Everyone loves a story. But it is just as evident that not everyone can tell one. Most of us could recount occasions when we have sat through the most laborious anecdotes by family members or friends only to hear something like this dreaded ending: “Did I mention he was a policeman? Oh, well, yeah, he was a cop…”
As I said, everyone loves a story, but not everyone can tell them. However becoming a good story teller is made immeasurably easier by this second installment of classic lectures by that arch communicator, Clifford Warne.
In A storyteller’s secrets Clifford teachs from his international lecture series on how to write and tell effective stories. The lessons are easy to understand and universal in their application, whether you are communicating to the educated elite or the very young. Clifford’s points have been tested and approved by audiences in Britain, Egypt, East Africa, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Guinea, New Zealand and the United States.
Clifford Warne’s lecture is particularly assembled with the evangelist in mind.
The story is probably one of the most effective communication tools for Christian workers. It was certainly a favoured technique employed by Jesus. He hooked audiences with stories about things familiar to them, preparing their minds for the Gospel message. To farmers he spoke about the trials of planting seeds; to shepherds the value owners place on their flocks; to city-dwellers, current affairs like the collapse of a local tower. Clifford often observed that a conservative survey of the Gospel of Luke reveals 50% of Jesus’ words are vivid illustrative material.
As with Clifford’s previous lecture, The art of reading aloud, his lessons garnered from a life-time of study and practice, are out of print and now generally unavailable to the public. However, thanks to the generosity of Audio Advice and Reason4Hope.com.au, we are now able to offer them as a free download from our site.
The third and final classic lecture by Clifford Warne, Hold that audience! will be made available in coming weeks.
