For some of us, the assignment to give a talk strikes fear into our very hearts. At the least, it can be a daunting prospect. After all, who are we to presume to instruct our neighbors and friends? Hopefully we are willing servants of the Lord.

I Corinthians 2:1-4 states:
"And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:"

1. Know your audience. In order to give a talk that will be well received and usable to your listeners, you must adapt your subject matter to them. For example, you wouldn't give the same talk to a group of young single adults as you would to a group of primary children. Sacrament meeting talks present a unique challenge, in that your listeners vary in age and experience. You need to present something that will not bore the younger members, yet still hold the attention of the more mature listener.
   
   
2. Understand your topic. Speakers are usually assigned a specific concept to address. If you are at all confused about the scope of your subject matter, seek clarification from the person asking you to speak. We are instructed:"Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea the power of God unto the convincing of men." D&C 11: 21.
   
   
3. Pray. Prayer is an essential part of effective talk writing. If the assignment is a large one or if you are nervous, consider fasting as well. After you pray, be sure to listen and meditate so that the whisperings of the spirit will be clear in your mind.
   
   
4. Research. D&C 88:118 says: "Seek learning by study and also by faith." There are several ways in which to study any given topic. The Internet provides for quick and simple research. The Church-sponsored website, offers several methods for searching the scriptures. Material from Church magazines, conference addresses, or Church curriculum is also available there. Of course, it is possible to do research using the old, conventional methods as well. The meetinghouse library is an excellent resource. Use appropriate books and magazines, keeping track of which stories, quotes and scriptures you will use so that you can properly accredit them.
   
   
5. Organize. It is always best to begin at the beginning. How well your audience listens to you depends a great deal upon the way that you begin your talk. See the sidebar information on talk openers. Make your most important point immediately after your "attention-getter". Incorporate scriptures, relevant stories, poetry, or song lyrics. Use personal experiences when appropriate. In "Teaching, No Greater Call," we are instructed never to talk about our own past sins. The book also mentions the importance of teaching directly from the scriptures, both ancient and modern. (Lesson 11, p.52). Use examples. Stories from the lives of great people are usually interesting and help to make a concept real and believable to those who are listening. If you are using a biographical sketch or story written by another person, please give them credit. Don't tell another person's story as your own. See the sidebar information on ways to give proper credit to writers or other resources. Employ visual aids where appropriate. These can be extremely effective and need not be elaborate. One example is to use an alarm clock when talking about time management or a call to repentance. Find a way to tie together everything about which you have spoken; quoting a scripture is a good way to accomplish this. Put much thought into how to conclude your talk. Bearing testimony to the truths you have been teaching is both appropriate and very effective.
   
   
6. Edit. You will probably have a lot of material, maybe more than can be successfully covered in the amount of time allotted. It is better to cut some things out and keep your talk very simple and clean than to use every quote, poem and story you find simply because they are all pertinent or interesting. It is important to prioritize. Scriptures and the words of our prophets and other general authorities should be given first consideration. Then, if you have time, an interesting story, poem or personal experience is just the right touch.
   Pray again. Once you have completed the talk, present it to your Heavenly Father. Listen again. If you need to make changes, do so.
   
   
7. Practice delivering the talk. Try practicing in front of a mirror. This is a good way to see what your audience is seeing as well as hear what they are hearing. Practice for a friend or family member. Practicing will help make sure we are pronouncing words correctly. Remember that often something that looks great on paper just doesn't sound interesting or relevant when spoken aloud. President Heber J. Grant told the following story:
   
   "There stand out in my life many incidents in my youth, of wonderful inspiration and power through men preaching the gospel in the spirit of testimony and prayer. I call to mind one such incident when I was a young man, probably seventeen or eighteen years of age. I heard the late Bishop Millen Atwood preach a sermon in the Thirteenth Ward. I was studying grammar at the time, and he made some grammatical errors in his talk."
   "I wrote down his first sentence, smiled to myself, and said: 'I am going to get here tonight, during the thirty minutes that Brother Atwood speaks, enough material to last me for the entire winter in my night school grammar class.' We had to take to the class for each lesson two sentences, or four sentences a week, that were not grammatically correct, together with our corrections."
   "I contemplated making my corrections and listening to Bishop Atwood's sermon at the same time. But I did not write anything more after that first sentence-not a word; and when Millen Atwood stopped preaching, tears were rolling down my cheeks, tears of gratitude and thanksgiving welled up in my eyes because of the marvelous testimony which that man bore of the divine mission of Joseph Smith, the prophet of God, and of the wonderful inspiration that attended the prophet in all his labors." (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church, Heber J. Grant, Chapter 1, page 1).
   
   Following the above guidelines as well as heeding the words of President Grant can help ensure that we are enriched as we prepare our talks, and that the congregation will be uplifted and edified as they listen.
   

1. Announce it first: "President Gordon B. Hinckley, in his book, 'Stand a Little Taller' says…"

2. Simply state it: "This story is from the December 2003 'New Era' Magazine and was written by..."

3. State a written source after reading it. This works well with quotes, scriptures and statistics. "This scripture is found in..."

4. Quote a friend or ward member: "Sister Andrea Sorensen says that serving a mission is a blessing…"

Opening Your Talk

• Begin with an attention getter. A favorite scripture, a quote from a general authority, a short anecdote are all fine.
• A statistic is also a great attention getter. For example if the talk is on the influence of the media you could begin with: It is estimated that 66 million children ages 3-12 watch an average of seven hours of television daily. This figure is from Newsweek magazine November 2003. That is a mind boggling figure and will get the focus immediately on the subject at hand.
• It is appropriate to greet the congregation i.e.: “Good morning brothers and sisters”… or something equally simple. If weather is exceptional it is ok to briefly mention it, as: “It’s wonderful to see all of you on this snowy day.”
• Tell a joke if it’s appropriate, if it’s relevant and if you can pull it off. If you aren’t a great joke teller, don’t worry about telling one, it isn’t necessary and while a joke is a good ice breaker if it isn’t pertinent to your subject matter it is just a distraction.
• Being humble is very important but know the difference between humble and apologetic. It is hard to give full attention to someone who starts their talk by apologizing for their inadequacies before they even begin.
• There is no set length limit on a talk opener. It can be a sentence or an entire paragraph. It should feel comfortable to you when you practice aloud.
• Tell a personal story that relates to your talk. People always enjoy knowing how life realtes to the topic.