Waldehir Bezerra de Almeida: 

“We must become more aware of the impact of
the spoken word” 

The author of the book A Dimensão da Fala e a Palestra Espírita, says the spoken work has an impact we still fail to fully grasp

	Waldehir Bezerra de Almeida (photo), is a History lecturer from the north-eastern city of Recife, living now in the Brazilian capital, Brasília. He became a Spiritist when he was 23 and has since been fully engaged in the Spiritist Movement. He is the author of two Spiritist Books and a member of the Board of   Directors   of   the   Spiritist  Federation of the
Federal District (Brasília).

What has motivated you to write your book on the impact of the spoken word and Spiritist talks (A Dimensão da Fala e a Palestra Espírita)? 

After reading a book by Luiz Signates entitled A Caridade do Verbo (The Charity of the Word), I decided to take a different approach on the dissemination of Spiritist through talks and lectures. I observed that many Spiritist speakers were not properly guided to meet the demands of the public. We then set up a department to deal with Spiritist Talks and Lectures. We began to give Spiritist speakers specific targets and to assess their performance. We realised that we would have a bigger impact and would be more efficient in delivering our message if we dealt with current issues and concerns. We began to carry out polls with those who attended our meetings to see what were the issues they would like the speakers to address. We have also done a number of other initiatives to improve the quality and the impact of our talks, including a booklet with guidelines for talks. After more than 10 years of efforts, I decided to put my experiences in that field together in a book. It took me six months to put all the material together and publish the book. 

What is your assessment of the quality of talks and lectures in Spiritist Centres in Brazil? 

The quality is improving, but there is a great deal to be done. Many Spiritist Centres object to implementing a system to monitor the talks. They believe inviting the speaker is enough. Everything is left for the speaker to sort out. The needs and requests of the people who attend that particular group are not taken into account.  

What are the main changes required? 

Spiritist Centres need to take some of the responsibility from the speakers for the outcome of the talks or lectures. And Spiritist speakers need to become more aware of the impact of the spoken word. 

What role exactly can people in charge of the Spiritist Movement play? 

They must become more aware that the spoken word has a reach that human beings have not yet been able to understand. Krishna, Buda, St Francis of Assisi and many other leaders never wrote anything. They only used the spoken word. Jesus was the greatest among them. His parables and sermons gave a new direction to our planet. 

What can be done to improve the quality of Spiritist talks? 

We could offer courses for Spiritist speakers, as we did in 2011 and 2012 here in the Spiritist Federation of the Federal District. It is also important for speakers to carry on studying the core works of Spiritism, the Gospels of Jesus and to expand their cultural knowledge. 

What are your plans in this field? Do you intend to write other books? 

Not about talks and lectures. I will keep writing for as long as I can. My third book is ready and about to be published. 

Your final thoughts, please. 

I thank you for the opportunity of giving this interview. The message I have to the readers is not to miss the opportunity of taking an active role in the Spiritist Movement, of being hand in hand with those who are working for Jesus.