I've been reading his book Communicating for Life Change (borrowed from ISOT, di pa rin available sa bookstore). Ang dami kong natutunan sa pagkuha ng attention ng audience during preaching. Let me share some of his tips...
1. Check your speed. As a rule of thumb, faster is better. Meaning, faster than your usual conversations. Pag raw mabagal, parang di masyadong alam yung message.
2. Slow down on the curves. During transitions, say from intro to entering the Bible text or going into the conclusion, slow down. Para daw yung audience, kahit nawala na sila at some point in your message, maka-pick-up ulit sila. Medyo sakit ko ito - may times di ako tumatapak sa preno.
3. Add something unexpected. One time, during a message about life's interruptions, nagpa-brownout siya in the middle of the message. Buti na lang di siya nagpakidlat :o).
4. Err on being direct with your point. Wag na magpaligoy-ligoy pa. State your point, and state it again. Pag-uwi ng audience, dapat naka-take-out yung point mo.
5. Be a tourist guide thru the Bible text. One verse at a time lang. Don't leave a verse without giving a comment (frustration, skepticism, happiness, etc.), explanation, or highlight. Oo nga naman, di nga pala sila graduates ng seminary. Give signals that you're about to read the main point ("Eto na ha, pakinggan nyo maigi ito ha...") of the text. Explain odd words or phrases. Deliberately misread some text. Have the audience read certain words out loud. All in all, make it an enjoyable journey thru the text.
By the way, like Andy, may bar stool rin ako (see pic above). Sa totoo lang, it relaxes me and helps me to be more conversational in my sermon. When I want to highlight something, I stand up for more emphasis (dramatics!). I'm hooked to his preaching principles (one-point sermon, etc.), sana ISOT will consider his methods as an alternative lesson sa Preaching class.
Posts
