It is All About Connecting

Ministries and nonprofits MUST connect to people.  Often connection is the difference between having enough to carry on or giving up.  More and more people are connecting via the Internet.  One of the key tools to help us stay connected to our stake holders is eNewsletters.  But if you are like me most eNewsletters do not get read.  So, how do you write an eNewsletter that people will actually read?  Fortunately smarter people than me have been working on this challenge.  Here is one site that gives you the information in ten easy steps:

10 Surprisingly Easy and Startlingly Effective Ways to Improve Your Nonprofit E-Newsletter .  

If you are in the process of developing your eNewsletter strategy this is a good place to begin!

Adult Learning

Most of us are involved in some kind of education or training.  We never out grow our need to expand our understanding and skills.  The older we get the more we want to pass on what we have learned.  I will never forget teaching elementary school in my younger days.  As the teachers gathered in the break room during the recess they talked and shared.  What struck me was how they talked to one another as if they were still in the classroom rather than in the adult break room!

In education we tend to have one style for everyone.  But research has shown that adults have different styles and expectations from children.  If you want to engage adults in the learning process you need to teach and train in an adult way.  Malcolm Knowles was known as the father of adult education (Andragogy).  His principles have been foundational for those of us in adult learning.  This article builds on what Knowles has taught us and expands it to the online arena.  But it is applicable to all of us who are dealing with teaching adults.  It is not long, but it does give some practical ways to more effectively train adults.

Phil

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