How can you choose a speaking topic that inspires action and change?

Knowing your audience is important... But... Knowing yourself is more important. You are not a chameleon. You do not become whoever you are talking to. Your brand is built upon consistency. It's fine to change a few things, but don't lose yourself in order to change into who you think your audience wants you to be.

I totally agree that knowing yourself is the key. Every human being has strong areas of knowledge and expertise which she or he can take on easily. The challenge comes when an audience or event demands a tweak to the norm. A topic that is closest to the heart and yet gels with the catchment would be ideal. Some speakers enjoy the challenge of reinventing themselves to impact lives and thoughts innately...

My first piece of advice is to focus your presentations based on what you are an expert in, and avoid trying to speak about what you are not an expert in. Second, customize what tou speak on to fit your audience and their needs.

Ask the Host of that community. They can provide critical feedback on what topic their audience values the most. Then ensure your presentation aligns with the outcome of the top topic/s 🙏🏽

One thing that's important is to know your audience their needs and to set a goal for yourself to inspire and motivate the change that's needed to uplift their everyday life to make change possible.

I believe that you should find your pain, not your passion. As professional speakers we're not talking to an audience that shares our 'passions' but one that shares our pain. A bookable speaker is more than just entertaining and well-articulated...you have to be practical and valuable with your message. So think about your pain and speak to that because it's one thing that binds us all. Your job is then to pick a pain that resonates with you and with a large audience and by that I mean find the people you want to help and start helping them...it does assist greatly when your audience is able to pay you for such...but I've realised that some speakers don't care much for financial gains...and that's okay if that's you.

I am currently working as an advocate for people within my community. I show people that they have a choice about the services, in which, they receive within the community they live in. ADVOCACY I tell people about a story that I believe in. "If you give a person a fish, they will eat for a day. If you teach a person to fish, they will eat for life." Advocacy brings about change that empowers people to go beyond the challenges in life. I have a personal story that speaks volumes of life changing events.

Passion is very important to develop your public speaking skills. Passion is the thing that allows you to connect with your audience, deliver a creative and memorable presentation, and persist until your speech is as perfect as possible. Passion also makes you more authentic, charismatic, and credible as a speaker. Find out what topics interest you and why. What are you curious about? Research your topic. Use stories, opinions, and the controversies related to your topic. Think how your audience would benefit from your speech. Where you can bridge the gap. Practice your speech, if possible record yourself. Listen to your voice and watch your body language. Do they convey passion? How can you improve them? Seek feedback Go and deliver

Passion is the prerequisite for any professional speaker. And that passion originates from the pain you have experienced sometime back. So as you , as a speaker, identified a suitable solution to your pain, you can easily connect with your audience who are experiencing that pain. Automatically, enthusiasm/credibility/authenticity will be established.

To truly connect with an audience, speak from the heart. It's in those genuine, heartfelt moments that the spark of passion shines brightest. Being truthful and showing vulnerability isn't a sign of weakness; it's authenticity in its purest form. And when you're authentic, that's where the real connection happens

During my motivational sessions, I have observed that the connection with the audience comes from not just the focused information a speaker conveys but what experiential learning she/he has undergone to speak knowledgeably on the subject. Members of the audience want to know more than just what we know since what we communicate becomes more comprehensive and clear through the wisdom we gain through our personal or professional experiences and circumstances. Hence it’s not just the thoroughness of the information that a speaker conveys that impacts the audience, but also how the relating experiences impacted or changed the speaker’s life.

Yes, in order to strike a chord with the audience, the speaker has to be precise. The entire content should be around the niche theme rather than touching upon the general theme.

Indeed, and deciding what your audience needs to hear at this moment, without cluttering your message with extra info, will help you be laser sharp for your message to hit home and sink.

A narrow focus is the ability to focus on one or a limited number of goals at a time. It’s the art of not spreading yourself too thin. Begin by defining your values Once you know your values you can move to goals Break down your goals Know your strengths and weaknesses Create a focus habit Track your habits and to-do list Remember, don’t do too much at once. Tackle things one at a time and stay patient by prioritizing small daily improvements over large sudden leaps forward (pretty unsustainable). Once you’ve accomplished (or have made some good headway) on one specific goal, you can add more, or branch things off to new directions. So, what is your focus today?

