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.

When you are the supervisor

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Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: As if a supervisory position was not difficult enough, Jesus reminds us that becoming a leader in the church means becoming servant of all. This wise article by Gayle Hilligoss provides great advice that will help you not only do a good job, should you need to step into that position, but do it in a way that will be pleasing to the leaders of your church and to our Lord.

Church office professionals often must step into the role of supervisor or project manager. Sometimes there is very little—if any—notice before the opportunity arises. Be prepared. Whether your task is to guide volunteers, interns, or paid staff, build on your administrative expertise to develop your leadership skill set.

• Pinpoint your goals.

Exactly what are you to achieve in your supervisory position? What is it your team is to accomplish?

• Communicate those goals.

Through team and individual meetings firm up these goals with your team. Allow for their input, but keep the goals specific.

• Appreciate each person’s individuality.

Get to know your people; understand the differences in their personalities and abilities. People are more productive and more enthusiastic about their work when they know their supervisor cares about them as individuals.

• Give clear instructions.

If it is important a job be done a certain way, be sure to give specific how-to. Supervisors make a mistake in assuming workers can read minds or that people will be offended by being told what is expected. For some projects it can be helpful to have each team member write her own brief job description. During a group discussion make any revisions necessary.

• Get team members started.

Obviously, how the process works depends on the type of project. Generally, you will demonstrate what you want done, allow the team member to take over the task, and then check back to see how things are going and if there are questions.

• Trust. But, verify.

Once workers are doing their tasks, respect their ability to perform well. Let them know you believe in them. Make sure they know they can come to you with any questions. Schedule regular checkup times to be sure all is going according to plan.

• Really listen.

Get input from others on decisions affecting them. As the project progresses encourage them to give feedback on projects and to give suggestions on how things could be done.

• Be a role model.

The effective supervisor sets a good example and has credibility. One cannot expect workers to perform with excellence if the supervisor lacks personal commitment. If you handle your time well, are pleasant, and produce quality work, it is likely your team will emulate your style.

• Be supportive.

Workers deserve the support of their supervisor. Look out for the interests of your subordinates. Do your best to see they have the time and equipment they need to do the job expected.

• Utilize resources.

Ours is an information society. Keep yourself on the cutting edge with online services, webinars, on-site seminars, and professional affiliations. Provide printed materials and online resources for those you supervise. Stretch! You can make this project a great learning experience for the team members and for yourself.

• Fill people in on the big picture.

When workers know how their part of the job fits in with the total goal they better understand the importance of their contribution.

• Be objective in dealing with others.

Supervisors must be willing to risk personal popularity to get the job done. Sometimes the task you need to delegate is not a pleasant one, but is a necessary step in reaching the goal. Resist the tendency to believe you must do these kinds of jobs yourself. Your time is best spent on things that cannot be delegated.

• Accept responsibility for your own mistakes.

Even supervisors make an occasional mistake. Stay honest; own up to yours.

• Compliment the worker on a job well done.

Be sincere in showing your appreciation both privately and publicly. Give credit to others for their contributions. If criticism is necessary, do it privately and constructively—and only after you have tried other methods to bring about the changes you want.

• Lighten up.

Take your job seriously, but not yourself. Be the kind of supervisor you would like to work for. Be careful never to get carried away with your own importance. Those who throw their weight around make poor leaders.

You can do this. You can perform with excellence when you are the supervisor.

 

 

 

Dealing with Distractions in the church office

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Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: If we could only do what this article suggests it would add hundreds of hours of productivity to all our churches! As we mature in the faith, it is often the seemingly "little" things that can be the most destructive, but we must deal with them if we want to be all the Lord wants us to be. Gayle gives us fantastic advice in this article on how to conquer the distractions that threaten to do us all in.

Five o’clock, the end of your day. You were busy; you achieved some good things. Still, too much of the day was unproductive. Tasks that should have been done were not. Low priority tasks somehow edged out those of more value.

What could have been done differently? What actions would have produced better results?

