How do I speak between songs?
Shepherding the room: How do I speak between songs?
One of the most common things that worship leaders I want to work with want to work on is “speaking between songs.” I meet so many worship leaders who can flat out sing the phone book and you think you just got saved. I’ve been led in worship by great musicians and band leaders, but when the song ends it can sometimes become clunky until you hear that count in for the next song. Have you ever been there? I have. I want to exhort you that the most powerful moments you can have as a worship leader can be found in the moments where you speak. Singing is important. Being musically excellent is great. But, nothing beats being pastoral in your speaking moments. We call it ‘shepherding the room.’
10 ways to improve speaking into a room.
Do it. I mean I know this seems obvious, but try and break out of the rut of “God is good” and “Let’s continue to sing out” or just letting the tracks go to the next song and not saying anything (although that can be a good idea).
Sniper rifle > shotgun. I’ve found that as worship leaders we often try to say too many things at once. Find ONE thing and say it really well. Say it two different ways, but only say one thing. That way if you blank on exactly what you had planned on saying or the order in which you planned on speaking in your transition you can remember the one thing you want to say and you can say that briefly.
Build a Bridge: Try and imagine the moment in your mind before Sunday. What just happened? How do you connect that moment to the next moment? If it’s a song, what did you just sing that you need to connect in a different truth in the next song?
Use Scripture: Memorize it so it comes out naturally. Bring your Bible up there and read it with authority and heart. Pick a Scripture that supports the song you’re about to sing and help people connect the dots. You can’t say anything better than God Himself has said.
Write it out and practice: I know this sounds silly. You want to say it “in the moment” but just like you have to build muscles by working out… you have to build that muscle of speaking. Write out your 3 sentences, practice timing it with the intro (click track), and land that plane into verse 1 of the song.
Speak with the authority God has given you: If you realize it’s the Holy Spirit that moves people to worship and not you, the pressure is off. Speak confidently. Speak boldly. Speak with a practiced heart. But speak knowing that it is the power of the Holy Spirit and not you that moves people’s hearts.
Practical: lower your shoulders, speak in your natural voice, speak TO the church/not at them, don’t speak too fast, don’t speak too slow, and speak with the conviction that the words you are speaking deserve.
Exhort don’t cheerlead: Your job as the worship pastor/leader is to enhance, facilitate, and point affections towards Jesus. We can’t reduce all of what we say to “come on, let’s go, or sing it out.” Those are great things to say to help your church lean in, but they need to supplemental. Think of your transition as a 45 second sermon. Say it pointedly, briefly, and with conviction. Your church needs you to point their affections towards Jesus, not cheer them into joining you.
Sometimes don’t speak: Feel the room. Look around and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you. Sometimes you’ll speak where you weren’t planning and sometimes you won’t speak where you had planned. This is a part of that muscle growth. The more you do it, the more you’ll recognize the moments.
Undergird truth > saying the lyric: This is totally preferential, but I think it is more effective to point out a truth in the first verse rather than saying the first 3 words of said verse. Instead of saying, “Come let us worship the King” say “We are here to lift our voices to the King of Kings, He invites us in, let’s worship Him with all we have.”