Duane A. Litfin - Public Speaking: A Handbook for Christians

Duane Litfin

I have been gratified by the reception public Speaking: A Handbook for Christians has received over the past decade, and I am pleased that this reception has warranted bringing out a second edition.

It was time. In some ways the first edition had become dated. Much had taken place during the decade of its life, and the layout and some of the language and illustrations had begun to show their age.

Yet as I worked on this revision, I was struck by how much did not need to be changed. As I said in the original preface, I wanted to "stick to the basics and avoid the fads that seem contrived only to justify the existence of each new wave of textbooks on public speaking." This strategy has allowed the contents of public Speaking to age gracefully. The principles in the book have not changed over the last decade, nor will they change over the next. Fundamentals tend to remain fundamental.

Several generations of college students have used this textbook in their public-speaking courses, and I have appreciated hearing from quite a few of them. Many seminary students have also used this text, often in conjunction with Haddon Robinson's popular book Biblical Preaching. These seminarians too have encouraged me by letting me know how well the two books complement one another. Since I value Haddon and his work so highly, this is especially pleasant to hear. Mrs. Kathy Ethridge and Mrs. Judi DeFranco have provided invaluable contributions to the completion of this second edition. For their always cheerful help I am deeply grateful.

If this second edition proves to be as well received as the first, I will be very gratified indeed.

Prhaps the safest way to begin this book is with the observation that, just as there is no such thing as a Christian theory of driving an automobile, there is no such thing as a Christian theory of public speaking. Sound principles of communication, like sound principles of driving, apply in the same way to those who claim the name of Christ as they do to everyone else.

Why, then, one may ask, a book on public speaking that is directed specifically to Christians? A fair question and one that deserves an answer.

To insist that there is no such thing as a Christian theory of driving does not require us to conclude that being a Christian has no bearing on one's driving habits. Likewise, to insist that there is no such thing as a Christian theory of communication does not require the conclusion that being a Christian has no bearing upon one's communication. Christians who take their faith seriously share a set of values, attitudes, and priorities which are derived from the Scriptures and which inevitably influence their behavior, expanding it in some areas and restricting it in others. In this way a Christian's perspective shapes the manner in which he or she participates in the daily rounds of life. And nowhere is this more true than in the realm of a Christian's communication with others.

Thus, even though sound principles of communication are no different for a Christian than for anyone else, being a Christian does inevitably have an impact upon how, when, and where Christians tend to practice these principles. To help Christians relate to others in a more fully Christian way, then, should be the rationale for any book on communication directed specifically to Christians. At least it is the rationale for this one.

As a result, the book you hold in your hands differs from secular books not so much by saying the same things differently, but by saying other things, things one would be quite surprised to find in a standard work on public speaking. For example, throughout this text the reader will encounter explicit references to God, the Bible, and Christian presuppositions, things one would never expect to find in a secular book. As Christians, of course, we might wish to criticize these missing elements, arguing that the omission of such items from any book on communication is a serious flaw. After all, we might say, it is doubtful whether the most human of our capacities-the ability to think rationally and communicate symbolically-can ever be fully appreciated without consulting the original model and designer. But quite apart from whether we would win such an argument (it would depend, of course, upon with whom we were arguing), this book includes such references explicitly and unapologetically. The truth of the Christian worldview is assumed throughout.

Or again, one would be startled to find in a standard work on public speaking more than a passing reference to public address in a religious context. This, too, seems a strange omission since so much public speaking in modern America still occurs in just such a context. Why-except from an inordinate fear of things religious-omit such a discussion? Why, indeed! This book assumes throughout that the reader is a Christian who may want to address both religious and nonreligious subjects, on both religious and nonreligious occasions. So, in presenting sound principles of communication this book endeavors to encourage both "ordinary" speeches and specifically Christian speeches wherein the speaker attempts to set forth a Christian perspective on some topic. Moreover, an entire chapter at the end of the book is devoted to that very special type of speech in which most Christians feel a need for improvement, the exposition of a passage of Scripture.

Or again, the discerning reader will notice that we draw in several key places upon a source that is almost completely avoided by most secular writers: homiletics, the study of preaching. The homiletical literature abounds with some of the most practical advice on speechmaking to be found anywhere. Yet one would look in vain in most secular books on public speaking for the insights and techniques of homileticians. Why? Because secular writers hardly know such homiletical literature exists, much less have studied it. This book will use homiletical insights freely-not out of a desire to make the reader into a preacher, to be sure, but because these insights are genuinely useful to any and all public speakers.