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 [...]

Use Your Words: Should You Write a Book?

Is writing a book worth it if you’re a speaker? Should you self-publish?

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 [...]

Planning a Speaking Tour

Recently I wrote a post on how to handle gaps in your schedule. We all have them, because speaking is an insecure existence. You will find you are busy at times and very light at times, and that’s just the way the flow goes. I told you that I’m to the point that I accept [...]

Use Your Words: Making a Living from Speaking

Today’s Use Your Words BlogTalkRadio program addressed the question, “Can I really make a living speaking”? If you didn’t get a chance to listen live, listen in now right here! If that question is nagging at you, though, here are my thoughts. First, of course it’s a tension between income and ministry. We think that [...]

Gaining Confidence to Speak

I have just loved getting to know so many of you through my BlogTalkRadio show and networking with you in the Facebook group, as well as talking to you all in teleseminars! There’s a wealth of information out there about speaking, and I’ve asked you to send me guest posts, which I’ll run when I [...]

Generating Word of Mouth for Your Ministry

A few weeks ago we had a wonderful guest post from my friend Heidi McLaughlin, writing about how her ministry got started and began to fluorish. Here’s something she said: A few years ago I was in Atlanta, Georgia; surrounded with famous speakers and authors who had agents and were walking around with their leather [...]

How to Create an Amazing Handout that Works for You–and for the Audience!

If you’re doing any kind of teaching, whether it’s in a workshop or in a retreat setting, chances are you may get asked to provide a handout. That doesn’t mean you have to photocopy them–often you just email it to the organizer a few weeks ahead of time. But often we get quite nervous about handouts. [...]

Kitchen Timers are a Speaker’s Best Friend

One of the scariest things when speaking is figuring out when you’re going too long. You don’t want to speak so long you bore people, but you do want to fill the time you’ve been given. Many times I’ve assumed that churches will have clocks on the back of the wall when I speak. Big [...]

How to Give a Gospel Invitation

Frequently, when we are speaking, we get the opportunity to invite people to accept Christ. That’s a heavy responsibility, even if it is one of the highlights of your life! But while we’ve all seen many gospel invitations, do we know how to give one? Here are a few tips: Check with the organizer to [...]