All Things Were Common among Them, Even how They Start Talks

Ever wondered how to properly start talks? There are many common ways members start sacrament meeting talks. We have all heard and probably done at least a couple of them. After asking what the most popular ways people start talks in sacrament meeting are, this is what we came up with.

1. Webster’s Dictionary Definition

Webster’s used to be the go to dictionary of many members, but several young people now quote from online dictionarys like dictionary.com. If the member is a person with a lot of education, he or she will probably use the Oxford dictionary definition.

2. Bible Dictionary Definition

The Bible dictionary is a popular choice. However, sometimes the definitions are really long and people occasionally read definitions that are a few paragraphs long, reading way more than was necessary.

3. Telling a Joke

About half of the time the jokes are relevant to the topic but the other half they are just used as ice breakers. Some jokes are funny to a few, many, or none. The pity laugh however, is worse than no laugh.

4. Explaining How One Was Called to Speak

My phone started ringing and I wasn’t sure who it was so I thought about not answering it, but I did and wished I hadn’t.

Or.

I saw the bishop walking towards me in the hall and thought about running away but didn’t. He asked if I could speak in church two weeks from now and I said I would be out of town. Then he said, “What about the next week?” and I said I had a baby blessing to attend. Again he said, “What about the next week?” and I didn’t have any more excuses so I said yes.

5. She Takes Charge of the Introductions

My husband and I met when we were in college. I was actually more interested in his roommate than him at the time, but he was persistent and had a nice smile.

6. With a Rhetorical Question

These can be both simple questions or long ones. What is Faith? Or. How do we as members of the church live in the world but not become of the world?

7. Explaining the Process of Procrastination

I knew the bishop was going to ask me to talk and was going to say no when he asked me. Then, for some reason, I said yes without really thinking about it. As the day got closer and closer, I kept putting it off. Last night I thought I would decide to be sick tomorrow. This morning however, I realized I couldn’t do that to the bishop and threw a talk together.

8. Creating a Personal Parable

Many talks start something like this. Have you ever noticed… and that is how potatoes and faith are similar and what I want to talk about today.

Or

When I was 9, I had a job shoveling snow for a business next door to our home. One day I didn’t want to… That is one of the lessons I still remember to this day about being honest and keeping your word and what I want to talk about today.

9. With the Words of  a Hymn

One of my favorite hymns is ______ and the first line reads… On occasion the person will read a whole verse and rarely he or she will read the entire hymn.

10. With a Quote from a General Authority

President Benson warns us to beware of pride when he says… I have often thought about the words of Elder Holland when he said…How can we apply those words in our lives today?

11. Explaining the Challenges in Preparing the Talk

The bishopric didn’t assign me a topic so I prayed for guidance and started off preparing something about repentance. I had just about finished when I realized I needed to talk about something else and did some more reading. I ended up with a talk about how to show love to our fellow men.

12. Stating One’s Nervous and Apologizing Beforehand

I don’t like talking in church or public. I never have. I thought about telling the bishop this when he asked me to talk but didn’t. So, I am sorry if I don’t make sense or if my talk seems poorly prepared. I just don’t do well speaking in front of people. I hope you will bear with me for the next few minutes.

What are some common ways that you have heard people use when starting a talk that we may have missed?