Five Ways To Choose Your Topic
1: The Call To Speak This is the majority of beginning speakers. You’ve been told that you’re going to speak. The boss says you’re the one, so you are on deck. Maybe your service club, church, or other organization wants you to give a talk at a meeting. The tough thing about being told to speak is that it often comes with a generic subject: “Just get up and share a little bit.” This can be intimidating, but it’s actually a wonderful opportunity. The invitation comes to you because those asking believe that you have something beneficial to share. So begin by looking at your life and seeing what unique experiences you have that can be of value.
2: Your Passion Do you have an internal fire to get your message out? Maybe you want to speak about a political issue, or how to get over anxiety, or how to lose weight, or how to close more sales. Is there a topic that you feel you must speak about?
3: Your Knowledge Do you possess some specialized information that others could benefit from knowing? Are you an expert in a field?
4: Your Know-How People love to learn from another’s experience, especially if it will save them time and trouble. Don’t sell yourself short on this issue. It is your greatest resource for topics. You might think you are not interesting, or that you are not special—this is not true. Each person’s experience is unique and has the ability to teach another. It can literally be any subject that you have experienced and others will learn from. For example: If you have bought a car you could go to a dealership and share your pleasant or unpleasant experience in a talk designed to help the sales force improve their technique.
5: A Desire To Learn More There may be a subject that you would like to know more about. Study and research the subject, then take your findings and design a talk.