Next level communicators do this one thing to gain clarity.
Next level communicators do this one thing to gain clarity.
Effective, transformational communication rises and falls on clarity. How can we persuade our audience if they are not sure about what we are saying? As simple as this may seem, I’m amazed at how many times I’ve listened to a speaker and left thinking, “I’m not sure what they were trying to get me to do?” And I’m also amazed at how many messages I’ve given over the years, where at the end of my talk someone comes up to me and in the nicest of ways says their version of, “I didn’t get it.” Ooof.
I love flying into southern California just after a good rain. As you know, this part of the country lives under a constant haze called smog, but when it rains, it’s like the haze is washed away, and we are left with a breathtaking view of the topography as the mountains, city and landscape come into high definition. What a good rain is to the greater Los Angeles area, a well crafted outline is to your talk. Constructed correctly, your message will gain the kind of clarity which will persuade your audience towards your desired aim.
When I sit down to put an outline for a talk together I have found the following to be helpful:
What’s your throughline? Some people might call this the big idea of the message, or the sermon in a sentence. Whatever you name it, this is the essence of the text you are teaching, the talk you are giving. It should be somewhere between 7-10 words, and flexible enough to build an outline around. We’ve chatted a lot about the felt need of the message, which is the section of your talk right after the introduction where you show how what you are about to say connects to the universal need of people. The felt need is where you will find your throughline, sermon in the sentence or big idea. For example, I’m building a talk on the subject of church hurt, and my throughline is, While we can’t choose the hurt that happens, we can choose what happens to the hurt. I need to trim this down, but that gives you a real time idea of what I’m getting at. Then what follows will be my three or so points which will connect to what needs to happen with the hurt.
Repeat the throughline. Once you’ve distilled the essence of your talk into a short, pithy statement, it needs to be repeated several times throughout the message. Don’t put all this effort into crafting your throughline, only to say it once. Say it again, and again and again. Repetition brings clarity. If it’s worth laboring over, it’s worth repeating.
Apply your outline. After you’ve figured out the central message of your talk, and you’ve framed it in a relatable way, now be sure to phrase your points so they are connected to the throughline and in a way which is understandable. When I first started preaching everything was about rhetoric and alliteration. Your points all had to begin with the same letter, because the emphasis was on being memorable. But the problem, as I soon found out, was people were not remembering the points a few days later. My outline was flashy and cute, but not really practical. In fact, there were too many times I squeezed a point into a particular word that didn’t quite fit, just because I had to have all “S’s” in my outline. Thank goodness those days are gone. If they’re still around for you, then please wave goodbye to them. The goal isn’t to be memorable, it’s to be understandable, and the way to get to that level of clarity is to word your points in ways which are highly applicational. I gave a recent talk explaining from a text who Jesus is. My first point was, Who is Jesus? He is drawn to the suffering. My second point was, Who is Jesus? He is not a religion. Had this been several years ago, I would have framed my second point, He is not drawn to the saints, because it’s an “S,” but see how that doesn’t quite connect. Give your points a ton of Vitamin A- application- so people can understand what you are saying, which will help greatly with clarity.
Simplify your outline. One of our mantras should be that we want to be simple and not shallow. Simplicity is the sibling of clarity. The simpler you are as a communicator, the more likely people will be clear on what you are saying. Too much information will be like smog over the Los Angeles skyline- it will cloud your talk. Unless you have a really good reason, I wouldn’t go beyond three points in your message, which will serve you well in keeping things simple.
Grab their eyes. Introductions are one of the last things I build into the outline because I don’t know what I’m introducing until I know my points. Don’t underestimate the importance of how you begin a message, because we only have like ninety seconds to answer the audience's question, “Am I going to listen?” So I want to do something which will grab their eyes. I’m looking to tell a story, a joke, a great analogy or a provocative statement which will either connect to my throughline, or the first point.
Make the ask. If you give a talk where you do not make an appeal to the audience to do something, then you’ve wasted your time and theirs. The best time for the appeal is at the end of the message, because you want to leave them thinking about or responding to something. When I conclude a talk, I’m looking to summarize my throughline, restate my points and then make the big ask. Outlines start with the eyes (introduction), move to the heart (felt need), then run between the eyes, mind and heart in my main points, and finally to the feet (action) in the conclusion, where I am looking to make the big ask.
I’m in the process of uploading my sermon manuscripts to my website. This will be quite the process, but I hope you find them to be a helpful resource in your journey as a communicator.
What I’m reading:
