I recently attended a two-day class entitled “Oral Communication for Technical Professionals” where we learned about public speaking. It was an intriguing class and while I find public speaking fascinating and enjoyable (though I still have to get over that nervousness), I am pretty sure that most people I know are terrified of giving a speech (or a talk in church for that matter). I wanted to pass on the information I gathered for two reasons: I know that many people reading this blog will probably be asked to give a talk in church in the near future and I have discovered that by sharing what I learn, I learn it better. Since the purpose of this blog is to help identify the best in life, I feel like this is a good topic–so that we can all improve our next church speaking assignment (or other public speaking opportunity if any of you are so lucky).
Let me share with you the common mistakes that people make in public speaking and apply that to speaking in church:
Preparation–obviously if the bishop asks you to speak the day before you have to stand up in Sacrament meeting and share your insights you don’t have much time to prepare. However, most bishops that I know are a little more considerate than that and will give you some time to prepare. Besides just preparing the content, it is also important to prepare the presentation. Practice what you will say and have an idea of the flow of information–how do your principles build on each other?
Objective–many speakers have a problem by speaking without a clearly identified objective. You should be able to complete this sentence “The purpose of my speech is to…” Why are you talking on this particular topic? What do you hope to accomplish? There should always be some action–if you are talking in Sacrament meeting then you should be encouraging and edifying those listening to you.
Information–many people try to put too much information in their speeches. Have you ever tried to analyze the General Conference talks? Most of the Conference addresses have only a few main points with some good stories or scriptures to back them up. While having a lot of content makes you appear more credible, I have always enjoyed the Sacrament talks where the speaker simply expressed 2-4 main points and clearly identified the relationship between them. In my opinion, you should spend your time preparing by making your talk flow–not by jamming in more content.
Oral variety–have you ever been in a meeting where the person giving the talk was monotone? They could be giving the Gettysburg address but no one is listening. The key here is to imagine that you are just having a conversation with a friend and let your intonation follow naturally. Don’t you find Sacrament talks more interesting when the person up front uses a conversational tone?
Needs of the audience–the bishop didn’t ask you to speak because you are a gospel scholar (unless, of course, he actually did). While I have found that often times I will learn most by preparing a talk, it is important that you consider the needs of the audience as well. Use your time wisely–nothing is worse than a speaker who goes longer than asked. Think about how you can best help your audience–giving a talk in church is not the time to show off how smart you are or how much information you have gathered–just share what is best for them (follow the Spirit).
Bore–I had to say it. Some times the talks we hear are just plain boring–so you are either falling asleep or your mind starts wandering. In my opinion, that is a less-effective talk. Even in church your talk can be entertaining (and still reverent!). Why does John Bytheway attract such large crowds when he gives talks? Because he is entertaining. Why does Pres Monson use stories all the time to teach gospel principles? Because it is interesting. There is definitely room for improvement in this category.
Body–in our class the teacher said that content only accounts for 7% of the message while your body language accounts for 58%. That is a huge difference! As you prepare your talks think about what your body is communicating and then relax–when you are talking with your friends in the hallways, you have a natural flow and you communicate with body language and all. The idea is to capture that same you and use it to share your message over the pulpit.
Bang–think about the best speakers that you know. How do they usually begin their message? The first 30 seconds is probably the most critical in capturing your audience’s attention–so tell a story, use a quote, or ask a rhetorical question in order to get your audience awake before you share your message with them. As you are preparing, think of how you can start with a bang in order to get the brain juice flowing. Keep in mind that you need to be reverent and that there are definitely restrictions when speaking in church but work within those limits to help your audience out–get started well and your talk will go that much better
What do you think of these suggestions? I want to make my speaking opportunities more interesting and so I hope to implement these suggestions the next time I have a chance. Have a prodigious week!
Finding the Best in Life 