How to Select a Topic for Your Speech

Taken from my website 

http://loymachedo.com/blog/how-to-select-a-topic-for-your-speech/

Situation 1

You are asked to speak at an event.

You are given the topic.

You prepare.

No problems.

That is easy.

Situation 2

You are asked to speak at an event.

You are not given any topic.

You have to prepare.

That’s no problem.

But is that easy?

The question is how do you prepare for something you don’t know what the topic is going to be about?

Or rather the greater problem is what do you prepare on?

Now that can be nerve wrecking enough.

But what is worse is if you are asked to speak on ‘anything’ and you are sandwiched between 5 other speakers who will also speak on ‘anything’.  There begins the process of comparison and if not executed properly – a process of judging starts and opinions are formed about you and may be your speaking career and reputation.

Here are a few tips from my side from the speech topics that have bombed to speech topics that have connected.

1)   Know what is expected out of you from the point of view of the organizer of the event (or for that matter the Toastmaster of the day). If he expects an entertaining speech, don’t bore the crowd with a philosophical session.

2)   Know and understand what does the audience expects from you. Are they expecting something educational or are they expecting related to a specific topic?

3)   Understand how much time is allotted to you – If you have 5 minutes, don’t begin speaking on the life story of Winston Churchill. And if you have a lot of time say 60 minutes to 3 hours – have a topic that can be stretched and be made interesting to the audience

4)   Find out clearly what you were expected to do – the more specific the better

5)   Learn what you shouldn’t do as a speaker

6)   Ensure you are an authority on the subject – Having a priest speak about successful marriages and how to make them happen or having teenager speaking on how to bring up children as responsible parents is a bad combination

7)   Don’t speak on a subject where the audience members are better experts than you. If I were to be invited to a top college of senior English professors and were asked to train them on how to speak and enunciate words in English properly – I would rather die than accept it.

8)   Speak about what you are passionate about or your own personal stories

9)   Never use topics simply because you think or assume that would help you score points with the members of the audience – something I am guilty of.  

10)                      Avoid over used stories like Success, Smoking, Driving – get creative and dare to differ

11)                      Choose something contemporary and happening

12)                      Remember – You can have speeches topics that educate, motivate or entertain

13)                      Every topic must have a core message – which need not be serious but must be profound. And it must be clear – you should be able to state it in one sentence, It must be passionate – something you believe in, knowledgeable – you should know what you are talking about through knowledge or experience and as a bonus it must be personal – something you have experienced.

14)          Know the place, the culture and the environment you are giving you speech to – Giving a speech to conservative Christians about the benefits of being a non-Christian is a no no. Giving a speech in the East on praising the broadmindedness of the West is a no no and giving a speech about sleeping to a crowd that has been bored for hours – will end up with snores for your presentation.

15)          Remember to keep your topic different for a smaller audience than a larger audience. Larger audiences may connect with more drama, more action, more humor and more suspense. A smaller audience may not necessarily show that much of a response for the same.

16)          Update your information that you have always.

17)          Research on the background of the audience – I always try to find the right mix, nationality, age, gender of my audience and then I tailor-make my speech accordingly

18)          Find out what the other speakers are going to speak about and choose to speak differently – that would make you stand out.

19)          Relate the topic to what the audience has been hearing or has experienced lately.

20)          Unless you are an expert, stay clear of controversial topics that you may not be able to handle – if the audience is not prepared to swallow what you tell them

21)          Be innovative in your approach – from the way you deliver to what you speak.

22)          Don’t be an idiot and come up to the audience and state that you didn’t prepare and didn’t know what you were about to speak on

23)          Relate the topic to the discussion or central theme

24)          Speak on current affairs and adopt them into your topic

25)          Ensure simplicity in your topic – the more simpler, the better.

26)          Let the topic be memorable and have world class take home value

27)          Don’t think no one ever heard what you are about to speak. Chances are they have all heard it. Just make sure your research and presentation is second to none.

28)          Have a short easy to remember topic

29)          Ensure you verify in advance what you are going to speak on with the person in charge so that there are no surprises

30)          Always google your speech topic – you never know what may come up.

Consider some of these tips when choosing what to speak on and chances are, you would do a wee bit better than just jumping into the deep end without a float – and worse without the knowledge of swimming.