Time management is a complex subject. Good sleep is important as it directly affects work productivity. Losing focus can be slightly aided with coffee or smart wakefulness pills you can get on https://buy-modafinil-online.org/vilafinil. Fortunately, understanding and acting on even small pieces of the puzzle makes a tangible difference. In most church offices, interruptions and distractions are routine. These techniques can help you handle them with ease.

• Get rid of clutter
Unnecessary stuff is a distraction in itself. Keeping the office neat is one of the best and easiest ways to increase productivity. Resolve today to stop accumulating and start discarding. Get rid of whatever you don’t need: outdated files, old catalogs, keys for you-can’t-imagine-what of course—but, if plants, photos, memorabilia, and bric-a-brac are time wasting distractions (and they certainly can be), remove them from your space as well. Stuff, even nice stuff, can slow you down if you have too much of it.

• Weed out unnecessary tasks
No one can do all the things that might be done—not even all the good things. Don’t try. Really. Too many things on your to-do list simply muddy the water and distract you from focusing on tasks that give the best return on time invested. Putting jobs in priority order is not nearly as important as choosing the necessary jobs out of the huge number of daily possibilities. Not everything that could be done should be done.

• Control the noise level
If you are reading this in your office, stop and make a quick list of the sounds you hear: perhaps office equipment whirring, lights buzzing, voices in the hall, computer, phone, coworkers, background music, construction going on outside, a custodian running a vacuum, daycare kids on the playground, traffic …

Even if you are a focused person, distractions will take a toll on productivity. What noises in your office could be controlled or eliminated? One ministry assistant was surprised to discover that all tube lighting fixtures didn’t buzz; hers had for years.

• Do an interruption inventory
Starting a project, stopping to answer the phone, starting again, stopping to check email, getting back to the project, stopping to discuss an issue with a coworker—so it goes. At this pace, more time may be spent on interruptions than on the project. Interruptions are one of our most troublesome distractions.

An effective way to get a handle on interruptions is to do a quick self-check:

1)    As soon as you arrive at the office, list and number the things you intend to do today. If you are in the good habit of listing your next day’s goals before you leave the office each afternoon, use that list for this purpose.

2)    At the bottom of your list, leave room for a list of interruptions and distractions.

3)    As you begin work on each item on your to-do list, note the time.

4)    Each time you are interrupted, mark the reason on your interruption list as well as the amount of time you were diverted from the task in progress.

Follow this drill for three or four days to give yourself a realistic picture of the kinds of interruptions you are dealing with and the amount of time they consume.

Some “interruptions” (phones, visitors, input from staff) are really our job. These distractions will never be eliminated. But most of us discover that many of our interruptions are self-imposed. We interrupt ourselves! Armed with your lists you can pinpoint these time wasters and you can control them.

Learning from your list, you can make it a practice to gather everything you need for a task before you begin, you can learn a computer shortcut before it is needed, you can ignore email until times you designate to check it. You may actually cut your interruptions in half just by eliminating the self-generated ones.

• Know what not to care about.
Think about some of the main topics of discussion in your office the past few weeks. Is anything there that really just doesn’t matter? Has time and energy been spent on things that have nothing to do with ministry, that are neither enlightening nor beneficial, that contribute in no meaningful way to the harmony of the office? Who needs it? Not you!

You care more about productivity than chatter. You know how to deal with distractions.

 

Be a better listener, part three Ten techniques you can use now

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Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: There is so much in this article that would make all of our relationships much more loving and pleasing to our Lord because if we don't take the time to really listen to someone, how do we know if we are meeting their real needs or concerns? Read and pray for the patience to practice the suggestions.

 

In 1979 the Sperry Corporation became interested in listening when looking for an advertising campaign theme. During their research Sperry discovered their employees believed the company’s distinguishing trait was its willingness to listen. Before starting a campaign based on this theme, Sperry wanted to make sure they really were good listeners.

