Do You Need Some Conversation Peace? Ask Yourself These 20 Questions

By Mary Kassian | PDF

 

How healthy is your speech? Take this quiz to discover areas in which your words fall short of the golden standard.
 

1.Do you gossip? Do you enjoy repeating the latest news or rumor you heard about another person? (See Prov. 11:13; 20:19; 26:20).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

2.Do you slander? Do you say things about others behind their backs that you would not say to their faces? Do your words cast others in a less than positive light? (See Ps. 50:20; 52:4; Prov. 11:9).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

3.Do you nag? Do you repeat your desires and opinions to others until you get what you want? (See Prov. 21:19; 26:21).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

4.Do you meddle? Do you make the interaction between other people your concern? Do you try to referee arguments or act as ago-between? (See Prov. 26:17).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

5.Do you brag? Do you seek to present your skills, your experiences or your accomplishments as greater than they really are? (See Prov. 14:23; 25:27; 27:2)

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually
 

6.Do you lie? Are you ever less than truthful? Are you less than totally honest? Do you misrepresent yourself, others, or events? (See Ps. 120:3; 34:13; Prov. 12:19,22; 26:18-19; Eph. 4:15,25).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

7.Are you quarrelsome? Do you feel a need to be proved right or to have the last word? Do you argue? (See Prov. 17:14; 20:3; 26:21; 27:15; Phil. 2:14).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

8.Do you respond in anger? Are you hot-tempered or defensive? Are you easily provoked? (See Prov. 15:1; 29:11,22; Eph. 4:26-27).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

9.Do you talk too much? Do you babble? Do you spend a lot of time on the phone or social media? Do you monopolize conversations with your opinions? Do you interrupt?

(See Eccl. 10:11; Prov. 15:28; 29:20; Jas. 1:19).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

10.Are you reluctant to admit you are wrong? Do you fail to ask forgiveness? Do you refuse to admit your error when you feel the other person’s error is greater? (See Prov. 29:23; Jas. 5:16).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually
 

11.Do you betray a confidence? Do you repeat matters that you should keep private? If someone has failed or injured you, do you feel compelled to tell someone else about it? (See Prov. 6:19; 17:19; 19:11; 25:9-10)

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

12.Do you criticize? Do you find fault? Do you focus on the bad instead of the good? Do you see people’s shortcomings more than their strengths? (See Ps. 41:5; Rom. 1:30).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

13.Do you complain? Do you bewail the circumstances you find yourself in? Do you let others know that you resent being inconvenienced? (See Phil. 2:14).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

14.Do you make assumptions and assume the worst about other people’s motives and intentions? (See 1 Tim. 6:3-4; Prov. 29:20).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

15.Do you hold grudges? Do you bring up or focus on past wrongs? Do you accuse others? (See Prov. 11:12).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually
 

16.Are you sarcastic? Do you mock others? Do you use negative humor to put others down? (See Prov. 21:24; 9:7; 26:18-19).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

17.Are you malicious? Are your words intended to cut and wound? Are your words harsh? (See Prov. 11:12; 17:4; 15:1; 16:27).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

18.Are you insincere in your compliments? Do you flatter others for your own advantage? (See Prov. 26:28; 29:5).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

19.Is your speech filthy? Do you swear or use foul language? Do you use the latest slang or crass expressions? (See Prov. 4:24; 10:31-32; Col. 3:8).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

20.Do you fail to listen? Do you jump to conclusions before you are sure that you have heard and understood? (See Prov. 18:13; 19:20; Jas. 1:19).

❑never ❑ seldom ❑ occasionally

❑often ❑ habitually

Look back over your answers. Can you identify the three main areas in which your speech needs improvement?

 
 
© 2014 Mary A. Kassian. The 20 Questions are taken from Conversation Peace: The Power of Transformed Speech. LifeWay Press 

About the Author

Mary Kassian

Mary Kassian is an award-winning author, an internationally renowned speaker, and a frequent guest on Revive Our Hearts. She has written more than a dozen books and Bible studies including Conversation Peace and The Right Kind of Strong. Mary and her husband, Brent, have three grown sons and make their home in Alberta, Canada.