Public speaking is a nightmare? Through this serial
of extract from McGraw-Hill's best seller in public speech The Art of
Public Speaking, we will show you the way to become an articulator.
The first step in speechmaking is choosing
a topic. For speeches outside the classroom this is seldom a problem.
Usually the speech topic is determined by the occasion, the audience,
and the speaker's qualifications. In a public speaking class the situation
is different. Most of your speech assignments will not come with a designated
topic. Students generally have great leeway in selecting subjects for
their speeches. This would appear to be an advantage, since it allows
you to talk about matters of personal interest. Yet there may be no
facet1 of speech preparation that causes more gnashing2 of teeth than
selecting a topic.
It is a constant source of amazement to teachers
that students who regularly chat with their friends about almost any
subject under the sun become mentally paralyzed when faced with the
task of deciding what to talk about in their speech class. Fortunately,
once you get over this initial paralysis, you should have little trouble
choosing a good topic.
There are two broad categories of potential
topics for your classroom speeches :(1) subjects you know a lot about
and
(2) subjects you want to know more about. Let's start with the first.
Topics you know a lot about
Most people speak best about subjects with which they are most familiar.
Everyone knows things or has done things that can be used in a speech.
Think for a moment about unusual experiences you may have had. Think
also about special knowledge or expertise you may have acquired. You
are bound to come up with something. One student, who grew up in Pakistan,
presented a fascinating speech about daily life in that country. Another
used her knowledge as jewelry store salesperson to prepare a speech
on how to judge the value of cut diamonds. A third student, who had
lived through a tornado, gave a gripping speech about that terrifying
experience. Too dramatic? Nothing in your life is as interesting?
Here are a few more examples of speech topics based largely on the students'
personal knowledge and experience:
Hong Kong: City of Paradox
Iguanas3: The Ideal Pets
Scuba Diving4: A New World Under Water...
Topics you want to know more about
On the other hand, you may decide to make your speech a learning experience
for yourself as well as for your audience. You may choose a subject
about which you already have some knowledge or expertise but not enough
to prepare a speech without doing additional research. You may even
select a topic that hasn't touched you at all before but that you want
to explore. Or suppose you run across a subject in one of your other
classes that catches your fancy. Why not investigate it further for
your speech class?
Still another possibility - especially for
persuasive speeches — is to think of subjects about which you hold strong
opinions and beliefs. Imagine you are at dinner with a friend and find
yourself arguing that television broadcasters should not report the
projected results of presidential elections until polls have closed
throughout the country. Why not give a speech in class on the same topic?
Or suppose you believe your school should set up a program to help reduce
burglaries on campus.
Like everyone else, you surely have issues
about which you care deeply. They may include national or international
concerns such as gun control, protection of the environment, or the
threat of cyberterrorism. Or perhaps you are a mayor for a proposal
to increase tuition. Not all such topics must be "political."
They can deal with anything from graduation requirements to helping
people with physical disabilities, from vegetarianism to preserving
a nature sanctuary, from dormitory regulations to building a church
recreation center.
After all this, you may still be thinking,
"I've never been to Pakistan. I'm not active in politics. WHAT
am I going to talk about?" if you are having trouble selecting
a topic, there are a number of brainstorming procedures you can follow
to get started.
Personal inventory
First make a quick inventory of your experiences, interests, hobbies,
skills, beliefs, and so forth. Jot down anything that comes to mind,
no matter how silly or irrelevant it may seem. From this list may come
a general subject area out of which you can fashion a specific topic.
This method has worked for many students.
Clustering
If the first method doesn't work, try the second. It's a technique called
clustering. Take a sheet of paper and divide it into nine columns as
follows: People, Place, Things, Events, Processes, Concepts, natural
Phenomena, Problems, and Plans and Policies. Then list in each column
the first five or six items that come to mind.
Reference search
By clustering, most people are able to come up with a topic rather quickly.
But if you are still stymied5, don't despair. There is a third technique
you can use. Go to the reference room of the library and browse through
an encyclopedia, the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, the New
York Times Index, or some other reference work until you stumble across
what might be a good speech topic.
Internet Search
Yet another possibility, if you have access to the World Wide Web via
the Internet, is to connect to a subject-based search engine such as
Yahoo or the Librarians' Index to the Internet. If you select one categories
— say, Health— the next screen will show all subcategories indexed under
that heading. One of the advantages of using Yahoo as a brainstorming
aid is that you can continue to make your search more and more specific
until you find just the right topic. Suppose, for example, that as you
look at the subheadings for health, your attention is grabbed by the
item—Alternative Medicine. If you click on this item, you will get another
screen with a detailed list of subheadings for Alternative Medicine.
Working from that list, you can link up to other sites that will help
you narrow and focus your topic even further. This process is much faster
than leafing through reference works in the library, and it can be a
great spur to thinking creatively about a topic.
Whatever the means you use for selecting
a topic, Start Early. The major reason students have difficulty choosing
speech topics is that, like most people, they tend to procrastinate—
to put off starting projects for as long as possible. Since choosing
a topic is your first step in the process of speech preparation, it
is only natural to postpone facing up to it. But if you postpone it
for too long, you may dig yourself into a hole from which you cannot
escape.
Start thinking about your topic as soon as
each assignment is announced. Pay attention to interesting subjects
in class and conversation, on the radio and television, in newspapers
and magazines. Jot down in your notebook ideas for topics as they occur
to you. Having an inventory of possible topics to choose from is much
better than having to rack your brain for one at the last minute. If
you get an early start on choosing a topic, you will have plenty of
time to pick just the right one and prepare a first-rate speech.
1. facet:
any of the definable aspects that make up a subject (as of contemplation)
or an object (as of consideration)
2. gnash:
to strike or grind (as the teeth) together
3. iguana:
鬣蜥。
4. scuba:
潜泳。
5. stymie:
to present an obstacle