ADVOCACY Advocate for rights as a human being. Direct your life to your dreams & aspiration Valuing your opinion & thoughts Owning your voice with dignity Community collaboration Assessing your options for your betterment Creating opportunities for growth Yield to being patient for your rights

Added to these tips, a topic can also be a story or experience lined with lessons or concepts that deliver the goal. Every one can relate with a good story or an appropriate anecdote. It captures and holds attention, it makes the point relatable and can help deepen understanding of an abstract concept. It can come in so many shades: inspirational, humorous, tragic, personal and more. Key is to keep it short and make sure to tie it to a point.

Testing your chosen speaking topic is a crucial step in the process. It's like a litmus test to ensure your message resonates with your audience. Gathering insights through surveys, interviews, and feedback sessions is a brilliant way to fine-tune your content. This process will help you discover whether your topic hits the mark in terms of relevance and interest. Remember, the goal is not just to deliver a speech but to create an impact, and testing ensures that your message lands with the intended effect.

Talking about your topic to some small audience, either known to you personally, or through your network, gives you an ample opportunity to make necessary changes, and fine tune your content, for success at the major event.

Test your topic on yourself as well. Record yourself on video while rehearsing your presentation. Then wait a couple of days before watching the recording. How do you feel when you watch it, do you sound believable, passionate, coherent? Adjust and rehearse and record again until you feel like you have the best ever presentation.

The speaking topic can be interpreted differently by different audiences. I generate 3 or more ideal personas that would get the greatest benfit of my topic and the company hiring me would benefit most. 1) A new salesman onboarding, 2) A first level sales manager (promoted beacause of his sales performance. 3) A senior sales person been there 10 years and under performing. So I have learned to communicate a clear output of the topic for those 3 personas and what they will be able to achieve right away. Testing the topic with a small group of each persona helps me deliver maximum value and gain insights to what each really needs to achieve success for them. Validating the topic with the event organiser does not guarantee success.

As a speaker myself I have observed that when your speech or talk is filled with relatable and real examples and stories that's when it starts inspiring action. If stories used are fictional then the motivation doesnt stick and action never happen. So, for me it is about real and pragmatic examples and actions that can be truly followed rather than some fancy framework or model that's great to know but not useful in reality.

I believe that adapting your topic can also mean finding a new angle to present a familiar topic. This can help to engage your audience and convey information in a fresh and compelling way. I personally love using analogies and metaphors. They can be powerful tools for explaining complex topics.

Having different ways to communicate your key messages is powerful not only to cater for different learning styles but also when it comes to choosing ones that are more RELEVANT to the specific audience you have in each presentation 🙏🏽

Reviewing and refining your content and rehearsing your presentation is a continual process. Keep digital drafts of every iteration of your speech so you can repeatedly revert and re-organise segments. Never delete anything. Save it in a future file because you never know when it will come in handy.

Yes, this is crucial, as sometimes, due to some sudden changes in the program, they might ask you to tweak the content, or based on the mood of the audience, you need to make some new stories, or examples. Only then we as speakers attract any audience.

It can also be helpful to consider that people have different listening styles. Choose to engage the senses. Provide images, videos or infographics to make your topic more visually appealing and memorable. You can also include interactive elements to engage and involve the audience and keep them more engaged.

In my experience, been-ing self, professionally, and ethically allows me to further customize in eloquence to affactive & effective speaking.

Really getting to know your audience along with really knowing your content is a magical formula. Taking that knowledge and becoming acutely aware of how each specific nugget of information/wisdom that you will be sharing Benefits that specific community will give you the confidence that you will be sharing something of immense value 👌🏼 Speaking is Serving Keep Doing Good Doing Great 🙏🏽

Using humor in motivational speech is a powerful tool. It breaks down walls, lightens the atmosphere, and makes the message relatable. While the core of a motivational talk is to inspire and uplift, humor ensures the message sticks. It's the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. But remember, it's essential to read the room and ensure the humor is appropriate. When done right, it can turn a good speech into a memorable one.

Try speaking with your own voice. A lot of speakers try to imitate the way others talk, or just follow the tips they learn in different courses but end up sounding cliched and unauthentic. Speak as yourself; use your own personal voice and style to convey your message while polishing specific details like enunciation, speed, materials, and so on. When you first start speaking in public, you might use others as an example, but don't try to be them. Find your own voice and use it.