Posts with the category “communicate-well”

By Jim LaDoux Make it easy for people to share their life, faith, impact, and generosity stories by providing them with a basic script to guide their conversations. Give people a few questions to think about ahead of time to respond to. You can also give people an index card that has 3 - 5 "complete the sentence" prompts. Providing people with scripts greatly increases the likelihood that they'll ...  Read More

By Jim LaDoux During any change initiative, it's essential that all leaders within the church are kept informed of key decisions, short-term wins, recent learnings, and plans for the next 30-90 days. Listed below are a few suggestions for what might be included in a typical monthly leadership report.WHO creates the monthly update?A number of people are involved in the process. Typically one person...  Read More

Amp up the impact and exposure of your videos by using the 10 ideas below. These simple yet very effective tips will help you create engaging content that can be shared across multiple communication platforms.  1 | Smile. Smiling helps connect your audience and keep's them engaged. Smile when you begin and end your conversation.2 | Practice Good Eye Contact. Look directly into the camera periodica...  Read More

By Jim LaDoux Your brand is what others think on you. Part of what influences how others see you are determined by the components and consistency of your visual identity. To organize your visual brand identity it’s best to build a brand identity guidelines for your church that clearly describes how your logo, visual elements, colors, type, and other design styles should and shouldn’t be used for p...  Read More

By Jim LaDoux Many churches and non-profit organizations spend most of their time and resources on providing information to their congregation. From email newsletters and social media posts to church announcements and preaching, the emphasis is on informing people about events, programs, and causes. While this is important, it may not always be the best approach when it comes to inspiring transfor...  Read More

By Jim LaDoux Engaging crucial conversations can be challenging yet is crucial for experiencing authentic community. Resistance often indicates that change is happening and that people are beginning to deal with real and perceived consequences of moving beyond their comfort zones. Four factors often are at the heart of most conflicts:Facts about events, behaviors, and resources. Lack of informatio...  Read More

Like ministry plans and programs, church websites never completing done. Most churches do significant revamps to their website every few years with the understanding that constant tweak and updates every month are necessary to ensure that then site serves as a useful tool for members and visitor alike. As you explore possible updates to your website and other communication platforms, use the list ...  Read More

Encourage Facebook followers to comment on post by adding thought-provoking questions on your Facebook pages or groups. Experiment using the questions below and see if they increase interactions among followers.1 | “Fill in the Blank” Question (easy to answer; one word is sufficient) The last book I read was _______________.The best thing that happened during summer was ___________________. One wo...  Read More

After spending the last several hours reading, replying and deleting 500+ emails in my inbox, I decided to take a short break and offer my “top 10” list on how to create emails that people actually read and respond to.If time is people’s most valuable resource, consider ways you can write emails that are easier to read, shorter to write, and quicker to reply to.Name the main point early.  Determin...  Read More