Read the Way You Talk

Read the Way You Talk offers instruction for lectors. It presents guidelines for making oral reading meaningful and believable. Three lessons give detailed instructions in eighteen different areas including parallelism, repetition, and pronunciation. Special guidance is provided for using inflection and stressing words. With practice, readers who share the Word of God with others can read as naturally as they speak while they become comfortable with their audience, sure of what they are saying, and confident their message is important.

Part I, "The Word of God in Human Speech," explains why the readings need to be spoken in conversational tone. Part 2, “Rules for Reading Like Talk,” is divided into lessons and contains rules, explanations of techniques, and examples. Read the Way You Talk is a useful resource for lectors, deacons, priests, and leaders who instruct lectors and seminarians.

Jack Hartjes, PhD, is an elementary school teacher. He is a lector and an instructor of lectors at St. Paul's Parish in St. Cloud, Minnesota.