Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Finishing Well

About a year ago, my friend Rachel Olsen and I had a conversation about the challenges of ending a message. She had some insights that have stuck with me as I’ve been writing messages, so I asked her to share with you. Here’s Rachel! ~Amy

I long thought concluding my message was the hardest part of speech-making.

I’d craft my opening, introduce my topic, cover the material I felt God laid on my heart – using scripture and relatable illustrations. And then … what?

How do you end gracefully and effectively?

Maybe you’ve wondered the same thing.

Many speakers pay less attention to their conclusions than to any other part of their speech. It’s easy to assume if we can just get through the meat of the message (and that’s often our main focus), we’ll figure out how to end it when the moment comes.

But when that moment to close actually comes, if we have no plan for doing so we’re likely to lose steam and trail off rather than ending strong.

Never wait until you’re on the stage to decide how you’ll end. I’ve watched too many speakers do that last minute grope for a conclusion. Suddenly they appear unsure, inarticulate or uncomfortable. Those are not the feelings nor the impression you want to leave your audience with.

You want a powerful, effective ending—planned from the start—not a spur of the moment search for what to say.

The Best Endings

The best endings are ones that inspire automatic applause. No one has to tell or signal the audience this is the end because the last thing you said was the perfect way to wrap up this message. It’s now whole and complete.

The audience feels you are done – not because you are packing up your notes and Bible, not because the pianist has started to play, or because you’re saying, “Thanks for coming out today.” You have delivered the audience to their destination and it is evident.

They feel the satisfaction of a completed journey.

How do you achieve that feeling? You encapsulate what you’ve been saying in a memorable way.

This might be done with a summary in your own words – hitting your bottom line, sticky statement again. This might be done with a brief poignant story. Or perhaps with a powerful quote.

Finishing a speech well is more art than science, I admit. It takes work, but it can be done. And as speakers, we need to be good stewards of our entire message, including the conclusion.

Perhaps especially the conclusion.

Are you crafting tight, satisfying closings to your messages? Are you finishing well?

The writer of Ecclesiastes asserted, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning” (Ecc 7:8). Work to make that true of your message and both you and your audience will leave feeling satisfied.

Rachel Olsen is a national speaker with twelve years’ experience. She teaches public speaking for the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. Find her at www.RachelOlsen.com.

Write Right

I’m pleased to announce the opening of registration for our next Group Services call! Suzie Eller is leading a call for writers just in time for all of you who are preparing book proposals for She Speaks. It’s not limited to She Speaks attendees, however, so please plan to join us.

Here are all the details:

Write Right Manuscript Critiques – Successful Self-Editing

Date: Thursday, June 6, 2013

Time: 8:00 pm EST

Do you desire to take your writing to the next level? Are you receiving rejections that say, “Love your idea, but your writing needs work?” Maybe you are a speaker who is confident in your speaking skills, but not so confident as a writer.

Whether you have published or desire to publish, self-editing is a crucial skill as a professional writer. The more skilled you become, the more opportunities you have to gain the attention of a publisher or agent. In this call, Suzie Eller will offer a “thick-skinned manuscript critique” of three selected nonfiction articles and/or chapters submitted by participants. Using these examples, participants and Suzie will work through the top ten self-editing techniques to make your writing more polished and powerful.

*Participants who sign up for this original call may submit a nonfiction article of up to three pages of a sample chapter one from a work-in-progress to be considered for the critique. Suzie will choose up to four. Critique of your submission is not guaranteed.

The call is only $25, and you can register beginning today by clicking on the “Add to Cart” button above. We hope you’ll be with us on June 6th!

Amy

Forming Lasting Connections

Last week I got a question from a former client, Amy Boyd, and I thought everyone would like to hear the answer. Here goes…

I am feeling fairly well about an upcoming event, but I am not sure how to follow up after the event is over. How do I get testimonies to use on my blog and/or in my media packet ? Should I ask in the event for the women to sign up for newsletter and blog post or should I try to get the event planner to mention it later? I guess what I really want to know is how do I really connect with these women for more than the one day.

