8 Things I Have Learned From Preaching Every Week
As someone who preaches almost every week, I have a lot of opportunities to learn and grow in the area of public speaking. And while I still have much to learn, I've also learned a few things doing what is considered by many as the number one fear people have: public speaking.
In my journey of trying to become
1) Experience isn't the only thing you need to get better
When we first started New City is assumed I would get better just by having the opportunity to speak every week. While it is true that experience is important, experience alone will not get you to where you want to be.
After about nine months of being frustrated at my lack of growth, I decided to actually do something about it. I bought an online course on
2) Nervousness does go away (or at least greatly reduces)
To be fair, I think your personality does play into this. But I remember thinking when I first started preaching (and even after New City Church started) how I enjoyed speaking, but I was still nervous to do it. Especially when I first started, there were times I didn't want to get up in front of people at all. I wondered if that would ever go away, especially because I would hear other people talk about how excited they were to preach or teach every time they did it.
The good news is that transition does eventually happen. I no longer get nervous at all, though I still feel the weight of wanting it to go well (especially when you're praying it will help people connect more with Jesus).
3) Improvement is much slower than you would hope it would be
Perhaps the most frustrating thing for me when it comes to preaching and public speaking is knowing exactly what areas you are wanting to and trying to improve in, and still struggling with those some areas.
Whether it be pacing, or storytelling, or humor, or your introductions, or something else, I can't tell you how many times (often while speaking) I'm thinking to myself "man I just messed that up again!" When you know what needs to be improved, but are still seemingly making no progress, it's frustrating. It's not that you aren't getting any better, you just wish it could happen much faster than it often does.
4) Humor is important
The best way to not only connect with people but also push through barriers people have is to make them laugh. This is something I am learning about and working to get better at. One thing I have learned however is that it isn't true that people can't be funny. Yes, some are more naturally funny, but humor is a skill that can be improved upon.
Humor also draws people in when you want to make an important or impactful point. Some of the most penetrating moments I have had while speaking have been using humor to set up a point I am trying to make. Not only are people more apt to listen to you when you make them laugh
5) People laugh and connect with things you often don't expect
I remember when I was newer to preaching/public speaking and quite frankly getting thrown off and distracted at some of the things people would laugh at or really connect with. I would be so surprised that people thought something was funny that I didn't expect and would lose focus or talk right over everyone instead of giving people a second to re-focus.
Now that I know this is a thing that happens, I'm no longer impacted by it in a negative way. But it took a while to learn how to lean into those unexpected moments rather than run right through them or allow them to fluster me.
6) Less information is more
I remember when I first started preaching having this desire to share with people everything there is to know about a certain Biblical text or idea. The reality is people don't want a lecture and they won't remember it all anyway.
Instead, it is more impactful to draw out the most helpful or relevant information, and not give people too much they have to try and remember or do. This is why boiling down your sermon or message into one bottom line or main point is one of the best things you can do. That way, you can tell people what you want them to know or do and not have them leave guessing what it is you want them to take away.
7) You have way more time than you think you do
Especially for more inexperienced speakers, time seems to rapidly speed up when you're on stage in front of people. A one-second pause can feel like a ten-second break. This leads to talking too fast, never giving people a moment to breathe, and plowing through comedic moments or pauses that that otherwise would help you emphasize something you are trying to say.
For me personally, it took a while for things to "slow down" while preaching, but I was glad when it did!
8) If it looks easy, it's because it's not
I used to think good communicators were good simply because they were gifted at it. While it is true that gifting does impact how good one can be, like anything in life, those who are really good at something are so because they worked hard at it.
Even for me, I work harder on my sermons now than I ever have while (hopefully) being at least somewhat better than I used to be. As I mentioned above, any improvement I have made these last two years has been equally because of opportunity to speak almost every week and because of the extra effort I have put in.
BONUS FREE RESOURCE
If you are wanting to some tips on how to be a better communicator I've got some good news! Over at Practical Church Planting, we have created a free online preaching course created to give you practical tips on how to write, prepare, and preach better sermons. While the course is designed for preachers, much the material is applicable to public speaking in general.