1. Prepare Yourself for an Effective Dawah Encounter 50 Tips
These tips can also be considered as a typical framework which could be customised to suit any other domain in sha ALLAH.
However, our main focus here is dawaah for the sake of ALLAH.
By Khalid AL-Dossary

2. Prepare Yourself for an Effective Dawah Encounter - 50 Tips
May Allah bless You All For Attending This Brief Reminder
) وصيـة لغرس الثقة والتغلب على الخـوف والخجل50)
إن أكبر مشكلة تواجه الإنسان سواء كان مدرباً أو محاضراً أو خطيباً مبتدئاً هو عدم الثقة بالنفس والتردد والخجل والحرج والخوف والرهبة أمام المستمعين، لذا فإنه يمكننا أن نوصي بالوصايا الخمسين التالية:
• استعن بالله تعالى، واخلص عملك له، واسأله التوفيق والتيسير . • اقرأ شيئاً من كتاب الله تعالى قبل المثول بين يدي المشاركين . • صل ركعتين ثم ارفع يديك بالدعاء . • اطلب الدعاء من والديك أو من أهل بيتك . • تصدق قبل المحاضرة، أو امسح على رأس اليتيم، أو تقرب إلى الله بأي عمل صالح . • استغفر الله من ذنوبك ومعاصيك . • تبرأ من حولك وقوتك، والجأ إلى حول الله وقوته، وتوكل عليه وحده . • حضر تحضيراً جيداً، واقرأ كثيراً كل ما يخص موضوع البرنامج . • يمكنك عمل خريطة ذهنية (Mind Mapping) . • رتب الموضوع ترتيباً منطقياً ومتسلسلاً ليسهل تذكره . • تفهم فكرتك جيداً قبل أن تتحدث بها . • احفظ ما تريد قوله جيداً، واحرص على تكراره كثيراً . • تمرن على ما تريد قوله، وجرب عرضك له في بيتك ، ثم تعرف على أخطائك وحاول تلافيها (اعمل بروفة) . • احرص على إعداد مقدمة مركزة وقوية ومحفوظة حفظاً جيداً . • خاطب نفسك وأقنعها بالمقدرة والنجاح، ولسوف تنجح بإذن الله تعالى . • كن طبيعياً، وأحذر التكليف والتنطع . • كن أنت، واستخدم كلماتك وعباراتك، ولا تقلد كثيراً، وإذا كان ولابد فقلد أفضل الموجود ثم طورهُ وحسنهُ . • حاول الارتجال، وتجنب القراءة الكثيرة من ورقة أو مذكرة . • ضع أمامك رؤوس أقلام الموضوع . • أعط تركيزاً خاصاً للدقائق الخمس الأولى . • حسن مظهرك، وطيب نفسك، ورتب هندامك . • افحص كافة المعدات والأجهزة والمساعدات المرئية، وتدرب على استعمالها . • توقع المشكلات الممكن حدوثها، واستعد لها . • تدرب على التعامل مع الأسئلة الصعبة والرد عليها . • احرص على المبادرة والإقدام، وكن شجاعاً جريئاً . • تحدَّ نفسك، وأرغمها على المجازفة، وأقنعها أن المراتب العالية لا تتأتي إلا بالمجازفة والإقدام والهمة العالية وخوض الصعاب . • وافق على بعض الخوف على أساس أنه طبيعي وجيد . • ذكر نفسك بأن كل رجل مشهور كان عرضة للخطأ، فلا حرج من الإخفاق في الأمر . • تصور نفسك متحدثاً جيداً . • اعتقد أن الجمهور في صفك . • تخيل أن الحضور لا يفهمون شيئاً، أو افترض عدم معرفتهم تماماً بالموضوع أو ضآلة معلوماتهم في هذا الشأن . • أقنع نفسك أن تبعات خوض هذا المضمار أخف وطأة من تبعات التراجع والتردد والرضا بالدون . • استشر أولي الخبرة والاختصاص فلعلك تجد عند بعضهم ما يثبت فؤادك ويقوي جنانك ويثير همتك . • تذكر دائماً أننا نخطئ كثيراً عندما نعتقد أن الحضور يحصون حركاتنا إحصاءً دقيقاً . • تدرج في التدريب والإلقاء والخطابة، وابدأ في منتديات صغيرة ومع فئات قليلة ذات المستويات المحدودة . • إن استطعت أن لا تبدأ التدريب والإلقاء والخطابة أمام أناس تربطك وإياهم صلات وثيقة فافعل . • احضر دورة تدريب مدربين . • أمسك بجسم صلب (عصا أو خشبة المنبر أو أطراف المنصة أو غير ذلك) إن تيسر لك ذلك . • خذ نفساً عميقاً ثم أخرج الهواء إخراجاً هادئاً لتهدأ نفسك . • ابتسم ابتسامة خفيفة . • ابدأ الكلام بحمد الله والثناء عليه . • إذا لم تستطع النظر إلى عيون المشاركين فانظر أعلى قليلاً من مستوى رؤوسهم أو انظر إلى جباههم . • تصنع التمكن والاستعداد والثقة بالنفس(من حيث النظرات والالتفات والحركة وغيرها) . • تحدث بهدوء واضبط أعصابك وان تكلفت ذلك . • عرف نفسك للمشاركين، وتعرف عليهم  . • أذب الجليد، وأوجد وضعاً غير رسمي (ودي وأخوي) أثناء البرنامج . • ابدأ بتناول الموضوعات السهلة والبسيطة والتي لا تثير جدلاً ولا اعتراضاً . • استخدم لغة الجسم بإتقان مع تجنب التكلف . • تحرك بخطوات ثابتة وهادئة داخل القاعة وفي أوساط المشاركين، وأحرص على حفظ أسماء المشاركين واستخدامها . • أشرك المتدربين في الحوار والنقاش، واحرص على الرد على الاستفسارات والأسئلة وعدم التردد في مجابهة المواقف أو تمييعها .
Khalid I. Al-Dossary

