PennWest University Libraries: COMJ 1010: Public Speaking: Speech Tools

Choosing a Topic

Choosing a topic is one of the most difficult parts of public speaking. Start with brainstorming some ideas based on your interests. It is important to select a topic that interests you or something you are passionate about. Once you have some topic ideas, ask yourself some questions to help narrow down which topic may be best for you and your audience:

Am I interested in the topic?
Will I enjoy researching this topic?
Will I enjoy talking about this topic and sharing information with my audience?
Will my audience be interested in this topic?
Am I passionate about this topic?

Adapted from University of Hawai'i Maui Community College Speech Department's "Selecting A Speech Topic", http://www.hawaii.edu/mauispeech/html/selecting_your_topic.html

Public Speaking Tips

10 Tips for Improving Your Public Speaking Skills From Harvard Extension School Professional Development. Marjorie North provides public speaking tips that will help reduce your anxiety, dispel myths, and improve your performance.
12 Tips for Public Speaking 12 tips from Forbes, contributed by the IESE Business School
30 Ways to Manage Speaking Anxiety A resource from the University of Iowa.
Speech Anxiety Cheat Sheet Tips to help overcome speech anxiety from James Madison University.

Using Visual Aids

Visual aids can really enhance your speech and engage your audience. Drawings, charts, pictures, objects, PowerPoints, graphs, and more can help your audience better understand your topic. However, you want to make sure your visual aids have a purpose - do not just add things to take up time or space. Make sure your visuals enhance your presentation!

Here are some different web sites and tools you can use to help create visuals:

Famous Speeches

American Rhetoric Offers an online speech bank with video, audio, and transcripts.
Famous Speeches Famous speeches and audio from The History Channel.
Presidential Speeches A collection of presidential speeches from The Miller Center at UVA. Includes speeches from George Washington to Donald Trump.
TED Talks TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. TED.com is building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers — and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.