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Better Communication Skills
As a pastor, I preach and teach the Bible regularly, but I don’t always feel that I am connecting with the people. I observe other ministers who really seem to communicate and connect effectively with their audience. Can some experienced pastors share some thoughts with me about how to be a better communicator and how to really connect with my people? I know to “preach the Word” and to “be anointed,” but I guess I’m looking for other insights—maybe even natural things—on becoming a better public speaker.
Responses:
Pastor Jeff Walker – Palm Springs, CA
A few thoughts that I share with up and coming preachers:
1. Never preach a sermon....preach a MESSAGE. What is the message God is giving you for the people?
2. Before you preach, ask yourself, "So what?" about the message. Will it answer questions that people are asking? Meet needs that are real in people's lives? Are you scratching where the itch is?
3. Do you have enough stories and illustrations to hold people's interest? Brother Hagin used to say stories are windows into your message. Use personal anecdotes, current events, a good Biblical illustration or your own parable.
4. Are you preaching too long? Three rules: STAND UP TO BE SEEN; SPEAK OUT TO BE HEARD; SIT DOWN TO BE APPRECIATED. Abraham Lincoln was asked how long he took to prepare his speeches. He replied, "For a ten minute speech, two weeks. For a twenty minute speech, one week. If you want me to ramble on for an hour, I can do that right now."
5. Don't "wander" into your sermon. Start strong. Preach strong. End strong.
6. Tell 'em what you're gonna to tell 'em. Tell 'em. Tell 'em what you told 'em.
7. Oral Roberts says about preaching, "I study myself full. I pray myself anointed. I hear from God directly in my Spirit. And, I preach fresh new sermons from my study of the Word and from my own life experiences." (from Still Doing the Impossible, p. 41)
8. One model of preaching I learned in seminary was: HOOK; BOOK; LOOK; TOOK. The "hook" involves capturing the interest of your audience. Possible rhetorical questions like, "Have you ever experienced......" or an interesting story to draw people in. The "book" is the application of God's Word to the situation or need your message is addressing. The "look" explains how your message will look in the everyday living of your hearer. The "took" is a call to action on the part of your listener. (Faith without "works" or the "took" is dead.) (From R. Radcliffe, copyright1987)
9. Be mindful of the different learning styles. The more variety of media used (e.g. skits, movie clips, overhead notes, handouts, etc.) the more likely you will be to "speak" to each learning style.
10. Have audience members "participate." People retain about 15% more information if they are doing something germane to the subject matter while listening. You can hurt yourself here, as well. If you push this idea too far, many will be uncomfortable, so consider participation requests thoughtfully.
Pastor Joe Cameneti – Warren, Ohio
Most are familiar with the cornerstones of effective and impacting communication: research, prayer, note preparation, and practicing our delivery (Not all necessarily in this order). Maybe we cover them in different ways based on our personalities or gifting, but all of us are familiar with what it takes to leave the audience wanting more.
Over the last 25 years, I’ve discovered two amazing keys that have increased my level of communication impact even further! They fall under the categories of research and communication, and they have literally revolutionized the way I approach my calling to communicate God’s word any time I take the platform!
Note preparation isn’t something that exactly gets the visionary juices flowing in most communicators, but it is the undeniable bedrock in the building of an effective message. Several years ago I was introduced to an approach called CAPSIA. This model is an acronym that reminds us of the six things every message must include if we are looking to truly impact the listener. The difference made was a big one! Here’s what it looks like:
| Central Point | |
| Attention Getter | |
| Problem | |
| Solution | |
| Illustration | |
| Application |
I’ll be honest. Implementing this model was at first very awkward, but it eventually became as natural as breathing. It brought a clarity to my messages, and that in turn increased their impact. It gave purpose to every moment on the platform - not wasting one second of the people’s time and painting a picture that helped them capture the heart of God! Here’s what it might look like:
Before you begin to put your sermon outline together, you must first ask yourself what exactly the Central Point will be. Determining this up front and sticking to your guns is so essential in eliminating confusion and frustration as the real content is plugged into your outline. It will keep you from going down rabbit trails that stray further and further from what God is trying to say through you to begin with! You know the type… those rabbit trails that anger and confuse the crowd while simultaneously convincing them you have a learning disability!
On the other hand, we always want to remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit while delivering a message, allowing for small or big deviations from our outline. But let’s not blame our ADD on the Holy Spirit! Find the Central Point, and stick to it!
I strive to open every message with an Attention Getter. Something that will convince the listener that I’m worth listening to for the next 25 minutes! In preparing my notes, I often ask God to remind me of a life-experience, relationship or illustration that will set the tone for the rest of the message. This helps in tying the message together as well, bringing the congregation from my problem to the solution, and most importantly, showing them how it applies to them. This is relevance in its most basic form!
If you’re looking for some good examples, you can check out a series I just finished on the subject of renewing the mind. It’s called
“Synapse: rethinking thinking.” Every lesson in the series grabs you with an engaging Attention Getter, and it really sets the tone for the rest of the message and series. It sounds funny, but I’ve found that one of the best indicators of a message’s impact is the compliments from parents whose Jr. High students love my stories. Their parents tell me that they can’t stop talking about them through the week. Now tell me that’s not an attention getter!
As I mentioned above, it really does help people remember at a higher level if you can present a Problem that needs solved. I typically present the Problem shortly after my Attention Getter. Once you know your Central Point it’s all the easier to identify this Problem (Step 3 in CAPSIA) that is ultimately in need of a Solution (Step 4 in CAPSIA).
