What the heck do I say?
That’s the first question we often ask ourselves when we need to give a speech or share our ideas in a presentation. What should I talk about?
But that’s a problem. It’s too broad a question to answer effectively, and it will stop you before you begin.
A better question would be: What do I want my audience to understand, feel, believe, or do by the end?
This refines the direction of your talk and highlights your intention. It also clearly shows that your speech isn’t a topic, but that it has a point of view.
This viewpoint acts as your motivation for the entire speech*. The guiding force or throughline that moves you from the beginning to the end.
As Plato said: “A wise man speaks because he has something to say, a fool speaks because he has to say something.”
Your audience wants to hear you speak about something with meaning.
I once worked with a client who had a topic, but no angle. She had been asked to give a speech to a prestigious audience, but didn’t know what she wanted to speak about beyond her general subject. That’s where I came in. I asked so many questions, but in her answers we found what she cared about and her specific point of view. The resulting speech got her booked around the world on the speaker circuit and recognized as the leading expert in her field—a field we created in her living room. Why? Because she had something to say that mattered and peppered it with personal stories and perspectives.
Start with One Clear Purpose
A powerful talk begins with a single idea.
Every speechwriter knows that a speech that tries to do everything, does nothing. You need to refine your ideas down to one clear purpose. And you should be able to write that purpose in a single sentence that you use to stay on track throughout the writing process. It is that purpose that becomes the filter through which you choose the research, facts, images, and other elements you will use in the speech.
This is your throughline—the main idea that holds everything together. It keeps the talk from becoming a collection of disconnected ideas.
To find your throughline, it helps to ask questions:
- What is the one thing this speech is really about?
- What is the one big idea the audience should remember?
- What should change in the audience’s attitude or understanding by the end of the talk?
- What idea will hold the entire speech together?
Choose a Topic That Matters to the Audience
If you want to hook an audience, you need a topic that matters to both you and the listener. And that subject should meet the audience where they are.
Your talk should connect with something they care about, struggle with, wonder about, or need to understand.
A topic may matter deeply to you, but if you can’t show the audience why it matters to them, your speech will fall flat.
It’s the same way with all writing. You must write to your audience, whoever they are. Play to what they want. Give them what they need. Say what needs to be said, but in a way that can be easily absorbed.
It won’t help you to talk about the technical aspects of rocket science if your audience isn’t technical or into space. Your focus must align with their interests.
Find the Truth Beneath the Topic
A talk is stronger when it carries a truth, belief, lesson, or emotional point. This gives the speech meaning beyond the information given.
Throwing facts at your audience won’t endear you to them, and they won’t stick. You need to connect more deeply. The obvious way to do this is through story, but another way is to include those truths, beliefs, and lessons—to keep it rooted in emotion.
To get at that truth, ask the following questions:
- What truth are you compelled to share?
- What idea keeps coming back to you?
- What do you wish people understood?
- What do you see that others often miss?
Look at Your Own Reactions
Strong topics often reveal themselves through emotional reactions. What frustrates you? What makes you curious? What makes you want to explain, defend, challenge, or clarify something?
These reactions are clues to what matters to you.
They can point you toward topics with built-in energy.
And chances are, if they interest you, they will do the same for others.
Narrow the Topic Into a Focused Angle
Once you have your topic narrowed, try to go further.
A weak speech is often too broad: Leadership. Storytelling. Confidence. Mindset. Communication.
These are subjects, not speech topics.
But even a more targeted topic often can be too broad. Refine it to its lowest common denominator—to the root of the topic.
Stronger versions will have a specific angle, such as:
- Why confidence comes after clarity, not before
- How one story can change the way people hear your message
- Why the middle of your speech loses people
- What your audience needs before they can trust your conclusion
The more specific your throughline, the easier it will be to find the shape and perspective.
Build the Speech Around Tension or a Promise
Strong topics also contain tension, contrast, or a promised transformation.
These can include things like:
- A problem and a solution
- A false belief and a better truth
- A before and after
- A question and an answer
- A mistake and a correction
- A struggle and a lesson
Base your speech on personal experience whenever possible.
I once attended a speech by Jim Lovell, the captain of the fated Apollo 13 mission (played by Tom Hanks in the movie adaptation). His entire speech was about being calm under pressure while the world seems like it’s falling apart. He used the tiny issue that nearly took down the spacecraft and contrasted that with how NASA got his team down safely. His personal stories of that time made the speech come to life.
That’s what you want to aim for—a mix of tension, contrast, and story, even if you are not a famous astronaut whose life inspired a film.
A good speech topic doesn’t just give you something to say. It gives your audience a reason to listen.
In the next blog in this series, we will talk about how to open and close a speech, followed by a blog on preventing a flagging middle section. We’ll close the series with a blog on delivering with voice, story, and style.
* I use speech throughout this blog, but the ideas work the same way in presentations, summit talks, and delivering course lectures. Also, replace the word audience with client, student, or attendee as needed.