Weekly Thought – March 31, 2015

Fred outlined his Imperatives for Effective Speaking. This week we summarize the series. This Weekly Thought is longer than normal, but definitely a “keeper.”

Thank you for your feedback and the practical applications of his work. And as always, thank you for your faithful encouragement and support.

Imperatives in Effective Speaking (Summary)

Speaking to an audience is an awesome responsibility. The following points are touchstones for me.

1) Ready Your Attitude – Attitude colors every word, every gesture, and body movement. Anyone who feels the audience is fortunate in having them speak is prostituting the opportunity.

2) Your Material – A speaker’s self-respect and sense of responsibility should start with content. If there is no content, there is no reason to speak. Preparation is the price we pay for the privilege of speaking.

3) Be believable – If the audience believes the messenger, it is easier to believe the message. A truth that is not believed is useless. Ask yourself: “Can I make this truth believable?” If not, then wait to express it until you can.

4) Focus on the Audience – Always speak to the audience about a subject, not about a subject to an audience. The audience is the focal point. Know their felt needs and desires before you lead them to their real needs.

5) Create a personal touch – Personal communication is like a conversation eyeball to eyeball. This creates the feeling that I know you and you know me. Good communication is more than a function; it is a relationship. To be effective, it must be personal.

6) Create an enjoyable atmosphere – Take your subject seriously, but not yourself. Let people join in the enjoyment with you. Make sure it is more than entertaining – make it profitable. To be enjoyable, both the emotions and the mind must be stimulated.

7) Maintain human quality – Demagogues and con men sound like messiahs. They lack the reality of integrity. Respect others’ intellectual integrity by speaking person to person. Humor is a humanizer.

8) Utilize basic presentation skills: a) fire in the voice; b) develop good rhythm and cadence; c) adjust the pace of ideas and words; d) use a sincere tone; e) enunciate clearly; f) avoid affectations; g) use appropriate volumes for subject matter and size of the audience; h) practice natural gestures; i) choose words suitable for the subject; j) maintain continuity between words and subject.

9) Communicate with purpose – Before you try to communicate, determine what you want to happen at the close. I want to change or solidify attitudes into convictions and positively affect behavior.

10) Speak with power – When we speak for God, we should speak or communicate God’s message for God’s glory, not our own. The Spirit must convince; we can only be present. When we desire to be empowered we must have as pure a motive as humanly possible.

11) Pray before speaking – Prayer should be an ingredient of the preparation, not a sauce poured over it. If you have prayed adequately before speaking you won’t need to ask the audience to pray for you while you speak. They should be listening. Prayer helps me to exclude the extraneous – the ego licks, the hidden agenda items, and the subtle kicks.

12) Learn the sacredness of brevity – “Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff, and nudge me when I’ve said enough.” Never go beyond the allotted time. Don’t satisfy them so much they’ll never want to hear you again.

This week think about: 1) Which point jumps off the page? 2) How am I going to implement these imperatives? 3) When am I going to email BWF and tell them how I am using this material?

Words of Wisdom: “Speaking to an audience is an awesome responsibility.”

Wisdom from the Word: “The speech of the righteous bears the fruit of wisdom.” (Proverbs 10:31a – NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – March 24, 2015

Fred’s sense of reverence began early in his life. As the son of a Southern Baptist pastor, he recognized the respect for God. As a layman, he spent much of his life speaking to Christian audiences. He was known for his ability to bring Christian principles to the audience in down to earth terms.

Your support of our efforts to preserve Fred’s work while “stretching and blessing the next generation of leaders… to the glory of God” is greatly appreciated.

Imperatives in Effective Speaking (Part 6)

A) Be empowered. I’m speaking of spiritual empowerment. When we speak for God, we should communicate God’s message for God’s glory, not our own. This requires the presence of the Holy Spirit to own the communication. The Spirit must convince; we can only present.

