Choosing Great Speech Topics - Shahnaz Davachi

Toastmaster Advanced Boot Camp 2011

Shahnaz Davachi, Ph.D, ACS, ALBArea Governor, Area 10, Division G

Choosing Great Speech Topics

Workshop Objectives To enhance participants’ skills in selecting great speech topics

To stimulate interactive discussions and facilitate mutual learning

To have fun with selecting speech topics

And......anything else you want to discuss

Workshop Outline

HOW to select speech topics: simple tips & techniques

WHAT to talk about: speech topic categories

WHEN/WHERE to use speech topics

Putting learning to practice: interactive

Tips and Techniques

Know your audience

What they want to know?

What are their needs?

What are their interests?

What is their age, gender?

What is their educational level?

Choose a topic that you are passionate about

Talk about what you know

Speak to Learn

Look for timely topics

Step outside of your comfort zone

Try fresh topic ideas

Be creative

Look for topic ideas in all the wrong places

Avoid highly complex topics

Avoid sensitive topics

Choose diverse topics

What to talk about?????

Popular Speech Topic Categories

People... and beyond You: many aspects of your life

Other people

Pets, animals

Forests

Aliens

Germs

Processes Shopping

Leadership

Teamwork

Renovations

Recipes

Witchcraft Science

Technology

Places Countries

Museums

Under sea

Outer Space

Events Travel

Sports

Ceremonies

Holidays

Family gatherings

Things....almost everything!

Books

Movies

Culture

Languages

Education

Stories

Fairy tails

Food

Health

Wine

Science

Feelings

Illness

Music

colors

Money

Selecting the “right” topic for a “right” project

Group Discussion

How do you choose your topics for speech projects?

Identify the purpose and specific objectives of your speaking project

To inform? To entertain? To demonstrate? To motivate? call for action? To persuade? To Inspire? To dramatize? with words,

body gestures? your voice? Stimulate the imagination?

For example:

Cell phone

Who invented the cell phone?

Evolution of cell phone

Pros and cons of cell phone

Cell phone and children

Cell phone etiquette

• Organize your speech• Speaking to inform • Research• PPT presentation• Specialty speeches

• Speaking to inform• Persuasive• Get to the point• Organize your speech• Your body speaks• Story telling

• Persuade• Dramatize• Speaking to inform• Humorous speech• Radio talk show

• Vocal variety

• Humorous speech•

Demonstration

speech

Reflections...

Everything has a meaning if

you can only find it