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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

How to Stop Nervousness When You Speak

Today on Use Your Words BlogTalkRadio, I talked about how to end nervousness! And you’ll be happy to know I didn’t say anything about picturing people in their underwear. Listen in to the show here for great tips! It’s thirty minutes long, and well worth your time. But here are a few highlights: 1. Practice [...]

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 [...]

How to Use Photos to Get the Word Out

You’re a Christian women’s speaker. You speak at church events. You do it for the glory of God. So thinking about marketing your speaking ministry sounds weird. Is that really part of ministry? Yes, it is, because if God has given you a message, you should want to get it out there. And you can [...]

Use Your Words: What Should I Charge for Speaking?

photo © 2008 Tyler | more info (via: Wylio) What are the going Christian speaker fees? What do Christian speakers charge? And how in the world do I ask for it? That’s the most common question I get from people–how do I figure out what to charge for speaking? What do other people charge? And [...]

7 Ways to Bore Your Audience

photo © 2005 Jason Scragz | more info (via: Wylio) It’s every speaker’s worst nightmare. You’re speaking, and you look across the audience, and everybody’s looking dazed. Some are obviously texting. A few are nodding off. And a bunch are writing things down–but you’re pretty sure it doesn’t have anything to do with what you’re [...]

How to Create a Platform for Your Ministry

photo © 2008 daretoeatapeach | more info (via: Wylio) Platform. It’s a word we hear all the time in the speaking/writing business, but what does it really mean? Today on my Use Your Words BlogTalkRadio show I talked about platform: the best ways to build one, and what’s really important. Listen in to that show [...]

Prioritizing Your List: How Do I Know Where to Focus My Efforts?

photo © 2007 sunshinecity | more info (via: Wylio) I’m an ideas person. When an idea strikes me, I get so excited about it! Unfortunately, about five minutes later I’ll get another idea, and I’ll get excited about it, too! So which should I do first? And how do I decide? Over the years that [...]