You spill ketchup on your dress pants on the way to the event. You come down with a bad cold right before you have to speak. The church can't use your USB drive with your Powerpoint, and now you're stuck. Every speaker needs an emergency kit--things that you take with you so that if trouble comes, you're still able to climb up on that stage and Continue Reading
How I Came to Peace with Giving the Same Talk Over and Over Again
It starts with the loathing. I'll be in the car, driving to a speaking engagement, and the negative thoughts will start. Why are you doing this? You don't have anything important to say. It's all been said before! You don't have anything new! You have no right to speak to these women. Then I'll arrive at the venue, talk to the chipper women Continue Reading
What Should a Speaker’s Boundaries Be?
I was once asked to speak at a retreat which was 8 months away. Between the date that I was asked and that particular retreat I had four other retreats and numerous one-time events. I was also writing a weekly column, homeschooling my kids, and volunteering at my own local church. The way that I handled my speaking engagements was I tried, as Continue Reading
Use Your Words: Finding the Work/Life Balance
Well, somehow I got through another Use Your Words show with a throat that is absolutely killing me! So if I sounded funny, forgive me. But today's show was inspired by an email I received from Lisa, who said, "how do you find the time for everything? How do you balance your work and your family? How do you figure out how to find time to Continue Reading
Finding Partnerships to Grow Your Ministry
Let's say that you want to speak to teenage girls about anorexia. You put together a workshop that will last all day, and you look at how to market it. You can try to find a church to book it yourself, but it's unlikely one church will have enough people that would be interested to make it worthwhile. Or you could try to book it in a hotel and Continue Reading
Is It “Unspiritual” To Charge a Fee When You Speak?
photo © 2008 Horia Varlan | more info (via: Wylio) I've been conducting speaker training for two years now. Most of you who come to this site truly want to speak in the Christian world. You want to speak in churches, at camps, to youth groups. You want to make a difference for God. You want to share the message that God has given you. But you Continue Reading