Our motives must be as pure as humanly possible. We become stewards of the message, not the authors. Years ago after speaking five or six times at a men’s retreat I flew home expecting to be exhausted. But I wasn’t. As I thought about why not, it occurred to me… The pipe never gets tired because it doesn’t do the work, just the pump. That was the answer: I was the pipe, not the pump. The Spirit is the pump. As long as I remember to be the cleanest, clearest pipe possible, the message will flow. (more…)

Weekly Thought – March 17, 2015

Fred identified his uniqueness early in his life. He consistently challenged others to do the same. He looked at his gifts, and his opportunities to define his purpose. Fred believed each and every person was born with purpose and should operate from this position.

Thank you for believing in our purpose and supporting us. We are always grateful.

Imperative in Effective Speaking (Part 5)

My speaking was greatly influenced by a drive across the farmlands of Indiana on the way to give a business talk in Indianapolis. It was spring and I watched a farmer plowing. In front of him was his faithful mule; following him were about fifty chickens. They were not following him to admire his plowing. They were following him because he was turning up worms. I said to myself, “Fred, turn up the worms and the chicken will follow.” Chickens need a reason to follow; so do listeners.

To me, it is pious irresponsibility to pull some religious Mother Hubbard gown over my lack of specificity by saying, “I want to give the full counsel,” or “We know God’s word will not return void.” My responsibility is to know which part of the full counsel I am to give today.

To communicate with purpose, we need to start at the close. Before you try to communicate, determine what you want to happen at the close:

1) How do you want the audience to feel?

2) What do you want them to do?

3) What attitude do you want them to have?

4) What do you want to happen because you spoke?

And be specific about your answers. (more…)

Weekly Thought – March 10, 2015

Fred’s generosity of thought and spirit created a fertile environment for mentoring. He liked to keep “running mental files” of material for others. His analytical approach to subjects enabled others to develop their skills. This week will focus on basic presentation skills with Fred’s unique take on the points.

The Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute is working on the 2016 schedule. Please pray as we begin meeting with the steering committees. Thank you for your continuing support.

Imperatives in Effective Speaking (Part 4)

There are a few basic techniques which make listening and assimilating easier.

1) Fire in the voice. This is the most important of all for a speaker. Fire is contagious, clearly identified, yet difficult to describe. It is a proper combination of enthusiasm and conviction… enthusiasm about the subject and a conviction that requires expression. Fire commands listener attention. When the fire is gone, so is the audience. It must be alive, never synthetic. Be sure your volume is appropriate to the subject and the size of the crowd.

2) Rhythm. Rhythm is cadence. There should be highs and lows, peaks and valleys, changes in volume, words, and tone so they never become sonorous or drone on. Be particularly careful in repeating old material to maintain a fresh rhythm. Old content without fresh rhythm sounds like a broken record. Proper rhythm helps to place the emphasis at the right places.

3) Pace. This is important for both ideas and words. The larger the crowd, the slower the pace. The heavier the idea, the slower the pace. This largely determines the ability to receive. Pitch the ball at the speed the audience can catch it comfortably. Familiar material can be presented more quickly. The less familiar the hearer is with the content, the more time it will take for assimilation. Generally, emotional material can be given faster, for you are creating a feeling, not a rational response. A great example of this technique is the auctioneer who generates more and more excitement by his increasing pace. (more…)

Weekly Thought – March 3, 2015

Fred was recognized as an outstanding speaker early in his career. His first major address was in Los Angeles and received coverage by the L.A. Times. This was only his second public speech. But his years of applied thinking along with his God-given communication abilities prepared him for this opportunity. This week we continue with points 5, 6, and 7 of his outstanding article on speaking.

The Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute is making plans for 2016 and 2017. We will be returning to schools in Florida and Kentucky. Please join us as we pray for God’s leading. Thank you for enabling us to continue the work of BWF and BWFLI.

Imperatives in Effective Speaking (Part 3)

A) Be Personal. Television has made our communications focus on the personality of the speaker. This creates the feeling of actually knowing each other. The best are those who make the audience feel like you would want to know them. There should be something in ever communication involving the audience individually. Billy Graham accomplishes this one-on-one by saying, “You are not here by accident. You are here by the will of God. This message is for you.” Zig Ziglar does this by asking questions early in his presentation and getting individuals to raise their hands. I sometimes stop at a controversial point and voice the question I have raised in the minds of the audience. They feel I know how they feel. Eye contact helps in developing the personal relationship. Try to get direct eye contact with as many individuals as possible without seeming obvious. But don’t focus too long on any one person because it feels invasive.

