Study 27

Highlighting the Theme and Main Points

1-4. Explain what is meant by the theme of a talk.

¹ Every talk needs a theme in order to give it direction and to tie all its parts together in a pleasing way. Whatever your theme may be, it must permeate the entire talk. It is the gist of your talk; it could be expressed perhaps in one sentence and yet it would include each aspect of the material presented. The theme should be obvious to everyone in the audience, and it will be if it is properly emphasized.

 ² The theme of a talk is not simply a broad subject, such as “faith”; it is the particular aspect from which that subject is discussed. For example, the theme might be “Your Faith—How Far Does It Reach?” Or it could be “Faith Needed to Please God” or “The Foundation of Your Faith” or “Keep On Growing in Faith.” Although these themes all center on faith, they each view the subject in a different way and require development along completely different lines.

³ In some instances you may have to gather material before your theme is selected. But the theme must be clearly established before preparation is begun on the outline of the talk or before the main points are selected. For instance, following each home Bible study you may wish to discuss the organization of Jehovah’s witnesses. That is a broad subject. To decide what you will say on this subject, you must consider your audience and the purpose of your talk. On this basis you will select a theme. If you were trying to start a new person in the service, you might decide to show that Jehovah’s witnesses imitate Jesus Christ by preaching from house to house. That would be your theme. Everything you say would be to develop that phase of the broad subject, Jehovah’s witnesses.

⁴ How can you emphasize a theme in your talk? First, you must select an appropriate theme, one suited to your purpose. This requires advance preparation. Once the theme has been selected and your talk developed around it, it will almost automatically be emphasized if you talk on the outline that you have prepared. However, in actual delivery, the repeating of key words or the central idea in the theme from time to time will more readily ensure the theme’s being driven home.

5, 6. How can you determine whether a theme is appropriate?

⁵ Appropriate theme. In the Theocratic Ministry School it is often no problem to have an appropriate theme, because in many cases one is provided for you. But this will not be true of every talk that you are called on to give. So it is wise to give careful consideration to the theme.

⁶ What determines whether a theme is appropriate? Several things. You must consider your audience, your objective, and the material that you have been assigned to cover, if such is the case. If you find that you give  talks in which no theme is emphasized, it may be that you are not actually building your talk around any central idea. You may be including in the talk too many points that really do not contribute to the theme.

7, 8. Show ways that one can highlight the theme.

⁷ Theme words or idea repeated. One way that all parts of a talk can be made to highlight the theme is to repeat key words stated in the theme or to repeat the central idea of the theme. In music, a theme is a melody repeated often enough to characterize the entire composition. In fact, generally just a few measures are enough to make the number recognizable. The melody does not always reappear in the same form. Sometimes only a phrase or two of the melody occurs, occasionally a variation on the theme is used, but, in one way or another, the composer skillfully weaves his melody in and out of the composition until it permeates the whole and characterizes it.

⁸ So it should be with the theme of a talk. The key words or theme idea repeated is like the recurring melody of a composition. Synonyms of these words or the central theme idea rephrased serves as a variation on the theme. Such means employed discreetly enough not to become monotonous will cause the subject theme to become the characteristic expression of the entire talk and it will be the main thought your audience will carry away.

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9-13. Explain what the main points in a talk are. Illustrate.

⁹ After determining the theme of your talk, the next step in preparation is to select the main points that you plan to use in developing it. On your Speech Counsel slip this is listed as “Main points made to stand out.”

¹⁰ What are the main points in a talk? They are not simply interesting ideas or points that are briefly stated in passing. They are the main sections of the talk, the ideas that are developed at some length. They are like shelf labels or signs in grocery stores that help one to identify what a section of shelves contains, and they govern what may be included in that section and what ought to be left out. Under the label CEREALS, jams and jellies would be out of place and only confuse persons. Under the sign COFFEE AND TEA, rice would not belong. If the shelf labels are hidden because of overcrowding or overloading, then  it is difficult to find anything. But if the signs remain clearly visible, a person can quickly recognize what is before him. So it is with the main points of your talk. As long as they can be perceived and kept in mind, your audience will need very few notes to follow you to your conclusion.

