TED, the yearly conference of some of the most influential people of our time, has most likely changed how our world communicates forever. With the thousands of inspiring or educational talks, the TED style has inundated the art of public speaking with a whole new style! That change in the overall view of communication begs the question, what will the brethren do? Will this new culture of speaking change the way preachers mount the pulpit? I believe the answer to those questions are not necessarily black and white. However, I also believe that TED has a lot to teach those who publicly proclaim God's word. Carmine Gallo, successful communications coach for some of the world's largest companies, has taken the most popular TED Talks and broken them down to see what they all have and distilled it down into nine things. Everything from mastery of the topic (something that Christians, preachers included, ought to do with the topics in the Bible) to being genuine to yourself is covered in Talk Like TED. That is why I believe that EVERY preacher ought to at least give credence to the book and take it to heart next time you sit to write your next sermon. |
I encourage you to pick up a copy of Talk Like TED, read it, and apply Gallo's principles to see if 1) you are more effective in the pulpit and 2) that your lessons flow much better. It has certainly changed my preaching for the better!