Finding and Selecting a Topic

The Importance of Choosing a Good Topic

Choosing a good topic is an essential step towards delivering an effective speech.

Learning Objectives

Explain the importance of selecting the right topic

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• When you tell a story, you want your audience to be engaged, so you choose a topic that will interest your audience. The same goes for speech giving.

Key Terms

• topic: Subject; theme; a category or general area of interest.

Tips for Choosing a Topic

When you tell a story, you want your audience to be engaged, so you choose a topic that will interest your audience. The same goes for speech giving.When you choose a topic, consider your audience. Ask yourself: What topic, or subject, will engage the audience?

If you are unsure what topic to choose, consider the following:

• current events (newspapers, other media)
• personal experience
• your hobbies– Does your audience have an understanding of the basics of your hobby or the terms used in it?
• your work–Are there things that you have learned through your work that would be useful to people who are not familiar with your profession?
• books you may have read recently

The trick is to be as relevant as you can to the audience who is listening to you.

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Source: Lumen Learning, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-communications/chapter/finding-and-selecting-a-topic/
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