SallyGanoJones

I was a second year student at the university. I needed some credits in speech because I was considering it might be my major at the time. So I signed up for a “Public Speaking” course. Surely, it wouldn’t be too hard.

However, the very first assignment the speech professor gave us was to “craft a speech that would provoke the audience.” He wanted us to emphasize our skills in getting an emotional response to our speeches. By the way, he told us our speech time limit was five minutes!!

Okay, I thought, this can’t be too hard. But, …as I thought about it a little more, my concerns grew. What can I say that would stir up a room full of college sophomores?

I wrote down my ideas which were many, but the first list got trashed because I didn’t think I could stir emotions with topics such as my historic hometown of St. Augustine, Florida, or my reaction to my first year of college watching war protestors. So, I thought about it some more. I became disappointed, thinking, I thought this was going to be an easy class!

Then an idea came to me! I had heard it talked about in church and heard it on televised sermons. I believed it was true. So I decided to give it a try:

“There’s Power in the Name of Jesus!”

I thought it was a good idea. I got to work right away. I wrote, revised, wrote, and read it aloud to my roomate.

“Oh, your really going to get a reaction to that topic!” she said.

The day came for the professor to call us to the front of class to give our carefully crafted speeches. I had practiced in front of my mirror in my dormitory room. I had even tape recorded my speech and played it back to see where I could improve.

“You’re turn, Miss Gano,” the professor called. I remember walking nervously to the front of the class, staring at my classmates, wondering what they would think when I completed the speech.

My speech’s main point and title was, “There’s Power in the Name of Jesus.” I gave several examples of people using Jesus’s name and the results in several areas such as answered prayers, healing, and even miracles. I concluded with a challenge to my classmates to use the name of Jesus when a need would arise in the future.

As I went to my seat, some of my fellow students were clapping. Others were sounding a moan. The professor opened up the floor for comments on my speech.

“That’s not a good topic,” a classmate said angrily.

Another student challenged him, “Why not?”

Arguments began back and forth around the room; some students thought it was a great speech, others complained that it wasn’t true, it wasn’t fair to talk about Jesus in class.

It was almost time for the bell for the end of class, so our professor announced, “We’ll continue this discussion tomorrow.”

I had noticed that after my speech, no one else gave theirs.

Hmmm…I thought.

The next day class met, and my professor opened up the floor for discussion. This time classmates had more time to think about their responses, and more positive comments were made. Then, some who had complained the day before, got a louder with their complaints.

This went on and on for the entire class period. I wasn’t required to respond to the comments. I just listened and smiled. By the end of class, the professor again announced, “We’ll continue this discussion again tomorrow.”

Again, no other speeches were presented on the second day.

When class met again on the third day, my professor opened up the floor once again, to ask if there were others who wanted to speak up about my speech earlier that week. This time, a few of the quieter class members started up, graciously saying they had listened to everyone else, and waited to offer their own opinions. These class members pointed out positives they got from my speech, and disagreed with the negative viewpoints expressed in previous classes. Those students who had been very negative, spoke up again on the third day, this time trying to defend their positions.

Class was almost over. My professor got up, cleared his throat loudly, and said, “This young lady’s speech has stirred up our class now for three days!’

A silence fell over the room as the realization of their reactions settled in.

“Students, you recall that the purpose of this first speech assignment was to stir up the emotions of the class. Well, she has provoked you all, one way or the other. She has succeeded in stirring your emotions!”

He continued, “I would love to let this discussion and response to her speech go on, but we spent three class periods on it so far. I’m going to have to move on to other students to give their speeches, but, this young lady has earned an A+ on her speech! And she has proven that “there’s power in the name of Jesus.”

My classmates began to applaud as my face flushed. I couldn’t believe the reactions, and I was shocked that my first public speaking attempt would earn an A+.

However, even looking back this many years later, I can still say, with certainty, “There Is Power in the Name of Jesus.”