Martin Luther Quotes

When I was a young boy I used to raise chickens and I was studying to be a preacher. I used to practice preaching to the chickens. Some of those chickens listened to me better than some of my colleagues now in the Congress.

Some plague the people with too long sermons; for the faculty of listening is a tender thing, and soon becomes weary and satiated.

I write all my sermons.

A good sermon should be like a woman's skirt: short enough to arouse interest but long enough to cover the essentials.

The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible.

Every man should study conciseness in speaking; it is a sign of ignorance not to know that long speeches, though they may please the speaker, are the torture of the hearer.

Oratory, like the drama, abhors lengthiness; like the drama, it must keep doing. It avoids, as frigid, prolonged metaphysical soliloquy. Beauties themselves, if they delay or distract the effect which should be produced on the audience, become blemishes.

All preaching should be as creative as we can make it. We've been entrusted with such a treasure. To have anywhere from 50 to 5000 people who give us 30 minutes of their time to hear whatever we want to say - I think they deserve all the creativity that we can give.

A good speech should be like a woman's skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.

I think nobody wants to hear a sermon. Well, some people do, but maybe not through music or not with me. No one wants to hear me give a speech that way.

I've never thought my speeches were too long; I've rather enjoyed them.

Persuasive communication involves enthusiasm, animation, audience participation, authenticity and spontaneity.

The orator puts off his individuality, and is then most eloquent when most silent. He listens while he speaks, and is a hearer along with his audience.

An orator can hardly get beyond commonplaces: if he does he gets beyond his hearers.

The orator is thereby an orator that keeps his feet ever on a fact.

President Reagan was a master communicator. In this particular speech he did a brilliant job moving between the stately role of U.S. President and a national eulogist. The pain of the event was etched on his face. In 4 short minutes, he addressed five different audiences. He spoke to the collective mourners, families of the fallen, NASA employees, school children, and even took a poke at Russia. He communicated comfort and patriotism within a very short timeframe. That's not easy to do.

There is something in the eloquence of the pulpit, when it is really eloquence, which is entitled to the highest praise and honour. The preacher who can touch and affect such an heterogeneous mass of hearers, on subjects limited, and long worn thread-bare in all common hands; who can say any thing new or striking, any thing that rouses the attention, without offending the taste, or wearing out the feelings of his hearers, is a man whom one could not (in his public capacity) honour enough.

No man ever yet thought whether he was preaching well without weakening his sermon.

A good talker, even more than a good orator, implies a good audience.

It is simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences.

Let any man speak long enough, he will get believers.

Just recognize that you are not going to become a comfortable public speaker overnight. It can take a long time.

Audience interest is directly proportionate to the presenter's preparation. You better spend time and energy on any presentations where the stakes are high. If you are trying to close a large sale or speak at a conference to an audience of potential clients, you better be ON your game. An audience can tell how much energy you spent on your presentation, which is a reflection of how much you valued their time. If they gave you an hour of their time, you need to make it worth it to them by treating their time as a valuable asset by making the content valuable to them.

There are but few talents requisite to become a popular preacher; for the people are easily pleased if they perceive any endeavors in the orator to please them. The meanest qualifications will work this effect if the preacher sincerely sets about it.

I thoroughly believe that any man who's got anything worthwhile to say will be heard if he only says it often enough.