When it comes to student ministry, my favorite role is communicating. I find so much joy and fulfillment in brainstorming series, writing content, speaking, and developing the other teachers on our student ministry team.
Over time, I’ve learned quite a bit about teaching–from trial and error, listening, mentors and from attempting to formalize my method so that I can help others improve. Over the next couple of weeks I want to share some of the secret sauce. Here’s lesson number one…
One of the most important skills a speaker can develop is the ability to view the communication as a conversation. In other words, this is more than a presentation, sermon or lesson. This is a relational connection. There is so much more going on than content exchange. Think about it: Whenever you listen to a sermon or presentation (and you’re actually listening) there is a conversation running in your head. You say things like:
- “I’m not sure I agree with that.”
- “Wow. I know exactly what she’s talking about.”
- “I’m not sure I like this person.”
- “How did he know exactly what is going on in my life?”
- “Why is he still talking?!?!”
A master communicator knows how to tap into this conversation and even guide it.
The internal conversation begins as soon as you step on the stage or in front of the class. The first questions everyone asks are:
- “Do I trust this person?”
- “Why should I keep listening?”
How do we tap into the internal conversation and guide it? Give your audience the answers to these questions as they are asking them.
DO I TRUST THIS PERSON?
When I’m sitting in a coffee shop, writing an introduction for a teaching or presentation, I’m asking myself, “How can I connect with my audience so that they feel like they know me and trust me.” This usually involves a personal story that connects with the overall topic and demonstrates some vulnerability and understanding. In a few days, I will be teaching on conflict in friendships. My introduction includes a personal story about a friendship from college that meant the world to me, but I accidentally wrecked it. The story relates to the topic and builds trust with my audience because I am vulnerable, real, and demonstrate an actual working knowledge about the topic. My story builds trust.
WHY SHOULD I KEEP LISTENING?
Now, about the second question: It takes energy to focus. It takes discipline to engage with a communication on a heart level. And we all checkout when we feel like the teacher or presenter is talking about something that doesn’t actually matter or doesn’t relate to our lives. As a teacher, it is easy to blame the audience for not paying attention but here’s the thing: It isn’t the job of the audience to pay attention. It’s the job of the communicator to capture their minds.
So, the task for a communicator is to convince the audience that they NEED to stay engaged. As my friends at Orange say, “you have to create tension.” You’ve created tension when your audience’s internal conversation says:
- “I need to know this.”
- “He’s right, I don’t understand this issue.”
- “This topic could change XYZ in my life.”
A great introduction creates tension. It answers the question everyone in the room is asking, “Why should I keep listening?” In my teaching about friendships, I will say, “I’m not the only one who has wrecked a friendship am I? We all have someone in our lives who was a close friend. Is there a way we can navigate conflict in our relationships without blowing up the friendship? This is what we’re going to talk about tonight…”
A great introduction answers two questions everyone is asking, “Do I trust this person” and “Why should I keep listening.” Think about it: Within the first few minutes, every great movie convinces you to root for the protagonist and care about the tension.
- You fall in love with Nemo and care about whether or not he will find his dad.
- You think Matt Damon is hilarious and really don’t want him to die alone on Mars.
- You root for Forrest and want him to win Jenny’s heart.
Every great movie answers these two questions and so should every presentation or teaching. Just remember two words: trust and tension.
But here’s the thing, from what I’ve learned, your injection of tension only lasts for 5-7 minutes. Then, the audience’s mind start wandering again. Then what do you do? I’ll share some ideas in my next post.
image credited to wisepig via Flickr
