Watch what you're saying!

There is no way around it. If you lead, you speak. While you may not have to give a long oratorical speech or bring a Sunday sermon, you still find yourself standing before others sharing vision, strategy, and overall mission for your organization. Often it is in relation to your ministry or organization when it comes to funding. And, to be honest, many leaders don’t spend enough time in preparation for the opportunities they have to speak.

In his book, The Articulate Executive, Granville N. Toogood (yep, that’s his name) gives some great insight into how to prepare for those opportunities that come our way as leaders. After listing some incredible world and corporate leaders and their accomplishments, Toogood says they all possessed what he calls the three C’s.

1. Competence – You have to be at least fairly good at what you do. And you also have to have a few extra skills handy: computer skills…and maybe a working knowledge of marketing and financial services.

2. Clarity – You’ve got to be able to see beyond the job, have some historical perspective and a knowledgeable overview, understand trends, and be able to project fairly accurately into the future. You have to be willing to acknowledge and embrace change. Many call this having a vision.

3. Communication – This is the element most often lacking in the equation…the element that says you’ve got to be able to share your knowledge and information, even your vision, with other people. The only way you can ever be a leader is to learn to speak effectively.

Toogood gives five key elements that will help any presentation.

1. Strong start
2. One theme
3. Good examples
4. Conversational language
5. Strong ending

You could spend a lot of time on each of these points but let me just expand on the first one…a strong start. I have been guilty of starting a message rather softly, building up slowly to what the presentation is about. A better way is to start with the ending. Use the conclusion…where you are headed… in your opening. It nails down where you are taking them, and lets the audience know what you are wanting them to understand or learn.

So rather than say, “It‘s great to be with you today. We have a really good ministry. And lots of people are listening every day…” you could start with something like, “Traditional radio remains a powerful tool. But every day more and more people are turning off their radio and turning on their smart phone. While we must maintain our position in traditional broadcasting, we cannot ignore how a new generation is receiving their information and entertainment.”

Direct. To the point. And then you build your case and share your vision.

I remember how the Apostle Paul spoke to a less than friendly audience on Mars Hill at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. As he addressed the curious Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, Paul quickly got to his point.

[blockquote author=”Acts 17:22-23 NLT” link=”” target=”_blank”]Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.[/blockquote]

Your communication skills may not be all you would like them to be today. But if you are willing to work and prepare, you can be the leader the Lord has called you to be…for His purpose…His will…His ministry…and His glory.