3. WISDOM AND BEAUTIFUL INVITATION
ادْعُ إِلِى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُم بالتي هي أَحْسَنُ
Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: 16:125

4. CONVEYING THE MESSAGE
يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ وَاللّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ
O Messenger! Proclaim the (Message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission. And Allah will defend thee from men (who mean mischief). 5:67

5. THE ENJOINING GOOD AND FORBIDDING EVIL
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ
You are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. 3:110

6. Guidance vs. Competency
BEHAVIOR
SKILLS
KNOWLEDGE
KNOWN
TO OTHERS
UNKNOWN
TO OTHERS
Acts of worship &
Supplications &
Intention

7. Always seek help from Allah, be sincere in your endeavor, and pray that you be guided to the right way.
Before addressing the audience, supplicate or recite (to yourself) some verses from the Holy Quran.
Pray (voluntarily 2 Raka’at) followed by supplication to Allah that you may be successful.
1.You Could make the duah which saydina Musa (Alayhi salam) made to ask ALLAH for assistance prior to the encounter with Pharao
Have Ikhlaas (Sincerity)
Put your full trust in ALLAH Only (ALLAH is the ONE who grants success and honour), here offering two rakaats salat is an essential/recommended process

8. Ask your parents or your spouse to pray for you to be successful.
Before delivering your encounter, give alms, pat an orphan, or be keen to get as close as possible to Allah through performing good deeds.
Ask Allah to forgive your sins and pitfalls.
Ask your relative to make duaah for your success
Give sadaqah for the sake of ALLAH
Make istiqfaar
All of the above lead to the purification process

9. Get yourself well prepared by being fully aware of your subject.
Rely heavily on Allah, the all Mighty, and the all Powerful. All might and power belong to Allah.
Get yourself well prepared by being fully aware of your subject.
Work on a mind map.
Sequence your subject ‘ logically’ so it can easily be remembered.
You must trust entirely only in ALLAH for a successful outcome
As the prophet salallah walayhi wasalam said to a bedoin, tied up your ride and then trust entirely on ALLAH. Therefore, having done the essential as previously mentioned, you have to prepare yourself by gaining the knowledge about your topic (subject)/ audience in sha ALLAH.
Sequence your ideas so that it may ease the flow of your presentation in sha ALLAH
Breakdown your subject to ease your memory

10. Know your subject before addressing your audience or encounter.
Memorize what you are going to say (If possible), and repeat it frequently.
Rehearse your speech at home; know your mistakes in an attempt to avoid them. (Dry-run your speech)
Again a good preparation comes handy
Remember the key points of your speech prior to the encounter
A trial (dry run speech) at a suitable location can help detect your mistakes and avoid them (minimize them)

11. Prepare a good introduction that is well phrased and precise.
Be self-confident that you are capable of delivering your speech successfully (having had such confidence, you will be successful by Allah’s will).
Be yourself; be aware of being snobbish.
Remember that a good introduction (start) can make a difference. Have a Clear and Precise introduction (No typos “mistakes”, No ambiguous words, No confusion)
Believe that by ALLAH’s will you will have a successful outcome
Use your own voice and manners, don’t be someone else while speaking to others (remember that you are window and the door to the subject) don’t be arrogant.