Incidentally, isn’t that a good idea? Have you ever visited a church whose motto is something like “The Friendliest Church in Town” and not received even one friendly greeting? Mottos do need to be authentic.

Wisely, Sperry sought out Dr. Lyman Steil, a former faculty member of the speech communication division of the University of Minnesota. Dr. Steil’s findings sparked new interest in this vital communication skill and provided some solid listening guidelines that hold true even today.

Here are ten techniques based on his research that you can begin to use right away to double and even triple the effectiveness of your listening.

• Identify the speaker’s purpose. What is he trying to communicate? What is being said you can use? How does the message relate to what you already know?

You know the speaker’s purpose before some meetings or seminars. Get in the flow by doing preliminary research. For instance, before a calendar planning meeting go over agendas, note upcoming projects, and be ready to process new information.

Unless you focus on the purpose of the message you may miss the point altogether.

More than 15,000 people heard Abraham Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address. Most didn’t even applaud. Because they missed Lincoln’s purpose, they didn’t realize they had heard one of the great speeches of all time. The speaker wasn’t at fault, but the listeners.

• Listen for ideas as well as facts. “I’m feeling discouraged about our young people” may mean far more than that. Perhaps the speaker is unhappy with the youth minister; perhaps she is concerned with the amount of money budgeted for youth work; perhaps she is having difficulty with her own youngster.

The person who comes in to share a problem seldom starts the conversation with the real problem. Never make assumptions; listen between the lines.

• Note key words and ideas to review later. Messages and instructions are more likely to be handled correctly when you write them down as received. Practice making concise notes. If you try to write every word, you will miss much of what is being said.

• Tune out distractions. A ringing phone, an uncomfortable chair, a chilly room—all can distract you from listening. Or you may be too rushed, hungry, preoccupied, emotional, or ill to feel like being a listener. Overcome distractions by focusing your total concentration on the speaker.

• Make eye contact. Looking at someone indicates your interest. Whether you agree comes later, but do pay visual attention to the speaker. What the eyes say constitutes a significant part of the message.

On the phone see the speaker in your mind’s eye. Visualization makes the conversation more personal and helps fix your attention.

• Be responsive. Your main role as a listener is to be attentive and to make it easy for the person speaking to you to get his message across.

Be careful not to close the door on those who need a listening ear. Never discount people’s feelings with stock phrases or simplistic advice such as, “Oh, it can’t be that terrible,” or, “Just relax. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

In his book People Skills, Robert Bolton suggests what he calls door openers to initiate conversations with those who you feel may want to talk with you:

First, a description of the other person’s body language: “You’re looking a little down today.”

Second, an invitation to talk: “Want to talk about it?”

Third, silence. Give the person a reasonable amount of time to decide if to talk and what to say.

And fourth, attending. Eye contact and a posture of involvement demonstrates your interest and concern.

All four parts are not necessarily present in every door opener. Sometimes a simple, “Let’s hear about it” is sufficient. To draw someone out, ask questions that cannot be answered with just a yes or no. But never be pushy; open the door but don’t barge in.

Be careful not to nod your head at something you don’t understand. Ask the speaker to explain, or say, “Tell me more about that.” When you hear unpopular ideas or feel criticized it can be hard to be responsive, but even if you don’t agree with the speaker you can establish rapport. Ask questions and search for points of agreement. If you listen only to those with whom you agree, you never grow.

• Use your thought time wisely. I speak at the speed of approximately 175 words a minute—but you listen four times faster! To be an active listener, direct your thought time to the topic at hand. Recall what you already know. Summarize how each new point builds on what has gone before. In dialogues you might rephrase the information by saying, “What I’m hearing is...” or “Let me be sure I understand.”

In a private conversation, resist using thought time to formulate advice. In The Miracle of Dialogue Reuel Howe writes, “The purpose of communication is not to give our answers to people’s questions. When we’ve been asked, ‘What would you do if you were in my place?’ we often comment later, ‘I didn’t know what to tell him.’ Implicit in that response is the assumption that we should have known and told the inquirer what he should do.”

