My role has recently changed. For more than twenty years, I focused my energy in ministry on working with teens. Over the past few years, I sensed that my time in youth ministry was coming to an end, at least in the way I’d know it for more than two decades.
Earlier this year, I left my role as a youth minister and stepped into the lead role… permanently. And one of my primary responsibilities is preaching on a weekly basis. Previously, this happened a few times a year. Now, it’s a part of my weekly routine.
With that responsibility in mind, I’ve been reading as much on the art of preaching and communicating that I can get my hands on. And over the course of the past few months, I’ve discovered a few good characteristics and bad characteristics of communicators.
In this post, I want to look at the makings of a bad communicator, with an examination of the positive aspects in another.
I’ve identified three major characteristics of a bad communicator. As I listed these out, I actually had a longer list, but every one of them fit into one of these three categories.
A bad communicator has a mad demeanor or attitude
I’ve noticed this in the past at conferences or workshops. The speaker seemed to almost have a chip on his shoulder, and was came across as angry during his sermon, lesson or presentation. Now, I can identify with a serious message, something that is weighty, and cannot be treated lightly. But preaching with a mad demeanor is not the same thing.
Communicating that seems to be angry does nothing to endear the speaker to his audience, and has the opposite effect of shutting down people’s willingness to listen. It creates a disconnect.
A bad communicator speaks and says nothing
Sadly, I’ve sat through messages and classes where this is the case, too. The point of a sermon, or message, or speech is to make a point, to draw people to the conclusion you want them to make. Too many speakers are nothing but fluff. They speak, but there is nothing of substance, everything is repetitive, or they run around in verbal circles until they finally run out of steam.
If I don’t learn or gain anything from the message, it feels like it was a waste of my time. And I have too many other things vying for my time to waste it on something with such little return.
A bad communicator speaks down to his audience
One of the worst actions a communicator can display is a superior attitude. Of course the speaker knows more about the subject than I do. That’s why I’m listening instead of speaking, unless he’s the communicator that says nothing, that we just talked about.
A communicator who conveys a superior attitude alienates his audience faster than almost anything else, and destroys the chance of making a positive impact with his message.
As a preacher, communication is my primary tool. And just like any other tool, it takes time and effort to learn how to wield correctly. But practice and repetition bring improvement. So even the worst of communicators have hope.
While these three qualities all are characteristic of bad communicators, they all have one common thread: they prevent a communicator from connecting to his audience. Great communicators have the ability to connect. If a speaker cannot connect with the people who hear his message, his influence is minimal. Making that connection is essential to becoming a great communicator.
If a bad communicator is willing to learn, then he can become better at this skill. And as he becomes more adept in this, his message has a greater chance of making a connection, and making an impact.
What are some other characteristics of a bad communicator? What have you learned to help you communicate with greater impact? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.