Have I said this recently, pigeons?
BREATHING IS EVERYTHING.
You can prepare an amazing sermon.
You can spend ten hours getting your book review ready for the club.
You can be a brilliant theologian.
But if you don’t understand how your own breath works, if you aren’t aware of the way your body either supports or undermines your ability to deliver your message, none of those other talents or disciplines will matter.
I see SO many ministers and seminarians get up in the pulpit or behind the lectern and EVEN WITH THE HELP OF A MICROPHONE they cannot be heard, their volume drops at the ends of sentences, their voices sound rushed and breathless (which communicates anxiety no matter what your actual words say). Perhaps they lose energy halfway through what started out as an invigorating presentation. Their pitch starts to go up and the voice strains, or it drops to a gravelly grumble timbre that is equally difficult to listen to. Their diction is poor. They don’t even know what it means to enunciate, or they work the nerves by drastically over-enunciating.
All of this is about breath, posture, composure and discipline. It is about hard work and knowing thyself.
And it is absolutely crucial that all ministers consider this work part of their preparation and continuing education.
Just because I saw her last night on a White House PBS special, I thought I’d show you the marvelous Audra McDonald. She is a trained singer who, in this delightfully insane number by our American genius Frank Loesser, beautifully illustrates the power of the human breath. This is NOT just about her glorious voice, kids. It is about her breath. Watch and learn and enjoy.
Truer words were never spoken. Corollary: take your time when preaching. It’s a gift to your congregants who then have time to digest your words and a gift to yourself since it gives you space to breathe.
Love it! As a trained singer myself, knowing how important breath is has really influenced my ministry. Not just in the pulpit but also doing pastoral care.
Absolutely! In my worship class in seminary, our professor had a vocal coach who worked with the theatre crowd come in and work with our class over the course of 7 weeks. It was AMAZING to hear the transformation in all of us. I am firm that it’s when I found my “voice”.
This is so true! Thank you so much for once again providing me with just the reminder I need. How about breath prayer?