As College Ministers we may speak one night to a group of college students in the 18-23 age category and the next day speak or preach to a church of all ages or even mostly older folks. I was a Speech Major in college and my senior project was "Audience Analysis". It was to look at and understand how our audience responds to us while we are speaking. I continue to be fascinated by what affects an audience's attention and response.
Some of the things that affect how an audience responds to us can be affected by what happens prior to our speaking, which we often cannot control. As I have always said, great music in a worship service can make a sorry sermon look good. Some years ago, I spoke at a large youth camp in the morning sessions. The music was high energy and fun. My messages went super well. One church asked me to come and do one of the messages I had done at camp. The music prior to my speaking was to say the least....not high energy or inspiring! The message was not well received. Same message....different response.
A couple of weeks ago I was asked to speak for a Senior Graduate Sunday morning service. It is my home church and they make a big deal out of it with a slide show about all the seniors, introductions and seniors speaking. The music was great and it went well. Everything about the service set me up to come across well.
In the days following it, people are kind enough to say nice things about my sermon. It is the LITTLE THINGS they say that remind me that different age people respond to different things for different reasons. An older lady yesterday told me how much she enjoyed it. She liked the fact that I have people stand when I read the scripture. Her husband said he liked the fact that I don't use notes....that I just speak out of the Bible. She said with a negative tone that one of the other ministers who spoke used an iPad. Let me say with full disclosure, I had a seven page detailed outline clipped inside my Bible that I referred to often.
We are without a pastor right now and we have an Interim Pastor/Preacher. An older friend told me recently she likes how he just preaches the Bible. I wondered what she meant. Our former pastor, who was always well prepared (and preached the Bible) read his scripture and had his notes on a.....you guessed it.....an iPad.. It reminded me of a speaker I heard several years ago who quoted his scripture text from memory. Later I heard him criticized for.....not using the Bible!
So, what's my point......the evils of iPads?? No, I don't use one because I would hit the wrong button and lose it all at just the wrong time. I have no problem with speakers/preachers using iPads. It is no less or more holy than my typed outline paperclipped inside my Bible. It is the reminder that different age audiences respond differently to different things that help them HEAR or NOT HEAR our message. I wear a tie in some places when I speak and in other places I do not wear a tie.
If we are working at being an effective communicator, we must analyze and think about our audiences. Remember, your audience at a college event is very different than the audience in a Sunday service.
Arliss Dickerson has spoken to and bored audiences of all ages. Check out his five 99 cent eBooks on college ministry at Amazon.com. His book, FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY, is available in paperback for $3.99 at Amazon.com/dp/B0741DM1CD
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