Founder, Innovation Women, connecting event managers with female experts & speakers. I also own Lioness Magazine for female entrepreneurs.
When I urge people to consider public speaking to bolster their careers or support their business success, one of the most common concerns I hear is, “What would I talk about?”
If you’ve ever attended a conference or event and envisioned yourself on the stage (or even if you haven’t), you can think about topics and titles, and take the next step.
What are the conference organizers looking for?
Most larger conferences issue a call for speakers. These requests for proposals from speakers contain information about the event’s theme and particular topics that the organizers need covered. Is one of those a topic you could cover?
What are other people talking about?
If you have identified the biggest and best events and conferences in your industry, look at the programs and talk descriptions from previous years. What were the keynotes talking about? How about the featured speakers and breakout sessions? You can usually find old programs online or by using the Internet Archive. Now look at what’s missing. Is that a topic that you could cover?
Are you keeping up with the top trends and big news in your industry?
Topics can often be ripped from the headlines. News and trends offer clues about what topics would be welcome at your industry’s gatherings.
What does your company or employer want you to talk about?
Companies sometimes hire people into evangelist roles, expecting them to spend some time talking about the company’s products at industry events. They may even help you secure speaking engagements and support your preparation. Just be careful you don’t end up sharing a sales pitch when one isn’t welcome.
What does your target audience want or expect from you?
Often, we think too hard and too much about what we want to say without thinking about what people want to hear. What problem can you solve for the audience members? What answers can you give them? Want to know what they need? Ask.
Once you have a good idea of the basic topic you want to cover, now is the time to add a little finesse.
Again, go looking for other talks on the topic.
Is there an aspect of the topic that hasn’t been covered? Or that you might be able to cover from a different perspective?
What can you offer the audience that is unexpected or counterintuitive yet helpful?
Common sense solutions are great but as a speech, they can be boring. Keep the audience guessing.
Can you offer a talk that aligns you to a larger goal or mission?
While many of us appreciate the opportunity to get on stage and tell the world about our company, our product or our career, talks tend to go even better when there is a bigger, more global mission at stake.
Does the conference or event have its own mission?
How can you can be a part of it?
Are there specific actions or takeaways that you can offer the audience?
The best talks incite the audience to take action. What will they learn that they can use immediately? These takeaways are often terrific parts of the talk’s description.
Still not sure what you could talk about? You probably have friends and colleagues with ideas for you. Here are some ways to gather up those ideas. Ask your friends questions like these:
• “If I wrote a book, what would you expect the title to be? What would it be about?”
• “What problem would you always come to me to solve?”
• “What questions do you have, about your life, or your business, that you would ask me?”
Often our friends and colleagues have a much better idea of our strengths than we do. And, if, at first you don’t succeed in getting selected to speak, keep trying. There are conferences in just about every industry you can think of. One will be the right fit for you.
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