My New Wineskin

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins. Mark 2:22 NIV

In Jesus’ day, wine was transported & stored in wineskins made from animal skins. As the skins aged, they lost their elasticity. If new wine was placed in an old wineskin, the skin would burst as the wine fermented. So, new wine was always put into new wineskins.

8 Steps to Effectively Share a Message Step #7: Develop a Keynote/Workshop

  

At this point, you have been working on this topic for quite awhile. You’ve shared it on your blog, written a booklet, done podcasts & more. Now it’s time to share it with a live audience.

PRACTICE-PRACTICE-PRACTICE

Whether you speak to your audience in person or on the internet with a webinar, you need to be certain your message is ready to share. You can always go back & edit everything you have done up to this point. You can’t edit what you said during a live presentation once that presentation is over. You CAN record each presentation, FORCE yourself to listen to it & discover ways to improve either the material or presentation of that material.

The 6 No-no’s of Successful Delegation Part 3: Never Micromanage

Never Micromanage

As a first time leader, you want to do a good job. No, you want to do a GREAT job! You’re concerned it might reflect badly on you if something goes wrong, whether you are in charge of an event or an organization. Your name & face are what people see & you are going to do everything in your power to make certain everything goes RIGHT! Unfortunately, this often leads to micromanaging every aspect of  of your event or organization. Nothing is going to slip through the cracks on your watch. Nothing, that is, except all those wonderful workers helping you. Workers who get tired very quickly of having every task & decision second guessed by their Fearful Leader!

8 Steps to Effectively Share a Message Step 6: Produce Podcasts/Videos

Developing a personal connection with people in your audience helps promote your message. People like to buy from someone they know. When they feel they have gotten to know you, they want to learn more, either through other material you have created or by buying your books. A podcast & videos are a great way for people to get to know you.

The 6 No-no’s of Successful Delegation Part 2: Never Ask for Volunteers

In the last post, I wanted you to understand why you shouldn’t do it yourself. You CAN help out but as the leader, your job it to oversee the work being done, offering encouragement & guidance. In this post, I’m going to tell you something you may not believe & then appear to thoroughly contradict myself!

NEVER ASK for Volunteers

This doesn’t mean you won’t NEED volunteers. However, the least effective way of recruiting help for your group or event is by making a public plea for volunteers.

We’ve all seen it. Sitting in church on Sunday morning when some poor shlub has to stand in front of the congregation to ask for help. Sometimes, they are almost on the knees pleading for someone, anyone to volunteer. Why doesn’t this work?

Let’s Remember who We Represent!

8 Steps to Effectively Share a Message Step #7: Develop a Keynote/Workshop

  

 At this point, you have been working on this topic for quite awhile. You've shared it on your blog, written a booklet, done podcasts & more. Now it's time to share it with a live audience.

PRACTICE-PRACTICE-PRACTICE

Whether you speak to your audience in person or on the internet with a webinar, you need to be certain your message is ready to share. You can always go back & edit everything you have done up to this point. You can't edit what you said during a live presentation once that presentation is over. You CAN record each presentation, FORCE yourself to listen to it & discover ways to improve either the material or presentation of that material.

Never Rush It

I know it's easy to jump into doing a live presentation right away. We all over the thought of adoring fans hanging on our every word. This ego boost is what gets most people over their fear of public speaking. You must, however, wait until your message is finely tuned before you share it with a live audience.

Keynote or Workshop

How do you know whether your message should be a keynote or a workshop? I always look at keynotes as being inspirational. They may encourage you to take action, may even offer you steps to help you TAKE that action. During a keynote, people tend to listen more than write. During a workshop, people take notes. A workshop is a how-to session, teaching people ways to take specific action in a step-by-step presentation. You can use the same material for both.

About Keynotes

The keynote needs to be a trimmed down version of your material. It should encourage your audience to begin the process outlined in your material. It should offer people enough information that they might put your advice to work, even if on a limited basis. For those wanting more information, your keynote should encourage them to purchase your book without sounding like an infomercial. In other words, leave them wanting more!

About Workshops

Your workshop should also leave them wanting more. While it is more detailed than a keynote, you don't need to share EVERYTHING that's in your book. Find helpful ways to point out the additional information that can be found on your blog, podcast & books.

