Improve Your Speaking

Worst time to give me advice is right after a message.  I’m tired, drained and I just want to go home; but this is what this one volunteer did.  He was trying to be helpful, telling me the students wanted a shorter message; however, it didn’t come off that way.  I refused to listen to him; however, he was right.  I needed to improve because the teens were disengaged.

Courtesy of hopefuldz9er/Creative Commons License

Whether you are giving messages, running meetings or leading a workshop you are going to have times when you need to speak in front of a crowd.  If you do not embrace this responsibility and fine tune the craft you’ll find people leaving.  

Bottom Line: Youth ministers are public figures that need to know how to publicly speak.  

To improve your speaking you need to make sure you:

• Find That Length – How long you should speak to students is an often debated issue.  While I aim to preach for about 20 minutes, I think it depends on your audience.  Know their attention limitations and time it out.  Nothing is worst than flooding out your key point by talking too much.

• Record It – Athletes will watch game tape, over and over again to improve their play.  As a speaker you need to watch and listen to yourself.  This way you can gauge body language, inflection and pace.  It doesn’t have to be a hollywood set, just ask someone to set up a video camera.  When you watch yourself on video you will notice things you did not know you were doing. It might be humbling; however, it’s extremely helpful.

• Share It With Others – Send out a draft of your message to those you trust to give you a fair critique.  If possible try to practicing in front of peers who will give you insight.  Sharing you message with others shows that you care about your audience and their reaction.

• Learn From The Experts – You need to research some of your favorite speakers and than dissect how they prepare and deliver.  When you learn from others you can look at comedians, or preachers.  Two resources that have helped me are Preaching Rocket and TEDTalks.  By watching and learning from other speakers you will receive insight on how to effectively communicate.

Practice this craft, make it one of your biggest responsibilities and you’ll turn your ministry into a movement.

How do you fine tune your speaking? What tips would you give others?