Malcolm Cox

Teaching Tip 356 | “Plain Speaking - Be Yourself” | Malcolm Cox  Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  Are you trying to sound like someone else when you speak? Please don’t. You have a personality for a reason. Be yourself.  Reading the public teachings of Jesus and Paul, it is clear they spoke differently. If the book of James is a collection of sermons as many scholars think, they also ‘sound’ very different from Jesus. Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are different in style as well as content.  Imagine if every preacher sounded exactly the same. Not only would we find it hard not to get bored, but something more profound would be lost - authenticity. 1. Authenticity. Learning from other speakers is valuable, but attempting to be them is not. Your congregation knows you and wants to hear from you - not an AI version of yourself. 2. Distractions. If your ‘natural’ style includes mumbling, shuffling or staring at the c