8 Public Speaking Tips for Missionaries

Carrie Mills • May 15, 2017

As a missionary, a big part of your job is building relationships with supporters. Public speaking is a great way to share your story and invite a large number of people into partnership with your ministry at one time. It’s also a great way to make even the most outgoing person break a sweat!

Public speaking is one of the biggest fears people face. In fact, 74 percent of people admit to getting nervous before giving a speech. Whether you get a few butterflies or downright freeze in front of people, you’re not alone.

But you don’t have to let fear keep you from sharing your story with large groups of people. Here are eight public speaking tips to help you rock your next presentation.

Be Real

Unless you’re a head of state, no one expects you to give a flawless performance. Give yourself permission upfront to mess up. It’s okay to show emotion (you’re not a robot!), admit you’re nervous and stumble over words.

Focus on your message and share your heart. There is plenty of room here for grace, and the Lord can still use your presentation — sweaty palms and all — to open people’s hearts.

BONUS TIP: As your support team starts to form, you should keep track of your supporters’ contact information, their financial commitments and your communications with them. Download this Support Raising Excel Template to keep this critical information in one place.

Practice


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Rehearsing your presentation will allow you to become comfortable with your speech in a safe environment. Use practice time to familiarize yourself with the content of your speech.

Don’t aim to memorize your speech, but do create an outline. The more familiar you are with what you want to say, the more natural you’ll come across.

Maximize your practice time by getting feedback: Ask your friends or family to be a practice audience and to note what you did well and what you need to improve.

Or, try recording yourself with your phone or laptop. Then play it back as you take notes on both the good and the not-so-good parts.

Slow Down

When speaking to a group, you need to speak much slower than you would if you were talking to someone one-on-one.

There is a lot more space between you and your audience, so the physical cues someone would follow if you were talking individually (like lip-reading and body language) are lost on a large group.

Listeners are also intrinsically lazy. If you talk too fast, your audience has to work harder to comprehend what you’re saying.

Pause. Take a deep breath. Let your words sink in. And speak slower than you would normally. It will feel awkward at first, but your audience will retain more and even perceive you as more confident after you’ve finished.

Create an Outline

If you only follow one tip on this list, let it be this: Make. An. Outline. Please don’t wing it and go up there without knowing exactly what you need to cover during your presentation. There’s a good chance you’ll forget something and an even better chance you’ll get off track.

On the flip side, don’t write out your speech word-for-word. Nobody wants to listen to a speaker who reads straight from a script.

Using an outline will keep you focused while giving you freedom to be natural between your talking points. Jot down every point you want to make, and use it as a guide for presenting the material in your own words. Then, practice enough (see tip #2) that you can consistently cover all your points without referring to your outline too often.

BONUS TIP: Create visual cues on your outline with colorful highlighters or markers . Using a bright visual will let you remind yourself of something with just a quick glance.

Make Eye Contact

Eye contact produces powerful feelings of connection, so it’s a must if you want to engage your audience during a speech.

Make eye contact with one person at a time, across the entire room, throughout your presentation. Easier said than done, though, right?

Here’s a trick I use: Find a particular color, hair style, accessory or article of clothing to look for in the audience. This will keep your eye roaming. When you spot reading glasses (or whatever item you chose to look for), focus on those briefly to emulate eye contact. To others, it will look like you’re connecting with someone in the audience. Only you and the glasses will know otherwise.

Use Visuals Wisely


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Visual illustrations can greatly enhance your message. Try to find photos that reflect what you’re saying, and use a slide at the end of your presentation with contact information or a way to connect with you after you’re done.

Beware: There’s a fine line between using visuals to enhance a speech and letting them distract your audience. You want the audience’s attention on you, so choose slides that are visual and don’t have a lot of text (If the audience has to read, they’ll stop listening to you).

Also, keep the number of slides to a minimum so you don’t have to worry about frequently changing the slides or cueing someone else to make the change. A good rule of thumb is to use one to two slides per minute of presentation time.

Know Your Space

The more you know about the space you’ll be speaking in, the more comfortable you’ll be when it comes time to present. Learn as much about the space as you can.

Here are some questions to start with:

  • Will there be a screen for a slideshow?
  • Will I have a microphone? Cordless or corded?
  • Will it be recorded? What cameras do I need to be aware of?
  • Will the lights be up or down?
  • Will I be standing, or will there be chairs?
  • Will there be a podium?
  • Where will I be while I’m waiting to speak?
  • How will I get to the front/onstage?
  • How will I know when it’s time to go up? Will someone be introducing me?
  • Where should I go when I’m done speaking?

