I have been building, writing, editing and delivering messages for almost 20 years. 
That’s just crazy to think about!
That started in 1995 and I haven’t stopped. Actually, way back in middle school is when I gave my first official message. Then, in high school, I was on the chapel committee and found myself in front of our student body a lot.
But, it’s true, I have been designing, researching, writing, editing and putting together messages for a long time.
My Personal Plan to Build a Message
Pretty frequently, I get emails from pastors, youth pastors, teachers and people who want to be speakers asking about everything ‘speaking’.
Things like:
How to be a speaker. How to know if you have the gift of speaking. How to get more speaking opportunities. How to build a talk. How to evaluate your message. How to use humor. How to tell stories. How to develop a talk. How gain favor with the audience. How to write a conclusion. How to work speaking skills.
So, I thought would put together a series of posts about all things ‘speaking’. So, here goes.
Building a Message pt. 1
Let me start with this disclaimer: I have pulled together information from a ton of resources on how I build my messages. It has come from years of trail and error. Most of my material for building a message comes from one of these books:
- Secrets of Dynamic Communication, Ken Davis
- How to speak to youth and keep them awake, Ken Davis
- Communicating for a Change, Andy Stanley
- Everyone Communicates, few Connect, John Maxwell
- Say it in Six, Roy Hoff
- Speaking to Teenagers, Doug Fields & Duffy Robins
- Biblical Preaching, Hadden Robinson
- The Quick and easy way to effective speaking, Dale Carnegie
So, that is pt.1 of building a message.
READ ALL OF THESE BOOKS!
Take notes. Take more notes. Highlight. Underline. Right down the stuff that blows your mind.
Learn from the best and then let’s go from there.