LIFEtalk^TM How-To

How to Schedule a LIFEtalk^TM
Forming a LIFEtalk^TM Team
LIFEtalk^TM content
Interactive elements

How to Schedule a LIFEtalk^TM

It is great that you want to get involved and share with your fellow peers the truth about abortion.

First, find a group of young people that you can present to. Talk to your church leaders. Ask your parents, friends, or youth group. Maybe you can use your facebook to find a group that would love to hear a pro-life talk.

“Who is my audience?”

• How many people will be in attendance?
• How much time do we have to give the presentation? (LIFEtalk^TM usually presents for an hour.)
• What is the presentation date and time?
• Is there anything specific we should talk about?

Use the Confirmation and Check-Off Sheet to help you in your preparations.
(Click on link to take you to the confirmation and check-off sheet)

How do I decide what should go into the LIFEtalk^TM?

• How much does the audience already know about the pro-life movement?
• Is the audience mainly pro-life?
• Has the group participated in past pro-life activities?
• Does the group attend Catholic school, public school, or home school?
• What is the age range of the group?

The more pro-life the group already is, the more important it will be to do an apologetics section.

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Forming a LIFEtalk^TM Team

Now that you know where and when you will be giving a LIFEtalk^TM, focus on who will be giving the LIFEtalk^TM with you:

• A LIFEtalk^TM team consists of a minimum of 2 people up to 12 people. (Keep in mind the size of your audience when deciding the number of your LIFEtalk^TM team!)
• Experience in public speaking is always a plus, although not necessary (smaller parts are available).
• Have the LIFEtalkers dress with a theme – either all the same colored t-shirts or pro-life t-shirts.
• It is a good idea to memorize your parts. This way you can make eye contact and impress your audience!
• Remind your team that all words and actions should be done out of love (charity).
• Relate the information with energy and enthusiasm.

Read our Tips on Giving a LIFEtalk^TM for more great ideas! (Click on link to view tips document)

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LIFEtalk^TM content

LIFEtalk^TM has to be factual and you must be able to prove your sources. Please remember: you may encounter people who will want to discredit you; so keep a good list of your sources.

Main Talk Script:

For the main talk, we have two parts – one which is more factual and another which is more applied and relevant for youth.

Look at the amount of time you have – we usually present 10 minutes of content from each part.

The three most compelling facts that are ALWAYS good to keep in the presentation:

1. When does life begin?
2. Abortion is legal through all nine months of pregnancy for any reason
3. Prenatal development

(Click on links to take you to the actual document)

- LIFEtalk_factual based

- LIFEtalk_Youth relevant

- Sample LIFEtalk– good for all audiences!

How to Get Involved Scripts:

An important part of LIFEtalk^TM is sharing with the youth ways they can become active in the pro-life movement. Show the youth how easy it is to make a difference and how important it is to DO SOMETHING!

(Click on link to take you to actual document)

- How to Get Involved Scripts

- pro-life t-shirts

- pro-life websites of interest

- OLG prayer card – email/call to order

Emcee (MC) Script:

What does the MC part involve?
The MC part involves leading the opening introductions, giving an overview of the talk, inviting up the speakers, and introducing each new section.

Is it necessary to have an MC?
The MC plays an important role. It is the MC’s job to keep the program flowing well and to introduce each section (for both the audience and the other speakers). It is the MC who keeps the program moving and makes sure the program stays on track time-wise and content-wise.

(Click on link to view document)

- Sample MC script

Example Options to Add/Subtract:

Victims of Choice Movie:
The Victims of Choice is a four minute movie that shows pictures of babies before and after abortion and is very graphic. **Due to the graphic nature of this video, it is very important to get permission from the coordinator of the group you will be presenting to.**

Why should we use graphic images?
Father Pavone, Director of Priests for Life, has stated that until America sees what abortion does, America will not reject abortion. Often in our pro-life talks, we discuss how violent abortion is – how abortion is legal murder. Saying this is one thing but showing it is another. By the use of graphic images, we provide proof that abortion kills children. The use of graphic images shows what abortion really is. That is the purpose of using graphic images – to show the truth of abortion.

“Photographic evidence is the most trusted source of information in any discipline. It transcends language and logic, and goes straight to the heart, where people are motivated to take action, instead of merely to the head, where people passively entertain all sorts of concepts without any commitment necessarily following.” –Fr. Pavone, Director of Priests for Life

If the coordinator of the group you are presenting to agrees to show the video during your presentation, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Have the coordinator of the group you are presenting to view the video prior to the presentation.
• Request the audio visual from this site.
• Receive parents’ permission by having a letter sent out prior to the presentation.
• Allow 10 minutes for the video section in planning your talk.
• Have a back-up copy of the video.
• Test the CD prior to the presentation.
• It is of utmost importance to have a prelude/introduction to the video. Allow a moment before playing the video for anyone to leave who wishes not to see the video.
• We recommend praying for the victims directly after the video is viewed.

