These are just two questions of the many that I’ve been asked by those who want to get into the speaking industry. It’s even been asked by people who are already in the industry but are having a hard time finding topics outside the two or three that they have, on which to speak.This might seem very simplistic but it is amazing how many aspiring speakers fail to think in terms of speaking on subject matters they are familiar with. Many of them have this thought, “who would be interested in a topic like this?”
In some circles this is called a curse of knowledge. A curse of knowledge simply means that what you take for granted, other people see as amazing.
I have had moments like these. Even as I write on this topic, I had to get past the idea that “everyone know about this topic.”
The truth is, everyone do not know how to come up with what to speak about. I have to remind myself of this over and over again.
My suggestion is to speak on topics you feel comfortable with and know quite a bit about.
For me as a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who have counseled hundreds of families, I have very good insights on communication and conflict resolution within the family. I could speak on these two topics at a marriage retreat, staff retreat, conference, and other business settings.
Communication is something everyone does and need to become better at doing. Speaking on topics like these are sometimes refered to as low-hanging fruit.
Start there.
2. Speak About Current Events
Because of the speed at which events are occurring around the world and having almost a front row seat via social media, finding topics of interest isn’t that hard.
You can choose any topic you are interested in and with a few searches on platforms such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc, you can retrieve tons of information within minutes.
Curating these articles, you can use them to put together a cohesive speech that would more than likely fall into the category of an informative or a persuasive speech.
It’s also helpful to insert some of the current events topics into your speech to underscore certain points. Those topics also connects you with your audience who might have been thinking about them as well.
By including current events stories, your speech will resonate more with them because they too have had questions and / or concerns.
Stay Tuned.
Stay Tuned.
Stay Tuned.
