Power of Communication

I was reading Acts 22 yesterday and pulled out some great stuff that really spoke to my heart as a leader and communicatior and I thought I would share a bit with you. Three times in the Book of Acts, you find Paul recounting his conversion. Twice he tells his story before government rulers. In both settings he adapts his story and emphasizes a facet that meets the needs of his audience.

As leaders if we are going to be effective, we need to not only know what to say but how to say it in order to most powerfully impact our listeners. When we speak, we need to take into account impact, not image. We need to constantly evaluate our audience and communicate in a way that best connects with our listeners and then help them make practical applications to the message God has given us.

Sunday, I was speaking to Clay, about how amazing it was that you can take the same message and slightly tweak it to appeal to different audiences and the effect that it has. Try reading Acts 22 and 26 with the intention of comparing and contrasting the accounts of Paul. What differences do you see? What similarities? Why would Paul emphasize one thing to one audience and another to a second audience? What can you learn from Paul about effectively shaping your message to different groups? (i.e. Middle School & High School students)