Have you ever heard a worship leader speak while they're leading worship and think to yourself, "I wonder how they really sound? Do they always talk like that?"

In today's highlight-centric world, where everyone is tempted to cover up their perceived imperfections - there's been a longing for authenticity like never before. People want to know what other people are really like. And, if you pair that with the mission of the church, you find out that pobody's nerfect (Office reference anyone?).

The beauty of being in the church is that you CAN be yourself - however imperfect you feel - and other people are okay with it (or at least should be).

How's that relate to speaking to your church? It means you don't have to use grandiose language or fancy words to impress people - you can be authentic. How do you do that?

Here are 3 tips for being authentic when you speak to your church:

1 | Prepare in advance

Sounding authentic actually takes work when you're speaking in front of people. Sure, you can start speaking without any prior preparation but you want to sound authentic - not authentically unprepared! Figure out the gist of what you want to say and use that to guide how you speak.

2 | Memorize talking points - not a script

The key to preparing in advance and still sounding authentic is to memorize talking points. There's probably only one MAIN point you want to get across and a few sub-points to support it. So, start by writing out exactly what you want to say - word for word. That helps you formulate your ideas. But then don't memorize it like a script. Just break it down into the main points and work on authentically connecting those ideas together.

3 | Use the sort of language you would normally use

When you're thinking about what to say - use the language you would normally use. It's always awkward when a worship leader speaks one way on stage and then they're a completely different person off stage. People will appreciate YOU being YOU - they don't want to be led by some version of who you think they want you to be. So, talk to them like you would talk to them out in the lobby after church - it's better that way.

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