Preaching According to the Holy Spirit

Yesterday I referred to Jay Adams’ suggestion that we can improve our language use best by working on it in everyday life so that it becomes natural. He mentions another aspect of speech that many need to work on. The unnecessary use of, you know, like, filler words. These verbal pauses do a lot to distract listeners and lessen the impact of otherwise pointed and focused speech.

The problem with filler words or verbal pauses is that they only seem to get worse when we focus on them in a time of tension. So simply telling yourself not to say that thing you always say so often is not going to fix it when you’re preaching. In fact, it will probably exacerbate the problem. So Jay Adams suggests working on this at home, with the help of your wife. Have a family member help by making it clear whenever the filler is used. Gradually the added complexity of conversation will motivate you to drop the filler. “Know? I don’t know, could you explain it to me please?” That will really stack up in some of our, you know, conversations. “Like? What was he like, to what would you compare him?” That will complicate a relatively simple interchange!

If you can figure it out, a signal system that is only known to you and your spouse could be used in public settings too. However, Adams suggests this approach be kept to the private sphere if there isn’t total agreement on how to proceed in public!

Eliminating verbal pauses will achieve massive benefits for preaching. But perhaps the time to work on the habit is in the normal situations of life, rather than the pressure cooker situation of preaching. At th end of the day, you know, what have you found helpful in eliminating verbal pauses or distracting cliches?

Jay Adams suggests that improvements in speech should be pursued during everyday life, but not when preparing the message. The reason he gives is that focusing on grammar, phraseology or pronunciation during preparation and delivery is a distraction from the real task at hand. It is better, he suggests, to work on improving your speech during every day life. Over the course of several weeks it is possible to master a new speech habit.

For example, you might need to work on saying “He asks you and me,” rather than “He asks you and I.” By concentrating on this and working on it in everyday situations it will not take too long for it to become a speech habit that will naturally come out while preaching.

Another example is that of storytelling. Every day we can practice telling stories compellingly, with good flow, description and appropriate pausing. We shouldn’t wait for a dramatic life event, but rather choose an experience each day to recount to our families over dinner. Practising the telling of a story in the car can help, and the repeated telling of stories with increasing effectiveness will only help our ability to tell stories during preaching – personal “illustrations” or biblical stories.

Tomorrow I’ll mention another aspect of speech that can be worked on in everyday life.