- link to request video

- Parental Permission letter

Introduction to video:
Right now I’m going to make it real to you. Why? Because every fact that we tell you and every statistic that we share with you isn’t enough. Some can never truly grasp abortion and the effects of abortion if they can’t see it with their own eyes. We are going to show this today with a video called Victims of Choice. This video shows babies before and after abortion and is very graphic. Why is this video important? Look at the Nazi Holocaust footage. Those videos weren’t shown to manipulate students. The death camps represented an evil so great that words and lectures could not accurately describe it. The same is true about abortion. Until America sees it, we will not reject it. By making this movie short, 4 minutes, and eliminating narration we allow you to avoid the contents all together simply by looking away, closing your eyes, or coming with us in the hall. We hope you will watch because: ignorance sustained by denial is crippling this country into believing abortion is acceptable. Until you see what abortion does, you will never understand what abortion is. I would like to leave you with this thought: if something like this is so horrible to look at, then maybe we shouldn’t be tolerating it. (Ask the audience if anyone would like to leave and then start the video).

Testimonials from the Community:

Add a testimonial speaker to your LIFEtalk^TM presentation. A 10 minute testimonial can help to reinforce what your talk conveys.

**You will need to request a copy of the testimonial speaker’s talk in writing.

Here are some ideas for testimonial speakers:

• Post-abortive man or woman
• Chastity speaker
• Abortion survivor
• Other pro-life speakers

Contact Names:
Available to speak in southeastern Michigan:

• Melanie Heuwagen – Post-abortive testimonial (Click on link to see pic, bio, and story)
• Michelle Bethke – Tale of Two Sisters
• Rebecca Kiessling – Conceived in Rape testimonial
• Tracy Wietecha – Chastity speaker

Click here to add your name to the list of speakers.

Survey:

LIFEtalk^TM is effective and does change hearts and minds. Throughout our years of giving LIFEtalks, we have seen its good fruits! A good way to see its immediate effects is to take a survey before and after the talk.

(Click on link to take you to actual document)

- Survey

Apologetics:

Why do we need apologetics?
When we are in school or with our family or friends and something is said about abortion we need to be able to defend the unborn.

Adding an apologetics section will help to equip your audience with the tools and confidence they need to refute pro-abortion arguments!

Here are some of the common questions asked. Click on the quick response to find out a more detailed response!

• Shouldn’t a woman have the right to choose?
• Quick Response: My body, my choice-no matter how it is justified, ultimately, it is always a murder, and there is no way around that. Why should the law allow a woman the right to choose to kill her unborn child?
• When does life begin?
• Quick Response: As surprising as this may be to some people, there is no doubt within the medical community as to when life begins. A new Human being is created at fertilization.
• I personally am opposed to abortion but I can’t tell others what to do.
• Quick Response: Our laws tell us what to do all the time. We have laws against murder, theft, and lying to name a few. The fact of the matter is that abortion kills a living human being. Just because abortion is legal does not mean that it is morally good. The Supreme Court also legalized slavery. Would you say that you are personally opposed to slavery but can’t tell others not to own a slave?
• Doesn’t abortion help solve our over population problem?
• Quick Response: Is killing innocent human beings a legitimate way to drive population numbers down? Over population is a myth. Europe and the United States have negative birthrates. That is why social security will be in crisis.
• If abortion is made illegal won’t women do it anyway? Won’t dangerous back-alley abortions return if abortions are forbidden?
• Quick Response: First, every form of lawless behavior imaginable could be rationalized with this same, "people are going to do it anyway" nonsense. "People are going to drink and drive whether it's lawful or not so let's make it legal." The list could go on and on. Second, Pro abortionists claim that in 1972, the year before the Supreme Court legalized abortion, there were 1,000,000 illegal abortions and 5,000 to 10,000 women died-the actual number was only 39 women.
• Doesn’t a woman have a right to privacy that protects her ability to make personal decisions in private, with out the imposition of “Big Brother”, including the “right” to privacy that allows her to decide whether her child lives or dies?
• Quick Response: It is not mere opinion that two bodies are involved in this decision but a scientific fact. The unborn baby is a separate and unique person who also has “rights”. A woman’s right to privacy shouldn’t infringe upon an unborn babies right to life.

Finally, let us not let the pro-abortionists be the only ones asking the questions. Let’s ask our own questions!

Here are some questions we can ask pro-abortionists:

(Click on link for actual document)

- Questions for pro-abortionists sheet

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Interactive elements

Adding in interactive elements throughout your presentation will keep your audience engaged and attentive.

Here are some ideas:

• ¼ of our generation has been lost through abortion. It is hard for us to realize this sometimes because we never see the ones who were lost. To demonstrate this have your audience count off from one to four. Ask all the number fours to stand up and move to the back of the room. This ¼ represents the ¼ that have been lost and are not with us.
• The Dollar Bill Demonstration: use a dollar bill to show how all life, no matter in what condition, is precious
• Skits – think of informational skits that reveal the truth about abortion
• Praise and Worship Music

Script & Props
The following provides some of the additional documents and props you may need for your LIFEtalk^TM:

- Survey

- Baby Samuel

- Pic of 8 wk. fetus

- Pro-life t-shirts

- Pro-life websites of interest

- OLG prayer cards – email/call to order

- Thomas More Law Center letter

- Sample LIFEtalk^TM

*If groups give talks, using their own sources and information, Impact73/PPL claims no responsibility of liability, unless they send us their text for review.

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