Joel Osteen: 7 Keys to Successful

Public Speaking
Carmine Gallo 01:45pm EST

This article is more than 10 years old.

As the second subject for Oprah’s Next Chapter on OWN, she chose
mega-church pastor, Joel Osteen. Few people give weekly talks or
“presentations” to as many people as Osteen. His Lakewood Church in
Houston attracts 16,000 for each sermon on Sundays. He reaches
millions more on television in more than one hundred countries and he
has written six New York Times bestsellers. His live appearances at
places like Yankee Stadium are sold out and he has been called
America’s most influential speaker.

Whether you are a religious person or not, there is no denying that

Osteen is an influential speaker and that he has something to teach
anyone who wants to improve his or her public speaking skills. Here
are the 7 keys that make Osteen a popular communicator.

Introduce a theme. Osteen always introduces a theme at the

beginning of his presentation. He will begin his remarks by saying, “I
want to talk to you today about staying passionate about life,” or “I want
to talk you to about having a big vision for your life.” Introducing a
theme gives your audience a roadmap. Make sure your stories,
anecdotes or examples tie back to your main theme.

Tell stories. Osteen fills his sermons with personal stories. Some are
simple anecdotes about something that happened to him, his wife or
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 his kids. Many are stories of friends, people he’s met, or churchgoers
in the congregation. Our brains are not programmed for abstract
thoughts. Tell personal stories to connect with your audience.

Use humor, sparingly. Osteen starts each sermon with a joke or a

humorous observation. I never recommend starting a sales
presentation with a joke because it will often land flat. Osteen has
years of practice and his congregation expects him to start with a joke
but I don’t recommend it for everyone. However, humor is important.
It’s perfectly acceptable and even welcome to take yourself lightly
during a presentation. Osteen’s sermons are delivered live and edited
before broadcast. I once saw a live sermon and, as every speaker
does, Osteen make mistakes. But he doesn’t let those mistakes derail
the rest of his presentation. In fact he makes light of it. “As it says in
Corinthians…” he once started a sentence before pausing. “Well, you
know what it says in Corinithians,” he quipped when he forgot what he
was going to say next. The audience laughed, Osteen smiled and just
kept going. It’s okay to make mistakes. Don’t take yourself too
seriously.

Use parallel sentence structure. Writing or speaking in parallel

sentences is a rhetorical device that you will hear in most great
speeches or presentations. For example, Osteen recently said, “Once
you know you’re a ‘no lack’ person, you won’t run from your enemies,
you’ll run to your enemies. You won’t run away from college, thinking
it’s too hard, you’ll run to it knowing that you’re well able. You won’t run
away from that management position, thinking that you’re not qualified,
you’ll run to it knowing that you’re well equipped.” Consider using
parallel construction somewhere in your presentation. It’s a memorable
way to get your message across.
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 Practice well ahead of time. I’ve heard Osteen say that he prepares
for five days ahead of each sermon. That means he begins to prepare,
write, and rehearse on a Wednesday for the following Sunday’s
sermon. He’ll spend hours for each 30-minute presentation and he
starts fresh every week. Whenever you see a leader who
communicates so well it looks “effortless,” know that there’s a lot of
practice that went into it.

Avoid notes. Osteen’s preparation shows because he rarely speaks

from notes, although he does have notes. The notes are placed
discreetly on his lectern. He always speaks in front of the lectern or
next to it. As he moves to another part of the stage, Osteen glances at
his notes, makes eye contact and continues talking. Don’t break eye
contact with the audience by speaking from notes. Give yourself
enough time to practice so you can deliver your message with
confidence.

Inspire your audience. Osteen’s message is always positive and

inspiring (to the dismay of some of his critics). I think whether you’re a
religious person or not, inspiration is very important in presentations
and communications. Many people are uninspired, demoralized, and
discouraged. They are looking for someone to believe in. As a leader
of a congregation or of a business, people are looking to you for
inspiration. Leave them on a positive note.

Osteen didn’t start out as a confident speaker. In fact he didn’t want

anything to do with preaching and was perfectly content behind the
scenes at his father’s church. Once he decided to preach he was a
nervous wreck, telling Oprah Winfrey that the week before his first
sermon was the worst week of his life. He got through the first sermon
and has worked on his skill every week since. Becoming a great
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 communicator is no longer a skill that’s just nice to have. It’s essential
for success in any field.

Carmine Gallo is the communications coach for the world’s most

admired brands. He is a popular keynote speaker and author of several
books including the international bestsellers, The Presentation Secrets
of Steve Jobs and The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs. His new book,
The Power of Foursquare, reveals how businesses can use mobile
social media to attract, reward, and engage customers in ways that
were never possible. Follow him on Twitter: carminegallo

My new book, The Bezos Blueprint, reveals leadership and

communication

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