5 Voices

9Understanding Your Weapons System

Do you remember the words of the old nursery rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”? Wouldn't that be nice, words that didn't hurt us? The truth is that most of us have replayed in our minds the ill-spoken words uttered by others who were either careless or clueless in their speech. Humans are wounded by words like, “you'll never be good enough,” or “who do you think you are?” These examples are most often spoken by immature voices that don't have a filter or an understanding that their voice carries a weapons system. And if you don't know how to handle your weapons effectively, they will cause all kinds of collateral damage.

It might sound strange to think of our voices as weapons, but we all come into the world equipped with a weapons system that is connected to our foundational voice. Each voice handles its weapons differently and some are more deadly than others! The weapons usually come through our words, both offensively and defensively. The words, used as weapons through our voice, can come through tone, volume, or tact (or lack of it). That is why we call them weapons, because they can help or harm depending on the situation.

All the weapons are deployed every day in any environment where human beings interact. Usually, teams simply accept friendly fire and allow the Nurturers to care for the wounded without analyzing what's really happening. But where the use of weapons remains unchallenged, teams ...