B) Be Enjoyable. Take the message(but not yourself) seriously. Let the people join in the enjoyment with you. No matter how heavy the material, it can be made enjoyable by a master communicator. The information may be new, vital, useful, even humorous at times. When it is profitable to the audience, it is enjoyable. (more…)

Weekly Thought – February 24, 2015

Fred was a lifelong learner. He believed in preparation. The words of Paul to Timothy to “study to show yourself approved…” were burned into his value system. He was unable to further his formal education after high school but never allowed that to be a limitation to his studies.

This Weekly Thought is part two of the Speaking series.

We want you to know how grateful we are for your continued words of encouragement and support.

Imperatives in Effective Speaking (Part 2)

A) Be Believable. Believe the messenger and it’s easier to believe the message. Christ was believable because He spoke with authority, “not as the scribes,” who were professional quoters. Christ personified His message. I cannot teach effectively anything I don’t personify (or at least am trying to personify).

A truth that is not believed is useless. Ask yourself, “Can I make this truth believable?” If not, then wait to express it until you can. When Father Hesberg became President of Notre Dame, his predecessor Father Cavanaugh gave him this injunction: “Be right. Be humble. Be human.” This is the heart of believability.

Simplicity lends itself to credibility. General Colin Powell said, “Great leaders are simplifiers.” Cleverness, on the other hand, creates doubt. (more…)

Weekly Thought – February 17, 2015

Fred’s article on Speaking is a classic example of his clear thinking. He loved taking a big subject and breaking it down into manageable bites. This week we present principles one and two: 1) Prepare your attitude and 2) Prepare your content.

Thank you for helping us continue stretching and blessing through the outreach of BWF.

Imperatives for Effective Speaking (Part 1)

A. Prepare Your Attitude – Speaking starts with attitude – attitude colors every word, every gesture, and body movement. My checklist runs like this: 1) Do I feel obligated to speak or privileged? 2) Am I prepared, therefore confident? 3) Do I know what is expected of me? 4) Do I know I expect to accomplish? 5) Am I sure of my opening so I won’t be tentative or negative? 6) Do I like the people I’ll be speaking to?

All these affect the attitude. Anyone who feels the audience is fortunate in having them speak is prostituting the opportunity.

B. Prepare the Content – A speaker’s self-respect and sense of responsibility should start with content. If there is no content, there is no reason to speak. The best communication comes out of the overflow. There should always be that feeling that there is so much more in the spring from which this talk flowed.

It is insulting to hear a speaker who has nothing to say but insists on saying it anyway. In Texas we say he is “all hat and no cattle.”

Whenever I begin thinking of the honor of having been asked, I immediately shift to the responsibility of being asked – a responsibility that demands preparation. Each occasion should have its own special preparation. Speech notes, like bread, soon get stale. In each preparation there must be the yeast of newly discovered truth: exciting, new, and expanded insights along with practical applications. (more…)

Weekly Thought – February 10, 2015

Fred’s speaking abilities gave him opportunities throughout his life. Even in his last years of immobility groups gathered to hear what him. On Saturdays they encircled him in what affectionately became known as “Fred in the Bed.” His last session was less than two weeks before his death.

We thank you for the gracious support through prayer, financial gifts, and words. We want to continue sharing Fred’s wisdom. And, as we grow the Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute, our goal is to “stretch and bless the next generation of leaders… to the glory of God.”

Fred’s article on Imperatives in Effective Speaking will be excerpted over the next five weeks in a series of Weekly Thoughts. Today’s is an overview of the points. Build a file for these excerpts – they are keepers.

Effective Speaking – Introduction

Speaking to an audience is an awesome responsibility. When you speak to a thousand listeners for thirty minutes you have used five hundred hours of human life.

Only a few speakers are great, but many could be better by recognizing both the science and art of speaking. Like great musicians, there must first be a natural talent, then years and years of coaching and practice to achieve the art. (more…)