FLS: Week Two
Week Two: Communication
Genesis 11
At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. 2 As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there. 3 They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) 4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” 5 But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 6 “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! 7 Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.” 8 In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.
The Line of Descent from Shem to Abram
10 This is the account of Shem’s family. Two years after the great flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. 11 After the birth of Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters. 12 When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah. 13 After the birth of Shelah, Arphaxad lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 14 When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber. 15 After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters. 16 When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg. 17 After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters. 18 When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu. 19 After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived another 209 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug. 21 After the birth of Serug, Reu lived another 207 years and had other sons and daughters. 22 When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor. 23 After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived another 200 years and had other sons and daughters. 24 When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah. 25 After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived another 119 years and had other sons and daughters. 26 After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
The Family of Terah
27 This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. 28 But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living. 29 Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) 30 But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children. 31 One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. 32 Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.
Why did God change their languages? How did this impact their ability to build anything? When God changed their languages, he did it for a great reason. If you can talk but can’t communicate then community and vision can’t take place.
Most people are held back by their lack of communication skills. You can increase your leadership SIGNIFICANTLY by improving your communication skills.
The word communication comes from the Latin word “communis,” which means common.
To be a good communicator, you must be able to see things from the viewpoint of your people.
The leader refers to what his listeners know about life, i.e., what he has seen, heard, read, felt, believed, or done. These are the “real” things of life that he has either been involved in directly or knows indirectly. You must constantly ask yourself, “How would I feel about this if I was in the audience?”
As leadership communicators, our primary goal is to get people to act on what they have heard. Our job is not simply to entertain, inform, or impress but to invoke action.
Successful communication happens when the energy carrier energizes the people who are without energy. This is delivering vision to the visionless.
The 4 levels of communication required for optimum effectiveness are:
- a) Physical
- b) Emotional
- c) Intellectual
- d) Spiritual
- Physical
The keywords for physical communication are tone and body language.
Voice, facial expressions, and the use of hands to articulate and compliment spoken communication are vital. It is critical to have highs and lows in your speaking.
- a) Tone and Body Language communicate more than you think.
It was Albert Mehrabian, a researcher of body language, who first broke down the components of a face-to-face conversation. He found that communication is 55% nonverbal, 38% vocal, and 7% words only.
Learn to speak in a strong voice with lots of enthusiasm and expression.
So many people think that as long as you have something to say, and your content is good, that is enough. The truth is that it’s not just WHAT you say that matters, but HOW you say it that energizes and inspires your audience to do something. When you speak make sure you have highs and lows with lots of variety in your voice as this creates a balanced and easy listening communication style. If your voice is monotone, you will quickly lose your audience and fail to energize them.
There is also something incredibly moving and captivating about someone who knows how to communicate effectively with their body language. It makes the presentation dynamic and communicates enthusiasm, inspiration, conviction, and passion. It also gives people the impression that the person speaking really believes in what they are saying.
- b) Tone and body language break the preoccupation barrier.
There is something powerful about the use of well-thought-out body language in breaking people’s lack of concentration. It is often easy to tune out to the voice of a speaker once he/she has been going for some time. Visual stimulation can help people concentrate much easier.
Often when I am speaking, I will come to a point in my message where I will dramatize quite expressively a particular point. I might do this by using dramatized illustrations, using actors, or it might even be a solo effort in acting out a particular illustration or thought. For example, when I have spoken about the crucifixion of Jesus, I have acted out the whole scene- the nails being driven into his hands, the whip on his back, the last few moments of life as he hung on the cross, etc.
The power of dramatizing or gesturing.
Our ability to create understanding in the minds of the listener is greatly enhanced by using appropriate hand movements or gestures. Often, it is easier to communicate by dramatizing something and creating a visual image of what we are trying to say than it is to try and explain it verbally.
E.g.: You might be talking about Elijah praying for rain. To help the audience understand the intercession and tenacity in prayer, you squat in the Israeli birthing position that Elijah prayed in. You begin to paint a picture of the intensity of his prayer by showing the people what exactly it was he was doing when praying, and how he was praying.
