[This is a part of the Evangelization Basics Series. Have you read the other parts?]
This post is the follow-up to How to Use Personal Stories for Teaching Difficult Subjects. There I talked about how to tell personal stories and why they are so extremely useful for evangelization. If you haven’t read that post, you might want to take a look.
Here I want to discuss how to figure out what story to tell.
To do this well, you have to ask yourself these five questions:
1. What is the one thing I want them to take away?
If you had five minutes to communicate one thing to your listeners, what would it be? Not three things or four things–one thing! This is the core of your message. That’s what you build your story around.
You want your story to have impact. For that you need laser focus.
2. How do I want them to change?
In a perfect world, what would your listeners do after hearing your lesson? What effect do you want to have on them? What impact do you want to make on their lives?
This is not something mundane like wanting them to learn the material. Don’t be timid! Think big!
Do you want them to quit contracepting? Do you want them to read the Bible more regularly? Do you want them to believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist? Have that as the goal for your presentation and your story.
3. What does this topic mean to me?
What really moves you or increases your faith? What about this topic is most important to you? Chances are, if it’s driving you, it will drive your listeners as well.
Also, you need to put yourself in their minds. What is going on inside their heads? If you can figure out what they’re thinking, you can craft a more relevant and impacting story.
4. Have I been changed by this in some way? How?
What affect has this topic had on you? Did you have an experience of being changed in some way by this? Did you have a different perspective on this topic at one time? If so, what was it? How has it changed you?
5. What can I share from my own life that exemplifies the action I want them to take?
Finally, after all this brainstorming, how does your own experience match up? The point of all this is to search your experience for things that will resonate with your listeners and motivate them to take some action.
Was there a time you doubted? Was there a struggle you went through? Was there a problem you had to resolve?
Tap into what you were going through at the time. This helps your listeners identify with you and trust you. If it resonates, they might consider a different perspective. And, looking at things from a different vantage point is the beginnings of conversion.
So is there anything I left out? What steps would you add to the list? Tell me in the comments.
[This is a part of the Evangelization Basics Series. Have you read the other parts?]
