In this Church House Blog, Stephen Freeman, Design and Communications Officer and "avid user of techno gadgetry" offers his thoughts on communication following a recent conversation with a member of the clergy.
26 June 2020
By Stephen Freeman, Design and Communications Officer
stephen.freeman@chester.anglican.org
I’m the Design and Communications Officer for the Diocese of Chester and have numerous conversations each day where I thank people and others thank me. Sometimes I thank people and others thank me when they or I haven’t really done anything, but I guess that’s the British way.
During the COVID-19 crisis I’ve been thanked by numerous people for helping them to navigate through some unchartered waters, such as how to use Facebook and Twitter to engage with their parishioners; how to stream a sermon over the internet or edit and upload a video to YouTube.
During some of my recent conversations I’ve been struck by how some people are apologetic for not being very “tech-savvy”. Well, don’t be.
People communicate in different ways. We have strengths in different areas. I’ve met many a person who wouldn’t know the top end of an iPad from the bottom, but when it comes to talking to people personally, they do face-time better than anyone.
Back to my headline – so yesterday, I was contacted by a member of the clergy who kind of epitomises what I believe many others are also going through. They wanted my guidance in creating a video, as a substitute for an actual ‘normal-times’ meeting between individuals. I sensed that she was a little reticent about going down this route, not because she’s not the most ‘tech-savvy’ (by her own admission), but because deep-down she knew that a video just wouldn’t work as a substitute for the type of soul-searching meetings she normally organizes. I echoed her thought process and agreed with her. And then she said: “Thank You.” I did nothing really, apart from point out what she already knew. The people she wanted to meet wouldn’t benefit from a video. The solution was to do nothing, for the time being at least.
My advice to those who might be feeling a bit guilty about not being a social media champion or video blogger is, just remember that you have communication skills that have nothing to do with technology, and for that, I thank you.