- Intellectual Energy
The keywords for intellectual energy are content and construction.
Content has to do with the information you collect.
Construction has to do with the way it is arranged and put together.
Most of us would recognize this as important. I guarantee that we spend more of our time developing the content and depth of our message, and building a structure for it, than developing the physical and emotional aspects of our communication. There are 2 reasons for this. Firstly, most people have a fear that when they get up to speak, they either won’t know what to say, or will forget the content of their message. Secondly, people think that delivering the message is all there is to communication. They don’t consider that HOW they deliver it is as important as WHAT they are delivering.
There are 2 important ingredients in preparing and developing your message. One is the content and the other is the construction of the information you have researched.
a) Construction
These days the goal is to create a speech that makes 1 point but develops it and explains it from many different angles.
- the power of the pause
b) Content
The use of images, comedy, video, and drama in today’s communication.
You must break the preoccupation barrier every 5 to 6 minutes.
c) Emotional Energy
The keyword for emotional energy is Passion.
Without passion the subject is lifeless, and the goal is merely to inform. With passion comes the ability to impart and inspire.
While content and construction deal with the mind, passion has to do with the heart. When you communicate with passion, you make the message meaningful, and your message takes on a human face. Rather than just being a speech, it becomes a living thing that draws out the emotions of the listeners.
There are several things that contribute to our ability to communicate with passion.
a) Must believe in what we are saying.
If we are ever to effectively energize people’s hearts, we must believe with our whole hearts that these people need to hear what we are saying. We must believe that this message is important because we have experienced it in our own lives. The best messages I preach are ones in which I have come to a point of revelation and understanding; where God has spoken into my heart and opened my eyes to truths and principles I have never seen before, or where he has embellished and highlighted again things that I know but have lost or become dull in my understanding.
b) Must be able to transfer the revelation.
The secret to passion is not only found in the discovery of revelation but the ability to encapsulate the experience and transfer it to the hearers with the same excitement that grabbed you when it first became a revelation to your heart.
It’s at this point that most people have difficulty. That is because our emphasis is so often upon saying the right things and getting the content and articulation right. We fall into the trap of sharing it as an idea, rather than as an experience. “Be there” when you talk about experiences and revelations in your lives. Feel the thrill of what you’re saying rather than just explaining it mechanically. Live the part and emotionally identify with what you are saying.
This principle is also true when reading a passage of scripture. Most people who read the Bible out loud fail to effectively communicate the truth of the passage they are reading. Often the reading of scripture is just a tacked-on necessity and is done very quickly without much expression and passion.
When we are reading anything, particularly the word of God, it is critical that we share it passionately. Again, don’t just read it as a bunch of words, but try to feel what you are reading. Visualize what is happening as you are reading. You will find that not only will it come across with a lot more energy, but you will punctuate the sentences correctly and in a way that people understand what is being said.
c) Passion is also amplified using emotional images
Images, such as personal stories that both explain the concept better intellectually and touch the heartstrings and emotions of the hearers, are incredibly powerful in imparting the energy of passion.
E.g.: When I speak about God’s power and ability to protect us, I could use the story of my son drowning at the bottom of a pool, and how the audible voice of God spoke to him and told him what to do to be saved.
The use of this emotional image passionately and powerfully energizes and communicates right to the heart of those listening, taking the truth of God’s protection beyond the mind and into the emotions.
- Spiritual Energy
The keyword for spiritual energy is anointing (or the power of God).
You can’t get this without prayer.
This level of energy is by far the most important because without it you will never change lives. All you will do is inform, inspire, and move people, but you will never change them. The work of change is a work that only the Holy Spirit can do.
God’s power in your speaking is made up of two important factors.
a) Personal authority
I believe that a personal anointing or authority is on the life of every believer and communicator of the Gospel. This authority varies from individual to individual and depends upon the persons calling, their gifting, their experience, and their ability to believe God that when they speak something will happen.
As I have grown in my abilities to communicate, in my experience of preaching, and in my own confidence in God’s desire to use me, so my authority or anointing has grown too.
