This easy method for public speech building and sharing your testimony breaks down the traditional method into 5 steps anyone can do. Giving your testimony or sharing your personal story in public doesn’t have to be complicated.
From time to time, I have the opportunity to do some training and education classes and one of my favorite topics to teach about is “Sharing your Story.” I’ve had the chance to do some training with the American Cancer Society and Global Relay For Life and with both of those groups, I’ve facilitated a session under that title. This past year, I was able to teach is to our friends at the Mary and Martha Center and helped design some tools for our church leadership to use in helping adults tell their testimony.
Growing up in a Christian home, I’ve always learned about the importance of telling your testimony. I’ve even attended classes and retreats training me to do it better. But, as I’ve grown to be an adult and understand the purpose and value of telling your testimony, I’ve also come to understand that we tend to over complicate it. We, being those in the church world, and for me, I had to look at the training I had about sharing my cancer story to not make it as complicated for me.
Tell your testimony = get up in front of someone with an impressive, planned, speech or get ready for a mission trip to Africa.
Share your story = honesty across the coffee table from a friend or stranger as you unpack/unwrap/ and discover and tell what has happened in your life.
- testimony – usually tied to a story of faith and the differece Jesus has made in your life
- story – everyone has a story and it is a truth only they own of the experiences their life has encountered
This topic has been wrestling and rolling around in my mind for a few weeks, but this morning as I listened to a sermon – well as we attended online church, I was compelled as we jumped into the story of Jonah. While it is not officially known that Jonah wrote this book, we are left to assume some journals were referenced personal connection or nature given his place in the historical list of Minor Prophets. The book of Jonah is a list of his experiences; essentially, the story of Jonah’s life.
So, as you think about telling your testimony, I want you to break it down even further and more basic – share your story.
Framework for Sharing your Story (aka Telling Your Testimony)
- The beginning of your story.
- What was your life like before you encountered Jesus?
- Your encounter with Jesus.
- How has your life been different since you encountered Jesus?
- BONUS –close with what you want others to know.
Wait, its that simple? Yes!
I know so often we look for a fill in the blank resource or an example we have to follow, and I’d like to tell you it doesn’t exist. Just like each of us are unique individuals, so are our stories. Some of us heard about Jesus all our lives, some of us met him as a teen, and others found a place of redemption as an adult. That’s why there is no one methodology to “write your story.”
I’ll go one step further and say my story now as a 38-year-old woman is different than my basic “I met Jesus when I was a 7 year old.” Those things are all true, but over the nearly three decades that I’ve been a Christian, I’ve experienced Jesus in new and rich ways and that has to be part of the story I tell of how Jesus redeemed, healed, and changed me.
So, using the framework above, how would you share your story?
- Who were you before Jesus?
- How did you meet Jesus?
- How has Jesus changed you?
My story and how I encountered Jesus never changes, but as I keep experiencing His grace, moment by moment, year by year, so many manifestations of those interactions get added to my story.
Testimony Example using the story of Jonah
The beginning of your Story
I’m Jonah. I was called by God to be a prophet to His people. I was just an ordinary dude.
What was your life like before you encountered Jesus
I am a Hebrew, I worship the Lord.
Your encounter with Jesus
Well, there was more than one. First, God asked me to go to Nineveh and tell people about Him. I said no and ran from him. But, He did not give up on me. I cried out and he heard me. He sent a big fish to rescue me from drowning and I heard from the Lord again while I was in its belly.
How has your life been different since you encountered Jesus?
Well, how has it not! Obedience makes so much difference. God always wanted to use me, and when I finally let Him, he did. The people of Nineveh listened to me and many repented and turned from God. When I became available, God was able to use me to bring others to Him and he saved those people from destruction.
BONUS – close with what you want people to know – for Jonah, who was a preacher and storyteller about Jesus, he no doubt had a handful of topics in his proverbial back pocket that he could use to illustrate Jesus’ forgiveness, instruction, grace, and redemption. So, much like any preacher, he would adapt those topics to what God was stirring in his heart during a sermon or encounter with an individual. But, knowing and recognizing these were important so they were easy to recall.
- God has a calling for your life
- You are not too far away for God to find you/see you
- Your sin will take you farther than you want to go
- God doesn’t move, we do
- God hears you
- God will meet you right where you are, even if that’s in the belly of a big fish or covered in fish vomit on a sandy beach
- God always has a purpose for your circumstances
I mentioned at the beginning that I use this same framework to teach people how to tell their story about the American Cancer Society, but this framework works as a great outline format for any organization. When building this personal story framework, we are considering that our audience might be a new introduction to the organization or a donation request. Sometimes you just need to develop the basic outline/framework of your story and then when it comes time to share it, you can adapt parts of it for the intended audience.
