The Art of Encouragement

Chapter 10The Art of Authentic Encouragement

There are two sides to the Art of Authentic Encouragement. One is being an authentic person, and the other is sharing an authentic message. I want to dive into both of these with you in the next few pages, starting with the importance of being an authentic person.

The Art of Being an Authentic Person

A few years into my career as a motivational speaker, I was on my way to a speaking engagement one afternoon when I experienced a transformational moment. As always, I was running through the speech I planned to share over and over again in my mind while soft worship music played in the background.

Out of nowhere, an unexpected thought came to me:

“Am I really sharing what God wants me to share?”

It was a convicting question.

I stopped the internal rehearsal. For the first time in years, I began to revisit my talk, as I questioned whether the content I was planning to share was having the influence I wanted it to have. Was it enough? Was I really glorifying God and all that He had faithfully walked me through? Did it do justice to my trials and the subsequent restoration in my life? Did it highlight what God had done for me?

I began to reflect thoughtfully on my speech, and the opportunity to impact hundreds of people that were before me as a public speaker.

Am I just sharing tactics and strategies?

Or am I sharing something real? Something that God wants me to share?

Something deeper. Something more authentic.

The worship song was ...