Christian Self Help:
How to do Better in Christian Public
Speaking.
::::: God's
Cure for Stage Fright: How to Sing, Teach,
:::::
Preach, or Give a Speech
without Nervousness
When I am plagued by stage fright, several
nasty symptoms arise:
1.) Sometimes my mind goes blank. An audience
stares at me expectantly,waiting to hear something
profound, but I can hardly remember my name.
2.) I talk too fast. Pausing allows people time to
let things soak in,
but I'm afraid to pause -- lest people use that
moment to conclude that the speaker is an idiot.
3.) I am too flustered to think clearly.
Regardless of how organized my notes might be, my
presentation is disorganized. I often cover points
in the wrong order or leave them out altogether.
4.) My jokes aren't funny. Because my timing is
shot to pieces, all
attempts at humor fall flat. If people laugh at
all, it's only because
they feel sorry for me.
5.) I fail to establish a rapport with my
audience.
Nervousness can diminish or even destroy our
effectiveness. These nervous symptoms can
short-circuit the communication process so that
very little penetrates the minds and hearts of the
listeners. Fortunately, if we are willing to face
up to the true cause of our nervousness, God has a
cure.
Who Are We Trying to Impress?
The nervousness we call "stage fright" is caused
by having the wrong goal. Either my goal is to
impress others or to avoid embarrassment -- two
sides of the same selfish coin. In both cases it's
all about me. I am not focusing on the interests
of my audience; I am focusing on my own interests.
I'm not trying to advance God's Kingdom; I'm
trying to advance my kingdom.
When I'm nervous,
what is it that I fear? I'm afraid I'll say or do
something stupid. I seek to avoid being humiliated
-- especially in front of large numbers of people.
Tape recorders and video cameras make me even more
nervous because then I can make a fool of myself
and have the moment immortalized on tape. The
cure? There's only one -- I must change my goal.
No longer can I seek to impress people or to avoid
humiliation. I must
seek to benefit those in the audience.
It's amazing! When I correct my goal, the
nervousness always disappears. There have been no
exceptions. Why? Because unlike taking three deep
breaths, listening to tapes of ocean noises, or
other methods to reduce nervousness, this method
puts the ax to the root of the problem. Because
nervousness is caused by having the wrong goal, we
must change our goal in order to cure it.
Nervousness disappears when we say in our hearts:
"Lord, I'm not here to impress them; I'm here to
bless them."
God is calling us to purity of heart, purity of
motive. After hearing this
message on overcoming stage fright, one of my
university students
approached me after class. "This really explains
something to me," he
said. "I'm a youth minister, and I never get
nervous when I speak to my youth group, but I
always get nervous once a month when I speak to
their parents. Now I understand why. I'm trying to
impress the parents; I'm trying to help the kids."
The Apostle Paul turned his public speaking
opportunities into acts of
love by humbling himself. He describes his goal
and the wonderful impact it had on his public
speaking in Acts 20:18, 20: "You yourselves know
how I lived among you...serving the Lord with all
humility. I did not shrink from declaring to you
anything that was profitable." Shrinking back is a
form of self-protection -- like a turtle pulling
back into it's shell. Paul did not shrink back,
because he wasn't thinking about himself. He was
thinking about how to profit his listeners. His
humility gave birth to boldness.
Paul not only faced the more common fears of
public speakers -- people falling asleep, rolling
their eyes, or walking out -- he also withstood
beatings, stonings, and imprisonment. However,
because he adopted the right goal, Paul didn't
shrink back. He lived not for himself, but to
advance God's Kingdom by benefiting others.
John Powell, a Jesuit priest, shares about being
gripped by nervousness in the following testimony:
Along with two others from
my order, I was chosen to give a presentation at
several universities in the Midwest. Our little
traveling trio made big waves wherever we went.
Finally we came back to speak at Loyola
University, where I teach. There in the audience
were 115 Jesuits: the men I live with, eat with,
teach with. They were my brothers and I wanted to
WOW them.
You've never heard me speak, I thought, and I'm
really good, and you don't know it...tonight
you're going to know it. But I was very nervous.
And so I said to God, "God, would you relax me?
Just put your hands over my heart or something."
And nothing happened.
I said, "Oh come on, God, I
want to give a good talk tonight, and if I'm
nervous, I won't." Then I heard the words that,
among other peak
experiences with God, have transformed me:
You are getting ready to give a performance, and I
don't want a
performance. I want an act of love. You are going
to perform for your
brothers so they will know how good you are. They
don't need to know how good you are. I don't want
a performance; I want an act of love.