When teaching Synapse, I presented a Problem in one lesson that many Christians could relate to. I talked about Christians who pray, worship and do everything possible to walk in the Spirit, yet still sin. They can worship for 30 minutes, feeling ready to conquer the world, and commit a major sin not two hours later. Of course the Solution to this common struggle is to renew our minds! If we don’t, we’ll always struggle with sin, no matter how long we pray or worship. Sharing this Problem on the front end of the lesson created all the more pay-off when the Solution was finally presented. People are always more interested in listening when we make it about their problems first and then God’s solutions!
A great way to really give your ideas some “staying power” is by giving an Illustration in the middle of your message! I like to do this after I share and explain the key Scriptures for that particular lesson. A real life Illustration is always the best, but it is equally powerful to share someone else’s story if you are lacking one. This will help people see the Central Point more clearly.
There should always be a time and setting in your church for lessons laced with Bible history or knowledge. We like to do this on our Wednesday night services. It allows for a longer time slot and it takes place on the same night as our student services so that there is something for the whole family.
On the weekends, however, it is so important to deliver a message that goes beyond just information. Messages need to be applicable to life when we’re talking to the unchurched and those new to God (Think Jesus’ Parables).
In short, our people should never walk away thinking “So what?” We’ve got to ask ourselves, “What is the Application?” “How can they walk outside 5 minutes after service and start doing based on what they are hearing?”
Bottom line, if people can walk away knowing how to implement the message into their week, you’ve done your job! I always purpose to answer the “So what” at the end of every message (This way no one has to ask it).
The CAPSIA Model was definitely a challenge, but I would recommend it to anyone. I promise it will only take you to another level in communicating the heart of God!
The second thing that has made a major impact on communication within our church is the forming of a Creative Team to help me in doing just that… creating. We assembled writers, graphic artists, video production people and others who have a creative bent, and turned them loose on the weekend series.
As you can imagine, this was very awkward for me and just a little scary at that. After all, I had to turn over my messages to a team that was, on average, half my age! After 20 years of doing it on my own, I had to open myself to hear other’s opinions. But what a positive difference it made!
Everyone will use their creative team differently, and no one way is the standard. I come to my creative team with a simple series idea that is only in a rough outline form, and from there we develop a series. In the case of “Synapse,” I sat with them and said, “I want to teach on the subject of renewing the mind. Here are my five points I want to get across. Let’s package it in a way that will be unlike anything we’ve done before.”
By meeting’s end, we came away with an incredible concept for the series (Mentioned above) and an awesome title for each lesson! And not only that, my graphic artist and video producer left with inspiration for a look for the series!
Years before, I had taught on renewing the mind, and I called it, you guessed it, “Renewing the Mind!” This time, there was a diagram of the human brain projected on the scrim behind me as I spoke. The video intro was so cool, and my messages were much more creative! The difference in impact when you strategically place creative people around you is definitely noticeable! This team can include paid staff or volunteers, and it can be used at any budget level.
These are two things that have added impact to my messages, and I trust they will bless your life!
Pastor JD Henderson – Portland, OR
As I think about connecting with people from the pulpit, four main things come to mind that I think help.
1. Transparency
People need hope that they can do all and be all God has destined them to be. We have to be careful how much we share about our personal lives, but people need to know that we are ministering “to” them but that we are also working it out “with” them. Sometimes, I will make a vague comment like, “hey anybody else raising teenagers, let’s all pray in the Spirit”. I do it in a way that is good natured and doesn’t embarrass my family. It brings a chuckle from everyone, but they know what I mean. I will at times mention past issues that Lori and I worked through early in our marriage. These are tasteful and I only touch the surface but it gives people hope.
2. Humor
Use your style of humor. For me, I don’t do canned jokes as well as I do just impromptu things that come to mind about life that I find funny. I read jokes like others do, but some of the best humor has been the kind like you would tell a story when out to dinner with friends. Humor brings down the defenses of new people or people that aren’t sure what the whole church thing is about. People will let their defenses down when humor is used and it makes it easier to communicate heart issues that otherwise might not penetrate those defenses.
3. Simplicity
Some may disagree, but I think there are a couple of scriptures that talk about staying with the simplicity of Christ, like 2 Corinthians 1:12 and 2 Corinthians 11:3 where the Greek word here might be translated “singleness” or “single devotion” toward Christ. I believe the message is that things don’t have to be complicated, heavy, or deep to communicate who Jesus is and what He wants for our lives. Sometimes we may feel the pressure to impress people with a new “heavy revy” when they really just need to solve some problem with their family or at work. People may not remember what you said last week, let alone 3 months ago. Keep it simple and direct. You will find most people want you to be straight with them. My wife and I recently did a night with only couples where we did a team teaching concerning sex and intimacy in marriage – we were tasteful and Biblical but very direct and people liked it. We even took questions at the end…hello…that was interesting.
4. Sincerity
Be yourself – I make a lousy TD Jakes, Bro. Hagin, Jesse Duplantis or Joel Osteen, but I can do a reasonable job of being me. People can tell when we are trying to be someone else. They can better connect with you when you are you. Obviously there are areas we can all change but your basic personality is going to come out in your preaching/teaching style and people want you to be you. I have had so many people come to our church and say, “I like you because you are funny.” Well, I wish it was my amazing silver tongued oratory, or my laser beam focus and accuracy concerning etymology, or my deep, profound Biblical revelations – but for me, they say I’m funny… embrace who you are. You will find that faking is really hard work. You should be the same person when God is using you in your gifting as when we see you in the grocery store – that connects with people.