It’s a fantastic idea to collect endorsements from events as you go. You’ll always need fresh ones for biosheets, your website, etc. I usually wait until after the event and then ask the event coordinator for one. Because these endorsements need to be well-written to be usuable, I usually ask by saying, “Would you be willing to take some time to craft an endorsement?” I’ve worked hard to find wording to encourage people to put some thought into what they write.

It’s also wonderful to give attendees ways to keep in touch with you after an event. You can do this several ways.

Have business cards printed so attendees will be able to find your website and email.
Include this information on the bottom of your handout for notes.
Print cards that include all the information you’d like from attendees and boxes to check if they’d like to be subscribed to your blog or newsletter. You’ll have to input the information yourself, but it may be worth it to make it this easy for attendees.
Use the cards for a drawing for a giveaway. That’s been a great way for me to get more cards back! I also allow women to just write their name so they can be included in the drawing.

Thanks for the great questions, Amy! Does anyone else have other ways you form lasting connections after your events?

Amy

Employing the Power of Prayer

Recently our Proverbs 31 team met together and shared ideas that we’ve found to be successful at our own events. In the course of that very helpful gathering, there was one subject that took hold of my heart–prayer.

I’m a very practical, nuts-and-bolts kind of girl, and sometimes in all my pragmitism, I lose what’s really important. I’ve heard it said that prayer isn’t just the preparation for the work. It IS the work. I believe it’s true, and yet I occasionally get caught up in preparation with very little prayer.

Here are two steps every speaker should implement:

Build a prayer team. I have a group of precious friends who receive my prayer requests for speaking along with my event schedule. They are women with whom I feel I can be transparent, and they’re godly, faithful women I know I can trust. There’s one other thing that I particularly love about my group. Each is of a different decade, so I ask them to pray specifically for the women in their decade. I didn’t plan it this way, but I have a prayer warrior in her 20s, 30s, 40s (me), 50s and 60s. That covers the majority of women at my events, and I love thinking that each of my friends is praying for the needs of women in their phase of life.

Although this group of women is one I’d love to spend more time with, I’ve decided to keep our prayer team as low key as possible. We don’t meet together, but I just send them my prayer requests.

Pray for attendees by name. I’m going to be transparent with you. Although I know members of our speaker team who have done this for a long time, I had never done it personally. I certainly prayed for the event and for the attendees in general, but I never prayed for them by name. In our meeting I mentioned earlier, Wendy Blight shared passionately about this practice. I love and admire Wendy and her heart for prayer, so I decided to try.

I simply started asking the event coordinators to send me the list of attendees. You can’t imagine how excited they are when you tell them you’re praying for each woman individually! I also couldn’t have imagined the results. Even before I got to my last event, God had made the event so personal to me. I already had fallen in love with both the group and each woman before I ever got there. I trust God had also prepared hearts to be moved by the messages more than before.

I know many of you have a heart for prayer, and I’d love to hear how God has taught you to pray for your events!

Amy

Spring Forward!

As I type today, I’m enjoying the breeze blowing through my open windows and the sound of happy, nesting birds outside. It’s my favorite time of year-spring!

Although I want to spend hours of time with my fingers in the dirt right now, spring is a great time to work on platform building. Event planners often book speakers for their fall and holiday events before everyone heads off for summer vacations, so this is the time to get the word out about your messages.

As I looked through questions we’ve received from our readers, the majority center around how to generate speaking opportunities. I could reinvent the wheel, but my friend Tracie Miles has already put together a great list of ideas. You can read her post here. I suggest starting back at the beginning of her series and reading it in its entirety by clicking here. She has loads of excellent ideas embedded. My suggestion is to make your own list, prioritizing and working on one project at a time.

Reading other blogs is another way to keep my ideas flowing concerning marketing. My two favorites are Michael Hyatt’s and Seth Godin’s. I encourage you to check them out. I’m also planning to buy and read Michael Hyatt’s book Platform.