Many of my friends who have heard me share my personal cancer story many times, give me a little jab that it’s different every time. And, to some degree, they are right. Sometimes I include more details than others. Sometimes I weave my faith story into my cancer story. Sometimes I hit more on my interaction with Relay For Life and sometimes, I talk more about my doctor, or my community of support. Those are things that can be developed with time, especially when the main pieces in your “Telling Your Story Framework” have been identified.
Telling your Story Outline | Framework for writing your cancer story
- Introduction
- Encounter with cancer (organizational topic)
- How does that connect to/intersect with the American Cancer Society (organization)?
- What does that mean to you?
- Close with a call to action – may change based on audience or occasion
This framework can work for a baseball program, local non-profit or cause, getting your team at work to understand your passion for a project or partnership or participation in a national organization. Similar to building your personal testimony, you don’t have to overcomplicate the process.
- stick to the facts
- make it personal
- find a punch line
- connect to an action step
Storytelling is so impactful. As a matter of fact, every brand that you encounter is ferociously trying to build a brand story. They are trying to develop a character that interacts with their product or service. They are seeking to turn that character into a hero that others want to follow and build a story of interaction around them. Guess what? YOU are already that hero and your personal experiences are important and compelling and need to be shared!
Whether you are working on writing your testimony or sharing a personal story with a disease, childhood experience, or product interaction these same steps below can help you build your story, practice, and prepare for sharing your story with others.
How to write your story to share in public
This may seem silly but you just need to sit down and work on it. Yes, its important to think about what you want to say, but at some point, things have to get practical and you need to just sit down and get it done!
So, whether you are working on a Google doc, a journal (my personal favorite), a blank Word document or a piece of paper, heck even some thing out of your recycle bin could work!) write the prompt next tot he first bullet point at the top of the paper and start writing on that topic.
Some people find it helpful to outline the first draft in bullet points so you can move the pieces around as you develop a “written” story. Others just want to start writing a sentence and move them around later. Either method works in this step of the process. The biggest thing is to get all the facts down on paper and out of your head.
Repeat this process with the next bullet point/section header once you have completed thoughts on the first topic. As you continue with each bullet point/section header, you will no doubt think of pieces that need to go in a previous section you worked on. That’s fine, go back and add those thoughts to the previous section.
As I mentioned earlier, my story and the details of my story as a 38 year old woman have continued to change and develop as I’ve encountered and experienced Jesus in new ways. I think the same could be said for Jonah, who inspired me this morning to write. He was a dude who was going about his business as a grown man, Day to day stuff like family and work when God gave him a set of instructions and he said no.
- Jonah –
- God gave him instructions
- He said no and went in the opposite direction
- big storm
- thrown overboard
- got swallowed by a fish
- God met him where he was – provision was met
- Jonah repented and cried out to the Lord
- the fish spit him up on the beach.
- He repented
- He obeyed God and his calling
Using the Notecard Method to practice and tell your story as a speech
One of my favorite ways to teach people how to share their story in public, whether its a faith testimony or a cancer journey, I have them follow a method using notecards. I bawked this system the first time it was taught to me and people I train who have a speaking background don’t really like to use it either. but it really is the best way to teach people how to pair down their story to the core pieces where they can embellish as needed based on the situation.
Here’s what you do (each step is part of the process, do not skip the journey):
- Get a pile of notecards/index cards and a pen – and probably a long table, counter, or surface where you can spread out your project
- write down all the facts of your story – Intro to Experience to Outcome – all the things you think are important
- put the cards in order – top to bottom or left to right, you pick the path, just remember it
- look at the cards
- step out of the personal nature of this story and evaluate
- Ask, what details can be pulled and don’t matter to the long outcome of this story – that may mean the details about the location you were when you surrendered your life to Christ, or the name of every medical nurse you encountered.
- Start at the beginning again and weed out the unnecessary details to sharing your story publicly – **this is where I struggled the most. So, remember the details of your story are important. And, in some contexts, they will be the piece that connects you to another person. But, for the impact of publicly presenting your story, all the details are not necessary. You need to get to your punchline and then deliver the finale and keep in your allotted time.
- Now, look at the cards you have left. Can some of them be combined? Are they a distinct fact on their own, or are they a bigger idea that together would make a more concise point?
- Work that list and combine. You really want to get your story details down to no more than 10 cards.
