Speaking to Teenagers: How to Think About, Create, and Deliver Effective Messages [Paperback]

Doug Fields (Author), Duffy Robbins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2007

Get ready for a crash course in effective communication. More than just a book on how to 'do talks,' Speaking to Teenagers combines the experience and wisdom of two veteran youth ministry speakers, along with insightful research and practical tools, to help you develop messages that engage students with the love of Christ and the power of his Word. Whether you're crafting a five-minute devotional or a 30-minute sermon, Speaking to Teenagers is essential to understanding and preparing great messages. Together, Doug Fields and Duffy Robbins show you how they craft their own messages and give you the tools to do it yourself. They'll guide you, step-by-step, through the process of preparing and delivering meaningful messages that effectively communicate to your students. Fields and Robbins walk you through three dimensions of a message the speaker, the listener, and the message itself and introduce you to the concept and principles of inductive communication. You'll also get helpful tips on finding illustrations for your talk and using them for maximum impact, as well as insights on reading your audience and effective body language. As Speaking to Teenagers guides you toward becoming a more effective communicator, you'll find that this book's practical principles will positively impact the way you view, treat, and communicate to teenagers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''Speaking to Teenagers' will inspire anyone who speaks into the lives of students to give their teaching ministry the forethought it deserves but frequently does not receive.' -- YouthWorker Journal <br><br> (YouthWorker Journal )

From the Back Cover

Get ready for a crash course in effective communication. More than just a book on how to ³do talks,² Speaking to Teenagers combines the experience and wisdom of two veteran youth ministry speakers, along with insightful research and practical tools, to help you develop messages that engage students with the love of Christ and the power of his Word. Whether you¹re crafting a five-minute devotional or a 30-minute sermon, Speaking to Teenagers is essential to understanding and preparing great messages. Together, Doug Fields and Duffy Robbins show you how they craft their own messages and give you the tools to do it yourself. They¹ll guide you, step-by-step, through the process of preparing and delivering meaningful messages that effectively communicate to your students. Fields and Robbins walk you through three dimensions of a message‹the speaker, the listener, and the message itself‹and introduce you to the concept and principles of inductive communication. You¹ll also get helpful tips on finding illustrations for your talk and using them for maximum impact, as well as insights on reading your audience and effective body language. As Speaking to Teenagers guides you toward becoming a more effective communicator, you¹ll find that this book¹s practical principles will positively impact the way you view, treat, and communicate to teenagers. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan/Youth Specialties (September 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310273765
• ISBN-13: 978-0310273769
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Youth Communicators' Tool, May 19, 2009

By 

Danette Matty "Danette Matty" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Speaking to Teenagers: How to Think About, Create, and Deliver Effective Messages (Paperback)

Speaking to Teens is an extremely practical, helpful, even funny how-to for youth communicators. Fields and Robbins seem to have had a great time co-writing this book, both obviously enamored with their own humor! Lots of self-deprecating stories and poking fun at each other make it a fun read. But there's serious advice on understanding teen receptors that cause kids to either sit up and listen or tune out and text each other during your sermon.

Sections include: How to Think about Effective Messages, How to Create Messages That S.T.I.C.K., and How to Deliver Effective Messages. I've read a few excellent communicating books. This is the only one specifically geared toward speaking to teens since Ken Davis' How to Speak to Youth & Keep Them Awake At the Same Time, c.1996.

My friends enrolled in North Central University's youth ministry program tell me this book is required reading. It's easy to see why. Beyond loads of practices, Fields and Robbins never lose sight of God's fingerprints on a great message and the heart of shepherding teenagers through His spoken word.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great introductory work, February 8, 2008

By 

Andrew A. Hedges (Dayton, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Speaking to Teenagers: How to Think About, Create, and Deliver Effective Messages (Paperback)

If you've not had any training in communication (public speaking, interpersonal communication), this is a good start. Understanding how to communicate is something overlooked by many youth ministry training programs.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lame title, Great book, March 2, 2010

By 

C. Larsen - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Speaking to Teenagers: How to Think About, Create, and Deliver Effective Messages (Paperback)

I picked this book up after attending Duffy's session on the topic at the National Youthworkers Convention (now SYMC) 2009. Although the title implies that it is a book written to help an aging generation connect with teens, it is anything but. Ignore the title, read the subtitle, then read the book. This is on my short list of recommendations and 'must haves' for any youthworker. This text, and the information contained therein, has done far more than any other when it comes to delivering an effective and engaging message in the youth room and occasionally from the pulpit.

I feel many of the other reviews adequately capture the content of the text, check them out.

Bottom Line: Buy it.