How to Deliver a
D’var Torah

Even the Divrei Torah that have the best messages and are the most scholarly can be completely wasted if the delivery is poor. This gets a little bit tricky, because everyone needs to develop their own style of “D’var Torah delivery.” But here are basic pointers which, if you use them, will steer you in the right direction.

“Do’s and Don'ts”

• Do Not: Read right from the page, as if it's a speech.

  Do: Be familiar enough with what you're saying to look up from your D'var Torah text and make contact with the congregation. They'll buy into your D'var Torah more if they buy into you more; one way of doing this is by establishing a connection with them: eye contact, and casual language.

• Do Not: Make it seem like you don't care about what you're saying.
  

  Do: If you don't already, make it seem like you're into the D'var Torah, and love what you're doing no matter how much of a fool you look like.

Other suggestions:

• Make it interactive.
• Ask questions of the congregation (even if they are just small, fact-based questions).
• Have hand-outs. Have things that people from the group can read aloud.
• Let them know at the onset they can verbally respond to something that catches their mind. You can have discussions built right into your D’var Torah!
• If you do not want to interrupt your D’var Torah for discussion or “Q&A,” do something else that will catch the group’s attention.
• Use visual aids. You can make these as crazy as you want. Again, people will think you’re nuts, but they’ll listen!
• If you are not giving your D’var Torah on Shabbat, you can use audio or video in your D’var Torah. For example, instead of hitting your point by using a news story, you can use scenes from The Lion King.

One last point:
While the last two suggestions are useful tools, make sure not to overuse them. Your D’var Torah should be honestly thought-provoking and should teach your audience something. It should not be a gimmick. There is no substitute for good Torah. If you put forth the effort, do the necessary research, write a good D’var Torah, and deliver it as if you are genuinely interested in what you’re saying, other people will be interested as well. In other words, your hard work will speak for itself.

Have fun, good luck, B’Hatzlacha!