I noticed in Garrit W. Gong's talk, he started out with a story of a child saying a prayer. The child was thanking Heavenly Father for each letter of the alphabet and numbers counting up. To the audience, most likely familiar with prayer, praying about the alphabet and numbers is odd and not typically something we think of. For Gong's purpose, though, it is effective by emphasizing that God hears all of our prayers. His point is made by using the example of a prayer not familiar with the audience, but true none the less.
Gong also uses a personal example from his life about praying whether he should marry his wife or not. This shows the audience that he has dealt with the topic that he is preaching about, and can speak from personal experience. As a listener, I am much more likely to listen to the speaker and follow their advice when I know that they have personal experience with whatever it is the are talking about. This talk was very effective in the way Gong uses his own personal stories to teach and edify.
Knowing that the speaker has had personal experience with a topic tells me that he really does care about it and wants to help us. Though we see a speaker at general conference as having plenty of ethos for just being a general authority, I think that ethos is multiplied when they describe the role the topic has played in their own lives.
ReplyDelete[posted on behalf of Marcus]
ReplyDeleteThe story of prayer with the little boy was an interesting addition to his talk. It was a great example that led into the rest of his story about how God hears all. Many in the audience would think that the child’s prayer was futile, but because he used this example, it gave a profound impact on what kinds of prayers God listens to.
That is true. I didn't realize just how different these two prayers were until you juxtaposed them. I suppose this shows just how inclusive prayer is and what Heavenly Father accepts and doesn't accept. Sharing both of these stories also appeals to different levels of the audience. In a dense talk that many children and youth may not be able to dissect, he offers two experience that pertain directly to them. It makes a little bubble for them to get the gist of the conversation before they check out to their phones or General Conference bingo sheets.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the personal application for a speaker is substantial to their talk resonating with the audience. His experience regarding his wife is something that many people pray about so it is effective in engaging the audience.
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