Ep 90: How to stand out when your speaking topic is already covered
You’ve taken that big, important step forward and decided to start speaking for your business. You’re excited, and hey, I’m excited for you! But it’s also…scary. What will you talk about? And how do you know that your speaking topics are the right ones for you?
In this episode, I’ll walk you through selecting the right speaking topics for your business that will actually get you booked. Whether it’s in person, on a podcast, or in a webinar, you’ll know that your speaking topics are perfectly designed for your business, that event, and that audience.
If you loved this episode and it motivated you to work on more polished presentations, I’d love for you to leave a review on iTunes and tell me about your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of you listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @jessicarasdall.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Why it’s so important to be specific with your topic
Choosing a speaking topic can be pretty tough as a business owner. Over the lifecycle of your business, you’re gonna have to sit in a lot of seats. Wear all the hats and do all the things, like marketing, bookkeeping, HR, you name it.
But just because you’ve done it, doesn’t mean you have to teach it. Remember that! Being more selective and focused on our speaking topic will not only make a better impact on your audience, it’ll benefit your business.
And if you’re saying, “I wanna talk about all the things! It’ll keep my presentations interesting and fun!” I get it. However, if you choose not to get specific on your topic, other people like conference hosts and podcasters might decide your topics for you.
When this happens, you lose the opportunity to build authority in your space. And it can hurt your business if the topic someone else has chosen for you doesn’t align with your current offers.
Let’s recap why choosing select speaking topics is a good idea:
You know that your topics support the work you’re already doing (so you don’t have to keep editing or creating a talk for every speaking opportunity you get).
You get really good at delivering your presentation. You’ve already done the work, so now all you have to do is practice!
You can easily customize a talk for a new audience and navigate Q&As afterward.
Now that we’ve got that covered, let’s walk through how you can choose the best speaking topics for your business.
Step #1: Find your sweet spot
Your speaking sweet spot is at the intersection of three key things:
What you’re passionate about
What you have experience and expertise in
What your audience is interested in
Miss one of these key things, and your topic won’t make the impact you’re hoping for with your audience. Nor will it give your audience the story or transformation they’re looking for.
If you speak about something you’re passionate about and your audience is interested in, but you lack expertise in the subject, your talk won’t go any deeper than surface level.
Or, if you’re knowledgeable and passionate about a subject, but your audience doesn’t really care about it…they won’t be as invested in what you have to say.
Step #2: Align your topics with your business offers
Once you’ve found your sweet spot, it’s time to narrow those topics down further.
Grab a piece of paper and draw a line right down the middle. On one side of the line, write down your potential speaking topics. On the other side, write down all the ways money comes into your business. Products, services, offerings — write it all down.
Now, look back at your list of potential topics again. I want you to draw a line connecting a topic to your offers where it makes sense. Which topics support which offers in your business?
And be honest! Don’t try to talk yourself into finding a connection that isn’t really there. For example, if you’re a copywriter offering done-for-you website copy services, it wouldn’t really make sense to speak about teamwork and leadership, right?
Step #3: Make your topic stand out
The first two steps were all about figuring out topics that work for you: your business, your experiences, your audience, your offers. With your narrowed down list of topics, it’s time to refine and polish that topic so that you get booked.
First, to make your topic really shine, you have to reach both of your audiences. That’s right, you have two audiences at every event! One audience is the organizer: the person or company that brought you in to speak. The second audience is the group of people you’re speaking directly to.
Your talk needs to appeal to both audiences. Their goals, their reasons for listening to your talk, or the results they’re hoping for.
To further lift up your topic, I want you to consider the question, “What’s happening right now?” This is super important in setting your topic apart from the rest! There aren’t many topics left that haven’t been covered by speakers. The trick to being memorable and getting booked is making your topic relevant for today.
So, ask yourself what your audience is thinking about this year, or this season, or even this week. Life changes quickly! While the core message or theme of your topic stays the same, you can still meet your audience where they are now by bringing new ideas or a fresh perspective to your talk.
Last but not least, consider the title of your talk. Does it showcase the transformation you want to provide through your presentation? Does your audience instantly know what they’ll gain from listening to you speak? Can you protect it legally with the right name?
Imagine your talk is included in a huge list of other presentations at some big hypothetical conference. If one of your audience members skimmed the list, would the title of your talk make them pause? Would it make them attend? That’s what you wanna aim for.
It’s okay to be picky
You’ve completed these three steps to choosing your topics. Congrats! You’ve found that sweet spot, chosen topics that aligned with your business, and set your topic apart from the rest.
But…how many topics total do you actually need? Great question. I say one to three, and no more than three. If you get overwhelmed by too many options like me, keep it simple. Offer a boutique experience to organizers and people who will book you.
In fact, starting with one signature topic and getting really good at it is my recommended strategy, and it’s what we do within the Speaking Strategy Academy. You can always go back and add another topic when you’re ready.
Being selective with your speaking topics doesn’t mean you’re closing yourself off to other opportunities. It’s helping you build a more intentional speaking strategy for your business and your audience. Plus, it’ll help you gain confidence as a speaker the more you get on stage.
If you’re like, “I don’t know, Jess, these topics still don’t feel right to me…” then I have a resource that can help: Storyboarding Your Talk!
Storyboarding Your Talk is a roadmap that will help you ditch that writer’s block and craft a perfect talk. Storyboarding Your Training will guide you through planning, visualizing, and writing a talk that flows well and hits all the important points of your story.
Plus, this training is only 30 minutes, so you can take what you need from it and start writing right away! And at the end, you’ll be ready to share your impactful presentation and take the stage with confidence.
Get started on your next presentation now with Storyboarding Your Talk!
LOVED THIS EPISODE? FOLLOW US ON PINTEREST AND PIN IT FOR LATER!
Other related episodes you’ll love
*Affiliate links may be included above. However, we only share resources with you that we personally use and love!