Summary

The rhetorician James Winans once wrote, "A speech is not merely an essay standing on its hind legs." Yet many speakers—including preachers—write their messages in a style better suited for reading rather than hearing. To be an effective oral communicator, one must learn to write for the ear, not the eye.

Listen Online

Download audio

Details

The rhetorician James Winans once wrote, "A speech is not merely an essay standing on its hind legs." Yet many speakers—including preachers—write their messages in a style better suited for reading rather than hearing. To be an effective oral communicator, one must learn to write for the ear, not the eye.

Presented at the 2006 Calvin Symposium on Worship.

Recent Media Resources

Video Music/Song Planning Worship
A Soundtrack for the Soul: Singing the Psalms with Wendell Kimbrough

This chapel worship service was led by Wendell Kimbrough at Calvin University as part of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship’s “Dwelling in the Psalms” year.

February 16, 2026 | 1 min video
Video Psalms/Scripture Service/Vesper
Thirsting for our Faithful God

Morning Worship led by staff of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, with Psalm Talks by Terry M. Wildman and Darlene Wildman, Karen Campbell, and Rawn Harbor, and artistic responses by Dea Jenkins and Joel Schoon-Tanis.

February 9, 2026 | 1 min video