Happy communication, Ogden!

Tatjana House expected services at the Calvary Baptist Church in Salt Lake City to be different from what she was used to, but said it impacted her more than anticipated. 
“My dad is a convert to the (LDS) church,” House said. “He used to be a Southern Baptist, so I knew a little bit about it from what he told me.”
A Weber State University freshman, House is studying public speaking through instructor Mark Merkley. Merkley invited three of his classes to attend the Sunday services at Calvary Baptist Church on 1090 S. State Street in Salt Lake City. The students were encouraged to participate in a form of public speaking many of them had never experienced before, and to hear the Feb. 7 sermon of Pastor France A. Davis. 
“I was really excited to go,” House said. “I knew it would be different, (but) I wasn’t quite expecting so much. The aspects that are different was all the music; there was constant music played, while he was praying, while he was speaking, lots of singing and people standing, and clapping and lots of call-response, and just the tone of the preacher’s voice.”
Davis holds several degrees in cultural and religious studies, as well as mass communication, from the University of Utah, and in rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley. He lectures extensively on culture and religion and is an educator in communications, having earned the Distinguished Teacher Award on Jan. 20 of this year, The Salt Lake Tribune announced Davis’ acceptance as the fifth vice president of the educational arm of the National Baptist Convention, the largest African-American religious convention, with nearly 7.5 million members and five churches within the Salt Lake, Davis and Weber counties.
Merkley said Davis is an exemplary public speaker and a valuable example of call-responsive address. 
“Call-responsive is when the audience opens up and responds to “When the speaker asks a question the audience will respond.”
Merkley said the audience plays a significant role in a public speaker’s success, and that this is evident even with Martin Luther King Jr.
“There was evidence even by the way that Martin Luther King addressed his audience that many of those that were listening to him speak carried on that call-responsive behavior by shouting encouragement and repeating the words that he said while he was speaking,” Merkley said. “If you go back and listen to the “I Have a Dream” speech, that was quite evident.”
Merkley explained his reasons for assigning his students to attend the services.
“I am trying to help my students understand that Reverend Davis and his congregation are on one end of the spectrum and that we, predominantly white speakers and audiences, are on the other end of the spectrum,” he said. “Many times people believe that their only responsibility as an audience member is to occupy a seat and listen. On the other hand, in congregations such as you find at Calvary Baptist Church, the audience plays a significant role. If he asks a question, they answer. If he says something that they agree with, they will shout out a manner of appreciations and encourage the speaker to inspire them, and in turn the audience inspires him.”
Merkley has observed that in many other cultures the speaker is left to themselves, with little participation or encouragement from the audience other than an occasional laugh if something humorous is said. He recognizes this form of public address as “minimal call-responsive” and said it is exemplified in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  
“It’s very stoic and very laid-back,” he said.
Before Eli Baker enrolled in WSU’s Athletic Therapy program, he served an LDS mission to Africa and experienced a variety of different religions.
“There’s a various mix of religions in different cultures, ranging from strict Protestant to animal sacrifice,” Baker said. “Pentecostal Christianity is probably the most prominent type of a religion, so an audience that is somewhat call-responsive and lets their emotions (be) known during a service is not uncommon; you see that quite often.”
Baker said that not only is this type of public address uncommon within the LDS culture, it could also be a disadvantage.
“What we’ve been learning is that communication takes two people,” he said. “You can’t just preach to an audience, especially in religion, and not know what the feedback is, what they are experiencing and if something is right and everyone is feeling it’s right, then some sort of manifestation needs to be shown. If you truly believe something, if you’re excited about it, it should show in some way. There shouldn’t be met with general apathy.”
Merkley said that between the two extreme examples of public address, there is a middle ground where speakers can exhibit a more dynamic nature and the audiences will take a more active role.
“To encourage that speaker and to at least nod your heads or smile,” Merkley said,  “or maybe a shout-out, ‘hear, hear!’ Even give a thumbs-up and every once in awhile say, ‘amen!’”
Merkley said he tells his students in a metaphoric sense to “light yourselves on fire and then invite people to come watch you burn, and as an audience member, we need to help them burn with words of cinerary inspiration.”
Students that attended said the services were a valuable experience.
“It was a good message,” House said.