Written By: Cyndi Maxey, MA, CSP, Maxey Creative Inc. Communication that Drives Profitable Performance. www.CyndiMaxey.com, Blog - www.CyndiMaxey.com/Blog
"Life doesn't have MUCH to do with living in the land of CERTAINTY, but it does have MUCH to do with living in the land of HOPE."
I hastily scribbled these words in my program during a church service. After the pastor repeated this same phrase three times I noted he was using two great speaking devices: EMPHASIS and REPETITION - the perfect choice for the Easter sermon, which is normally attended by “less than regular” churchgoers.
He continued…
“And the tomb was rolled away. And they said,” (PAUSE) “SHHHH!” (Finger to lips) “Let’s not tell anyone,” (PAUSE) and they didn’t. (KNOCKING ON PULPIT) (SHARP HAND CLAP) “Peter’s out the door.”
He was also a master of SOUND EFFECT, GESTURE, AND PAUSE.
And he knew how to BEGIN.
He had begun with a joke about a retiring pastor whose secretary was valiantly seeking his title for the Easter sermon to type in the program. Finally he turned to her and quipped, “Oh just call it…Another Easter Sermon.
And he knew how to END:
“Let me share one more story with ‘ya and then I’m gonna quit.”
And that’s exactly what he did. He made many very good presentation choices for a crowd of “sometimes” churchgoers. He grabbed the large audience that he had and pulled them in.
And here’s what great preachers know and all speakers can learn: no matter the content you must deliver, there are three keys to getting the audience to listen:
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