I heard several communicators at Day one of Catalyst.  You can find notes from their sessions all over, but I thought I would comment a little on their communication style.

If you were to have 100 pastors list the top 3 preachers and the top 3 leaders, Andy Stanley’s name would be the only one on both lists.  I love listening to Andy speak, because he’s engaging and insightful.  He usually begins with a story or sets up the content with some tension, then he will say the same thing in multiple ways.  The principle is the meat of his message.   I can still remember Andy’s points from messages long ago.

Malcolm Gladwell is a famous author and a pretty good speaker.  Malcom’s style is very much that of a storyteller researcher.  He told an extended story from the Civil War and compared it today’s environment.  Then he ended his entire talk with the one main point.  He was a quiet exclamation point.  His entire talk built to this moment.

Rob Bell took three passages of Scripture and connected them to his big idea.  At the beginning, he said “here’s what I want to explore,” and then he just walked through passages related to his topic. He was very conversational and he has a rhythm to his style.  So he gave the big idea first and then backed it up with Scripture.

Shane Hipps used a few slides to make some points,and that’s the best I’ve got to say here.  Plus, his message will change in the next 30 minutes.  So I’ll just move on dot org.

Matt Chandler is one of my favorite speakers.  He is Biblical without being dry, and you can tell he knows what he is talking about.  He is funny and engaging and moved through his material with ease. Loved how he connected history to the Gospel and wove Scripture throughout.  He allows the text to make the points.

Several great speakers, all with a different style.  Rob Bell didn’t try and teach like Andy Stanley.  Malcolm Gladwell didn’t change his style because Matt Chandler was there.  All of them were confident and communicated well.

Question:  Do you have a communication style?  How would you describe it?