This past Sunday, I woke up at a time that no reasonable person* should be awake at on a Sunday morning: 8:00 AM. Unable to return to sleep, I flipped through the channels, trying desperately to find something on the air to justify the early morning consciousness. As I had seen all of the infomercials that were on at the time, I opted for some good ol’ church TV. And what I saw was amazing.
Regardless of the station that I chose, the evangelists all seemed to be speaking in the same way. Though they had distinct personalities and stories to share, there were many unifying characteristics that highlighted not only their similarities, but also some core skills that can make a good public speaker.
So, with the oft-quoted statistic that public speaking is the #1 fear in America (at least) in mind, here are some tips brought to you by early morning church TV shows:
- Use a compelling narrative. Many of the televangelists would start their sermons with a story before drifting off into other lessons or smaller stories, but would consistently reference their earlier stories. In this way, they created a story and structure that was easy to follow and reinforced the points that they were trying to get across.
- Don’t be afraid to get physical. Televangelists will use a great deal of body language while telling their stories, making wild gestures and jumping around as necessary to provide a visual element for their audience, as well as a stronger nonverbal message.
- Create dynamic speaking patterns. Whether it’s changes in inflection and intonation, a different pronunciation of several words or even rhyming, televangelists make sure to have an auditory presence that keeps their audience rapt with attention and interested for longer.
- Audience participation bridges the gap. Many televangelists are celebrities in their own right, speaking to audiences of hundreds or even thousands. Some help to improve their images and seem more personable by using audience members a a cipher: they connect with these individuals on stage, which in turn makes the entire audience feel more connected to them.
- Break it down. During their sermons, the televangelists rarely (if ever) used words that had more than three syllables. Using simple language allowed them to be understood more clearly by their audiences and made their messages more accessible to viewers.
- Don’t be afraid to offer an opinion. Almost all of the televangelists were discussing the same piece of scripture, yet no two of them had the same perspective or lesson to share.
So the next time you find yourself awake at the absurd hour of 8:00 AM on a Sunday morning, take a few minutes to watch and listen to the televangelists. You might learn how to make a better presentation.
* Unless you’re at work, in which case it’s your job that’s unreasonable.
