Part 5 (1/2)
”I did?”
”Uh-huh. And it would help every communicator to remember it.”
”I'm guessing it wasn't about the b.u.mp on my head.”
”Not directly. And, well, I am sorry about that part of it. It wasn't supposed to happen quite like that. I was just trying to make a memorable point.”
Ray admitted that his head was fine and that whatever Will's point was, he was sure he'd never forget it.
Will continued. ”A few minutes ago you pointed out that the reason I didn't hit my head on that sharp turn was because I knew where we were going. I was ready for it. As a truck drivera”or a driver of any kind, for that mattera”there will always be times when people follow us. Sometimes they're following us on purpose to get somewhere, and sometimes they just happen to be behind us on the road. Either way, these folks have no idea when we're about to turn or change directions. It's up to us to stay aware of that.”
”Okay,” Ray replied, ”then what are you supposed to do?”
”I'll send that question right back to you. What do you do when someone is following you and you're about to make a turn?”
”Use my turn signals. And then I slow down, glancing in my rearview mirror to make sure they're still with me.”
”That's exactly right, Ray,” Will said with a smile. ”Part of keeping your audience engaged is taking it slow in the turns.”
”To be honest, that's what went through my mind just after my head hit your window. Why didn't he slow down and let me know he was turning? ”
”Right. Good question. Now bring it over into the realm of speaking and preaching. As a communicator, you're the only one in the room who knows in advance where you're going on the journey. You're the leader and everyone looks to you for the signals. Remember, Ray, when you put together a sermon you're really mapping out the journeya”and every journey has twists and turns. But it also has mile markers to indicate where the turns need to happen. These are the points of transition, from ME to WE, and WE to G.o.d, and so on in the message map.
”In a sermon, you and I call these transitions, in which we move from one aspect of the message to another. When you come to one of these points you have the option of taking an abrupt turn like I did earlier, or of giving your listeners verbal and nonverbal clues that a transition is coming.”
”And if my experience is any indicator, it's probably a good idea to let them know what's coming.” Ray rubbed the sore spot on his head.
”It could've been worse,” Will said. ”I've seen some guys make such hard turns in a message that they threw people right out the door and they never came back.”
”What are the signals, Will? Should I install blinkers on my pulpit?”
”If you're still using a pulpit, you might need to.”
”Do you have something against pulpits?”
”No, not really, I a Okay, I do have something against them. I think they have the tendency to isolate the communicator from the audiencea”and they limit your ability to use the s.p.a.ce to your advantage.”
”What s.p.a.ce?”
”Exactly!” Will said. ”The pulpit usually takes up all the s.p.a.ce on the platform, and you have no room to move around. Physical, nonverbal cues can be useful indicators to people that you are transitioning. You can move to a certain spot and let it represent a new idea. If you spend all of your time standing behind a pulpit looking down at notes, you lose that abilitya”and you forfeit that option.”
”Which goes back to Internalize the Message,” Ray offered.
”You're exactly right. But what good does it do to internalize a message and then hide behind a pulpit?”
”I guess I never thought of it as hiding.”
”No,” Will said, ”but you have to admit, it does give the impression that you're separated from the people. These are just the nonverbal indicators. More important are the verbal clues we give people to let them know it's time to transition. In the old days guys would just say, *The second point is a ,' as if they were reading a term paper.”
Ray smiled, not wanting to tell Will that the ”old days” were last week's sermon. Ray remembered clicking quickly through four points in his message. He hadn't considered transitions all that important. That's what he'd always thought fill-in-the-blank sermon notes were for.
”Okay, no blinkers on the pulpit. And no pulpit! What are the best ways to give a verbal indication?” Ray asked.
”You want to carefully craft a transitional statement to get you from one section of your map to another,” Will replied.
”Give me an example.”
”Well, if I'm moving from the WE section to the G.o.d section, I may say something like, *Isn't it great to know that even though we all face this issue, G.o.d's Word has something to say about it?' That's pretty simple, and I would usually do more. But at least I've tied the tension to the next section in the Scripture.”
Ray took all of this in. How many times have I knocked heads against windows or possibly thrown people right out of the sanctuary? Truth be told, though, the idea of throwing a few people out of the sanctuary didn't sound all that bad.
”You know, Ray, this also applies to the entire wors.h.i.+p service. I can't tell you how many services I've been to where the music, the announcements, the message, and the other elements seem disjointed. A little attention to transitional statements or music that's chosen because of what came before or after can make the service feel more like a moment to be experienced, instead of various moments to be endured.”
Ray sat back in the comfortable bucket seat and thought. ”So let me see if I have this,” he finally said. ”If you use your turn signals, you'll make transitions that will take people to the next mile marker on the journey, instead of leaving them on the side of the road. And that will help me keep my audience engaged. Does that sound about right?”
”Sounds good to me,” Will said. ”And if this hotel is okay with you then this is a good place to stop for the night.”
Ray and Will checked in and, before heading off to his room, Will shouted back to Ray, ”Breakfast is at 7:30 a.m. sharp. Don't be late.”
Will's tone momentarily made Ray consider sleeping in the cab of the truck but in a matter of moments Ray was lying in a comfortable bed in room 108. He picked up the phone and called Sally to fill her in on his amazing journey. He told her all about Will and the seven imperativesa”or at least the five he knew at this point. He a.s.sured her that he would be home tomorrow, but in the back of his mind he wasn't all that certain. After the second round of ”good night” and ”I love you,” Ray set the alarm and fell asleep.
8.
SHOW ME SOME IDENTIFICATION.
Ray slept better than he had in a long time. Maybe there is light at the end of this preaching tunnel. He and Will were on the road in no time at all and in search of breakfast. The drive-through service was fast and friendly and once again they were on their way.
”How's the coffee?” Will asked. Ray nodded approvingly. ”Those drive-through windows are the best thing that ever happened to hauling. You can make up a lot of time when you don't have to stop.”
”Speaking of stopping, Will, we're five imperatives down and two to go, so don't stop now.”
”Don't you want to finish your breakfast first?”
”I'm a mult.i.tasker.”
”Well, Ray, the next imperative is one that you shouldn't have a problem with a ”
”Well it's about time!” Ray interrupted.
”You shouldn't, but you do.”
”Oh great.”
”Ray, do you see that truck over there?” Will pointed at a huge rig on the northbound side of the interstate.
Ray looked across the median and saw the large white eighteen-wheeler pulling a trailer. ”Yeah, it's hard to miss something that big.”