Undoubtedly, speaking while leading worship can feel awkward. Especially when you're new to leading worship. Just playing your instrument or singing in front of other people is nerve-wracking enough, but add public speaking on top of that and it gets even more uncomfortable.
How can you overcome those feelings of awkwardness and lead your church with confidence?
Here are 3 tips for not feeling awkward when you speak while leading worship:
1 | Prepare in advance
There's a common misconception among new worship leaders that more seasoned worship leaders just have this supernatural ability to always know what to say between songs. It feels like they just start speaking and things come out perfectly.
The truth is: that's not the way it works.
Most of the time you hear someone speak confidently while leading worship, they already have an idea of what they're going to say before they've say it. They've prepared in advance.
So, if you want to speak confidently while leading worship, it's okay for YOU to plan things out in advance too - in fact, it's encouraged.
Sit down with your set list and see where it might make sense for a speaking transition. Then, ask yourself: where does God want to lead our church in this moment? Write down exactly what you want to say word for word. Then, memorize the main points of what you wrote down and communicate that to your church when you lead!
2 | Speak with your normal voice
For some reason, it's easy to develop "stage voice" while leading worship. You start using words you would never use in ordinary conversation and speak in a tone that doesn't even sound like you.
However, giving yourself the freedom to simply speak as you would normally speak, frees you up to not be awkward - you can just be you. God hasn't called you to sound like Paul Baloche or Chris Tomlin or Kanye West (sorry too soon?). He's called you to be you.
3 | Give it time
Confidence comes with time. That's true in everything. Think about the first time you sang or played your instrument on stage... it was awkward. The same is true with speaking in front of people. The more you do something, the more comfortable you become with it. Be patient.
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