Tips for Giving a Great Talk

Primary Object Lesson Talks

You will get some good ideas from my LDS Object Lessons for simple Primary talks.

My Primary Theme page has the scripture
references for each month. They make a great starting point for a talk! Go to Scriptures.BYU.edu to find a list of talks that use those scriptures.

Top Ten tips for Giving a Great Talk

by
Robert Felts, New Era, August 2000 from LDS.org

• Accept the assignment cheerfully, and pray for guidance, especially if you aren't comfortable with the assigned topic.
• Start outlining your talk at least a week before your assignment.
• Use scriptures. Try to memorize the verses for your talk.
• Include your own spiritual experiences and testimony.
• Make sure your notes are easily readable. If you're really ambitious, try memorizing your talk so you don't need notes.
• Rehearse in front of a

  mirror. Practice standing straight on both feet without shifting or making nervous gestures. Avoid "ums" and "ahs."

• On the day of your talk, dress neatly and modestly.
• Lose the chewing gum.
• Show enthusiasm and speak so everyone can hear you.
• When you conclude, don't say "In-the-name-of-Jesus-Christ-Amen" all in one breath as you run from the podium. Say it clearly and completely before you walk away. Also, remember that "thy Son" means "your Son," so this should only be used in prayers, never to end a talk.

BYU's Talk and Lesson Preparation Helps

The LDS General Conference Scriptural Index helps in the preparation of talks and lessons by linking scriptures to conference talks using scriptures.

For example, suppose you want to know who has cited 1 Ne. 3:7 in general conference; click on the Book of Mormon link at the left and scroll down to 1 Ne. 3; there you'll find the answer. Who has quoted Matt. 5:48? Use the New Testament index to find out.

The site has indexed the scriptures cited by speakers in LDS General Conference between 1942 and the present and allows you to sort the citation index by scripture (the default), by speaker, or by date of citation.

This site is the result of research done by BYU faculty members Richard C. Galbraith and Stephen W. Liddle. Dr. Galbraith is the creator of the citation database, and Dr. Liddle is the creator of the Web site.

While the site is not an official LDS Church publication it does link extensively to lds.org and scriptures.lds.org to display the text of scriptures and conference talks.

This website is a valuable resource for anyone who is preparing to talk or teach on church related topics.

Click Here to visit http://scriptures.byu.edu/

(Source: http://www.ldslivingonline.com/)