Essentials To Communicate Effectively

With a mild winter in Baltimore I have been battling allergies.  While I’m not sneezing or dealing with irritated eyes I have been losing my voice.  It’s frustrating to lose your voice when one of your roles is speaking to teenagers.  With a scratchy and dry voice it’s been difficult to communicate effectively.  The best I can do is suck on cough drops, drink some lemon tea with honey and rest my voice.

Courtesy of francismckee/Creative Commons License

As a leader in youth ministry you need to communicate effectively to a variety of audiences.  From mobilizing volunteers to touching base with teenagers you need to make sure that everyone you are reaching out to understands your message.  If you do not communicate well you’ll find frustrated parents, disengaged teenagers and confused volunteers.  To communicate effectively you need to:

• Have A Bottom Line: Whether you are writing an email or giving a talk you need to make sure your point gets across.  When speaking this means avoiding tangents.  When giving directions get straight to the point.  In an email try not to write about multiple subjects.  Answer the question, “What do I want them to know and do?” and you’ll have your bottom line. (For more on a bottom line click here)

• Review And Refine It:  There is a lot of pressure to get your message out as quickly as possible; however, this can lead to a lot of mistakes.  Make sure you give yourself time to review and check for errors.  Another suggestion is to surround yourself with people who will do anything from edit an email to listen to your message.  You’ll find your level of communication improve the more time you use to review and refine it.

• Get To Know Your Audience: Speaking to middle schoolers is much different than high schoolers.  One isn’t better than the other it’s just different.  Once you begin to understand the many different audiences you’ll learn how to engage them appropriately.  That means switching up content and the context in which it’s presented.

• Maximize Your Platform: I’ve met too many youth ministers who rely on one form of communication (Phone, email or Facebook) to get their message out to the masses.  While you do not have to use everything pick the ones that will reach the most people. This takes a little research on what people in your community use and learning how to use those mediums effectively.  (Not sure how to use social media? Check out this resource)

Communicate effectively and you’ll lead exceptionally.  A great leader knows that clear and memorable communication is what mobilize the troops, lifts up parents and encourages teens.  Lean on God, ask Him for His words and allow the Holy Spirit to flow through you.

 What tips do you have for effective communication? Please share.