5-second Siddhanta

In his fantastic blog post about preparation and communication, Sita-pati Prabhu points out the need for devotees to become communicators:

You know, it's actually easier to give a longer presentation than a short one. The shorter the presentation, the more preparation you need. The ultimate is when someone sticks a camera and microphone in your face and says: "What do Hare Krishnas say about X". You have five seconds to give the siddhanta in a coherent, punchy sound bite. Are you ready for that?

The fact of the matter is that all devotees have an obligation to learn communications principles, work at honing these skills, and should be prepared to exercise them when appropriate. Communications is not just something for "those prabhus" in the PR department to whip out when a scandal hits -- it is the ability to effectively and accurately share the Krishna conscious perspective (the siddhanta) in a way that is faithful to the tradition and yet sensitive to time, place, and circumstance. And that is a task that we are charged with, by definition, if we are to be part of Lord Caitanya's mission.

Of course, that is not to say that everyone should take on the role of spokesperson for ISKCON. Like any other service, there will be some who will be better suited to do communications work than others. But -- and I think this is where Sita-pati prabhu's post really hits the nail on the head -- the lowest common denominator should be to prepare all devotees (at least theoretically) to deal with the camera and microphone five second scenario. That is to say, all devotees should be given the resources and skills to "preach effectively at a moment's notice or under any conditions or circumstances."

Sita-pati prabhu goes on to share an exciting idea for one such resource:

I have a desire to produce a book which presents all the commonly asked questions, along with soundbite answers, followed by more indepth explanations and supporting evidence, and advice on which one to use when. "Hare Krishna Frequently Asked Questions" is the working title. I got the idea for this by spending a couple of years hosting school pupils on their religious education investigations in a temple in Peru. They ask the same questions, over and over again. Finally I made a photo album with pictures of initiations, weddings, children, and so on, to help answer them nicely. In the same period of time I was interviewed by the media on several occasions, and really found out the dire necessity of having your sound bite brahmastras ready to roll.

At ISKCON Communications, we've done some FAQ's in the past -- particularly for media in North America -- but they are terribly out-dated and in need of revision. So, I'm psyched... and hope that Sita-pati prabhu will allow me to assist in this project in whatever way I can.

Read more from Sita-pati at Atma Yogi.