The most powerful tool in a communicator’s tool belt is tension.
When I first started preaching as a young guy, I was bad. I got lots of “bless your hearts” at first. Lucky for me, everyone around me was supportive, encouraging, and maybe a little too patient. Unlucky for them, I kept trying.
Without tension, even the most important messages can fall flat. We don’t typically fail in our communication because we don’t have anything worthwhile to say. It’s often because we haven’t given anyone a real reason to listen.
My early sermons lacked tension. I was so focused on communicating information or pushing some application that I never took the time to answer the most important question: “So what?”
Tension is created in a story when something stands in the way of a character getting what they want. It’s what makes stories worth telling. Star Wars without Darth Vader is boring. Rocky without being an underdog isn’t inspiring. A romcom where the guy doesn’t have to learn how not to be a doofus isn’t engaging. And communication without tension isn’t compelling.
I began improving my communication when I started asking, “What does my audience want?” Then following up with the all-important “What’s standing in their way from getting it?”
Establishing tension makes any form of communication more potent. This applies to preaching and presenting, copywriting and parenting. A fundamental part of communication is showing people why your topic should matter to them.
So, whenever you set out to communicate something, ask yourself these questions:
Who am I talking to?
What do they want?
What’s standing in their way?
How do they feel about it?
Why should they care?
Once you answer these questions, you are well on your way to effective communication. You give people a reason to listen when you've clearly answered the question, "So what?"