Header image captured by Wanda Raina Evans of RAW Images Photography

There was a young preacher who invested all his week preparing to impress his new congregation with the first sermon. When the preacher arrived at the church, only one old farmer sat in the pews. The preacher waited for several minutes and then asked the farmer what he should do.

The farmer replied. “Well, Preacher, I’m just a simple farmer, but every morning I get up and I go out to feed my cows. And every morning I feed my cows no matter if one shows up or if the whole herd shows up. It’s my job to feed the cows.”

The young preacher nodded, took to the pulpit, and went to it. He poured out his heart over the words he had invested his week into. An hour later, he stepped down from the pulpit, wiped his brow, and smiled at the old farmer. “So, how was it?”

The farmer replied. “Well, Preacher, I’m just a simple farmer, and every morning I go out to feed my cows no matter if one shows up or if the whole heard shows up. But if only one shows up, I don’t pour out all the feed I would have given the whole herd.”

Sometimes it is better to say little or say nothing at all than to pour out all the feed when there is nobody listening.

Engage the Listeners

1. Watch for the response. In person, it can be easier to tell than online – but engagement can be a big clue to whether people are listening or tuning out. Watch your analytics to see how long people are hanging around. Check your video stats to see when people drop off from watching. Either way, say what you have to say and then stop talking!
2. Lower your voice. It is not just about stopping the words, but also about lowering the volume. When you change the tone of what you are saying you encourage the listener to lean into your words.
3. Keep is simple. We invest too much energy trying to make things complicated when it is really simple. Make what you have to say important to the listener by making it valuable to the listener.
4. Avoid information overload. You may want to tell the listener everything about your topic, but try to keep it to three to five main points in a presentation or a post. Anything more than that and you risk losing the reader.

Make the content you share more engaging by making about a conversation with one person – and remember that when it is one person you don’t have to feed the whole herd.