by Gwen Bortner | Show Your Work
Last week I attended my church conference not as a representative of my local church, but instead as a representative of our district which is composed of approximately 85 churches. In this role, I was asked to speak briefly to all of the laity (non-clergy) in attendance. What made my talk different than the other three given during that session was that instead of being inspirational, it was a mini-class.
This happened primarily because I was given minimal notice and when in doubt, I revert to “teacher” mode. After years of practice, if I possess the minimal amount of knowledge required, I can probably do a reasonable job of teaching the subject. And so when choosing to speak on a topic, I almost always choose an instructional message versus an inspirational message – even when speaking at church. But there is power in this approach.
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by Gwen Bortner | Presenting, Training & Instruction
Presenters come in all shapes and sizes, using a variety of skills, working in a myriad of venues. But whether they are working as professional speakers, writers, instructors, trainers or preachers, they all need to know these three secrets to being a successful presenter.
[featured-image single-newwindow=”false” id=”131018-Shhh” alt=”Shhh…It’s a secret”]Photo Credit: SamikRC via Compfight cc[/featured-image]
The truth is that these aren’t secrets in the “you shouldn’t tell” sort of way – they are secrets because people either don’t know about them or are unaware of their importance. But if your message is important and being at the top of your game matters to you, these three secrets are the key to your success.
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by Gwen Bortner | Training & Instruction
Historically I was never a big Sherlock Holmes fan. But with the recent movies and two TV series, my interest has grown. His methods, insights and attitudes are intriguing.
[featured-image single-newwindow=”false” id=”130924-SherlockHolmes.jpg” alt=”Historical Faces of Sherlock Holmes”]
What I have come to realize is that many of the tools Sherlock Holmes uses for solving a mystery are also wonderful tools for helping a class run smoothly. We just need to look at them a little differently and apply them to our challenge of teaching a class effectively as opposed to solving a crime.
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