6 Tips for Preaching (and Public Speaking) Without Using Notes
Over the course for the last six months, I've been on a journey of radically reducing the number of notes I use when preaching. At the beginning of this year, I had about five pages per sermon. I use an iPad for my notes, so I had my pages set horizontal with two columns per page. I had about 75-80% of what I was going to say in my notes, which was pretty much everything minus stories and illustrations I was going to use.I didn't stare at my notes the whole time, but they were all there if and when I need to reference them. But I didn't like having all those notes, and I found I connected much better with people the less I looked down. It was also hard not to look down when I had everything I needed to say in front of me.As I shared last Monday, two weekends ago was the first time I preached with zero notes. If you had told me six months ago I would have been able to do that that so soon, I wouldn't have believed you. Now, to be honest, I'm not sure I'm to the point where I can do that every week just yet, but I do think I'm close. So to those of you who preach, communicate, and speak publicly and want to significantly decrease the notes you use (and maybe use none at all), here are six tips from what I did to speak without notes.
1) I forced myself to take every step
Every time I significantly reduced the number of notes I took with me to preach, I had to commit to it and just go for it. It's kind of like having a baby; there is no time when you feel totally prepared, but when the baby comes you figure it out. I first went from five-ish pages down to three-ish pages. And then three-ish pages down to one page. I didn't feel ready either time, but I knew I was just going to have to do it. Finally, I went from less than a page to no notes at all.I was nervous every time, but once I did it I realized that I could actually do it and I never went back.
2) I started using a standard outline each week
I use to think templates and outlines would dumb down preaching/communicating and wouldn't actually move people to learn and to act. I was wrong. My tendency is actually to teach too much and give people too much information. Using an outline forced me to focus my content, share only the most important stuff, and has made it much easier for people to follow along and engage. Here is the outline I have been using:Intro/set up the tensionWhat do they need to know?Why do they need to know it?What do they need to do?Why do they need to do it?Bottom lineGospel/ConclusionSometimes certain parts of this outline move around, but knowing the flow of my messages helps me remember where the message is headed. And the great thing about the outline I use above is that it can be used for any type of public speaking, not just preaching.
3) I put more points on our screens
If you are preaching/speaking somewhere that doesn't have a projector or screen, this obviously won't help. But following the outline above, I have the "answer" to each one of those points up on our screens when I say them. This helps me to not have to actually memorize the whole sermon. Instead, these points simply remind me of what I'm going to say in each section.Now, instead of looking down at my notes for each point I am trying to make, I don't have to look down at all. I read the same thing everyone else is reading and keep going.
4) I committed to putting in the extra work
I used to think that as I gained more experience, speaking without notes would become easier. And while some aspects of public speaking certainly become somewhat easier as you develop your skill, I have found that I do have to work harder in order to internalize, somewhat memorize, and work toward knowing my sermon so I don't have to use notes. As you can imagine, that does take more work than knowing I can look down at my notes when I get off track (because I don't have any notes to look at!). It does take more work not to use any notes, but if you believe in what you are communicating the extra work is more than worth it.As we all know, when people make something look easy it's almost always because they put a lot of work into what they do. Speaking without notes makes it look like public speaking isn't that hard. But speaking (well) without notes only happens when you put in the work.
5) I have to be ok with forgetting something
There really is no way around it; communicating without using notes means you will most likely forget something. The good news is no one will know, and the better news it probably wasn't that important anyway. It's not that forgetting a story or point doesn't matter, but better connecting with your audience more than makes up for something you'll forget.
6) I'm having to learn to trust myself
This is probably the hardest part; trusting that you will remember/think of/not forget all you're trying to say. What if you normally speak for 30-35 minutes but end up only going 15 minutes? I get it, that's a legitimate fear. Which is why you must take steps toward reducing your notes so you get more comfortable. It would have been impossible for me to go from five pages of notes to zero. Over time, you'll begin to trust yourself more as you work on the skill of speaking without notes.Everyone's communication style is different, but with very few exceptions, the less you have to look down (at your notes) and the more you can look out (at people), the more impactful your message will be. Why? Because the more people can connect with a speaker, the more attention they will give to the speaker, and the more they will be able to take away.