Public Speaking Training On Speech Topics: 6 Top Tips to Terrific Speech Selection

If you plan to do public speaking the topic of your speech is a vital consideration because if you choose the wrong topic, even the greatest presentation will fall on deaf ears and an empty room.

Speaking to a room full of chairs is not very fun or rewarding.

Here are 6 top tips to terrific speech selection so your speech will be a hit and you won't fall flat on your face:

1. Speak about the "hot topic of the day"
   This is a bit controversial because today's hot topic is tomorrow's cold topic. You may pack rooms now, but be prepared to quickly shift topics when the hot topic falls out of favor. If you're going to create a speech based on a currently hot topic, I suggest you don't invest a lot of your time in crafting your speech because by the time you're done polishing it the hot topic might already be yesterday's old news.
   
   
2. Speak about a "soft topic"
   Soft topics are topics such as leadership, motivation, and improving morale. Soft topics are more difficult to sell because those hiring you to speak will typically want some kind of measurable results, especially if you're being hired by a company.
   
   
3. Speak about a "hard topic"
   Hard topics are topics such as improving sales, increasing worker efficiency, and decreasing costs or expenses. Hard topics are easier to sell because they provide some kind of measurable results.
   
   
4. Speak to your passion
   This is a very common "mantra" that speaker's club and organizations repeat over and over, but this may actually be one of the weakest was to select a topic. Their reasoning is that if you speak from a place of passion, then that passion will carry over to your presentation and make for a great speech. But if your passion is basket weaving, your audience may be quite limited.
   
   
5. Speak to make positive change
   Is there a political cause care very much about? Is there some local cause you'd like to champion? Is there a charity you'd like to help out? Speaking on behalf of the organizations that further those causes can give you plenty of public speaking opportunities.
   
   
6. Speak to promote your business
   This is my personal favorite. Public speaking is the fastest, easiest, most fun and least expensive way to promote yourself and your business. And, it's the most effective because you get immediate results. People see you as the expert, they instantly get to know you and get a good feeling about you. There are tons of opportunities and venues where you can speak on your topic of expertise and get tremendous exposure for you and your business.

Summary:
Topic selection ultimately depends on your goals and desired outcomes. Ask yourself what results you want to reach by doing public speaking and work backwards from there.