Speech Fodder
I'm not going to start with how to speak, how to use gestures, how to use words, etc. You can't speak in front of people if you don't have anything to say, so, the first installment of this series is techniques for finding speech fodder or speech topics. Probably the two most common complaints I hear from people is: I don't know what to say, and I don't have anything interesting to say. The two, I believe, are related, maybe first cousins. What they might really be saying is, "I don't know what to say that will interest people." That's fine. You're new to public speaking and struggling to come up with a speech that will keep your audience awake. It's a valid concern. I've seen speakers who got flustered when they saw one of the audience yawning during their speech. Don't worry, we'll get to tips to address those in future posts. If someone asks you to deliver a speech, one of the things you have to know first is, what is the occ