Sweating While Storytelling and Speaking

“Whatโ€™s trapped inside you is eating you alive.” ย ~ย Charles Henderson

Many times, speakers ask, โ€œWhat are good subjects to talk about; what is popular today?โ€ ย On the surface, this sounds like a good question, but itโ€™s not. Why?

Imagine if you asked this question, and the answer you received was โ€œThe impending death of the personal computer in Americaโ€ or โ€œHow can the Federal Government avoid bankrupting the economy.โ€ Interesting topics, to be sure, but what if your knowledge of these subject is limited, or, even worse, you donโ€™t really care. The world is littered with speeches given by people who lacked either the knowledge, passion (or both) about any given subject. Donโ€™t fall into this trap.

If you donโ€™t talk about whatโ€™s popular, what should you talk about?ย  The quote above is a clue. There are subjects which you may have buried inside, even have deep levels of concern, passion and interest for, but havenโ€™t had the courage to discuss.ย  Thatโ€™s where you should look. To paraphrase an old saying, โ€œThereโ€™s gold in them thar subjects!โ€

I know what you may be thinking, โ€œMichael, the topics I care about wouldnโ€™t be of interest to anyone.”ย I beg to differ. While itโ€™s true some subjects can, at first glance, seem limited in their popularity, there is a speech development tool that can connect any subject to an audience.

That tool is to share lessons learned from your topic. When you transform your passion into a teachable moment, you create a long-lasting benefit.

For example, my friend Carol recently emailed me about a family member who is involved in wood working. If this young man stands up to talk about this topic, chances are heโ€™d have a limited audience. However, there are several life lessons he could tie to wood working. Not being a connoisseur of the subject, I can only speculate some universal concepts that could be tied to it:

Creativity โ€“ Use Your Imagination to Create Your Unique Vision;

Patience โ€“ Use the Concept of โ€˜Measure Twice, Cut Onceโ€™ to Save Time and Aggravation;

Sharpen the Saw โ€“ How to Ensure that You are Working with the Best Possible Tools to Do Yourย Job Well.

These are just threeย of an endless list of ideas, and I know nothing about the art of wood working. The point here is that you can take a seemingly limitedย subject, tie it to lessons which resonate with all people, and then develop a talk thatย impacts them long after they hear you speak.

The next time you have an opportunity to give a talk, donโ€™t sweat your subject matter. Remember the words of Charles Henderson. Donโ€™t leave your passions buried inside.ย  Tie your interests to universal messages, and you can change the way people Think, Feel or Act.

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Learn how to inject more laughter into your speeches from humorist Phil Barth, finalist in the 2011 World Championship of Public Speaking. ย He is interviewed by Michael Davis, and shares his secrets about how to bring laughter to your message.

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Stand OUT Speaking Tip: Talk about What YOU Want to Talk About ultima modifica: 2013-01-27T22:52:11-05:00 da Michael Davis