Finally, let’s work together as Kingdom building speaker girls! What are you doing (have you done) that has worked in getting the word out about your message? Do you have any other marketing resources to share with us? Each person who leaves a comment will be registered to win a free Next Step coaching call! Duplicate suggestions are fine–we’ll use it as a survey. :)

Amy

Where Do I Begin As a Writer?

I just want to write, Suzie!

That’s a message I receive in my in-box almost weekly.

I normally offer this challenge: For the next six weeks I want you to write on a schedule. Not just when you are inspired. Not just when you feel that you have time. Once you have completed that, then you have proved to yourself that this is more than a whim.

You’d be surprised at how many take that challenge, but at the end of six weeks they’ve written little. They give up.

But some do endure, and then I challenge those women to take another six weeks to explore the business aspect of this ministry/career to which she feels drawn.

You see, writing is only half of succeeding in the publishing world. It you truly desire to write, then it is important that you not only write, but learn the business end of marketing and publishing your writing. A successful writing career doesn’t happen overnight. Earning an income as a freelance writer is a continual process of education, networking, and submitting your work.

What are ways in which you can learn more?

Join a writers’ group online or in your community. Read books from solid professionals about writing (there are many great books on the craft of writing at your local library). Subscribe to writing magazines. Read books in the genre in which you hope to write.

Attend a writers’ conference. You may be unsure if you’ll have the right questions or know the best class to attend, but you’ll walk away with more information than you arrived with.

This is a step that I clearly remember taking nearly 14 years ago. When I walked in the door, I felt my beginner status from head to toe. But I didn’t give up. By the end of the conference, I realized that we were all writers; I was simply at the starting line, while others were halfway down the track, and others closer to the finish line.

Doing all of the above allowed me to progress from a beginning writer to eventually working full-time as a professional freelance writer with hundreds of articles published nationwide, books published, and columns and blogs established.

Every career and ministry has a learning curve, a time to develop your niche in that world.

But there is never a point where writers can say they have arrived. Professional freelance writers and authors continue to attend workshops, network with editors and writers, join critique groups, and stay current on trends in their craft. I do!

Have you been wishing for a writing ministry or career, but not investing the time and education needed?

Perhaps today is the day you move from wishing that you were writing to intentionally pursuing and investing in the dream on your heart.

Ways you can invest in your writing dream/ministry/career today:

Purchase the 2013 Christian Writers’ Market Guide

Listen to Karen Ehman, best-selling author and P31 speaker – How to Write a Bang-up Book Proposal

Attend the July, 2013 She Speaks writer’s track with intensive workshops, editor and agent one-on-ones, and networking with writers, from beginner to professional.

Suzie

Creating Laser-Like Focus

My friend Renee Swope is a speaker who has always had the ability to reach into the depths of my heart. She has an engaging style that blends Truth with warmth, and I love to hear her speak.

Several years ago at She Speaks, however, she delivered a message about the woman at the well that had a focus elevating the message to one with great transforming power. As soon as I reached her in the hall, I asked, “HOW did you do that?”

“Do what?” she asked.

“How did you make your message so LASER-LIKE?”

With a smile, she explained how she had begun to create messages around one core point. All the stories, points and teaching were wrapped around that one point. I can attest to the effectiveness of her method!

Culling out all the “yada yada” in our messages and extraneous information is hard, but it’s worth it.

Here’s a memorable phrase from Preaching Rocket that helps:

Don’t let your information overwhelm your idea.

As you edit your next message before you deliver, try evaluating each sentence with the idea of a single focus in mind.

Creating a Biosheet

Whether you’re a speaker or a writer, a biosheet (sometimes also called a one-sheet) is a must-have for concisely and clearly expressing your message to audiences and publishers. For me, creating a biosheet also been a ministry-defining exercise that forces me to seek God in clarifying my true call.

