By Deborah Austin

Becoming an effective speaker involves learning how to develop good content.  Before you can even work on the performance aspects of your speech you have to figure out what to say. You want to provide valuable content to your audience so that they can benefit and use the information in their lives. How then do you develop good content? There are many different ways that you can develop content. Here are three effective ways. They are:

1. Keep a story or interesting article file

People love stories. Stories can be very powerful teaching tools. When you use stories in your presentations you connect with both the heart and the intellect. It is good to have facts and figures in your presentation to show evidence of something you’re trying to prove. If you really want to connect with your audience using stories will help you build rapport.  Start keeping a story or interesting article file that you reference when you write your speeches. This file can be paper based or be kept electronically on your computer. Find the the best system that works for you. Start collecting interesting stories, articles and websites that you hear about and add them to the file. This file will function as a resource for you  when you develop content for your speeches and presentations. Business leaders often use stories to get their message across. By using stories you can engage your audience more effectively.

2. Do the Required Research

While stories are great to use in your speeches, facts and statistics are important also. If you want to emphasize certain parts of your speech or outline a theory using supporting material, facts and statistics can help you. You can learn to incorporate facts and statistics by acquainting yourself with research procedures. Arrange to visit your local library and ask a librarian to assist you in learning how to research a subject effectively. Of course using credible sources on the internet is another way to find good research material. You may be surprised at how developing good research skills will serve you various areas of your life.

3. Keep a Journal

A journal is wonderful way to chronicle the richness of your life. For many of you reading this blog post, you’ve been keeping a journal for a long time. I’ve kept a journal since I was 11 years old! Journalling is a wonderful process that can help you develop great insight into your life by recording you life’s events both mundane and significant. Keeping a journal helps you remember events and stories that you might want to share in speech. Even carrying with you a small notebook when you go out in public can help you chronicle interesting things that may occur in the course of a day, week, or month.

Part of becoming a great speaker involves learning how to develop great content.  You can start developing material for your presentations by: keeping a story/interesting article file, learning how to do research and keeping a journal. By being an astute observer and participant of life you will have many fascinating stories to tell in your speeches.

If you obtained value from this article, please feel free to comment and share.