Effective Church Communications

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and Biblical Inspiration to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission

Effective Church Communications provides Timeless Strategy and a Biblical Perspective to help churches create communications that fully fulfill the Great Commission. Our tools constantly change; our task doesn’t; we can help.
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What to do when you’ve been asked to lead a conference or training session, part two

4 February, 2013 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

With the tips here you'll project a professional image with your presentation.
With the tips here you'll project a professional image with your presentation.

Ed. note: this is Part Two of invaluable advice if you've been asked to lead a training session or conference for church office professionals. For Part One, CLICK HERE. There is one more part coming.

Those important first words

If you are leading a small group, your first responsibility may be to introduce yourself. Have your first few minutes down pat. Tell your name and a few of the relevant facts of your background in order to establish your credentials.

Sally is into her two minutes of decision making here. Your introductory remarks need to be interesting and to the point. A personal tie in with the conference itself, perhaps your experience when you first attended, is a good opener.

If you do have someone to introduce you, he or she will give your name and something of your background. Be gracious in acknowledging your introduction. Thank the person by name when you come to the platform. Then move directly to that relevant anecdote that leads into your presentation.

Novice speakers are generally advised not to use humor in their introductions, but if that’s you and you are comfortable with it, by all means feel free to give it a try. I find humor a marvelous teacher and use it often in seminars and presentations. But don’t wing it. Prepare. Be sure the humor is relevant to your topic. Your primary purpose is to train, not to entertain.

What not to say

Your introductory remarks should get you off to a positive start. Toward that end, here are some things to avoid.

• Excuses. For anything. Especially for your nervousness or for your inexperience. You may want to offer an apology if your voice is bad that day or the printed materials ran short or whatever. But if an apology—not an excuse—is necessary, offer it once and move on. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Church Office Skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, Contributors Tagged With: church office tips, church presentation tips, how to present

What to do when you’ve been asked to lead a conference or training session, part one

17 January, 2013 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

If you've been asked to lead a conference, here are some tips to help you do it well.
If you've been asked to lead a conference, here are some tips to help you do it well.

Your professional association is having its annual workshop. You have been asked to lead one of the training conferences.

What a nice complement! Someone believes what you have to say will be interesting, helpful, informative, or inspirational—perhaps all of the above. You are delighted. You accept. The date goes on your calendar; it seems very far away. You tell yourself you have lots of time to prepare. After all, you have been asked to present a topic you know about. (if the subject is one you don’t know about, decline the invitation—or suggest a more familiar topic.) How tough can this be?

The answer begs another question, “How effective do you want to be?” Delivering a successful presentation takes effort. It absolutely can be tough. But you can do it. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Church Office Skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, Contributors Tagged With: church communication training, how to lead a conference, speaking tips, training tips

When the holidays or anytime doesn’t go as expected–tips on how to grow through conflict

20 December, 2012 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Things don't always go as we want in the church office at Christmas or any other time--here are some tips to help.
Things don't always go as we want in the church office at Christmas or any other time--here are some tips to help.

Ed. note: We all dream of what the holidays should be--everything perfect and peace and love all around. But if we are working at a church, we also know things don't always go as planned. When this happens, Gayle's advice that follows will, as it always does, encourage and equip you to handle the conflict well in your service for the Lord.

Growing involves having experiences—most pleasant, some not. Positive lessons can be learned even by negative encounters. Here is one assistant’s account of how she grew through adversity. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Church Communication Leadership, Church Communication Management, Church Office Skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, Contributors, Seasonal communication strategies Tagged With: Christmas, Christmas in the church office, conflict in the church office

Church Office tips for sanity and joy as you prepare for the holidays

26 November, 2012 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Christmas Tree, keep it a season for joy
Thought there is always so much to do, here are some tips to help you keep your sanity and joy.

Can it be possible that Christmas and the holidays related to it are just around the proverbial corner?

Many church office professionals say this season has a way of sneaking up on them. It isn’t a matter of not knowing the dates— it is just that before we feel ready the celebrations are here. At both church and home there are more activities to plan, more projects to do, more pressure, more hurry. Too often what should be a joyful time becomes one of stress and frustration.

This year can be different. Really. You may not be able to change what goes on around you, but you can change your responses and you can control your own expectations and activities. A caveat: The answer is not to move everything up a few weeks. As a friend remarked, “At our church all the Christmas programs and parties are over by the first of December. The 25th doesn’t seem like the day at all.”

Ideas for keeping spirits bright— [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Christmas, Church Office Skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, Contributors Tagged With: Church Office Holiday tips, Church Office Professionals advice, church office sanity, Gayle Hilligoss advice

How to develop management skills, part two

6 November, 2012 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Leading people is the most important part of your job.
Of course you manage work, but the most important part of your job is to lead people.

Ed. note: CLICK HERE for the first part of this very helpful and instructional article from Gayle Hilligoss.

• Be a role model. Ultimately the supervisor’s task is not to manage work but to lead people. Earn credibility by setting a good example for your team. Few things are more destructive to the morale of the team than a manager who lacks personal commitment. Those who expect a pleasant working environment, quality results, professional respect, and dedication to ministry must lead the way. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Church Office Skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, Contributors Tagged With: church leadership, church management skills, church office skills, Leading people

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