Once Upon a Time: the Story of Introductions

One of my favorite parts of message-development is working on the introduction. It used to be the first thing I tackled but now I've learned to save it for later...it's sometimes even the last thing I write. I just find it much more interesting to introduce a message that I've gotten to know than a message I haven't really met yet.

To me, the introduction is the Once Upon a Time...it doesn't tell the whole story, but it invites us to know more. It leads us to a beautiful (or funny or scary or ugly) door and then turns the handle, urging us to step through and find out what's waiting on the other side. At its best, the introduction poses a question or a problem that we can all understand and relate to. It sets each of us off on our own search for the answer or the solution.

I once taught about unforgiveness and how it keeps us in emotional prison. As I wrote the message, I kept hearing in the back of my head, "Take the keys and lock her up..." That's a line everyone knows and it's frankly a little creepy which is exactly what I wanted. Because hey - if in the first five minutes of a my message people are thinking:

unforgiveness = creepy prison cell

...big WIN! They've already done most of the speaking work for me! My intro, therefore, was a quick review on the crazy and sometimes violent rhymes that we teach to our adorable and unsuspecting children...and the last one I mentioned was London Bridges which transitioned perfectly into the main theme of the message. The line "take the keys and lock her up" also became a mini-mantra that made an appearance a couple of times during the message as well as at the very end.

I think that speakers often give too much set up in the beginning. Let's look again:

"Today, we're going to talk about forgiveness and how it sets you free from emotional prison and we're going to look at how Joseph was able to get out of prison and forgive his brothers and then I'm going to invite you to forgive people who have hurt you as well."

It's truth. And it's definitely what the message will be about, but it doesn't intrigue or invite me into the story. It gives all the answers before convincing me that there's a question.

A good introduction is worth its 4 minutes of weight in gold...and the real gold of public speaking is "eyes up front" (i.e. attentiveness). Every speaker has to earn credibility (that's another post) and the attention of her audience (that's this post, in case you stopped paying attention.) The introduction is a powerful chance to launch a lovely lasso and draw your listener into the heart of what God wants to say.

What do you think? Do you like intros? Loathe them? Struggle with them? Think they're a necessary evil? Do tell!

5 Ways to avoid picturing people in their underwear

I would love to know what knucklehead first came up with the idea for scared speakers, "Just picture everyone in their underwear." In what universe is being surrounded by nearly-naked people more relaxing? It's truly terrible advice.

The thing is, though, that no matter how many times I speak, I generally deal with nerves at some point in the process. Here are some things I've discovered that have worked:

1. THIS IS WAR
God picked David to take out Goliath and He has - for whatever reason - asked you to tackle this speaking assignment. Close your eyes for a minute and imagine all the things that might have been going through His heart when He chose you to communicate His truth to this particular group. How might you grow from it? How might they? How can He be glorified, even in the middle of your anxiety?

2. COURAGE IS POWERFUL
I've found that instead of asking Him to take away all the fear, it's sometimes more effective to simply ask for the gift of courage. Jesus didn't promise His disciples that He would remove all the scary snakes and scorpions (Luke 10:19), but rather that they would have authority to stomp on them. Need some stomping strength from the Word? Here you go: Deut. 31:6, 2 Chronicles 20:15 & 17, Psalm 31, Romans 8:15, 2 Timothy 1:7, 1 John 4:18.

3. BREATHE
It's amazing how often I forget this one very important skill. Deep breath in, deep breath out.

4. THE BUDDY SYSTEM
Speaking outside of my church (where people already know and love me) is more intimidating and so I've learned to take someone who does know and love me along for the ride. When I run out of bravery, it's good to have someone there to pray and cheer-lead and say, "You can do this!" If all else fails, they can remind you to picture people in their underwear. (Check out what strong friends did for Paul's courage in Acts 28:15)

5. HOW DO YOU GET TO CARNEGIE HALL? PRACTICE!
Nothing gives me more violent jitters than the feeling of being unprepared. For me, being fully prepared involves about 20 hours of work (I'll post on my prep process soon), but for you it may look different. Whatever makes you feel ready to roll, do it. If you need notes, use them. If notes get in your way then practice your talk enough to be able to leave the notes behind. One thing that is absolutely non-negotiable for me is a little bit of practice. Musicians practice. Athletes practice. Speakers really, really need to practice. More on this down the road.

So that's five quick ways that I tackle the tumultuous speaking stomach. How do you deal with fear?