In preparing Educational Moments each week, this question can certainly apply! What can I give an educational moment on? The options are many! What would my club members want to learn or hear about? Where can I get ideas for educational moments?
This for many toastmasters can be the same question about speech topics. "What do I want to talk about?" In researching this topic, about finding topics, I first went to, where else, Toastmasters International Webpage. That source alone is a great resource for this. The internet of course is also full of ideas for how to find speech topics. Very briefly I want to share three things taken from an article by Ray Engan titled "Bests Suggestions for finding Speech Topics" I would like to offer my own thoughts on each point. I will include a link to that and other resources at bottom of page.
1. Reflect:
Think about your life. You are a very interesting person who has lead an interesting life! Where did you grow up? What was your family like? Where did you go to school, What do you do for a living? how did you get into that? What is different or unique about your life story?
I tell a story of having two older brothers. There is 12 and 15 years difference in our age. We all ended up marrying women with the same birthday! (August 10th) How in the world does that happen?
I heard a story by a man some years back at an event, his name was "Shore". That is an unusual name. He told the story of how when he got to be a young adult he finally made his Mother tell him why they named him that! She very reluctantly, after much persuasion, told him That is where you were conceived.
These are just a couple examples you are an interesting person and learning about you is always a good thing. Live Life and Pay attention Speech ideas are all around you.
2. Connect
Connecting with the audience to me is the whole point of public speaking. How do I do that!? You know those things we for some reason think we are all alone in? We all are looking for someone to show us we are not alone! Those experiences and how they make us feel can be a way to connect with our audience. How often have you listened to a speaker and identified with the story they shared? The same is true for you, there are people out there that will identify and connect with your stories! People relate on many levels and especially on challenges and adversity in life.
3. Resonate
Meaningful messages. We are all on this journey of life and we are all learning. What difficult lessons have you learned along your path? What is something while going through it that you did not enjoy and yet it taught you some great life lessons? What story of persistence do you have to tell. Something you were in pursuit of and refused to give up! Has there been anyone in your life that refused to give up on you? All these type of things and many more will resonate with your audience. We are all more alike than many of us want to acknowledge! Seeing someone else that has similar struggles, challenges and victories resonates inside of us.
This is just a very small sampling of information that is available on this topic of "What should I speak about" Please do some of your own research by searching Toastmaster international page and other sources on the internet.
Reflect, Connect, and Resonate .
Link to articles:
https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2021/may/speech-topics-are-everywhere
https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2023/apr/back-to-the-basics-speech-topics
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