Seven Things You Should Know Before Making Your First Announcement

1. You have an announcement voice.
   1. It is not your indoor voice, and it is not your outdoor voice.
   2. It is usually slower, deeper, and louder than your normal voice.
   3. Use proper diction—avoid twang, slang, and euphemisms.
   4. Don’t be self-conscious with it—get used to it; practice it; use your diaphragm.
2. The first announcement is the sacrificial lamb (less attention), so it should be less important than the other announcements you are making.
3. Prayer is not an announcement—don’t let it be the sacrificial lamb, don’t let it just be part of the list, and don’t use it as a period at the end of your announcements.
   1. Avoid distracting verbal mannerisms in your prayer—ask someone if you say or do anything distracting during your prayer (e.g., saying the same word over and over, using Lord or God as a comma, long phrases of Christianese that are clear to you but not to others, treating God like your next door neighbor).
   2. Require much more attention for God than you would ever need for yourself; prayer is a part of our respect, glory, and worship of our Creator—have guys take their hats off and everyone close his eyes and bow his head, use “let’s pray” as a verbal cue, then do something that is a privilege none of us deserve: Talk to God!
   3. Amen is many times the end of the need for attention—be prepared to lose the attention you worked hard to get for our God.
4. One announcement you can remember; two or more, you better write them down—remember that most announcements have four parts (what, when, where, why—this could be multiples); if you have eight announcements to share, you have 32+ items to remember. Be prepared. Write it out.
5. Get on and off the stage quickly—every moment lollygagging means you’re losing your audience’s attention; anticipate your introduction and give away your platform clearly.
6. If you want to give away attention, ask a question—don’t use rhetorical questions with kids (they don’t realize it’s rhetorical) or adults (they may think it’s condescending). Only a 37th degree black belt announcer can use questions effectively in the giving of an announcement. The rest of us should avoid using questions during our announcements; they just muddle the announcement.
7. Know and control your “speech mannerisms”—your mannerisms are those nervous habits that you do without even realizing you are doing them (e.g., um, uhh, okay, ya know what I mean, pulling your earlobe, swaying back and forth, squinting your eyes, pooching your lips, choking the podium, hands in your pockets). We all have a tendency to some or several, so anticipate what they are and minimize them. Work at this all your life! Don’t be satisfied with, “That’s just the way I am.”