11 things to know about speedfaithing
Interfaith Youth Core
Speedfaithing is a short and sweet way to present your religious or philosophical values in a safe space. Folks will be able to learn positive aspects of your worldview and ask questions about it to a real live person—you!
- The first ingredient to successful speedfaithing is a person who is open to sharing about their religious or philosophical tradition. While we can always read books and articles about different religious or ethical perspectives, speedfaithing takes it a step further. If we learn from someone sharing their personal experiences about their religion or philosophy, we are able to build positive relationships with diverse groups of people while learning. I smell a win-win.
- These times can vary per your needs, but a speedfaithing session typically lasts 20 minutes. The presenter will share their values—sacred or secular—for about 10 minutes and then take questions from the audience for another 10 minutes.
- The presentation should begin with basic information. Think “first paragraph of a Wikipedia page” kind of information.
- Make a point to highlight a shared value–something from your background that translates well across traditions (think love, service, mercy, etc.)? Think of inspiring stories, people, and texts from your background.
- Address anything you perceive as misconceptions. What are the things you’ve heard said of your background that make you squirm because they don’t actually match up with your experience? Use this as an opportunity to clear up those misconceptions.
- Speak for yourself using “I” statements. This helps to respect everyone’s unique experience of their tradition and to steer clear of generalizations that might run the risk of being harmful.
- Keep it simple. Assume that everyone in the room knows nearly nothing about your background. When you’re speaking, use simple, clear, and direct language. If you do need to use technical language, define it.
- Consider using images or a short video. Sometimes words just don’t cut the mustard. When appropriate, use images or video to complement your presentation (key word here is “complement”). Also, none of those text-heavy PowerPoint slides!
- If you can, prepare a (useful) one page handout. Good handouts do things like summarize a lot of the major points that you talked about, share “Top 5 ways to engage my community on campus,” or point people in the right direction if they want to learn more after the event.
- Practice and talk it through. The best thing you can do is talk your speedfaithing session through with someone else. Ask them if there’s anything that doesn’t make sense or needs clarification.
- Tell participants what you want people to get from the session and see if it lines up with what they’re hearing.
Speedfaithing is a great way to learn about a lot of people’s faith backgrounds in a short amount of time. It could be a fun activity on campus! Hopefully these eleven tips will make it a successful event.
11 Tips for a Successful Speedfaithing Event
- Be Open
- Keep it Short
- Share the Basics
- Look for Commonalities
- Clear Up Misconceptions
- Share Your Perspective
- Keep it Simple
- Share Images or Short Videos
- Make a Handout
- Practice
- Share What You Hope Others Will Learn
Does reading about faith inspire you? Do you have a story or information about your faith you want to share? Tell us more!
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