Light My Path Ministries

All over America, it’s that time again. The weather is getting cooler, we are getting back on a schedule, closets are being cleaned out, new supplies are appearing in backpacks, children are heading off to school and Ladies Bible class is starting up. Yea! I love a good Ladies Bible class. There is just something about getting together with other women of faith and sharing our life struggles and triumphs that exhilarates me! I really like that times that I have been involved with a Ladies Bible class group that is multi-generational…there is so much to learn from people that are a different age and in a different stage of life than you. Going on thirty years as a preacher’s wife – I have been to a lot of Ladies Bible classes. Some of them have been great – I could hardly wait to get there. Some of them have been miserable – I could hardly wait to get OUT of there!! I have learned a few things along the way. One of the hardest things to deal with in a Ladies Bible class setting is the woman who talks too much. She dominates every discussion and always has an opinion…about everything! I have seen many a potentially good Ladies Bible class ruined by this type of woman. Over the next several weeks I would like to share with you 10 strategies for dealing with this situation. 10 strategies that will help this woman feel a part of the group but also let someone else speak. 10 strategies that I think will increase your attendance at Ladies Bible class.

Here we go:
Strategy #1:
Arrange the chairs in the room to correspond to the number of participants.

This is such a simple strategy that many people won’t even try it. There is something that changes in a room when everyone can see the body language of the other people in the discussion. If you are meeting in an auditorium or a room with lots of chairs and people are far apart, you need to modify. Everyone that is part of the discussion needs to be able to see everyone else’s eyes. You see, most people who talk too much realize their fault to some extent. They aren’t always able to control it but they do know they have it. These women especially need the visual clues that other people want to speak. I particularly like some sort of circle. I want to see everyone at once and I want everyone in the discussion to be able to see each other. If you have 15 chairs set up and only 6 people show up for class, before you even start the discussion, remove about half the chairs. If people show up late you can add more chairs. (Adding the chairs back is psychologically exciting…everyone is thinking…. “This is a great class, more and more women want to come, and we are adding chairs every week!) When the women in your group can feel each other and see each other it changes the way they participate in the discussion. Give it a try!