Reading the Bible aloud with confidence and clarity
What you'll learn
- Students will learn how to read aloud from the Bible so that people want to listen to them
- Students will learn to enjoy reading aloud from the Bible
- Students will learn to read from the Bible so that they can be more easily understood
- This is NOT a religious course and you will not learn the meaning of the scriptures
Requirements
- Be able to read English
Description
This course is for anyone who preaches, lay readers (LLM), members of the clergy, Vicars, Priests, Bishops, Sunday School teachers or anyone who loves to read from the Bible or you may want to give a Bible reading at a wedding or a funeral.
In ancient times the Bible was always shared aloud and being able to read aloud from the Bible is a wonderful skill to have. I started taking Bible Reading exams when I was only 13 years old and have taught people to Gold medal Standard in Reading from the Bible.
This course is a stand alone course and assumes that you have not taken any of my other courses.
Whether you're reading from the Bible, reading from a Prayer book or doing any other religious reading - it will require the same skills as reading aloud any other good literature. During this course I will use mainly the Authorised (King James) Version, (AKJV), the KIngs James Version (KJV) and the Good News Translation (GNT) as well as the Common Prayer Book and children's versions of Bible stories.
Although I talk about Bible Reading, these same rules apply to any religious reading from any religion anywhere in the world.
The Bible is made up of 66 different books. These books are made up of poetry, drama, letters, songs and much more and each makes beautiful use of language.
To read aloud from the Bible with conviction you have to read the words as though you had written them yourself.
You need to say them as though they come from inside you - as though you were the first person to think of these particular words in this order.
Reading aloud from the bible is all about sharing something which evokes a feeling in us.
When you're bible reading you should sound as though you are reading a story to your listeners. It will be a wonderful and exciting bible story so you will need to use your voice to convey this.
Who this course is for:
- Anyone who needs to read from the Bible out loud
- Anyone who loves reading out loud and is curious about the Bible
- Members of the Clergy
- Lay Readers (LLM)
- Preachers
- Sunday School Teachers
- Bible study groups
Instructor
Serena Greenslade is an experienced speech confidence coach from Dorset, UK and she now lives in central Portugal. Serena qualified in 1994 (A.N.E.A.) as an elocution teacher and since then has taught lecturers at Universities, trainee doctors for the NHS, sports coaches, business people, telephone sales personnel, children, health care workers, stroke victims and staff at national charities. Serena specializes in one to one private lessons for children and adults and workshops for businesses. In June 2014 she gained her Fellowship, F.V.C.M.(Hons).
Serena says 'I know how it feels to be uncertain and frightened about speaking.' She is now qualified to the highest level (Fellowship and Associateship) and is able to help you improve your speaking skills. She lives in jeans, laughs a lot and has a hint of a Dorset accent when not teaching but Serena is passionate about her work and incredibly serious (with a huge smile) when it comes to teaching her clients to sound confident.
Background
When Serena was about ten, her school had a parents evening where the parents go along and chat to the teachers to find out how their children are getting on. During the course of the conversation with her mum, the teacher told her that Serena seemed happy enough but that he couldn't remember speaking to her during the year! Serena was an incredibly shy girl.
As a result of this Serena's mum took her to elocution lessons.
These lessons gave Serena confidence but didn't change the way she sounds, 'I still have a Dorset accent (although when I teach I lose it) and I strongly believe we shouldn't all sound the same'.
Serena was still a very shy girl but knew how to speak when she had to. At her senior school, the different classes used to take it in turns to participate in the morning assemblies. She had a very elderly Maths teacher who claimed that the only time he could hear the assembly was when Serena did a reading. In return for this she was excused Maths tests in his class. Luckily her maths didn't suffer – Serena went on to pass 'A' level Maths.
In 1979 Serena obtained a degree in Law and Economics and went on to become a trainee accountant - for all of 12 weeks. Sitting in an office all day was not for her. Luckily she decided to return to what she enjoyed doing and in 1994 qualified (A.N.E.A.) as an elocution teacher. In 2014 she obtained her Fellowship with Honours from Victoria College (F.V.C.M.)
Media
In addition to publishing her own books, Serena has written an academic paper in Voice and Speech Review April 2015.
Serena has also written articles in many publications including Dance Studio Life July 2015, The Lady Magazine in Sept 2014, ISTD Dance magazine in Jan 2014, PTR Tennis Pro in April 2007, The International Tennis Federation Coaching and Sport Science Review in Dec 2002 and Dance Expression Magazine in Dec 2001.
Serena has also taught students who have appeared in television series and who have won national awards for their acting.
Serena looks forward to teaching you. As she says, 'Enjoy Speaking'