After
my last e-newsletter, about my upcoming free e-class, I've been thinking about what makes a talk powerful.
As I've been thinking about it, I've realized a powerful talk is way more than just WHAT we say. But the funny thing is that is the one part most people focus on!
What I've decided is that a powerful talk contain 4 components. I want to share them with you today...
"4 Components That Make Up A Powerful Talk"
1. Annointing - You need the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth he wants you to speak on. He has to give you the ideas on how to express this truth. He has to annoint the words when you speak.
Without this your talk is just a speech. It's not a sermon. It's not life-changing.
If you don't seek the Holy Spirit and let him guide you through the rest of the preparation, then the next 3 things I'm about to mention won't matter. Remember that!
2. Content - This is what you're going to talk about. In order for your talk to capture your student's attention and lead them in the right direction, you need to have the right content. You
need to focus on the right topics. You need the right Bible passage(s).
Not only that, you need to add the right stories, quotes, stats, etc. to connect with your students and encourage them to respond and live out what you're talking about.
Don't get me wrong. Content matters!
But Content is the part that most people focus on and forget the next two things.
And these next two things will impact your content and your "audience" in a huge way.
The correct use of these next two things can make your content really hit home or the incorrect usage can dull your content and sometimes cause you to strike out.
3. Structure - This is how you're going to put together the content. This has to do with how you start, how you transition from one idea to the next, and how you close the whole talk.
Certain ways you structure certain talks will make them more powerful. Other ways you could structure the same talk might have way less impact.
You can think of this as the skeleton of your talk. This is the part that isn't obvious to your students, but it's the part that holds the whole thing together.
If you aren't aware of the structure that you usually use and how it's helping or hurting your talks, then begin paying attention to it.
Learn new ways to structure your talks or learn subtle things you can add to improve your talks.
4. Presentation - This is how present the content to your students. This component emcompasses the visuals (object lessons or media), the verbal portion (the tone of your voice is one example), and your body language (body posture or motions).
Once you get the content and the structure down, lack of focus on this component can still cause your talk to stall out.
Want some examples of how this can happen? A person who had some really good things to say, but keeps saying "Um", "Ahhh", etc. every third word has a presentation that distracts you from their content!
Another classic example is a person who has something important to say, but they present it in such a monotone way it puts you to sleep!
And those two things just focus on the verbal portion of presentation!
Imagine how improving not just the verbal, but also the visual and body language portions of presentation can take your talk to a whole other level.
How can you improve your presentation?
One way is that you might want to video record one of your talks just so you can listen and watch how your presentation adds or subtracts to what you have to say.
You can also pay attention to how speakers that you like present their content.
YOUR OPINION:
What do you think about these 4 components? Do you agree? Can you think of any I left out? **Post your comments below and let me know!
If you like this post, then please tell your youth pastor friends about it!
You can link to it on your blog, tweet about it, or email it to them.
By the way, people have already begun signing up for my free e-class that will reveal to them a formula that can improve the presentation of their talks. This will focus on verbal portion of your presentation.
If you haven't signed up yet, I'd love to have you a part. It's next Thursday, Nov. 5th. Here are the details again, in case you need them...
New FREE E-Class: "A Simple Formula To Easily Improve Your Talks"
(THE FORMULA: 4P + V = Improved Talks)
When: Thursday, November 5th @ 10am PST/1pm EST Duration: Approx. 45 minutes
Cost: Nada - just your time
Where: Online! In my virtual classroom. Sign-up at the link below and you'll be emailed the link for the class.
Who Can Attend?: Any youth pastor.
You ARE allowed to invite fellow youth pastor friends.
How Many Can Attend?: A lot! The class can hold 500 people, so we should have plenty of people, but I do have over 500 with the combined email lists of people who have taken a sneak peek at the ebook or purchased the ebook.
*I'll allow people who have bought the ebook to have priority and sign-up FIRST, but after that I will open it up to everyone on all of the lists - including friends.
**How Do You Sign-Up?**If you would like to join the others who have already signed up to attend this virtual class, then here's all you have to do...
Go to this link and enter your name and email.
http://www.lasting-student-ministry.com/eclassOnce you do that, then click the link in the confirmation
email that you'll automatically receive and you're set!
*Don't forget to leave your comments about the 4 components below and/or pass the link to this post on to your friends! Thanks.
