Comm Lab

Choosing a Topic

Choosing a topic can be a struggle for some students. Speech topics can be generated in a few different ways. Here are some suggestions to get you thinking:

Personal interests – Think hobbies, career goals, and knowledge.
Audience interests – What topics currently impact your audience?
Occasion – Is there a holiday or event that is important happening around your speaking date?
Research – Watching some kind of news program or reading online news, newspapers, magazines etc. can be a great start!

Think About Your Audience

The way you approach your speech topic will vary depending on your audience. Two basic elements to consider are:

Demographics – Age, gender, ethnicity, education level, religious affiliation, economic status, group membership, sexual orientation, etc. are all elements to take into consideration when speaking. For example, you will have to connect differently to an audience of 18-25 year olds when speaking about retirement benefits than you would an audience of 50-65 year olds.

Psychographics – Audience characteristics such as values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors are key considerations when speaking.

Organization

A good speech needs a clear organizational pattern for your audience to follow. Effective speeches have a clear introduction, body and conclusion.

Developing Content

For some speech assignments, you may be able to pull from your own personal experience to begin content development. For many assignments, however, research is the key to identifying strong speech content. The RRCC Library online databases are a great place to find quality sources. We have subscriptions to multiple scholarly databases to put you on the road to research success. Learn more at Library Services.

Citing Sources

You can plagiarize a speech the same way you can plagiarize a paper! You need to include verbal source citations in research-based speeches.

One of the biggest challenges to delivering an effective presentation for many speakers is nervousness and anxiety. Click here to get a quick list of the top 10 ways to reduce nervousness when speaking.

There are many elements to successful speech delivery. Here are a few key elements to keep in mind:

• Think about your voice – work for a natural, spontaneous vocal delivery that reflects your everyday communication style.
• What are you doing with your body?  Face your body toward your audience. Look at your audience members directly. Use natural gestures. Stand with feet hip distance apart, both feet on the ground.
• Use your visual aid effectively. If you are using a visual aid, make sure you refer to it. Is it big enough for the entire audience to see?  Don't "talk to" the visual. Make sure your visual is professional. Too much content on a power point slide is overwhelming. Try to stick to the "5 and 5" rule no more than 5 lines per slide and no more than 5 words across. Pictures are always a plus!
• Use audience feedback to clarify points. Does your audience appear to understand what you are saying? If not, reword or restate key ideas to make sure the audience gets it.
• Speak extemporaneously! Use brief notes or an outline to cue you. Don't read a speech to your audience. Most speakers cannot speak effectively from a manuscript. Connect with your audience and talk with them, not at them!

Don't overlook one of the most important steps in the speech making process - evaluation.

• Record (whenever possible) your presentation so you can perform a self-evaluation.
• View your videotaped speech. This can help you determine what you did well and what you need to work on for your next presentation.
• Take instructor and peer feedback seriously.

As an audience-centered speaker, it's important to remember the meaning is in the receiver.

Don't forget to utilize these departments around campus when planning your presentation:

• Communication Program
• Writing Center
• Library
• Learning Commons