Napkin Lectures: Exposition of the Divine Principle Overview

One of the great responsibilities and privileges of being Tribal Messiahs is to serve as spiritual parents to the people in our lives, offering Principled answers to the questions they may have, like what is the purpose of my life, how do I grow, and more.

“Napkin lecturing” is one way to build your confidence to give such answers. It’s basically learning to explain key ideas from True Parents’ teachings if all you had was a napkin, a pen, and 5-6 minutes to share. The more you practice this skill over time, the easier you’ll find it to share the Principle on the spot.

Below, you’ll find napkin lecture practice materials offering an overview of the Exposition of the Divine Principle (EDP).

Please note, you can technically use the method outlined in the links below to create napkin lectures for any text of True Parents’ teachings that you apply it to!

We’ve created the following resources to help you practice napkin lecturing:

  1. The Napkin Lecture Method

    1. How to practice napkin lecturing for the most growth and mastery of the heart/content of the Principle

    2. Please be sure to read and review this document!

  2. HDH

    1. HDH readings compiled from True Parents’ extended teachings about the themes and topics of the EDP

  3. Diagrams

    1. PowerPoint presentations with diagrams that you can use as templates for your own napkin drawings

      1. You can print these out or put them in present mode on your computer to help you practice drawing sequential diagrams

  4. POC Videos

    1. Gerry Servito has created a few sample napkin lecture videos to demonstrate how to give a napkin lecture in about 5-6 minutes

    2. These videos were created not to be copied word-for-word but to support and inspire your development as a unique (absolute, eternal, unchanging) napkin lecturer

    3. That’s why we only have videos available for part of POC

Moving forward, if there are any particular points in the EDP that you would like to see a demo of--or a common question that comes up in your conversations with friends and family that you would like help discerning a Principled answer to--let us know by emailing us at education@unification.org. We are here to support you in your education efforts and your development as a Tribal Messiah as best we can.

--Your Witnessing and Education Team

CurriculaStudio Elias