Boldness and confidence are major keys here too. There is an amazing paradox with the anointing. The first extreme is that I know that I am nothing without Him and can achieve nothing of eternal significance without Him. I am fearful to get up and speak unless He anoints me, and I become so reliant upon God that I throw myself upon Him, empty myself, and cry out to Him to help me. The other extreme is that when it is time for me to stand and speak, because I have prayed, and because I believe that He has heard me, I approach the pulpit with great boldness, as God’s man of power for the hour. When I speak, I believe that it’s as if God Himself were here speaking and beginning to speak into being the things that aren’t as if they are because I know that something is going to happen.
b) The specific word for the moment
The anointing is not only tied up with the personal anointing and authority upon the man, but it is also speaking the now word of God. It’s finding out what God wants to say today to his people. It is important that you spend time learning to hear and understand the voice of God so that your message can not only be entertaining and informative but prophetic and life-changing.
Try to learn to listen to God’s voice not only before you preach, but while you are speaking as well. If you have prepared yourself well, you will often find that while you are preaching, other thoughts that are spontaneous will fill your mind. Quite often this will be the Holy Spirit trying to tell you what to say next. There have been several times when I have also been conscious that as I am speaking, there is an extra special anointing of the Holy Spirit upon the point that I am making. It is important at these times to flow with what God is saying right at that point. As you do, the level of spiritual energy will increase. You will find that the words you are saying are so powerfully energized by the Holy Spirit that they are piercing way beyond people’s hearts and minds. They are penetrating their spirit, bringing conviction, revelation, or raw power that radically changes them forever.
How do we improve?
- a) Identify your weaknesses and set goals to change.
Physical Energy
If you are a person who lacks physical energy, if you’re stilted and unexpressive in your body language or speaking style, make it a goal to be a lot more energetic with your movements. Plan sections within your message where you use a lot of physical movement, such as in telling a story, etc.
If you speak in a monotone voice with little or no expression, write yourself notes throughout your message reminding yourself to keep up the energy and enthusiasm. Try to let your message not only come out of your mouth but let it so grab you that it vibrates through every part of your being.
Intellectual Energy
The construction and content of a message is more difficult naturally for some. If you are a person who lacks in this area, the key is to be more disciplined and to give yourself more time for preparation. Try and begin preparation of your sermon or message a couple of weeks before you are required to speak. Every day spend a small amount of time building your material. Spend time reading and researching well before you must speak so that you aren’t under pressure to just throw it together.
Another thing that I have found helpful personally is to spend time meditating on your sermon while you are lying in bed or somewhere alone. I have found it helpful to allow myself time to develop an outline in my head and resolve the direction I’m heading without the pressure of writing something down. After a period of time, a creative thought process will click, and shortly, the outline has been created.
Emotional Energy
In developing this area, it is so important to be able to FEEL what you are saying. Don’t just think about the words you want to say but let the message ferment inside your heart until it is ready to explode.
Another helpful piece of advice is to try and weave stories and illustrations into your message that are from your memory and therefore don’t require you to be bound to your notes. You are then able to share the memory from your heart and relive the experience all over again.
In planning your message, think about the result as much as you think about the delivery.
Spiritual Energy
To develop this area, you really need to spend periods of time praying, fasting, and digging the well.
You also need to spend time hearing from God about what he wants to say right now to the audience. Just as important as hearing is stepping out in boldness. Decide to move out and speak boldly and confidently about the things that you feel impressed upon your heart. Don’t be timid; have a go. My philosophy is, “If you’re going to say it, say it well.” Better to be so bold that even if you miss it, most people will think you haven’t than to speak it so timidly that even if it was God, no one would believe you.
- B) Evaluation
Allow those who love you and who have the ability to analyze, to evaluate you, and share with you the weak points that often you cannot see.
CONCLUSION:
Possibly the most valuable tool a leader has is the ability to communicate effectively. If you are going to be a successful leader, then you must acquire it at all costs.
Make communication an ongoing study, your lifelong passion, and discipline. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Study human relations. Know what your followers are thinking. Think of how you can connect with their experiences in life and make your objectives clear.
In conclusion, if you become a person who communicates well, you will out-achieve others who are more intelligent or more personable, but who have not developed their communication abilities.