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Speaking - Picking a Topic

08 Jan 2019 by Keith Elder

Before you can speak at a conference, you need something to say. Everyone has something valuable to say that can impact others, but sometimes it takes time to find your voice. Below, you'll find an easy-to-follow seven-step process for crafting your presentation topic.

1. Write down what you care about.

Grab a notebook, whiteboard, Post-It notes or a napkin and write down anything and everything you care about. What are you passionate about? What do you want to learn more about? What have you observed? Look at things that pique your interest among industry standards, competitor insights, news articles, partner programs, other presentations, surveys – everything. Write all of these things down. This gives you a great starting point to build on. As a speaker, it's tough to speak about a topic you don't care about, so just don't do it. The audience will see the presentation (and you) as disingenuous. Instead, stick to things you really like. Passion and genuine interest always come across loud and clear.

2. Write down what you've done.

Go back through your recent work history or activities and write down things you've done. For example, if you're a Senior Software Engineer who's been coaching a junior Software Engineer, add that to your list. If you're an Architect, include some of the tough problems you've helped your team solve. If you're a leader, write down some lessons you've learned about leadership throughout your career. You should also give some thought to the things you do for fun. If you've been playing video games since you were able to walk, write that down. Think about your journey to your current position. Were there pivotal moments along the way that helped guide you? Did you have a mentor that gave you some great advice? Was there a volunteering opportunity or a program in school that helped give you direction, write them down.

3. Write down what you're interested in learning.

Finally, make a list of topics that interest you, but in which you're not an expert. For example, maybe you're a Software Engineer, and you keep hearing about artificial intelligence. You're curious, but you don't know much about the subject. Write that down. All of us have things we find fascinating or want to learn, and these are potential topics.

4. Identify what's relevant.

After you've compiled your three lists, go through them and highlight the topics you feel would be relevant to other people. This step requires deeper thinking. On the surface a topic might not be relevant, but with the right angle it can be. For example, let's say you worked on a special project for Rocket Mortgage, which had the team build a new service using a new technology. While others may not find the inner workings of that service relevant, what pieces of that story would they find interesting? They might be interested how well it scales, how the team made the decision to use that new technology, or the journey to adopting that new technology. Examine each topic from multiple angles as you consider its relevance.

5. Make it timeless.

When deliberating on the relevance of each topic, take the time to also consider its lifespan. Identify which of your ideas will be relevant the longest. You'll be putting a tremendous amount of work into creating a great presentation – an average of one hour of preparation for every minute you're on stage. So you want to pick a topic that won't get stale – not just the latest buzzword that will be irrelevant tomorrow. Try to find something that you can speak about at various events over a longer period of time.

Yes, you may see more experienced speakers picking trendy topics for their presentations. As you gain more experience and your workflow gets faster, you can start to work some of these into your portfolio.

6. Phone a friend.

Once you've settled on an idea, share it with multiple friends and trusted advisors, asking for feedback. They'll help you gauge the relevance. Ask them if they would consider going to your presentation if they were attending the conference. If your friends and advisors have positive feedback, try taking it outside of your social circle and asking someone who's not familiar with the topic. For example, if it's a presentation on leadership, ask non-leaders for their opinions. If it's a technical presentation ask non-technical people what they think. Your presentation may not be for everybody, and that's OK, but you should still try to get feedback from a diverse group.

As you gather feedback, you may find it sparking new ideas. Don't be afraid to shift your topic, or even change it entirely. Now is the time to do it before you've committed endless hours of preparation.

7. Flesh out more details.

Now that you've identified your timeless and relevant topic you want to share with the world, grab a large sheet of paper and write the main idea in the center. Then, write associations around that center idea, creating a mind map. Look for ways your associations that contrast with each other. This brainstorming exercise can help you add depth to your topic and find the right angle. When you get ready to tell your story, you'll use these contrasting ideas to move between what is and what could be. Moving back and forth between contradictory poles encourages full engagement from the audience. Here's a chart of contrasting elements to get you started.

Once you have a list, go back through it and see if you can generate one opposing idea to each point.

Now you're ready to outline the story of your presentation, which will help you to craft your title and abstract. Along with your head shot and bio, the title and abstract will be submitted to the conference for review during the call for papers (CFP). These four pieces of information are all you need to submit to a conference.

Example of Mind Map: