If you listen to audiobooks, online videos, or any other spoken content, you probably know you may adjust the listening speed from the normal 1.0 setting to 1.25, 1.5, or even 2.0.
To understand the audiobook preaching principle, listen to an audiobook at 1.5 speed for a few minutes.
Then, try 1.25. Finally, place the setting on regular.
Which is easier for the listener to absorb?
Normal, conversational speed.
It's mentally taxing and draining to keep up with a higher speed setting.
This is why people can follow a conversational speed of speech for longer and digest conversational speed more easily.
Again, this does not mean there are no times when it is appropriate to get more intense and rapid, to raise or lower your voice—especially if you're planning a pause.
We'll talk more about the power of the pause in another episode.
For now, it may help to recognize that we speak more quickly when we're nervous or disorganized.
Writing out a complete, word-for-word sermon manuscript will help on both fronts, whether you have it with you to preach or not. I've got more to say about manuscripts, but that's also in another video.
The point is that when you know exactly where you're going in a message, you can slow down. A clear map puts the preacher and listener at ease as they prepare for the homiletical journey.
But remember, we want to slow down to communicate more effectively, not primarily to improve our oratorical ability. Yes, it will help with that. The main reason is so we might clearly present the fullness of God's grace in Jesus.
So, if you tend to speak faster than the normal audiobook setting, try slowing down a bit and see what happens. 🙂
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