The Napkin Lecture Method

Although it may be tempting to just imitate Gerry’s lecture style and format after watching the POC demo videos, there is a clear method to giving your own napkin lectures that we would encourage you to practice. Applying this method will help you develop a more personal mastery of the contents and the heart of the Principle.

This is an overview of that method, with more details below:

1. Prepare Your Outline

  • Prayer + HDH

  • Read the Text

  • Prepare Your Outline with Someone in Mind

2. Practice Lecturing

  • Pray to Start

  • Present with Someone in Mind

  • Use Diagrams as Needed

  • Pray to Offer Your Efforts and Close Your Practice Presentation

  • Seek Out / Give Constructive Criticism

    • Logic & Language

    • Heart

    • Spiritual Power

    • Legibility

3. Repeat!

The napkin lecture method begins with prayer: prayer to be a good mediator of God’s heart and truth.

Your practice will also deepen when you have someone specific in mind, and you know something of their current questions and heart. When preparing a napkin lecture, you can pray for that person and that you may be attuned to the points which God most wishes to convey to them.

We have also collected readings from True Parents’ teachings to accompany the different EDP topics we’ve highlighted in this project. We invite you to read these Hoon Dok selections to deepen your understanding of the key ideas.

Next, read the relevant sections in the Exposition of the Divine Principle. We’ve tried to make finding these a little easier for you: if you look in the notes section of the diagrams, you’ll find the readings and page numbers associated with each step copied there.

For example:

unnamed.png

Next, create a short outline or a bullet-point list of the main points in the section you are preparing to lecture on to help you put the content in the your own words. This outline will be the basis of your napkin lecture.

If you need help creating visuals for your lecture, take a look at the helpful diagrams also included in this folder to flesh out each topic.

Finally, practice! Find a family member, a friend, or an experienced lecturer to be your audience or create a trinity and take turns lecturing and listening. Aim to get comfortable conveying your points in about 5 minutes or less.

Please note! Your first lecture on any given topic may not be all that you hoped it would be. But don’t be discouraged! A very important part of this approach to lecturing is going back to the Exposition of the Divine Principle, refining your outline, and trying again.






HSA Education