What Level of Communicator Are You?
I attended a live coaching event recently with Nelson Searcy and Roy Mansfield (small group pastor at NorthStar Church), and I’d like to share over the next few posts a few of the key nuggets.
Nelson Searcy said something that really bothered me in one of the talks: “The number of people that you’re currently speaking to may be proportional to the level of communicator that you are.” In other words, what level of communicator are you? Are you a 50 person speaker? Or are you a 20,000 person speaker. In my mind, I’m a 1,000 person speaker, but according to this metric, right now I’m just about a 90 person speaker. This hurts me because I’ve always thought of myself as a better speaker. But I think there’s truth to that statement. After all do we get invited to speak before very large crowds? There’s probably a reason for that.
I was reminded that any athlete after a game will always watch the game tape. Why? They want to review their performance. They want to analyze how they did and how they can improve. And yet how often do we as speaker and leaders go back and watch the “game tape.” I admit that I rarely do.
Later that afternoon I was dialoguing with several other participants, and we began sharing ideas and different resources concerning how we can become better communicators. A popular resource that was shared was Preaching for Life Change by Rick Warren. The other is the book Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley.
I downloaded the Rick Warren resource and began listening to it, and immediately recognized the reason why he speaks to about 20,000 people a week. He said that it’s always been one of his goals to be a master communicator/preacher. Just on the subject of preaching he has over 350 books, which is more books than most seminaries have on the topic of preaching. It’s something that he’s always seeking to improve and become better at.
So I think I will be spending some more time watching the “game tape” from now on. After all, this game is sort of important.
How about you? How would you rate yourself as a speaker? What are some resources that you recommend? How have you become a better speaker?
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Interesting post, Rodlie. I wonder if the question we should be asking is if we are faithful to God's Word as a speaker rather than being able to entertain a large crowd of 20,000. We can be the best speaker in the world, but if we are teaching ideas and values that are crowd-pleasing and not God's, what's it worth? I don't know if we are all called to speak to 10, 20, or 30,000 people. But I do know we are called to be faithful to God's word. I know that wasn't the point of your post, but just thought I would throw it in there. What I do to help myself become a better speaker is listen to other speakers who I enjoy listening to and then try to adapt their concepts and styles into my own public speaking. Speakers I listen to are Dwight Nelson, Andy Stanley, and Dr. Morris.
Yeah, I think that it does have to begin with that. I think that's the exegesis part of studying God's Word and seeking to understand what it meant to them. I think the communicating part deals with where it goes from there. How do I communicate the truth of God's Word? It can be communicated in amazing ways that "prick the hearts" of the people, or it can be done in really lame ways that actually discourages people, and points people away from the central message of the Bible, which is transformation through Jesus Christ. So we completely have to be faithful in both areas. One is the message, and the other is method. I actually haven't heard too much of Andy Stanley. Thanks for mentioning him. I just ordered his book and want to read it. And oh yes, Dr. Morris is always the bomb. One of the clearest and most powerful preachers out there. Keep preaching!
I just want to reinforce the recommendation to read Communicating for a Change, by Andy Stanley. It's a very quick read, but Stanley's insights on preaching influenced me more than any other book I've read on the topic. I don't do much preaching now that I'm back in school, but when I was preaching more frequently, I did a three things that helped me improve as a communicator. First, I taught others how to preach. I taught an academy Bible elective class, in which I taught students how to exegete a text, prepare a sermon, and preach it. It helped me mostly because I was forced me to practice what I taught. (I mean, how can you tell someone, "Good preachers speak extemporaneously," when each week you take a stack of notes to the pulpit with you?) Second, I encouraged my wife to evaluate my preaching. There's nothing like an honest wife (or husband) to keep you on your toes. She was not afraid to ask me after a sermon, "So, what was your point?" She was especially good at letting me know when my sermons had no practical application. In fact, after the last sermon I preached, she said, "You did a great job. What you said was very engaging, and I agreed with what you said . . . but I'm still trying to figure out what to do with what you said." I've since re-written that sermon. Yeah, my wife is awesome. Finally, I always preached without notes, even when I didn't feel ready to preach without notes. This may not sound all that helpful, but it was the single most important thing that kept my preaching Spirit-led. It became customary for me to say this prayer before a sermon: "Lord, I'm not ready at all. My mind is fuzzy . . . I can't even remember my conclusion! But I trust that You will speak in spite of my weaknesses." And He always did. Always. The times when I felt most unprepared were the times when members of my congregation would approach me afterward, and say, "I don't know how, but I felt like you wrote that sermon specifically for me." (By the way, don't get me wrong. I spend hours and hours and hours preparing to preach. However, there are times when I feel unprepared in spite of all my preparation. I'm sure you know the feeling.) Sorry, I said too much. I also broke Andy Stanley's rule of communication with my three-point presentation. Hmmm… I guess I need to work on that.
So how come I'm the last person to hear about this book?
I'm pretty excited that I just got it in the mail. One of the other guys in the coaching network recommended it to me. Luke, you have to hook me up with that class. I want to do a class in the next two months. Never done one before, so I'd love to learn from your materials. Thanks for the other insights. I'm actually still working on the preach without notes thing. I have the manuscript up there with me. Barely look at it at all, but I'd love to not have anything, or just have a simple outline. Like you said, it is so much more powerful when you're not thinking about what's on a piece of paper. I saw Bill Hybels preach one time on DVD and he had notes. Then I saw Rick Warren preach on dvd, it was a master sermon indeed and he had no notes. It made a huge difference!
Yeah, I'd be happy to share the curriculum with you. It's actually based on Stanley's book. The first year the class was offered, I used Robinson's classic, but it was over the heads of the students. Stanley's book is more ideal for lay preachers. It's a fun read, and it teaches principles and practices that are easy to apply.