If you’re considering a summer project, this just might be the area of development to consider! Today, I’d like for you to hear from Denise Hughes, a former client, current friend, author and speaker, about her experience developing a biosheet with Next Step.

Amy

1. How did you learn about Next Step Speaker Services, and why did you decide to sign up with us?

I heard about Next Step when I attended the She Speaks Conference last summer. My time at the conference proved invaluable as it helped me formulate a more concrete vision for writing and speaking. As I flew home from Charlotte, I made a list of “take-aways” — a list of actionable steps for me to take, things I knew I needed to follow through on. One of the items on my list was to create a bio sheet and a speaker page for my blog.

So I visited Next Step’s website and perused the services offered. Immediately, I knew I wanted to work with Next Step. At the time, I didn’t know the women who offered these services, but I had experienced the atmosphere these women helped to create at the She Speaks Conference. They’re women with a passion for helping others in their speaking and writing ministry.

2. What projects did you work on with your coach?

I signed up for the Bio Sheet Development service with Amy Carroll. She contacted me, and we step up times when we could talk by phone. We had four phone consultations, one each week, during this process. And each week focused on a different aspect of the bio sheet. Amy would send me a short questionnaire every week, and I would submit my “homework” before our next phone call. Honestly, the homework wasn’t overwhelming at all. I felt the pace was very reasonable, and I was excited to get started.

In the first week, we concentrated on a tagline, which serves as a focal point for the kind of content you speak about.

In the second week, we worked on value statements, which expand on the tagline in more tangible terms.

In the third week, we created the actual bio, which gives the speaker’s background in a professional yet personable manner.

In the fourth week, we focused on speaking topics, which go into more detail on the different talks you give.

By the end of this process, a complete bio sheet and speaker page is prepared, and each part flows in a natural, logical order.

3. How was working with a coach different than doing these projects on your own?

I came away from the She Speaks Conference with so many ideas. And I tried several times to write out my topic ideas for a speaking page. I knew I was on the right path, but I also knew I wasn’t quite there yet. My ideas were still taking shape and didn’t feel complete.

I also wasn’t sure how to move past some of the logistical hurdles. For instance, I wasn’t sure what kind of information to include in a bio. How much personal information should it have? Should I write it in the first person or third person? Approximately how long should it be?

Working with Amy helped me to articulate the more nebulous ideas I had been contemplating for some time. She helped me to frame my ideas in a way that gave me a clearer view of what I really saw as my purpose for speaking and writing. She also gave me clear guidelines for writing the bio sheet.

Amy was so supportive in answering my questions and helping me devise a plan. She also provided lots of samples for me to examine. These examples helped me to visualize what I needed to do. Her advice was informed and very appropriate to the occasion. She was a genuine source of encouragement and a delight to work with.

4. Tell us about your biosheet. What do you love most about it, and how do you plan to use it?

The finished biosheet brought clarity to my vision. It encapsulated my heart’s desire for speaking and for writing, and it helped me to hone in on the topics I’m most excited about sharing with others.

What I love most about my biosheet is its brevity. When I started to write the speaking topics on my own, I ended up with lengthy descriptions of each talk. But Amy gave me succinct parameters to work within. This helped me to develop concise summaries with clear benefits.

I now have the speaking topics available on my blog, and I’m working with a designer to create a downloadable PDF version of the complete biosheet.

The entire process was so beneficial to me, not just as a speaker, but as a writer as well. The skills I acquired during this process will be part of my approach to all future speaking projects. For anyone seeking to create a bio sheet and speaker page, I highly recommend the services at Next Step.

Denise J. Hughes is a teacher at heart. Whether she’s speaking at a women’s retreat or teaching in a college classroom, Denise is dedicated to helping others become living testimonies of grace and truth. She holds an M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition, and she teaches writing at Azusa Pacific University. Denise is the author of On Becoming a Writer: What Every Blogger Needs to Know, and she devotes her blog to helping others deepen their faith and develop their craft. Denise lives in Southern California with her husband and three kids.

