We’ve all likely heard some form of this adage for our social media age: “Stop comparing everyone else's highlight reel with your everyday.”
Have you ever talked to someone only to discover, later and through the grapevine, that they completely misunderstood you?
Many are talking. This communication noise distracts from hearing you or even wanting to listen to your message. Being a leader is tough.
“Our church needs an app!” I often hear this and cringe.
Leaders, I want to give you a simple but often overlooked best practice to help you communicate and connect with a wide audience.
I believe an effective church communicator knows what not to say!
Here's why your first question should always be: “Can you please tell me more?”
Have you wondered why sports teams need coaching? Can't the team members get together and decide what they should do?
Giving feedback to creative people can be a murky experience.
Not all ideal cultures look the same, but they have the same ingredients.
If this has ever happened to you, a small almond-shaped structure called the amygdala has hijacked your brain.
One of the most common sources of organizational conflict is ambiguity regarding expectations; particularly, those wrapped up in the concepts of roles, responsibilities and organizational goals.
Pastors of 20 years ago had to deal with the occasional anonymous hate mail, but today, pastors can get hit daily with negative social media posts.
These four church communication tasks are rarely done well. Perhaps that's why church communication fails so often. Let's start doing them!
Think of the main messages you need to communicate over this next week, month or season of your organizational life. Take 15-20 minutes to think through the questions I've asked here.
Stop copying what other churches are doing.
Perhaps you've even heard people talking about things they don't like about the church you serve, but no one connects the symptoms to the underlying causes.
Effective church communication is all about scratching itches (or helping them scratch the itch).
Look for these traits primarily and rule out anyone that doesn't exhibit them. Only then look at their writing, design, web, and creative skills as a value-add.
We must eliminate all barriers and distances between the messenger and the audience in order to have effective church communications.
