The G.R.E.A.T.(est) Way to Write a Lesson
“Hey Ben, want to teach a lesson at youth group?”
I have one particular memory from my Freshman year that I know I will never forget.
Luke (my youth pastor), had asked me if I would be available to meet with him that Monday. Due to being homeschooled, I was indeed able to meet with him. We decided the Starbucks in our local Safeway would be a convenient spot, and I’ll be honest, walking through the automatic doors I was a little nervous. Whether intentionally or by accident, Luke didn’t tell me why he wanted to talk. And being the little freshman that I was, I began to panic a little. I mean, what if my parents had discovered something bad I’d been doing and asked Luke to meet with me about it?
As I entered the Starbucks, Luke waved me over to the table he was seated at. Here we go. As we chatted about the weather and other miscellaneous things, I began to brace myself for the worst. One sentence later, all that nervous energy turned into excitement. Luke asked me if I would teach a lesson at our youth group! I instantly accepted.
The next two weeks were spent preparing my first ever lesson. Luke and I met three more times. He gave me a particular model to follow, one that he uses for every lesson he gives. And it helped a lot!
This is the model that worked for me!
G.R.E.A.T
G.R.E.A.T is a quick way to remember the order of a well-done lesson, with each letter standing for a specific step.
G: Grab Attention. R: Reveal. E: Example. A: Application. T: Touch Hearts.
G: Grab Attention
Just like you learned in your high school essay writing class, you need a strong intro to grab people’s attention. Whether it’s a paper or a public presentation, you need to achieve people’s interest within the first couple of minutes. A good way to do that is by involving the audience in some way, whether through a quick vote, or having them talk to the person beside them. A well-told joke or story also can work but it must be done well. The goal here is to create some form of conflict to get people’s attention, because then they want to resolve it. If you’ve been able to do this correctly, it’s time to move on to the next step.
R: Reveal
Hopefully, by this point you have your audience fully engaged. Now it’s time to really hit the meat of your lesson. Many speeches or lessons tend to be only this step, so it might be easy to go overboard, but fight that tendency! While you do definitely want to get your main idea across, it is definitely possible to lose people’s interest. The ideal is to hit the sweet spot: not long enough to bore, but well put and as extensive as you need. A good way to find out if you’ve hit that sweet spot is to run over your lesson with someone you can trust to give you honest advice.
E: Example
Having good examples is key to making sure your message is understood. While your Reveal step will probably speak to academic and auditory learners, this next step will make sure you hit more than just those learning types. A good example is something visual you can do on stage, that gets your point across. If you’re discussing inflation, bring a dollar bill to rip in half. If you’re explaining the butterfly effect, show a video of a Rube Goldberg machine. Not only will this be a nice mental break from just talking for both you and the audience, but it’ll also help everyone grasp your point.
A: Apply
Out of all the steps listed, this one probably seemed the most out of place. Many subjects don’t have an obvious application to people’s day to day lives. But no matter what you walked on stage to say, it MUST be applicable. Why? People remember something that impacts them. What do you want the listeners to do after they leave? Make it something they can do that day or the next, so they actually will. Trust me, I’ve sat through both lessons that did and lessons that didn’t include any sort of goal for the listener, and I much prefer the former.
T: Touch Hearts
Congratulations! You’re almost at the finish line! All that’s left is what many think is the hardest part! All you have to do is impact people emotionally, and hopefully inspire them to the extent they’ll never forget what you had to say. Easy, right? But in all seriousness, this last step is what separates dry speakers from the likes of Billy Graham, Martin Luther King Jr., or even Hitler. All the greatest public speakers of history knew how to affect and inspire those who heard them. They could be discussing pancake batter, but you better believe you’d be walking away ready to fry up some of the best darn pancakes possible.
On the other hand, in many scientific conventions around the world, insane and amazing subjects are discussed, yet very few actually hear what is said. And a big part of it is the lack of emotion. So if you want to be heard and remembered you need to touch people’s hearts, either by painting a picture of the future, or telling a story, really there are a lot of things you can do. Just make sure you nail this part, and you are more than set up for success!
G.R.E.A.T
It has been an awesome experience getting to watch the impact of what I’ve said really change people’s lives. I am thankful for my youth pastor, Luke, for giving me this opportunity, and just as importantly, teaching me the G.R.E.A.T method. And now I’m paying it forward to all of you! I can genuinely promise that if you follow this method, you WILL be heard, and you WILL have an impact on those around you.
