Audience Focus Is “Half” The Battle!

A good part of effective communication is focus!  If you can keep the audience focused on what is being said, your effectiveness is exponentially multiplied.

The loss of focus can come from a number of factors . . . .

• Impracticality:  The speaker sounds unrealistic or idealistic.
• Distractions: People coming and going /audio-visual ineptness
• “In-the-clouds” Content – Real or Perceived: Speaking which is highly abstract, academic, or theological works for fellow pastors, not many a believer.

or

• Perceived Inapplicability:  This has little to no application for me.

 

At times there will be members of an audience who mentally check out because they believe that the message, point, or present content is not about them.  It has little present usefulness or application in their lives, or where they are today.

There are rhetorical techniques which can bring them back into the message.

Crawford Loritts illustrates one method.  While it is a common method, it might not be a consciously employed method by speakers or preachers.

Again, add this to your mental rhetorical storage locker and intentionally call it up when you might well suspect that some audience members might not see the application of what you are talking about to their lives today, or in the future.

Here is the audio clip from a message titled, “Going Through The Motions” @ the 30-minute mark of the original full message.

 

 

You can’t get around that!

If you struggle with faith . . .

I’m going to tell you  — tell you the truth

Sooner or later — in your walk with God

Sooner or later!

Sooner or later!

He’s going to have you have a showdown with your fears.

He’s going to resurrect some gaps between you and where you need to go.

Every believer

Every person that name’s the name of Christ

is going to exercise believing faith.

 

 

If you store this away, there will be times when you can use this simple template for pulling your audience back into the message, point, or present content.

Let me tell you the truth . . . 

Sooner or Later — in your speaking and preaching experience . . . .

Sooner or Later

Sooner or Later 

Every speaker is going to be able to use it!