3 Steps to Gain Confidence Speaking

Many worship leaders I coach express frustration about speaking between songs. Often they stutter, stumble over themselves, or go completely blank! Sometimes that frustration keeps them from trying again.

As you probably know, public speaking is a huge fear for most people. What’s interesting to me is that worship leaders are already in front of people, performing a task, and even using their voice. But they still struggle. I get it. I used to struggle too. Here are 3 things that helped me:

1. Believe what you’re saying!

When I started speaking between songs, giving sermons, and so on, I had to convince myself that what I was saying was the most important thing my audience would ever hear! That may seem silly, but think about it. If you’re talking about Jesus, it’s the most important thing people will hear. That alone should give you confidence!

2.  Prepare!

Part of my problem early on was I just hoped God would give me something brilliant to say between songs. Then I’d get up to speak and would have nothing. I’d just say “lift up a shout of praise” or some other worship leader cliche and move on to the next song. When I started preparing, I started sharing things worth listening to.

3.  Practice!

People often argue with me when I first tell them to practice what they’re going to say. They feel it’s inauthentic in the moment if they’ve prepared it. But here’s the thing: you practice your worship songs - your worship isn’t less authentic. You pastor may preach the same sermon in two different services - the sermon isn’t less authentic. Why would your 30 seconds between songs be less authentic?

If you practice what you’re going to say you’ll be more confident saying it! Just like if you practice a song before service, you’ll be more confident playing it.

Public speaking isn’t easy. It’s a skill that takes time to develop. Don’t give up!