Speaking Tips for Writers: Meet Patricia A. Durgin

by Yvonne Ortega @YvonneOrtega1

If you’re a writer, you'll want to meet Patricia A. Durgin. She delivers speaking tips for communicators with personality, power, and purpose.

Introduction of Patricia A. Durgin

Below her name on a PowerPoint slide, you’ll read, “Christian Communicators Becoming Change Catalysts.” Her introduction on the slide lists the following bullets:

• Your First Publicist
• Brand and Platform Builder
• AWSA Certified Christian Writer and Speaker Coach
• Host: Today’s Breakthrough Podcast (Spring 2022)
• Kingdom Marketers (free monthly marketing training)

Her Emphasis on Authenticity

Patricia Durgin tells her audience—speakers, writers, coaches, mentors—to serve the needs of their specific audience, not someone else's. She adds that they should be themselves and not imitate another person's style. She bubbles over with the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23 NIV). That reflects her outgoing personality. 

Her personality reminds me of a bubbling chocolate fountain with a variety of fruit at its base. She smiles and laughs often. She sometimes loses her place and shouts, “Help me, Jesus.” When she finds her place again, she says, “Thank you, Jesus.” She sprinkles her conversational format with “Hallelujah, amen, and thank you, Father.” And she delivers a powerful message.

Introverted speakers and writers can also present an effective message and reach millions. We see examples of that daily through our own Edie Melson and some of the monthly contributors to The Write Conversation. 

The God-given Message

Imagine a red name tag with white letters that spell “Vision Impaired.” That’s what Patricia wears. That impairment has not prevented her fulfillment of God’s call on her life to help speakers and writers. Likewise, she emphasizes that we are to serve our audience before a book is on our mind, before a book proposal, before a book launch. You and I can procrastinate with several excuses.

As you read this, your mind may race through the “what-ifs.”

• What if I don’t have enough time?
• What if I don’t have the money?
• What if I don’t have the equipment?

Her answer is faith. “He’s called you, and he will give you what you need.” She also instructs us to use what we have and trust God one step at a time for the rest. She admits that circumstances in our lives can limit or stop our work for a season. Illness, loss of a loved one, and caregiving are examples. 

Marketers on a Mission 

Patricia emphasizes that we are to help our audience see themselves beyond their situation. We share our testimony, and let God work in their lives.

With the audience as our priority, we trust God to create it and to build our platform. 

Her Facebook group, Marketers on a Mission, has 1.5K followers. The letter t in Marketers is a cross. If you need encouragement and support as a speaker and author, go to Marketers on a Mission on Facebook. Read the memes. For starters, I’ll share the headings of three of them.

• “Good morning! Your audience works hard to find you? Will you reach them where they are?”
• “Can’t see the path? Hold onto Jesus. He knows the way!”
• “God will remember the promises He made to you in the dark, even if it’s years later. Your dreams are safe in His care. Hallelujah! Thank you, Father!”

You can find Patricia A. Durgin on her Facebook page, Marketers on a Mission, at Christian writers conferences, in the archives of the AWSA (Advanced Writers & Speakers Association) Inner Circle, and on her website at marketersonamission.com

If you attend the AWSA (Advanced Christian Writers Association) Annual Retreat, you can participate in her session on “How to Create Landing Pages That Convert.” You can learn more about the retreat at https://awsa.com/?p=6481)

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Yvonne Ortega walks with a small footprint but leaves a giant imprint in people’s lives. This power-packed package is a professional speaker and the author of the Moving from Broken to Beautiful® Series through cancer, divorce, forgiveness, and loss. Learn more at WWW.YVONNEORTEGA.COM

Yvonne speaks with honesty and humor as she shares her life and struggles through presentations that empower women to find peace, power, and purpose through God’s Word. 

Yvonne’s background as a licensed professional counselor brings a unique perspective into the heart of women. She’s a speaking and writing coach and the owner of Moving from Broken to Beautiful®, LLC. She belongs to the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, the Christian Authors Network, the National Speakers Association, and Toastmasters International.

She celebrates life at the beach, where she walks, builds sand castles, blows bubbles, and dances.