¹¹ Another factor. The selection and use of main points will vary according to the audience and purpose of the talk. For this reason, the school overseer should evaluate the student’s choice of main points on the basis of the student’s use of them, not on an arbitrary selection of points the counselor may have made in advance.

¹² In making your selection choose only the essentials. So, ask, what makes a point essential? It is essential if you cannot accomplish the purpose of your talk without it. For example, in a discussion of the ransom with a person unacquainted with the doctrine, it is vital to establish Jesus’ humanity on earth, otherwise it would be impossible to demonstrate the corresponding quality of his sacrifice. Therefore you would consider this to be one of the main points of the discussion. But if you had already proved to this person that the Trinity was a false concept, then your discussion of the position that Jesus occupied as a human might be only secondary because of its already being accepted. And because of this it would then be comparatively simple to establish the corresponding value of Jesus’ ransom. In that case the consideration of Jesus’ humanity would not be an essential.

¹³ So ask yourself, What does my audience already know? What must I establish to accomplish my purpose? If you know the answer to the first question, you can answer the second by gathering your material, temporarily setting aside all matters that are known and sorting out all the remaining points into the fewest possible groups. These groups become your identifying signs as to what spiritual food you are presenting to the audience. These labels or main points must never become covered up or hidden. They are your main points, which must stand out.

14-17. Give reasons why we should not have too many main points.

¹⁴ Not too many main points. There are only a few essentials on any subject. In the majority of cases they can be numbered on one hand. This is true regardless  of the time you have in which to present them. Do not fall into the common snare of trying to make too many points stand out. When a grocery store gets too big and there are too many categories, one may have to ask for directions. Your audience can reasonably grasp only so many different ideas at one sitting. And the longer your talk, the simpler it must be made and the stronger and more sharply defined your key points must be. So do not try to make your audience remember many things. Select those points that you feel they absolutely must carry away and then spend all your time talking about these.

¹⁵ What determines whether there are too many points or not? Simply stated, if any idea could be left out and the purpose of the talk still be accomplished, that point is not a key point. To round out the talk you may decide to include the point as a connective or a reminder, but it should not stand out as prominently as those that could not possibly be omitted.

¹⁶ Another thing, you must have sufficient time to develop each point successfully, conclusively. If much must be said in a short time, hold the matters known to the audience down to a minimum. Strip away all but the unfamiliar factors and make them so clear that it will be difficult for the audience to forget them.

¹⁷ Lastly, your talk must give an impression of simplicity. This does not always depend on the amount of material presented. It may be just the way your points are grouped together. For example, if you were to walk into a store where everything was piled together in the middle of the floor, it would look crowded and most confusing. You would have difficulty finding anything. But, when everything is properly arranged and all related items are grouped together and identified by a section sign, the effect is quite pleasing and any one item can be easily located. Make your talk simple by grouping your thoughts under just a few main ideas.

18. How should main points be developed?

¹⁸ Main ideas developed separately. Each main thought must stand on its own. Each must be developed separately. This does not prevent a brief outline or summary of the main headings in the introduction or conclusion of your talk. But in the body of the talk you should talk about only one main idea at a time, allowing  only such overlapping or regressions as may be needed for connections or emphasis. Learning to make a topical outline will greatly aid in determining whether main points are developed separately.

19-21. How should sub-points be employed?

¹⁹ Sub-points focus on main ideas. Points of proof, scriptures, or other material presented should focus attention on the main idea and amplify it.

²⁰ In preparation, analyze all secondary points and keep only what directly contributes to that main point, either to clarify, prove or amplify the point. Anything irrelevant should be eliminated. It will only confuse the issue.

²¹ Any point related to a main idea should be directly connected to that thought by what you say. Do not leave it to the audience to apply. Make the connection clear. Say what the connection is. What is not spoken will generally not be understood. This can be accomplished by repeating key words that express the main thought or by repeating the idea of the main point from time to time. When you master the art of focusing all your sub-points on the main points of the talk, and tying in each main point with the theme, your talks will take on a delightful simplicity that will make them easy to give and hard to forget.

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