12. Be spontaneous; avoid much reading from a note or piece of paper.
Don’t copy; use your own words, phrases and do not be someone else. However, make use of the best that is already there by developing it.
Be spontaneous; avoid much reading from a note or piece of paper.
Keep the main points before you.
Again be genuine, although you may use the best that exists (do adjust it to fit with your subject and yourself)
Remember that most of your audience can read therefore, avoid much reading from the slide (notes or paper)
Use Key points as your guidelines (help sequence your presentation)

13. Assign special concentration to the first five minutes.
Be elegant, neat, and wear good perfume.
Check all equipment and visual aids, and make sure you know how to use them.
Expect problems and be ready to solve them.
Be very focus during the first five minutes (again the introduction can enable the audience to follow you throughout the presentation in sha ALLAH)
Be well presented physically
Pre-check all equipments and tools to ensure that they are in working conditions. Familiarize yourself with these, to make sure that you can use them.
Have a back up plan in case problems occur during your presentation (Power Failure, computer crash down, frozen screen, fast forward a slide…)
For instance have copies of the presentation ready (distribute them to the audience, to enable the continuation of your presentation in a timely manner)

14. Challenge yourself since nothing comes easy and no gain without pain.
Take the initiative to get yourself ready to answer difficult questions
Challenge yourself since nothing comes easy and no gain without pain.
Admit that to fear is human.
Remind yourself that to err is human.
Imagine that you are a good speaker.
Prepare and plan how you could deal with difficult questions in sha ALLAH, but do not be afraid to admit that you do not know the answer.
Be aware that there could be some hard corners during your presentation, but they would either reward you or enable you to learn your lesson in sha ALLAH
Acknowledge fear, but do not let it overcome you and perhaps even jeopardize your presentation. If you are nervous, move
Remember that everyone can make mistake, so be smart (think before you speak and when you do so eventually with the help of ALLAH things can go smooth in sha ALLAH)
Having said these, believe that with ALLAH’s help you are a good speaker

15. Believe that the audience is in your favor.
It is a grave mistake thinking that the audience is closely watching you.
Bear in mind that your audience has little, or no information about the subject in question.
The consequences of getting involved in such a speech is far better than withdrawing or being content with failure.
Do not walk into a room thinking that the audience is against you, do the opposite in sha ALLAH
Always remember that the audience relies on you to understand the subject
Facial expressions from those sitting in the room should not affect you, focus on what you have to say
Your presence as a speaker can make a difference it does not matter how little. Better One than nil

16. Attend a training course.
Consult people of expertise to support your confidence and strengthen your will.
Gradually train yourself in the art of delivering speeches and dialogues by attending forums and symposiums with audience of humble levels.
Attend a training course.
Do not start, if possible, training, delivering speech before your relatives or people with whom you have strong ties.
Faas’alu ahla dhikri in kontom laa ta’alamone (Quraa. ) Ask those of knowledge if you know not (Qur’aan: ) Remember that consulting expert can help you build up your confidence in sha ALLAH.
Practical knowledge benefits more than theorical knowledge (By M.T)
Your relative or friends are not recommended as audience for a trial encounter
Training, Training, Training.

17. Take deep breath and then relax. Wear a simple smile.
Hold, if possible, a hard object (i.e., a stick, part of the wooden pulpit, the edges of the stand, etc.)
Take deep breath and then relax.
Wear a simple smile.
This point is arguably useful, hence it depends on individuals (watch video if possible)
Do not fall short of breath before or during your presentation (relax)
Smile

18. Introduce your speech by praising Allah.
Introduce yourself to the audience and get to know them as well.
All through the program create rapport (Ice breaking technique).
Start by introducing easy issues that are not controversial, simple and argument -free.
Start by saying al hamdulillah, tawakalna alallah wa salatu salam ala rasulillah
My name is …
Throughout your presentation interact with the audience if possible
Start with the simplest and the easiest issues, free of arguments and disagreement

19. Deliver your speech calmly and establish self- control.
If you can’t have eye contact with your audience, look a little higher than their foreheads.
Pretend that you are confident through exchanging your looks and body movements.
Deliver your speech calmly and establish self- control.
Use simple body language to convey your message. Avoid distracting mannerisms. Don’t move like a robot.
Make the audience feel important (try to look around the room “at the audience or above them” during your presentation)
Hide your nervousness by exchanging looks and using some body movements during your presentation
Do not be jumpy or too exited be modest
Avoid stationary postures and manners, be simple but efficient

20. Summarize your main points and end on a positive note
Be Enthusiastic & show your audience that you BELIEVE in what you are saying
Answer the audience questions to your best of knowledge. Do not hesitate to say I don’t know.
Summarize your main points and end on a positive note
Passion and confidence should be perceived by the audience
Call out to the best, safe and smart sentence where there is lack of knowledge “ I do not know”
Make a sumary of the key ideas in your presentation

21. Prepare Yourself for an Effective Dawah Encounter - 50 Tips
May Allah bless You All For Attending This Brief Reminder
Khalid I. Al-Dossary

22. May Allah
Bless You All

23. BECOME A SUCCESSFUL SPEAKER

24. Eye Contact Look at everybody Move your eyes around the room
Make every member feel important

25. Voice Speak in a loud clear voice Stress key words Speak slowly
Repeat key points

26. people’s worth and potential so clearly that they are inspired to see
Leadership
“Leadership
is communicating
people’s worth and potential so
clearly that they are inspired to see
it in themselves.”

27. Ramadan Karim May Allah accept our Fasting and rewards everyone for their efforts in dawaah.