What Four College Kids Discovered About Quality Prop Money
As a former preacher and current public speaker, I place high value on using props to get my message across. I am using the acronym CAVE to spell out four critical reasons why we should use objects in our public speaking:
Connect your audience with your story or idea. Preaching for Palm Sunday service years ago I asked the congregation to throw their coats in to the aisle. It was a simple but bold request to do something just like exactly what the crowd did for Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on a colt many years ago. They were throwing their tunics down that was probably their only outer wrap that they owned and it was prone to get dirty, maybe torn, and unfortunately for some, relevant web page have a some horse manure land on it. It was a way to honor their new king. Asking the congregation to throw their coats in the aisle connecting them with the story and made it personal.
Anchor your message within the minds of your audience. How often times do we forget quickly a sermon or speech soon after we heard it? We can often remember ideas when they are linked to something we see. When discussing the two holes in our hearts I created a large 3 foot wide brightly painted heart to put on the platform. I asked for some volunteers to place common household objects into each of the two holes that I had cut in to the heart. It created a mental picture that might not soon fade.
Visualize your ideas. When performing weddings I love to make the sermon very personal to the couple and highlight their wonderful traits and uniqueness. For Eric and Kara I used a skill saw and also a violin. Eric was a carpenter and Kara was a musician. They didn't know I was going to pull these objects out and talk about how these represent them in multiple ways. I tied them together by pointing out how both of them work with wood to make something beautiful and the way Eric and Kara will be operating together to make a beautiful life together. Not just did they really enjoy it when I fired up the skill saw and ran the bow across the strings of the violin, but I created an anchor of a delightful day within their lives.
Engage your audience's imagination. An object can jump start your presentation even before you decide to start speaking. As an example, having an elegante table set for dinner on the platform prior to deciding to start speaking got my congregation wondering what I was going to be speaking about that day. Curiosity keeps our attention.