Catching the Vision

One of the ideas we’ve been featuring on the blog is finding ways to meet the felt needs of your audience with your message. Cheri Gregory’s post on pre-event surveys is a great example!

But another important job of a speaker is to meet the needs of your event coordinator. She and her team spend countless hours putting together an event for their women, and I always remind myself that as the speaker, I am only one of the working parts.

Because the events planners know your audience the best–their needs, places of crisis, spiritual maturity, etc–it’s important to ask questions to understand the vision of the planners before the event.

Here are just a few key questions to ask:

Have you done this event before? Is it annual?
Tell me a little history of your women’s ministry.
What is the age range of the women who will be attending?
How would you describe the spiritual maturity of the group in general?
What is the main purpose of this event? Evangelism, encouragement, discipleship?
What is the outcome you hope to see at this event?
Will there be any other speakers or breakouts?
Is there anything I need to provide in addition to the message (handouts, discussion questions, devotion, etc)?
Is there anything specific about the attendees that I need to be sensitive to? (For example, I spoke at an event this year where a beloved pastor’s wife died in a car accident just a few months before the event. It was still fresh and very emotional for the attendees. I was able to weave something into my message that fit with the way they honored her that evening.)

Just this week I added another question to this list…

Will there be music? Can I have contact information to coordinate with the worship leader?

This topic of clear communication with event planners is very fresh in my heart because of a recent failure. At an event, I had a very awkward ending to my second and final session (This is a whole other topic I promise to address. Endings are still hard for me!) As I evaluated on the way home, I realized that coordinating with the amazing worship leader at the event could have produced a very different result. Next time I’ll ask!

Are there any questions you use to catch the vision of event planners that I missed?

Something New

When I was a little girl, I immeasurably loved a new pair of shoes. As bedtime approached, the ache of thinking about taking them off for even one minute grew so much I would beg my mother to let me sleep in them.

Truly! And some things never change.

I still love a new pair of shoes, and I also get excited about a new look–like our updated website. I hope you enjoy our new colors and features as much as I do. I’d love to point out a couple of them. If you’re a subscriber receiving this in your email, please click on the title so you can visit directly today and take a little tour.

Love Notes from Our Clients– Our beloved clients are a continual source of inspiration and encouragement for Suzie, Karen and I. We absorb each story with rapt attention, and our hearts connect with messages filled with hope, freedom and love. I find that my clients quickly become friends, and I’m proud of the work each has done to fulfill her calling.

In the side bar, we’ve added quotes we’ve collected from emails and notes over the years. I hope you enjoy them and they give you a little glimpse into what it’s like to be a Next Step client.

Watch the Word Spread– Several months ago I met with a friend and communications expert to pick her brain about our website. She was full of great ideas. The one piece she felt was obviously absent from our website was communicating the vision for Next Step. I passionately described it to her, and she came up with the brilliant idea for our map.

As coaches, our deepest desire is to see God’s Word spread and His Kingdom built. Next Step is our way to partner with other women in ministry who have the same passion.

All of our clients, past and present, will have the chance to send us information each time they speak. I’ll add a “pin” to show both where the speaker spoke and the scripture used in the message. I can’t wait to watch our map fill up with pins as a representation of the spreading of scripture.

Today something new and thrilling happened. Next Step contracted with our first international client!!! Soon I’m sure we’ll be adding Canada to our map as our new client spreads the Word. If any of our international readers have access to Skype, we can set up coaching, and we’d be over-joyed to do it.

Writing Services– We are continuing to expand our writing services as Suzie Eller takes more clients. You’ll notice on the Individual Services page that we’ve added a general writing coaching service in addition to the book proposal services. If you’re interested in writing articles, building your author platform or anything else concerning writing that doesn’t seem to quite “fit”, fill out the Request Information form, give us some idea of your needs in the notes section, and Suzie will contact you for a free consultation call.

Thanks for sticking around for the tour today, and thank you for joining with Next Step. We’re excited about the way God is growing Next Step and using us to grow His Kingdom!