Let Me Re-Introduce Myself

We recently had a new member or prospective new member luncheon. Each of the staff had a minute or two to introduce themselves and share what they did at the church. I thought I made a good pitch but our Pastor made an interesting observation about all our introductions.

He said, “What I noticed was that each of you introduced yourself as being “over” something. I went back through some of the job description and saw that the words “over things” does not exist”

It was a keen observation that I took to heart. So, I made a short list of communication flubs which may be keeping  others from wanting to join our team. When we are saying we are “over”something we are unintentionally saying:

• If you join my team you will be “under me,” “under” my supervision”, “under my thumb” Who wants that?
• I am the leader of..(too vague, all kinds of leaders good and bad)
• I am in charge of ( too much responsibility. it all falls on you, no shared value)
• I am  the Youth Pastor (still very generic and everyone has a their own idea of what that is)

So, what can we say instead of using sabotaging language that kills our opportunity to add more people to our team? These are some of the phrases I came up for myself, feel free to add your own.

• I am the lead youth discipler
• I am the minister of fun (you could say that to a group but individually it sounds a little creepy)
• My role is to  connect students to Christ and adults to students for the purpose of ministry/discipleship/building the kingdom We do this through…. (I like this one best)
• My passions is …
• I am privileged to …
• I  share….
• I am the lead developer… ( I know, sounds like I am making an app or a video game, I am sorta)

I think you get the point. How we introduce ourselves paints a picture for people. Based on the picture, positive or negative, people desire to join or not join you in your cause or mission. Try using intentional language that best describes what you think your role is (try asking a deacon, he would love to tell you what your job is). Try it out and see what kind of reaction you get. Leave your reconstructed introduction here so others can benefit.

Need more help? Try these links

How To Introduce Yourself

Tips for Introducing Yourself

Videos

My Introduction (great advice)