​​3 Common Mistakes You Can Avoid When You Have a lot to Say

One of the turning points in my life occurred in a hotel room in Arkansas. My husband and I were on a traveling trip and he was speaking at a great local church in a small town. He was slated to speak three times that weekend, once Saturday night and twice Sunday morning. He did ok Saturday night but was beginning to not feel well. By Sunday morning he was feeling terrible. As we got dressed that morning in the Best Western, he looked at me and said, “I am feeling terrible. There is no way I am going to be able to preach both services. I may need you to take one.” Without a second thought or hesitation and before I knew it, the words, “I can’t do that, I have nothing to say,” came forcefully flying out of my mouth. It surprised us both. My husband quickly rebuked me and instructed me to never say those words again.

This is a feeling most women have when it comes to speaking, we innately feel that we do not have anything to say. We fear standing in front of others and going blank, speaking at sonic the hedge speed, or blurting out everything we have to say in under 3 minutes flat.

There are some though, who have the opposite issue. If you tend to go far beyond your time, aren’t sure when to stop talking, or never feel like you have enough time to cover everything the audience needs to hear, this one is for you!

HAVE A LOT TO SAY? DON’T MAKE THESE THREE COMMON MISTAKES WHEN PREACHING.

STOP DOING THIS:

• Trying to pack everything you know into ONE message.

  • This is a lack of faith and/or a lack of experience.

  • We have to believe we will have more than just this ONE shot at sharing our hearts. The more experience we have, the more we will learn to edit down our thoughts to concise points.

  • Often, the issue comes down to trying to fit multiple messages into a single time slot.

• Speak super fast in order to get to all your notes.

  • A speaking pace is vital to your audience sticking with you throughout your message.

  • Speaking too fast lends to them tuning out quickly.

  • Pro Tip: When you feel that you are speaking in slow-mo you are speaking at the perfect speed for your audience

• Go over your time in order to say everything you want to say.

  • When invited to speak anywhere, finishing on time may be the only determining factor in whether you are invited back.

  • The longer you go over your time, the more ansy people get and the more they zone out anyway.

  • As a good rule of thumb, intentionally plan to finish 60 seconds before your time is out.

DO THIS INSTEAD:

• Pick ONE point and don’t be afraid to repeat it.

  • Jesus repeated Himself often.

  • People are zoning in and out of your message constantly. As you repeat they will catch points they missed before.

  • Coming at a single point from different angles will help you get your point across.

• Edit your notes multiple times before printing the final outline.

  • Iterations are your best friend.

  • ShooWe t to have a minimum of three iterations for each message

  • As you practice going over your notes out loud, with a timer, you will see how long you are going over on your time. You can edit from there.

• Drop points if you’re running out of time.

  • When you try to cram a full point in less than 5 mins it feels very rushed and your audience can tell.

  • No one will know you didn’t get to your full outline.

  • Plan to spend symmetrical time on each point. If you get stuck in a “honey hole” moment (the Spirit gives you more and more revelation on the spot) then feel free to drop any points off on the back side

One of the most common mistakes I see when coaching women to communicate the Gospel is women trying to fit multiple thoughts/messages into a single message.

Women are full of wonderful things to say for God. Sometimes we aren’t sure how to choose what to say. It’s not that you have TOO MUCH to say or NOT ENOUGH to say. It really comes down to you needing to invest in yourself and receive life-changing training!

Come learn how to communicate the Gospel with us in gorgeous Palm Beach, Florida! Check out our four-day, hands-on, and interactive training, The Echo Weekend.

The best way to develop your voice is to invest in your voice. Every time you invest in your voice, your family, community, and world improve. I believe in your voice! This is a weekend you do not want to miss!!!