Choosing a Topic and Gathering Ideas

Selecting a Topic

As with a written essay, the first step in preparing your presentation is to determine your topic.  For many of us, however, selecting a topic can be difficult.  We often want a single idea to pop into our head and, when that does not happen, we say “I can’t think of anything!” More often, the opposite happens: several ideas come to mind all at once.  What we need is a way to sort them out and decide which ideas will work best.

There are several considerations to keep in mind before you select a specific topic.
Be sure your topic is

• • appropriate to the goal or purpose of the presentation. (In this introductory workbook, the goal is to inform the audience.)
  • interesting to you.
  • relevant to the specific audience.
  • appropriate for the context or situation of the presentation.
  • able to be developed sufficiently in the time allotted for the presentation.

With these criteria in mind, consider the following questions:

1. 1. What is the purpose of my presentation?
   2. What are my interests and abilities?
   3. Who is my audience?
   4. What is the occasion?
   5. What are the time limits?

1. What is the purpose of my presentation?

This first decision is very important as it will influence the structure, supporting materials, wording, and delivery style of your presentation.  As mentioned above, the focus of this workbook is on how to prepare an informative or expository presentation which has the goal of informing your audience by providing new information or adding to information they already have.^[1]

2. What are my interests and abilities?

Always talk about what you know.  You may say to yourself “I don’t know enough about anything to give a presentation.” But you may be surprised.  One way to identify possible topics is to complete Activity 1: Inventory of General Interest and Knowledge on pages 9 – 10. In addition to this activity, read the topics used in the sample introductions in the next section (pgs. 15 – 19) and in the sample outlines found at the end of the workbook (pgs. 53 – 63). These will show you the range of topics used by other students. If you find you are considering two or three possible topics, prepare a rough outline, described below, for each one to determine which will work best for you, for the audience, and for the time limit.

When you have finished, share your responses with two or three others in your class.  If you can talk for at least one minute about any one of the ideas you listed here, underline it as a possible speech topic.

3. Who is my audience?

Perhaps the most important consideration for topic selection, after identifying the purpose and your own interests and abilities, is your audience.  Your audience must feel that you are speaking for their benefit.  The more you know about them, the better you will be able to fit your presentation to their needs and interests.  You may think, “How can I possibly know my audience?”

When you take time to consider even general information about the audience, you will be more likely to choose a topic, or a particular approach to a topic, that will be interesting to them.  You will also be able to use words and examples to which they can easily relate.  Obviously, you cannot know everything about an audience, but you can gather helpful information by asking yourself some general questions, such as those on the list below.

Questions such as these can provide useful information about the audience in general, and thus help you select and refine your topic choice.  For example, when I ask students what they are typically short of, they quickly reply “time” and “money”.  This provides useful information for topic selection. Topics such as effective time management for working students, how to eat well on a budget, how to reduce student debt, or strategies for buying trendy clothes when shopping at thrift stores are all relevant to this particular audience.  On the other hand, a presentation about how to prepare for a 3-week cruise, while an interesting topic in and of itself, will likely not be relevant to fellow students.

As you select and refine your topic choice, consider what your audience might already know about the topic, and what new information you can provide. The topic should be at a level appropriate for the audience’s general knowledge. It should not be too simple, or they will think you are talking down to them, and not so technical or complicated that they cannot follow the information you are providing.  For example, say you are training to be a paramedic and you have nearly completed everything needed for certification.  If you were to give an informative presentation on what to do as a first responder to an accident, a general audience would likely find the presentation both interesting and useful.  However, if you were to present complex technical medical information that is more appropriate to other paramedics, the general audience would likely tune out because the information would be too specialized and not relevant to them.

4. What is the occasion?

The topic of your presentation should be appropriate for the occasion.  Most of you will be speaking in the classroom as part of an assignment.  There are other situations, however, where you also may be called upon to speak publicly: at work, at a meeting, in another class, during an interview, at a wedding or a funeral or another special occasion, addressing city council to advocate for a cause that matters to you, or making introductions at an awards ceremony for your team.  In each of these situations, you must adapt the structure, supporting materials, wording and delivery of the presentation to suit the specific purpose, audience and context.

5. What are the time limits?

Consider the time limits you have for your presentation, and then select or refine your topic accordingly.  Time limits for a presentation are similar to the assigned length of an essay: the detail and depth of explanation for a three-page paper would be different from what you would provide for a fifteen-page paper.  Likewise, your choice and coverage of the topic for a five-minute presentation, would differ from that of a fifteen-minute presentation.

For example, you may want to help classmates understand the difference between ADD and ADHD. If your time limit is 5 – 6 minutes, you will likely cover basic information about each one, whereas you could examine the topic in much more detail if you have 15 – 20 minutes for the presentation.