Howe goes on to explain that the responsibility of the listener is simply to listen, not to take on the problems of others. In fact, we should not rob others of the joy of acquiring their own insight and answers. He writes, “There is no reason at all why we should provide people with answers to their questions, although the temptation to do so is great. The giving of answers to problems is a thankless task. If the answer given turns out to be wrong, they will resent both the answer and the one who gives it; and if it turns out to be right, they may also be resentful because they did not think of it.”

The best solution is to provide essential information when you can, but to allow others to formulate their own answers.

• Avoid being judgmental, critical, or argumentative. Give people a fair opportunity to be heard even if you don’t like how they look or how they sound, even if you do not appreciate their attitude or personality or point of view.

Obviously you will evaluate what you hear and see; being willing to listen does not mean you aren’t entitled to your own convictions. But give people the benefit of the doubt. Look for points of agreement, not for points with which to take issue.

Accept comments in the context of the full message, rather than zeroing in on a red flag issue and finding fault. There are few statements that absolutely could not be argued if one wants to pick them apart.

Generally the person speaking counts on your good judgment and trusts you will withhold rebuttal until you have heard the full story. Be sure not to tune out because you think you already know what is going to be said. The ancient Greeks taught that it is impossible for a person to learn what he thinks he already knows.

• Watch for non-verbals. Listen with your eyes as well as ears; communication is far more than words. Be aware that people cannot not communicate; their very appearance sends messages.

Words spoken comprise only about 7 percent of communication. Thirty-eight percent of the message comes from tone of voice, pitch, volume, rate of speech, and mannerisms like nervous laughter or clearing the throat. Over half of the message—55 percent—is non-verbal: appearance, posture, eye movement, gestures, and facial expression.

The eighty muscles of the face are capable of making more than 7000 expressions. When there is conflict between words and facial expression, the non-verbal message is far more likely to be accurate. As you listen, observe.

• Fix the flaws and practice. To become proficient in any skill, discover the better way and repeat it often. Regularly listen to difficult or unfamiliar material that challenges your mental capacities. Sharpen your listening talent with tests and exercises.

This simple experiment demonstrates how, depending on how the words are spoken, can have widely different meanings. Choose a sentence and repeat it several times, each time putting the emphasis on a different word. For example, use the sentence, “I didn’t say she took the money” and see how many shades of meaning you can project. Practicing will help you hear the subtle distinctions in the voices of others.

Listening is a skill much like others we acquire; there is always room to grow better. Work on your listening skills at work, at home, at church, and in social situations. You will notice a positive difference in the way you listen to others and in how they listen and respond to you. Practice makes perfect!

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Series of the Three Articles on Be a Better Listener by Gayle Hilligoss

Click on any of the links to go to the article:
Be a better listener, part one: Mastering the Most Overlooked Communication Skill by Gayle Hilligoss

Be a better listener, part two: AIM, the three significant aspects of listening by Gayle Hilligoss

Be a better listener, part three: Ten techniques you can start to use now by Gayle Hilligoss

 

 

Be a better listener, part two: AIM, the three significant aspects of listening

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Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. Note: Last week we featured Part One of this series on Listening, where we learned in part, how to be an active listener. This week Gayle provides specific advice that will help you become a better listener. As I read through her words, I thought about what a wonderful world it would be if we all followed this advice.

Professional Secretaries International (now International Association of Administrative Associates) taught seminar attendees a technique using the acronym AIM to create a positive attitude for listening. AIM represents three significant aspects of listening: attention, interest, and motivation.

AIM: attention, interest, motivation

A = Bring yourself to attention. Poor listeners fake paying attention while their minds wander. The active listener consciously works to resist distractions and concentrate on the message.

I = Focus your interest. Poor listeners decide after a few words that the conversation holds no interest for them so they stop any effort to pay attention. The active listener seeks to find useful information regardless of how dull the subject or how unskilled the speaker.

