Those of us who communicate for a living are sometimes surprised when the message doesn’t get through to our audience. In order to be sure a message is grasped, the old adage in public speaking still holds true:

  • Tell the audience what you are going to tell them.
  • Tell them.
  • Then…tell them what you told them.

That’s true for everyone from students in speech class right on through to the ministry leader or the corporate CEO. What is impressive is how many leaders think they are communicating when they are not.

My friend Don McMinn recently wrote about this in a blog, and he pointed to a study that was done a few years ago. Don quoted a 2002 survey of over one thousand business professionals showing that while 86 percent of their leaders feel they are great communicators, only 17 percent believe their leaders are effective communicators.

In that study, the authors identified four assumptions leaders make that hinder good communication. Leaders think…

  1. listeners understand what was communicated.
  2. listeners agree with what was communicated.
  3. listeners care about what was communicated.
  4. listeners will take appropriate action.

If number one doesn’t happen, the other points are…well…pointless. People need to know what you are saying and retain that in a memorable way. Maybe that’s why God told Joshua over and over, “Be strong and of good courage” (Joshua 1 KJV). Maybe that’s why the Apostle Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4 KJV).

The other points are valuable to ensure that what you say takes hold with those in your audience. The Bible talks about being doers of the Word, not just hearers. The listener must understand why they should care about what you tell them. In other words, why should it matter to them? And for these points, you may need appropriate feedback from the listener.

You can often read your audience, seeing the intensity of their eyes as you speak, the nodding of their head, the note taking, and other body language tips. To be very sure, it is a good idea to get direct feedback. Asking the listener a question can help you know if you got your point or points across. Asking them their opinion and what they think about what they heard will tell you if they agree with you. Asking them what steps they think they should take as a result of what they heard will start them on the path to being more than a hearer, to be a doer!

Now that I think about this, I should probably have a form for you to fill out with these kinds of questions that you can send back to me. However, I’ll trust you take this to heart so you might be a better communicator and can lead more effectively to accomplish what the Lord has for you in ministry and life.

God’s best,