TV Evangelist Joel Osteen has signed a $10 million book deal with Simon & Schuster imprint The Free Press to write his next book. Is Osteen a world renowned theologian? No. Does he have credentials as a Biblical scholar? No. Does he have a degree from a seminary? No. Does he even have an undergraduate degree in anything remotely close to divinity studies?
Again, no.
Osteen studied video production and communication in what time he did spend attending college.
I don’t point these issues out to attack Osteen, but merely to point out the secret of his success. Osteen is now one of the top handful of “writers” in the world and yet he doesn’t really write or have any training to write.
Indeed, here is the quote from Osteen’s publisher when the news of the book deal was released:
“We have long admired Joel for his unparalleled ability to touch people and communicate with them,” said Dominick V. Anfuso, V.P., editorial director of Free Press. “We are thrilled and honored to be working with him on his next book.”
Please note that Anfuso praised Osteen for his abilities to “touch people” and to “communicate,” but not to “write.”
If you are a big Osteen fan, please don’t get angry with me. I’m not attacking him, really. But I do think that it is important to realize why he is getting more money to “write” a book than most small nations earn as GDP in a year.
Osteen’s secret? He is a speaker. He’s a fantastic speaker. In fact, as much as I try, I can’t fault Osteen for any of his public speaking skills. If you haven’t seen Osteen delivering a sermon, you likely don’t have a TV. His church buys time on seemingly half of the TV networks and broadcast stations around the US and many around the Globe.
Even if you have seen Osteen preach on TV before, I urge you to take another look. No, I’m not trying to convert you to Osteen’s brand of religion. In fact, I urge all of my clients to watch Osteen, regardless if they are Jewish, Atheist or Muslim, to learn from his speaking example.
Why is Osteen successful? Because he employs the perfect public speaking techniques in every sermon. He is positive, upbeat, conversational, fluid, never abstract and always accessible. He doesn’t lecture. He doesn’t deliver sermons. Instead, he tells stories to make points. He never hides behind a lectern; instead he walks around on stage comfortably. He looks like he is having the time of his life when he is speaking.
And those are skills that will serve you well, regardless of whether you want to be a preacher, a best selling author, a CEO billionaire, or a winning politician.
