A few weeks ago we had a wonderful guest post from my friend Heidi McLaughlin, writing about how her ministry got started and began to fluorish. Here's something she said: A few years ago I was in Atlanta, Georgia; surrounded with famous speakers and authors who had agents and were walking around with their leather briefcases and linking arms with Continue Reading
Getting Your Family’s Backing to Speak
One of the most common areas of difficulty for speakers is our families. Speaking means that we're away from home at times, and predominantly on weekends which would normally be family time. Speaking also means that we're accepting an authoritative role, and often our families don't see us in such a role. We're the mom, the wife, the daughter, the Continue Reading
How to Create an Amazing Handout that Works for You-and for the Audience!
If you're doing any kind of teaching, whether it's in a workshop or in a retreat setting, chances are you may get asked to provide a handout. That doesn't mean you have to photocopy them--often you just email it to the organizer a few weeks ahead of time. But often we get quite nervous about handouts. What should we include? How long should they Continue Reading
Kitchen Timers are a Speaker’s Best Friend
One of the scariest things when speaking is figuring out when you're going too long. You don't want to speak so long you bore people, but you do want to fill the time you've been given. Many times I've assumed that churches will have clocks on the back of the wall when I speak. Big mistake. Some do, but not all. Or else they "conveniently" place Continue Reading
How to Give a Gospel Invitation
Frequently, when we are speaking, we get the opportunity to invite people to accept Christ. That's a heavy responsibility, even if it is one of the highlights of your life! But while we've all seen many gospel invitations, do we know how to give one? Here are a few tips: Check with the organizer to make sure they want one. What kind of talk Continue Reading
How Speaking Stretches You
Do you listen in to "Use Your Words" on Blog Talk Radio? Every Tuesday at noon EST we talk for an hour about speaking! You can listen afterwards, too, if you can't make it live. This Tuesday we were privileged to have on Robin Giles chat with us about how to tell your testimony, and how to work up the courage to tell your story. Near the end of Continue Reading