I was a part of a crusade team to Ilorin, Kwara State in the early ’90s. Part of our duties was to liaise with the workers of the State Sports Council to have the stage set. The typical lackadaisical attitude of public workers was playing out at some point, and one of our team members resorted to threat. He spoke roughly to them that if they failed to mount the stage on time, they risked losing their jobs. That only infuriated them. They decided to down tool completely. It took someone else with a more measured approach to appeal to them.

People skill entails knowing how to speak…Whenever you speak, you are either destroying or building; making enemies or friends. Those who have their way with words can almost have their way in anything and everyone else.

The story is reminiscent of Rehoboam’s attitude to the people of Israel. After Solomon his father died, the people came to make a deal with him. They were ready to be his loyal subjects, only they wanted him to shed off some of the heavy burdens put on them by Solomon. Instead of acceding to their request, he answered them roughly and promised them a more burdensome regime than they had known under his predecessor. He lost the kingdom, except the tribe of Judah. People skill entails knowing how to speak. This is a skill-set that all leaders must possess. Without it, one can ruin everything one is trying to build. It is not in vain that the Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue. Whenever you speak, you are either destroying or building; making enemies or friends. Those who have their way with words can almost have their way in anything and everyone else.