expression on their face and so on. So these are the things, okay? And also, you know, so, yeah, regulating the flow of communication means that, so we can tell people that, okay, just by saying, by looking at them and, you know, with our facial expression or with our nod or something, which is again cultural, we kind of convey that we are done with the message and several things, right? So we learn that, okay? And the thing is that with the global audience or maybe God takes you to a particular setting, we need to understand what is, what is permissible, what is not, okay? Now, when you point fingers, you know, in some cultures, it's at a person as an elder, it's considered disrespectful, okay? So we need to understand that, okay? So I'm not really, you know, point fingers at a person and things like that, simple things like that, we need to understand because then communication will be effective, they will not be offended, okay? They will not think that what is this person, he's not, you know, doesn't have manners, he's doing all this, right? Okay, so, so in conclusion, okay, so we see that, yes, communication can be verbal, communication is non-verbal, it's important to understand the non-verbal things and make it part of our communication process, okay? So this week, you know, when we, till we come back to our next class, just try it out, okay? Just try it out in your communication, see how it can improve when you add non-verbal communication, okay? And you see how it can break down things if your non-verbal cues are not there, okay? Or, you know, your tone, the tone of your voice, if it's different, you see what the response is, okay? Just try it out and we will talk about it. So next class, we're going to talk about listening skills. It's very, very important, again, okay? Okay, so we will stop right here. You have a good day and God bless you guys, okay? Bye-bye. Thank you, Barthe. Thank you, sir. See you, bye-bye.