Wrap It Up


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What you say at the beginning and the end of your speech are what the audience will remember the most. As you conclude your speech, there are a few key components you need to cover:

  1. Thank your audience for their time and for listening.
  2. Give people a call to action: a way to connect with you after you’re done talking and to learn more about you and your ministry.
  3. Summarize what you’ve covered, especially if your presentation was on the longer side.
  4. Relax, because you did it!

The best way to get better at anything is to do it — over and over again. Even if public speaking makes your palms sweaty and knees go weak, you can do it and do it well. Take every opportunity you can to speak to others about your ministry, and you’ll find yourself becoming more comfortable and natural over time.

Have any more public speaking tips for missionaries to share? Tell us below!

By Suzanne Pearson 19 Mar, 2024
Previously on the TEAM blog, we sat down with Justin Burkholder (pictured above at left, with TEAM's Executive Director of Communications, Aaron Catlin). Justin will become TEAM’s next International Director on July 1, 2024. Justin shared about his background, family, and the journey that led him to TEAM. Check out that interview here . Today, we pick up the conversation as Justin shares how God called him to the role of International Director, and what he sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church. Q: How and when did you first consider applying for the position of International Director? How did the Lord reveal Himself to you as this opportunity presented itself? A: For some time, I have been evaluating how God wants me to use the gifts He has given me. Jenny and I have had a fruitful ministry in church planting in Guatemala and would happily continue doing so as God leads. However, as God blessed my efforts in TEAM leadership, there were friends and family who expressed that I should consider using my gifts in the International Director role. I don’t believe that everything necessarily rises and falls on leadership, but I do believe that it is a core component in the body of Christ. Using the gifts God has given me is a way that I want to bless the body of Christ in TEAM, making my contribution to the global purposes of God’s mission. Jenny and I spent a lot of time praying about this and decided that I should put my name in for consideration, trusting God’s guidance. We had a tremendous amount of peace throughout the entire process and were blessed by the prayer-filled process that the board undertook. Q: This is a key role in a large and complex organization, and I’m sure this was a big decision for you and your family. What were your fears or concerns? Why did you ultimately decide to accept the position? A: You say “were” like the fears have passed! I still am quite aware of my youth and inexperience - of the responsibility and weight of this role. Mostly, I’m afraid of leading an organization like TEAM in the flesh. Many of the fears that I have faced have been fears rooted in fleshly desires and concerns. I have no desire to succeed in the world’s eyes and fail in the Kingdom of Jesus. Why did I ultimately decide to accept the position? I’m convinced that the Good News about Jesus is true. The tomb is empty, Jesus is King, and the world needs to know, because Jesus is coming back. He will put things in order. He will establish righteousness, peace, and justice for all mankind, and He has commissioned His Church to proclaim and demonstrate His rule and reign. I want to use my gifts to do whatever I can to amplify the proclamation of this message and the multiplication of His Church around the world. Q: What are your goals and vision for the future of TEAM? A: This is something that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. I’m certainly not ready to present a fully-shaped vision and goals for TEAM’s future without the input of other people in different contexts in TEAM. But, I will share a few things that I think are important: First, we need to model God-Dependence . I am hopeful that as leaders in TEAM, we can continue to model God-Dependence. As Hudson Taylor said years ago “…God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supplies.” I am hopeful that we can increase our sense of faith in God, prayer, and seeking direction from the Spirit. Secondly, we must strengthen our relational fabric . Due to the changes that we have experienced by decentralizing our home office functions, and the challenges from the pandemic, we have experienced a loss of relationships. It is imperative that we intentionally prioritize the building of relationships with one another. I plan to visit our workers and staff, and I am expectant that other key leaders and staff will be doing the same. Third, we must pursue the greater presence of the global Church. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ doesn’t look like any single geopolitical, ethnic, or racial culture. If we want to truly see the Kingdom of Jesus come on earth as it is in heaven, then we as citizens of this Kingdom must learn from one another, submit to one another, and grow with one another. The missional potential of the global Church has been unleashed by God’s Spirit since Acts 1, and we have an opportunity to learn from many brothers and sisters in Christ who can help us to better model and proclaim the Kingdom of Jesus to those who have yet to believe. Lastly, we must increase our Gospel boldness . There are still many places of great spiritual blindness and spiritual brokenness around the world. The apostolic impulse of cross-cultural organizations should call us to the to the edges of where the Kingdom of Jesus is not penetrating. Whether spiritual blindness and brokenness exists because of lack of access, idolatry, injustice, or any other myriad of reasons, I prayerfully hope to see more and more TEAM workers continue to move into spaces of great Gospel need.
By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
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