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Fools Interrupt Wisdom
How to spot the fool in any room?
When my kids were young, I enjoyed going through the Where’s Wally? or Where’s Waldo? books with them. The idea was to find Wally (or Waldo) and his friends in a series of illustrations that depicted dozens or more people doing lots of amusing or crazy things.
In this article, we’re not talking about finding Wally or Waldo. We’re talking about how to spot the fool.
It’s often very easy.
The fool is usually the one who interrupts other speakers.
This is especially the case when it comes to speakers who are offering lots of knowledge and wisdom.
The Book of Proverbs has a lot to say about fools, including:
- “A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.” (Proverbs 18:2, KJV)
- “A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.” (Proverbs 29:11, KJV)
- “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” (Proverbs 10:19, KJV)
Fools talk a lot. They don’t listen well. They love to interrupt because they like being the center of attention and having people hang on to their words even when (often especially when) they don’t have anything of value to say.
If you don’t want to be the fool in the room, follow this advice:
- Don’t interrupt.
- Listen more. Talk less.
- When you listen, listen to understand — not simply to respond.
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