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Elsewhere on the Web • What to do when you forget what you were saying

Telling a Good Story

1. Tell stories that exemplify specific scriptures or church teachings - When we listen closely to the stories President Monson tells in his talks, it's not difficult to point out the moral, or the teaching, that President Monson is trying to communicate. It's often a good idea to let the congregation know what scriptures or doctrines apply to the story you are telling.

2. Have a point to your story - While preparing your talk, make sure that the story relates to your talk and clarifies the message you are trying to share. A good question to ask yourself is, "What does this have to do with my main message?" If the answer is "very little" then you should consider leaving the story out.

3. Get to the point quickly - For many people, nothing is quite as frustrating as going to church to be uplifted and feeling like the speaker rambled on with no coherent meaning. Do not go on tangents and cut out unnecessary or unneeded details. Most stories can have many different morals. You should determine what moral of the story you want to communicate, and then get rid of any information that does not support that moral.

4. Don't make a story more than it is - Resist the temptation to blow an event out of proportion or "remember" facts incorrectly. This is dishonest and the Spirit of the Lord will not be with you when you over exaggerate, even if you think it's for a good reason. A less exciting story that brings in the Spirit is better than a more exciting story that doesn't.

5. Remind the congregation of the point - Many times, especially after longer stories, it is wise to end by repeating the point you are trying to convey. When there are 200 people listening to a story, there are often 200 different interpretations of what was just said. Make sure that to reinforce the point you want to make by referring to the parts of the story that emphasize the point.

Wrapping it up

When all is said and done, I am not sure that I would consider every talk given in a sacrament meeting as appropriate for a story format. Some ideas are easier to understand when put into a context that we can relate to. Some ideas may not be as easy to put into a story.

The thing that I can tell you for sure is that many people already use stories in their talks. I also know that when these people stand up, most of the congregation looks to me as if they are paying a little more attention. If you follow these 5 rules for using stories in your talks then maybe they will be paying more attention to you.

References & Suggested Resources

Gregory, H. (2002). Public Speaking for College and Career, 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Hardy, C. www.speechtips.com. Accessed 30 June, 2004.

Junior Statesmen of America. http://www.jsa.org/resources/speechtips.html. Accessed 30 June, 2004.

Shaw, G., Brown, R., & Bromiley, P. (1998). Strategic stories: How 3M is rewriting business planning. Harvard Business Review, May-June. p. 41-50. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press.

© John W. Edwards, II 2002

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