Talk advice and/or critique (updated)

I really like it. I wish I could be there to hear you speak.

Looks really good. I like it when people share their talks here.

One thought – consider a scripture or story of Christ’s mercy. Perhaps something from the New Testament?

Best wishes, I look forward to hearing how it goes.

Good idea, Roadrunner, thanks. As Mike astutely points out, I do have a time constraint and as written it turns out about a minute over – but a few seconds for another scripture won’t matter. The scripture that comes to my mind rather immediately is “help my unbelief” which fits the overall theme, but I may find another and the other question is of course where to put it. Looking at the outline one might think the talk is a bit top heavy with scripture but the quotes generally contain scripture as well. FWIW, I have moved the dos and donts up to the Monson/love section.

Daeruin, I’m not sure what you’re asking. I do write my talks out but don’t necessarily read them word for word – sometimes I add stuff on the fly and sometimes I delete stuff.

Wish I could be there as well. I think I might copy your outline for my talk next month 🙂

I like that you are willing to quote one of your mortal enemies, Obi Wan Kenobi. I think its a good example of building bridges of understanding.

How does the reference to More Cowbell work here because I love it, just want to make sure that when I give my talk I can tie it in.

-SBRed

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve once uttered one of my favorite all time quotes: The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole.

I am sure among the violins and saxophones there are some cowbells in this great orchestra, and we can always “use a little more cowbell.”

I can’t imagine Don’t Fear the Reaper without the cowbell.

(And Obi Wan would not necessarily be an enemy to a dark Jedi, but he may not agree with a dark Jedi’s point of view or way of doing things, either. Dark Jedi are not necessarily evil, but recognize there is value in the other aspects of the Force. That should give some insight into where the moniker comes from for me.)

No, I’m not quite able speak from an outline – while I wouldn’t say I am especially nervous in front of groups, my mind does sometimes just go blank. On a talk like this one I actually will have most of what I say pretty much memorized, although it won’t be word for word what I wrote. I read the quotes and scriptures, even though some of them are memorized as well. There are times and subjects about which I can speak spontaneously, but it seems the right circumstances must exist for that to happen – and I’m not quite sure what they are.

Going back to Roadrunner’s idea of scriptures about Jesus showing mercy, I have actually though it might be better to give 3 or 4 examples rather than just quoting scriptures. Something along the lines of “To him who said “help my unbelief, the Savior….” I’m open to suggestions from you all for some of those incidents of Jesus showing mercy. They’re actually not all that easy to find using the topical guide. FWIW, I would especially like ones that also demonstrate grace, but that might be even harder.

Like the message — it avoids most conventional Mormonism, offers a different perspective in spots. My biggest concern is the volume of ideas in one talk. You’ll connect with the audience much better if you pick three ideas, and then use stories and engaging analogies to get the point across. People will remember for a long time, 2 of the 3 ideas for some time that way. If you give them 20 ideas then you’re lucky if they remember even one of them for more than a day or two.

You do make a good point, SD. You are, of course, viewing an outline which is not divided into specific sections because it’s a tapestry of sorts. I believe there are only three messages in there (one main message which is the second one listed here) – 1) God is loving and merciful – about 1.5 minutes (this message is purposely devoid of any talk about repentance or justice) 2) there’s room for you even if you question/doubt – about 8 minutes (mostly because of 1) and 3) here’s what you do when someone you love questions/doubts about 1.5 minutes (essentially love them).

How did the talk go? Any feedback?

It’s this coming Sunday. I worked on it early for a number of reasons, but mainly because that’s what I do – I am not one to be writing a talk at midnight Saturday (like my wife does). I worked on it extra early because it’s a stake conference talk (for those who are unaware of that) and I also had a ward assignment yesterday and I wanted the two talks to be totally different, although my ward talks tend to be recycled. This talk contains only one element of those ward talks – that the gospel is simple. I didn’t include that in yesterday’s talk, but a few wards have heard it. Yesterday’s talk was a pretty straightforward “love one another.”

That said, I am still revising and expect to use some of my free time this week doing so. I am still open to suggestions. With Saturday priesthood and adult sessions, I expect to be pretty much finished on Friday night. I will update you all Sunday or Monday.