Book Review: "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect" by John Maxwell

I've mentioned several times how much I love "Talent is Never Enough" by John Maxwell. When I saw he had a new book coming out, I knew I wanted it, and then I was super excited to find out I could get a copy for review!

"Everyone Communicates, Few Connect" speaks to the problem many of us feel on Facebook and other online social communities. Everyone is shouting out information, but ultimately, if you don't connect with someone, who cares?

As Christian musicians, we can sing loud, send out tweets, and stick Jesus fish on our car, but if we don't connect with people, are they really going to hear our message?

John did an interesting experiment with this book. He actually posted pieces of the book online while he was writing it, and invited people to send them his feedback. Not only did he quote individual stories throughout the book, but he literally thanked every person by name in the back of the book. Don't you think all those people feel a connection to the book? Brilliant!

The book is written to help people with connecting on 3 levels: one-on-one, small groups, and in front of an audience. Obviously, I'm reading this through the eyes of a performing musician and worship leader. I feel like this book continues the work I started with the Elijah Conference a few years ago. How do I go from simply performing to actually connecting with the audience and offering something of value to them?

John starts with the principles through which we can connect with others, and taking a "it's more skill than talent" approach, leads us through the steps we can follow to help increase our ability to connect with people in both grand and intimate situations. Each chapter has a great summary and application exercises. I would recommend this book to anyone in leadership, but especially to those of us in ministry. Our message is so important, and if all we're doing is shouting at people, they may miss the message altogether.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”