I looked out again. When you're self-conscious,
you're using everybody for a mirror. How am
I going over, huh? What do you think? What do you
think of me?
Then there's that wonderful moment of love when
you begin to look out again at those same people
and say, What do you want? What do you need? Where
do you hurt? Can I help you?
I looked out at my brothers a second time after I
heard what I feel sure was the voice of God. I
looked at four of our priests who were having a
terrible struggle with alcoholism. One of them,
poor man, was very sick. All four were going
through a terrible trial.
Then there were those who
had been forced to retire from teaching due to
their age. They felt like they were on the shelf,
like nobody cared about them. They didn't say
smart things anymore or make bright moves--nobody
needed them. I looked out at their faces for a
long time.
Then I looked out at those who were physically
sick, for whom every step was painful, whose heads
ached, whose eyes burned. I looked out at those
who were unsuccessful in everything they do. Their
students don't like them; their classes are always
unsuccessful. I looked at them for a long time and
I kept thinking: And I wanted to WOW you. I wanted
to impress you with how good I am. I wanted you to
admire me. Oh, you don't need me for that. You
need me to love you.
As I looked out at my brothers, all the
nervousness disappeared, and I loved them.
I realized in that moment how cluttered with
performances my life has
been. I have been a performer. I have been
listening for applause after every performance.
And in that moment I heard God say to me, Not
another performance, but an act of love.
[Testimony by John Powell - used with permission.]
God had an act of love in mind when He spoke to
Moses about leading two million Hebrews out of
Egyptian slavery, but Moses responded, "Oh, my
Lord, I am not eloquent,...send, I pray, some
other person" (Exodus 4:10,13 RSV). Obviously,
something was wrong with Moses' response, because
the next verse says, "Then God's anger was kindled
against Moses."
God wanted to use Moses to set two million people
free, but Moses wasn't thinking about two million
people. Moses was thinking about one person. His
focus was riveted on himself. Pride is
preoccupation with self -- regardless of what form
it takes. God wanted Moses to humble himself by
focusing on those he was sent to help.
God began teaching me this principle about twenty
years ago. Here is the gist of what He taught me:
Make loving others your goal. Concentrate on the
individuals with needs. Concentrate on how you can
help them, on how you can love them best. In this
way you will be pleasing in My sight.
The Place of Preparation
Many people have noticed that their level of
nervousness depends in part on their level of
preparation. One Christian magazine editor
observed that some people no longer experience
stage fright -- even though their goal is not to
benefit their audience -- because, through
preparation, they have become quite confident of
their speaking or singing abilities.
But I ask you, what good is that? If my public
speaking is not an act of love, if it doesn't
please the heart of God, then what good is it?
Even if we manage to sing or speak without
nervousness, even if we manage to impress our
audience, what value does it have to God if our
motives are contaminated by selfishness?
God is interested in excellence so He certainly
wants us to prepare well, but He's also interested
in what motivates us to prepare well. Do we
prepare well in order to impress others? Do we
prepare well to avoid being embarrassed? Or do we
prepare well to increase the benefit we can bring
to those who hear? If our secret motive is to
exalt ourselves or avoid humiliation, then God
won't be a part of what we're doing.
At the judgment seat of Christ, our works and
motives will be exposed (see I Corinthians
3:9-15). God will test our works by fire to show
what was of value and what was worthless. The
"wood, hay, and stubble" will be consumed; the
"gold, silver, and precious stones" will last for
all eternity. Let's turn our public speaking
opportunities into gold, silver, and precious
stones by making them acts of love toward our
audience.
As wonderful as it would be to avoid the
uncomfortable feelings and
symptoms associated with stage fright, there is a
much more important issue here. Will we be people
God can use? Will we be people His Kingdom can
flow through to change people's lives? If we
humble ourselves and focus on serving others, we
will be.
In teaching about servanthood, Jesus never said if
you know these things you'll be blessed. He said,
"If you know these things, blessed are you if you
do them." (John 13:17)
"Father God, thank you for the talents and
abilities you have given me. In every opportunity
I have to speak to others, in public or private,
empower me to be a blessing. Please train me to
humble myself and to speak boldly for the sake of
others and for the sake of Your Kingdom."
By Jamie Lash
www.LifeGivingWords.com
[Copyright 2004. This article may be reprinted in
its entirety.]
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