CHOOSING THE TOPIC

Imagine going on vacation. The car is packed and you’re ready to roll, but one thing has been forgotten: the destination. That may sound ludicrous—after all, how would you have packed accordingly or known how much money to take out of the bank?

Researching a public speech should be at least as rigorous as going on vacation (although probably not as much fun)—you should always have a destination in mind when you start. However, for most speakers, coming up with the original idea, the destination, is difficult. So let’s discuss how to choose a destination that won’t get you lost along the way.

One strategy for choosing a speech topic is simply to speak on a topic in which you’re very interested. If you are going to spend hours ...

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