M = Identify your motivation. How well you listen depends on how motivated you are. Here are some good reasons for improving your listening skills.

• Listening allows you to learn. Receiving information is difficult when you do all the talking. When you listen you can learn about the subject being discussed (as well as learn about the speaker).

• Listening allows you to make better decisions. Life doesn’t give us enough time to make every mistake ourselves. Listening allows you to learn from the mistakes and victories of others, and helps develop better judgment.

• Listening helps solve mutual problems and resolves disagreements. You cannot agree or disagree intelligently with the other person until you know his point of view. Once you listen to the problem as he sees it, and he listens to the problem as you see it, you can cooperatively seek some solutions.

• Listening may solve problems for the other person. Giving someone an opportunity to talk may clarify the situation and provide the necessary emotional release.

• Listening can reduce tension. Allowing others to express their viewpoints may help clear the air of tension or hostility. As a result of your conscious aim to listen there will be fewer misunderstandings; grievances can be resolved before they get out of hand.

• Listening leads to cooperation from others. When a person feels you are really interested in her and her opinions, she is likely to respect you and the church you represent. People respond positively and cooperate more often when they know we care about them.

• Listening helps you sell your ideas. You have an idea for rearranging and redecorating your office. How do you sell your idea? Try asking the person you need on your side, “What would it take to make our office more attractive?” Then listen and follow through on the suggestions.

• Listening can save you trouble. If you talk before you really listen, you may make a decision or offer criticism you later regret. You may commit to action you cannot or will not want to carry out. If you feel pressured to give an opinion, listen carefully and evaluate before responding.

• Listening gives you confidence. When you follow the conversation carefully, you can be confident what you say is relevant. When you understand the other person’s point of view you can be confident of stating your rebuttal. You may spot loopholes in the other person’s logic and gain assurance in your own viewpoint. When you gain a reputation as a good listener, others give more weight to your report of a conversation.

• Listening increases your enjoyment of life. As an active listener, you gain more from all you hear. Conversations, meetings, music, entertainment all bring you more enjoyment and understanding. You are more tuned in to your world than ever before.

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Series of the Three Articles on Be a Better Listener by Gayle Hilligoss

Click on any of the links to go to the article:
Be a better listener, part one: Mastering the Most Overlooked Communication Skill by Gayle Hilligoss

Be a better listener, part two: AIM, the three significant aspects of listening by Gayle Hilligoss

Be a better listener, part three: Ten techniques you can start to use now by Gayle Hilligoss

How to be a SUPER ASSISTANT in the church office

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Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: Sometimes we might wonder why we do what we do and how do we measure our success? This inspiring article from Gayle Hilligoss will help challenge and encourage you. Though currently I do all the church communication work from home for my bi-vocational pastor husband, I found this advice timely and practical.

As a full-time trainer I met with more than 75,000 ministry assistants throughout the United States and Canada. I visited hundreds of churches from New Hampshire to Hawaii, from Wyoming to Florida, and spent time with you in dozens of states between. Many of us have corresponded regularly for years. So, I speak from firsthand experience and observation when I say you are an extraordinary group.

You know what your job is—and what it isn’t.

As a super assistant you understand that to hit the target you need to know where the bull’s-eye is. You know the responsibilities and duties involved in your job. Even better, you know what results are expected. Knowing what the job is allows you to take the proper steps toward being able to handle it with confidence, skill, and poise.

When no position description is in place for your job, you take the initiative in writing one. With your job clearly defined, you enhance and extend your responsibilities without taking on the responsibilities of others. While always ready to lend a hand when needed, you focus on your own work and allow others to do theirs. People enjoy working with you.

You work toward being effective—not merely efficient. Efficient secretaries do the job right; effective ones do the right job right. You make wise choices regarding how to spend your time.

You recognize your job as ministry.

Your job is more than a job. It is ministry. Ministry is seldom convenient. Needed but routine work can be tedious. People tend to take you for granted. Service above and beyond is often required. Emergencies arise, extra effort becomes necessary.