It All Prepares You for This!

Speaking to a live audience enables you to connect more directly with your market. You must however be prepared personally & with your material before you step in front of the microphone! Every other step before this prepares you AND your message to do the job well!

8 Steps to Effectively Share a Message Step 6: Produce Podcasts/Videos

 

 Developing a personal connection with people in your audience helps promote your message. People like to buy from someone they know. When they feel they have gotten to know you, they want to learn more, either through other material you have created or by buying your books. A podcast & videos are a great way for people to get to know you.

Look at Me!

When I first began writing, I wanted a radio show & my own television show. I was THRILLED when the internet made all this possible & at no cost! Oh, I've spent money on these things over the years but I have found through trial & error that the free platforms work just fine for my purposes.

Short is Very Sweet

When I began my first podcast, I wanted to offer a 30 minute program once a week. Mr. D, my hubby, advised me to keep it much, much shorter. At the time, a 30 minute program would have taken too long to download for most of my audience. In addition, most of them didn't want to listen to a long program on their computer. So, I broke each 30 minute program into a 5 part series with each part only 5-6 minutes long. This length was perfect. I have done longer programs over the years but I am currently going back to shorter program. Blog Talk Radio allows me to host a 15 minute program each day & it's FREE. I can do it live or record it & upload. This is the perfect length for both me & my listeners.

Never Let it Overwhelm You

Videos can seem overwhelming but they don't have to be. I often make movies out of slideshows. This enables viewers to stop the video & read a recipe or instructions. I also like doing short videos, short like my podcast. There are so many places where I can record & upload or do it live. YouTube has expanded to offer so many ways to produce & share your videos with your audience. You can create a series that focuses on your current topic, like when I produce videos for Thanksgiving. You can create playlists on each topic to make it easier for your viewers to find the videos they want to watch.

Share, Share, Share

Once you have produced & uploaded your podcast & videos, share them on your blog/website. You want to share them in as many places as possible. You also want to share your series links on the program info. ALWAYS share links to all the material for the series in each different format. Each post, podcast, booklet, book, etc should refer your audience to other formats. Make all your materials work for you. This is the best way to make all that hard work pay off!

The Problem with Guilt Part 1: Guilt Implies We've Done Something Wrong!

I LOVE Law & Order. I watch it on one of the local stations every Wednesday & Thursday. I watch other crime shows as well but Law & Order allows me to see the police do their job & the prosecutors do their job. So I see courtroom action every episode. Most episodes, at some point, a judge asks the defendant, "How do you plead?" And they have to say Guilty or not guilty. Most of the time, they say not guilty so the show can continue rather than ending early! 😊

Funny how even the most guilty person pleads not guilty in the hopes they can get away with whatever crime they are accused of committing. Not so much with mommies. We tend to plead guilty over the most minor infraction. And most of the time, WE AREN'T EVEN GUILTY OF ANYTHING!!!!!

As I see it, guilt implies we have done something wrong. Not just wrong in our own eyes but wrong according to society standards. If a person cheats on their spouse, they are guilty of adultery. Not passing judgement here. Just saying this sort of behavior should be avoided. If a parent mistreats a. Hold, especially to an extreme, they are guilty of abuse. This is just NOT acceptable behavior.

If however you are unable or unwilling to buy your child the newest toy that EVERYONE has, you may feel bad but you should NOT feel guilty. You haven't done anything wrong. Your kids may disagree but they would be wrong!

I believe most of the time we feel guilty, what we really are is afraid. We fear what others may think. We fear what they may say. We fear we might be harming our children. And to make matters worse, we going onto the court of public opinion, known as social media, and display our sense of guilt so other may judge us. And judge us they will. I have never seen so many glass house residents throw around so many stones! Perhaps it makes others feel less guilty when they judge others.

All I know is we need to stop calling it guilt. The more we tell ourselves,how guilty we feel, the more we reinforce our feelings of inadequacy & failure. Which only makes us feel more guilty, more afraid.

So, to begin this journey away from guilt, become more aware when you tell yourself how guilty you feel and, as Barney Fife would say, " Nip it in the bud!"

The Problem with Guilt: Introduction

Get Your Message Out!