- Once you are that place, rewrite your cards as needed so you have your polished 5-10 cards
- The front should have the details to trigger your verbalizing the story. On the back, write the number that corresponds with their order in your story. So, if these are laid out, the first card has a one on the back, the second one, a 2, repeat on the remaining cards.
- Don’t throw out those other cards unless you really don’t need them. There might be a time they need to be thrown in. Store your cards in an index cardholder or a zipper bag. But, paper clip or rubber band together the cards you are using to present.
This set of cards will be your lifeline as you tell your story publicly. Prepare, practice, and keep presenting. I can’t promise it will get easier or that you won’t cry. But, the more you share your story, the more comfortable it becomes in owning your pieces.
How to practice your story to share in public
Practice. Practice. Practice.
Practice makes perfect.
We have heard both phrases so many times, we just roll our eyes so quickly. But, its true!
And, when it comes to public speaking it only gets easier the more you do it. I have a degree in public speaking. I have training volunteers globally through zoom. I’ve spoken on the stage in large auditoriums. I teach tweens in an afterschool program. I’ve presented and taught college students. But, every time I get up in front of a group of people, my heart starts to race and I get a lump in my throat.
I like to think its the thing that keeps me humble and wanting to improve and learn more. But, my dad who is a preacher and past retirment age still gets butterflies sometimes. There is something about the vulnerability of being in front of people that makes you sweat a little. And that adrenaline, when put in the right stream can make you a better orator.
So, here are a few things I think help when you are sharing a personal story in public:
- plan
- prepare
- practice
- present
- review
Plan – do the card method above. A day is coming (or you wouldn’t be researching the topic) when you will need to share your story publicly. So, get yourself ready.
Prepare for the specific audience and venue where you will be speaking. Take what you have already planned and prepare it for this specific moment. Who will be in the audience? What is your intended outcome or call to action? What venue will you be speaking in? Will there be a podium, stage, microphone. etc.? Do you need to fully write out your speech so you know all the things you want to say? Do you need to condense your notes down to bullet points on one postcard so you can speak from that place?
Practice – seriously tho! I employ a couple different methods when I practice my speech. I like to give a speech that is written out. So,
- after I’ve prepared the speech, I will stand up or sit down, based on the venue I’ll be presenting and I verbally say my speech out loud. I want to hear it.
- Then, I will make adjustments and do it again, recording myself the second time.
- Then I will listen to the playback. Does it sound like something I would be engaged and listen to? Does it make me want to take action? Did my accent come out? Do I put the right inflection in the right places
- Then I make adjustments to my speech and print out a new copy. If I need to emphasize something or breathe, etc. I will use highlighters and pens to mark up my speech so I’m ready to present.
- Next, I record myself again. I like to be familiar with my words because it makes me more comfortable to come out of my notes and make eye contact and adjust if needed at the moment.
- Depending on the time I have before a speech, I will sometimes listen to it while I do my hair and makeup or I will listen to it in the car or while I’m sitting outside before a speech.
- I also think it is helpful to present in front of people if that is not something you have had a lot of experience with. Ask your roommate, spouse, parent, or friend to give you time where you can practice presenting your speech like you would for public. Wear the shoes you would wear. Practice in a suit coat if that is part of your “outfit.”
- Do anything you need to, to feel more confident and remove fear. That’s the whole point of practicing.
Present – just get up there and do it! Go to the bathroom, look at yourself in the mirror. Check your nose for boogers, zipper to make sure its up and teeth for lipstick. Then, just go deliver what you prepared. Don’t think about extra things, comparing yourself to someone else, or worry about any of it. If you have come this far, you are ready!
Review – after you present, look back at your speech. Were there immediate things you want to fix or change, do that now. If you knew someone in the audience, ask them for feedback. Not the kid your mom would give you (because she birthed you, she thinks you are perfect). Real feedback. Did you have a nervous word? How was your stance? Should you change your inflection? What part of your speech meant the most to them? Was there something they think you should leave out or a part you should emphasize more next time? Make those adjustments
Giving a speech is hard for everyone. It is hard the first time and it’s hard when you change topics and present in a new place. But, the one thing you ALWAYS have going for you whether it’s your faith testimony or interaction with a special organization. Your story is always evolving. Life is always bringing you new experiences. And, those are yours. Own. Them.
Much like an author becomes a better author by practicing writing and reading books, a speaker becomes a better speaker by speaking and listening to others present. Don’t try to say or be things you are not. Just share YOUR story. Bring us the best you. And, the rest will start taking shape itself.
