Often when people “do the announcements” at church they just chat through a list of various items. This disregards the fact that our culture is dominated by visual learners and that people respond to the use of imagery in communications. In fact, our broader culture is training our people to receive messages through images all the time! Check out these facts about the importance of visuals in communication.

• The brain processes visual information 60,000 faster than text. – 3M Corporation, 2001
• 90 percent of information that comes to the brain is visual. – Hyerle, 2000
• Visual aids in the classroom improve learning by up to 400 percent. – 3M Corporation, 2001
• Approximately 65 percent of the population are visual learners. – Mind Tools, 1998

Here are some simple ways to add visual elements to this weekend’s announcements.

• Slides Are Like Billboards // People look at billboards on the side of the road for an average of 3 seconds … they are designed to communicate their message quickly. Your slides need to do the same thing. Use very little text.
• Images > Words // Even better than a little bit of text is an arresting image. Find an image that communicates the emotion that announcement is trying to illicit. Talking about Small Groups? Show people enjoying community together … not an empty living room.
• Interviews // Bring up to onto stage a person that represents the announcement you are making. Looking for people to serve in kids ministry? Interview a child who loves what’s happening in there! Asking people to lead a small group? Bring up the small group coach up on stage and talk about the support they will provide to new leaders.
• Object Lessons // Bringing a prop with you as you talk will give your message more staying power. Asking people to join a work day? Roll a wheelbarrow right out onto stage full of the tools you’ll be using for the various tasks. (True story … I drove a car right onto stage once to make an announcement!)
• Use Video // Rather than just stand up and make the announcement … get a video camera and shoot the announcement. You’d be amazed how the same announcement done on video in an interesting location can have more impact. There are also services like VideoAnnoucements.tv that will produce them weekly for you!
• Hold Up Response Cards // If you are asking people to fill out a card or sign up on a sheet of paper … always hold that up to show it to people. It’s small thing but it will drive deeper engagement if you show them how you want them to respond. In fact … have everyone take out the response card at that part of the service so they see it with their own eyes up close.

Looking for more help with your announcements? This FREE 3-part video series is for you.

Are you looking to improve the hosting of your weekend services?

Have you already tried improving this area but aren’t sure what to do next?

Are you ready to take the next steps to increase engagement in your announcements and ultimately your church? I’m releasing a FREE three-part video series designed to help your church with better weekend hosting. The lessons in this series come from my practical experience of hosting hundreds of services in multiple contexts and coaching many other leaders in this area. The three videos are:

• Video #1: 5 Reasons People Aren’t Listening to Your Hosting. Your first video will clearly define for you why people aren’t paying attention to the announcements in your services.
• Video #2: The One Best Practice to Ensure Higher Engagement with Your Announcements. In this video, you will understand what the single most important practice thriving churches change about their announcements to improve engagement.
• Video #3: 3 Church Hosting Myths Debunked. Finally, you will dive into three misunderstood myths about hosting announcements that move people to action.

[Click here to learn more and enroll for FREE today.]

BONUS // Worship Background Videos

Download this pack of 10 curated worship background videos in our members section for free. These videos are perfect for running behind lyrics during the music in your services or as an aid when you’re doing the announcements.

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