There is nothing more frustrating than delivering a message to a group of disengaged teenagers. We wonder, “What’s the secret to getting teenagers to listen?”
Courtesy of Bilal Kamoon/Creative Commons License
There really isn’t a secret. In fact it takes time and energy to deliver a well crafted message. And while some people are more gifted than others the way you can improve on your message delivery is by:
Writing, creating and delivering a message takes a group of people. You need people helping you with research, editing your content and giving you feedback. It’s a humbling experience but very important.
When you share the effort of creating a message you can make sure you get to you point as efficiently and effectively as possible. When you share the effort you create a deeper voice that will impact more people. Message writing is a team effort.
You aren’t just speaking to teenagers. You are speaking to a specific generation at a specific time in a specific location. If you aren’t speaking to their lives then you will not grab their attention.
Know your audience by spending time with them outside the church. Talk with their parents and connect with community leaders. Discover what drives them and what holds them back. The more they feel like you know them the more they’ll listen to you.
Speaking with the end in mind means communicating clearly what you want teenagers to know and do. That means developing a bottom line and making sure teenagers embrace it.
Too often we are tempted to talk about everything and anything as if it’s the only time we’ll ever talk with teenagers. Take the time to know what it is you want to say and get to that point efficiently.
Writing a message is only part of the process. You need to practice your delivery and your posture. When you are confident with the material and your body language you’ll speak with authority. Block out time to practice, find people to give you feedback and work on perfecting your craft.
When you start pouring time into message delivery teens will notice. They’ll see that you care about their time and respond by living out what you are preaching. Just make sure it’s a priority.
[reminder] How do you prepare for a message? [/reminder]