You shine because when the need is there, you do more than just enough to get the job done. Whether managing the everyday work of the church office, rolling up your sleeves for special church programs, or dealing with emergencies, you approach the tasks at hand as ministry—an opportunity to show God’s love through service to others.

You commit to excellence.

The difference between excellence and mediocrity nearly always lies in the small things, in the details. And taking care of details is what your work is all about. Ministry involves a million little things done with consistency, competence, and compassion.

It takes more effort to look after the little things. But you do it. And the effort shows. You are known for your good work. The pastor and congregation can depend on the quality of your work.

People are still touched by dedication. While they may not know the mechanics involved, they can tell the difference between a neat, accurate bulletin and a messy one full of errors and misinformation.

Whether people notice or not is not the question though. You are serious about your work and feel an obligation to do your best. You care enough to invest yourself in doing excellent work—a mark of the true professional.

You keep learning.

Twenty years ago maturity and experience compensated to some small degree for current training. No more. Today, the knowledge you need to do the job—the methods and the machinery—becomes obsolete very quickly. You are committed to staying on the cutting edge. Seminars, webinars, classes, print journals, digital resources, and ministry assistants organizations keep you informed and inspired.

Certainly, there is a price to pay for training—in time, effort, and dollars. But you know the price to be paid for not learning; you choose the wiser option.

You communicate responsibly.

The secretary is the hub of the information wheel in the church. You are the one people count on to know who, how, what, when, where, and why.

No organization can do its job well without the free flow of necessary information. But, in order to use and dispense information, you must have access to it. That access requires your confidentiality. You have the trust of others because you never indulge in gossip or loose talk.

You aren’t afraid to ask.

The three-letter secret to success is ASK. If you need something, or think some action ought to be taken or some situation ought to be corrected, you communicate those concerns.

If, as people communicate with you, you are in doubt about any aspect of the information or instructions, you ask questions rather than assume. Assumptions are too often wrong. Asking saves time, dollars, efforts, and tempers.

You accept criticism objectively.

It can be difficult to take criticism for what it’s worth, to remember that sometimes it’s worth a lot and other times it’s not worth much.

You don’t allow yourself to take criticism as a personal attack. You learn what you can from it, resist trying to justify your actions, and always consider the source.

In your own operating style, you practice being a role model instead of a critic; your goal is to fix problems rather than to place blame. You assess situations, plan constructive courses of action, and set them in motion.

You maintain a positive attitude.

Each of us tends to find whatever it is we look for. You have developed the habit of immediately seeking something positive in every experience—especially in the experiences others might view as negative. You are not a Pollyanna, but are resilient about foul-ups, knowing that mistakes and misunderstandings are a normal part of life. You never make them more important than they are.

Unlike those who allow the weather to dictate their feelings for the day, you remain sunny even on gloomy days. Others may allow how people treat them to set the tone of their day. If people treat them well, they feel good; if not, they have a bad day. You know that no one can ruin your day unless you allow it. You  don’t expect praise or appreciation for everything you do—even the outstanding things. For you, the satisfaction of a job well done is its own reward.

You are flexible.

Being flexible is being willing to discard a cherished opinion, to try new ways of doing things, and to learn new methods. As comfortable as an old habit can be, a new way can be even better.

While a detour from the familiar may temporarily slow you down, it keeps your job from being boring and demonstrates your professionalism.

You keep your eyes on Jesus.

Strange as it may seem, working at the church can be detrimental to one’s faith. Nurturing your spiritual life is essential.

Church members, perhaps even the pastor, can (perhaps unintentionally) treat your Sunday worship time like just another day at the office. Wisely, you don’t.

Because you care so intensely about the church and its ministry, it could be easy to become disillusioned when plans and people fall short. Wisely, you don’t.

Daily time in prayer and reading God’s Word keep you on track. You understand people, even God’s people, may fail you—but Jesus never will.

You are super assistants! Keep up the good work.

“But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” —Isaiah 40:31  NLT