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American society is in the midst of a communications
explosion. All sorts of electronic and
print media vie for people’s attention.
Amid this cultural revolution, there you are, trying to communicate the
most important message of all time – the good news of Jesus Christ. How can you possibly compete? Following these 10 principles will ensure
greater impact for your preaching.
1. Believe in what you say. Ferdinand Foch said, “The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” All the crafting in the world can’t save a message that has no passion in it. If you can’t get excited about a subject, don’t preach on it.
2. Believe that people can change. Keep in mind that all great communicators have one thing in common: They expect their message to change lives.
3. Live what you say. Unless you have credibility, even the best content will get you nowhere. If you don’t live it, your listeners won’t either.
4. Know when to say it. Be observant of people’s reactions to your message. When you sense that people are receptive, it is time to ask for a response.
5. Know how to say it. Creativity greatly enhances communication. Use all the tools you can to make the message interesting and memorable: plays on words, acrostics, humor, stories, skits, music – all can help increase your impact. Avoid being too predictable. If people always know what you are about to say or how you will say it, they will tune you out.
6. Know why to say it. Develop an action-oriented thesis instead of a subject-oriented thesis. You’d be surprised by how many preachers expect their people to apply what they’ve learned without ever being asked to.
7. Have fun saying it. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Relax and show that you enjoy communicating your message. Nobody likes an uptight speaker.
8. Show it as you say it. People are visually oriented. Use body language, hand gestures, descriptive language and word pictures that bring life to what you are saying.
9. Say it so people can own it. People will not respond to a message that doesn’t seem to apply to them. Know your audience and make them a part of the message instead of mere observers.
10. Say it so people will do it. For people to act, four requirements must be met. They must have a receptive attitude, see the benefits of acting, understand how to act and be capable of acting. Even the best-planned and delivered message will be useless if the people don’t have a clear picture of how to carry it out.