Speaker - January/February 2012

Fill a void. When you look at business practices, educational institutions, government, or human interaction, in general, keep a keen eye out for what’s missing. Often, great speaking topics develop because some astute individual concluded that, say, business executives are deficient in some skill set. You can develop a speech to fill that gap.

A TOPIC WITH PIZAZZ
If you can answer “yes” to the following
questions, you have identified a promis-
ing new topic for your speaking business:
1 Is the topic consistent with your
background, your experience, and your
being? For example, many people who
want to speak on leadership have no
experience as leaders.
2 Do you have a burning passion to
speak about this topic? If you do, you’ll
drum up energy and enthusiasm that
will easily radiate to your audiences.
3 Will you go the extra mile to stay at
the forefront of your topic by seeking
out new data, insights and perspec-
tives to bring to the podium? If you’re
a how-to speaker, as opposed to a moti-
vating, entertaining, single-message
speaker, you really never can etch your
presentation in stone.
4 Can you add personal stories and
anecdotes that will make your presen-
tation memorable and paint a picture
in the minds of those listening to
you? Stories and anecdotes, if deliv-
ered powerfully, can make an indelible
impression.
5 Have you timed the information
you want to deliver on your topic?
How much can you say, and in what
sequence do you want to say it, for a
one-hour, two-hour, half-day, or all-
day presentation? Being a master of
your material and delivery is one thing,
knowing how much to parcel out based
on the allotted time is another.

Jeff Davidson, MBA, CMC, was awarded the trademark, “The Work-Life Balance Expert®,” from the USPTO after a 10-year campaign. His 56th book, Simpler Living, was selected by four book clubs. His 60-Second Series is popular in China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Poland, Spain, France and Brazil. Visit www.BreathingSpace.com.

If you think you don’t have the time to listen to the wisdom of other successful entrepreneurs in the speaking business … you soon will. Stay ahead of the curve and leverage the business knowledge critical to successful professional speakers. Access a library of recorded educational sessions captured live from NSA conferences, webinars and teleseminars for relevant, practical and fresh ideas. You can’t wait until next year to hear this!