Fast Results E-Zine
When you sign up, you'll get instant access to my article archives, exclusive content and other freebies. Plus, we will never sell, rent or share your information so sign up today.
Search
Bookmark this Page
Blog Carnivals
Blogroll
Resources
Categories
- Blog Carnival (5)
- Bullying (1)
- Career (30)
- Communicators in the news (15)
- General (13)
- Goal Setting (14)
- Inspiration (13)
- Interpersonal Communication (19)
- Job Interview (9)
- Leadership (4)
- Learning (2)
- Motivation (31)
- Networking (6)
- Personal (1)
- Politics (15)
- Public Speaking (61)
- Quick Tip (6)
- Review (2)
- Time Management (4)
- Toastmasters (13)
- Video of the Week (14)
- Writing (4)
Archives
- October 2008 (7)
- September 2008 (11)
- August 2008 (9)
- July 2008 (18)
- June 2008 (9)
- May 2008 (14)
- April 2008 (14)
- March 2008 (11)
- February 2008 (10)
- January 2008 (13)
- December 2007 (13)
- November 2007 (2)
- October 2007 (4)
- September 2007 (3)
- August 2007 (4)
- July 2007 (3)
- June 2007 (4)
- April 2007 (1)
- February 2007 (2)
- January 2007 (3)
- December 2006 (2)
- November 2006 (7)
- October 2006 (6)
- September 2006 (12)
Whether you’re a new speaker or an experienced speaker trying to expand your offerings, you’ve probably found yourself in a situation where you’ve been debating whether or not a speech topic will work for you. This is especially common for folks in Toastmasters where you’re given a speech project and you need to choose a topic and create a speech around that project. I’ve even had it happen to me in recent years where groups have asked me to speak to them because they liked my speaking style, but weren’t interested in the topics I typically speak on (communication skills). This can be an exciting opportunity, but if you’re not careful in selecting a topic, you might find yourself stressed out while preparing your talk – or even worse, end up delivering a talk that is lower in quality than your other talks.
The good news is that like most things, a little extra preparation up front can yield great results. So here are three questions that will help you determine is a topic is right for you.
Question 1: Do you have a significant amount of knowledge or experience in the topic?
This may seem like a given to most people, but a lot of times we like to challenge ourselves (or kill two birds with one stone by learning something new when preparing a speech). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing and will work with “safe audiences” such as Toastmasters clubs or other small groups. But if the speech is to a big crowd or if you’re getting paid for it, I highly recommend sticking to a topic you know well. This is especially important if you’re new to speaking and if you’ll be asked questions either during your speech or after the event.
So how do you know if you have enough knowledge in subject? Simply make a list of your skills, knowledge and experience on the subject. If your list is long and contains things that people in your intended audience can learn from, then you can go with it. If your list is small, then you might be better off with a different topic.
Question 2: Is the topic something that your audience will be interested in?
I can go on and on about the times in my early career as speaker where I’ve given talks on subjects that the audience had no interest in. What was most frustrating was that many of these times, the topics were ones suggested by the people booking me for the event. In some cases, it was a topic that the person was personally interested in, in other cases it was something that the person thought the group might be interested in. I’ve since learned from my mistakes – I now ask a series of questions to figure out if a group really will be interested in a particular topic.
But the point here is that this question can be a tricky one as many times the person organizing the event doesn’t really know the answer. So you’ll have to find out what subjects have worked in the past and what hasn’t. I was recently asked to speak to an organization at a large university in Boston that I had to turn down because the topics they were most interested in were related to making money in real estate.
This question is especially important if you’re a professional speaker trying to branch out, but it should be rephrased as “are there enough audiences interested in this topic” or “can I make money (or reach my goals) from this topic?”
Question 3: Am I personally interested in this topic?
This is an extremely important question to ask yourself because just like it shows through in a positive way when you’re passionate about a topic, it’s also obvious to an audience when a speaker isn’t interested in a topic. I see this all the time in the public speaking classes I teach – students that talk about things that they’re interested in come across as having better speaking skills than those who speak about subjects they’re not interested in. I’ve seen this happen in work presentations, Toastmasters speech contests and at breakout sessions during conferences and conventions.
So when you’re contemplating whether or not a particular speech topic will work for you, ask yourself these questions. You might be pleasantly surprised at the results.
Check out these Related posts:
- Public Speaking Success: Tips for Handling Question and Answer Sessions In a...
- Public Speaking Success: Preparing for a Question and Answer Session Getting...
- Public Speaking Success: When to Begin a Speech with a Rhetorical Question How lucky...
- Public Speaking Success: Seven Tips to Improve your Public Speaking Skills Right Now Although...
- Illegal job interview questions Are you...
- Public Speaking Success: Hostile Audiences Part 2 – How to Prevent Them In Part...
- Illegal Question #3: Are you a US citizen? Why they...
calendar
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Jun | Aug » | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |||
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Motivation, Creativity & Childhood « People at Work & Play on About
- Prem Rao on Motivation: The Power of Youth
- Best Public Speaking Articles [2008-11-08] on Review: Personal Development for Smart People
- Best Public Speaking Articles [2008-10-25] on Her Fear of Public Speaking Ruined her Career
- Raleigh Public Speaker on Should You Give a Speech While Wearing Your Halloween Costume?
- Should You Give a Speech While Wearing Your Halloween Costume? | Overnight Sensation - Public Speaking, Communication and Personal Development on Public Speaking Success: Three Ways to Improve Your Speech Delivery
- Should You Give a Speech While Wearing Your Halloween Costume? | Overnight Sensation - Public Speaking, Communication and Personal Development on Her Fear of Public Speaking Ruined her Career
- Motivation: The Power of Youth | Overnight Sensation - Public Speaking, Communication and Personal Development on Overcoming Hopelessness - Part 1
Popular Articles
- Interview Question: What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Book Review: How to Be a Gentleman
- Personal Power: Should you Focus on your Strengths or Strengthen your Weaknesses
- Public Speaking Success: How to Get Ideas for Speech Topics
- Extreme Goal Setting™: Part 2 - Removing the Safety Net
- Job Interview Questions: Where Do You Expect to Be in Five Years?
- Public Speaking: How to Write a Speech - Part 1: Your Speech Outline
- Public Speaking Tips: Five Tips for ESL (English as a Second Language) Speakers
- Tips for Toastmasters: Five Tips for Successful Meetings:
- Public Speaking: How to Write a Powerful Conclusion for Your Speech
- Public Speaking Benefits: How Public Speaking Skills can Help Your Career
recent entries
- Review: Personal Development for Smart People
- Should You Give a Speech While Wearing Your Halloween Costume?
- Motivation: The Power of Youth
- Three Reasons Why You’re Cheating Yourself by NOT Improving Your Speaking Skills
- Her Fear of Public Speaking Ruined her Career
- Public Speaking Sucess: Free Public Speaking Workshop
- Motivation: How to Feel Better About Yourself
- Book Review: How to Be a Gentleman
- Public Speaking Success: The 80/20 Rule of Speech Preparation
- Public Speaking Success: The Pregnant Pause
Wordpress theme by Wordpress Themes & made free by Internet Marketing Center
© 2006-2008 James Feudo All Rights Reserved.



1 user commented on " Public Speaking Success: Three Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing a Speech Topic "
August 2 2008
Thanks for the post