Becoming a Better Preacher: Public Speaking Books are your Friend

This is part of a larger blog series on Becoming a Better Preacher.

Maybe it is because pastors are sometimes resistant to the business world.

Or preachers are afraid they won’t rely on the Holy Spirit.

Whatever the reason there is hesitancy from some when it comes to using the public speaking world to enhance their preaching.

Even if you aren’t predisposed against gaining insight from the business world it may not be the first place you look for help. However in using public speaking and presentation books you can step back and get some direction that will improve your communication skills.

You owe it to your community to be working on this.

It was either Good Friday or Memorial Day but the churches in the community I happened to be at that holiday would hold a collective worship service. Instead of sparsely attended services held out of obligation we pooled our people for one sparsely attended event held out of obligation.

Since it was a cooperative event another minister was speaking. He shared with one of my colleagues that he doesn’t use notes when he preaches and it quickly became clear that he hadn’t prepared at all. The meandering mess that followed included investment advice, political commentary, and comments on a supposed cure for cancer.

That’s the extreme but not taking steps to improve your craft as a communicator is selfish and lazy.

For me one book stands out: Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkum. It is funny, honest, and incredibly practical.

Whatever you read the important thing is that you branch out and find something that can help.

July 22, 2011 in Practical with 3 Comments

About Josh: Josh is a Rookie Pastor who works for a local church that he loves. He coordinates local lunch meet-ups with other Rookie Pastors in the Indianapolis area and loves to connect with other Rookie Pastors on and off line. It is his hope that Rookie Pastor will contribute to the health, longevity, and effectiveness of church leaders.

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3 Responses to “Becoming a Better Preacher: Public Speaking Books are your Friend”

simon July 25, 2011 at 9:31 am #

Really? That book?

Okay, I *completely* agree with your main point (Well I would, I’m a presentation and public speaking trainer!) but that book isn’t a training book… it’s a fun, entertaining, honest account of what it’s like on the road. There’s not a lot of advice or training in it. (I remember it well because Scot sent me one of the first review copies.)

Stuff that might help too, are books on voice, rather than presenting… any thing by Cicely Berry, for example (or even mine!) will give you a *shedload* of good stuff on how to protect your voice and how to get the best out of it.

Just a thought.

God bless….. Simon

Reply
- Josh July 25, 2011 at 10:04 am #
  
  Thanks for the suggestion.
  
  You are right about the book not being a training book. Still found it valuable for my purposes.
  
  Would love to hear more suggestions from people.
  
  Reply