As Toastmasters embark on their Pathways journey, they encounter a range of projects designed to enhance their skills. Every project has a speech which marks the end of a project. Some projects offer explicit guidance by suggesting specific speech topics upon completion. Take, for instance, the “Toastmasters Mentoring” project, where speakers are prompted to share their experiences with mentors and explore Toastmasters’ vision for effective mentoring. This targeted direction provides a solid foundation for crafting a speech.

In contrast, projects like “Vocal Variety and Gestures” deliberately leave the topic open-ended. Here, speakers have the creative freedom to choose any subject, whether it’s a captivating travel story or an informative presentation about large language models. However, many Toastmasters find themselves stuck at the crucial first step – choosing a speech topic.

Breaking the Ice on Speech Topics

Let’s dispel a common misconception before we dive deeper. “Your speech idea doesn’t have to be extraordinary or out of this world.” If you happen to have a super unique and creative idea, that’s fantastic – you can skip ahead to the methods for crafting your speech. However, for everyone else, don’t wait for that out-of-the-world, unique idea to grace your life. Your next topic could be as commonplace as “My commute to the office.”

When I shared this insight with my protege, I emphasized, “Your topic should be something you feel strong about.” She immediately questioned, “Feel strong? Do you mean feel confident about it or like it?” As I attempted to explain the concept of “feeling strong,” she brilliantly offered an analogy to solidify her understanding. “So, like a photographer would feel strong about the scenic beauty of a city, and a chef would feel strong about the flavors of a city.” Hearing this analogy, I knew she had hit the bullseye.

Feeling strong about something isn’t merely about confidence or likability. Let’s consider a few everyday examples of experiences you might feel strong about:

1. Your experiment with cooking: Despite lacking confidence because it was your first time, you feel strong about it because it turned out to be a good experience.
2. A road rage incident: A completely negative experience that might have spoiled your day, yet you may feel strong about sharing the encounter.
3. A conversation with your carpool mate about generative AI in music: The unique perspective you gained sparks a feeling of strength within you as you contemplate trying it yourself.

Much like these examples, your next speech topic can be found in your surroundings – you just need to keep a keen eye to spot them.

Getting Started: The Pomodoro Technique

Before delving into content generation methods, it’s essential to highlight a technique that aids focus – the Pomodoro Technique.

The Pomodoro Technique is a popular time management method designed to enhance focus and productivity. The approach revolves around breaking work into intervals, typically 25 minutes each, known as “Pomodoros.” During these intervals, individuals fully immerse themselves in a specific task, aiming to remain distraction-free and completely focused. The use of a timer is crucial to enforcing this dedicated work period. After completing a Pomodoro, a short break of around 5 minutes is taken as a reward. This break serves as a motivator, creating a positive association with sustained focus and productivity. Additionally, after completing a certain number of Pomodoros, a more extended break of 15-30 minutes is recommended.

The technique is not solely about achieving a specific word count or task completion within the set time frame, but rather emphasizes the importance of maintaining unwavering concentration during each Pomodoro. By instilling a structured rhythm of focused work and regular breaks, the Pomodoro Technique aims to optimise productivity and reduce the impact of distractions on overall performance.

Methods for Crafting Your Speech

1. Brain Writing: Capturing Your Thoughts

Brain writing, adapted from group brainstorming techniques, is a powerful method for personal projects. I came up with this application of brain writing from my experience with Morning pages, a technique to bring clarity to your everyday. Set your timer, and capture your stream of thoughts on your chosen topic. Whether you start with the “What,” “Why,” “When,” or “How,” the goal is to capture your raw, unfiltered consciousness.

2. Walk and Talk: Stimulating Creativity

As cliché as it may sound, research shows that walking stimulates creative thinking. Famously, Bill Gates used to go on short treks when he would get stuck at problem solving. Recording your thoughts on a voice recorder app during a stroll or using pen and paper in a scenic park can unlock creative avenues. If you’re stuck, prompts from the Brain Writing section can kickstart your cognitive gears. Even a call to a friend or mentor can help articulate your ideas.

Remember, the focus here is on capturing raw thoughts, not perfect grammar or structure. You may choose to capture our thoughts in your mother tongue as well. The goal is to let your creativity flow freely.

Distilling Your Thoughts

After capturing your raw thoughts, the next step involves structuring and distilling them into a coherent speech. The process of distillation deserves its own discussion, but for now, understand that it involves refining your ideas into a well-organized narrative.

This very blog post is a product of the techniques mentioned. It originated from a regular mentoring session, addressing challenges familiar to all Toastmasters. Through two Pomodoro sessions of 33 minutes and 27 minutes and a reward of chocolate, I was able to write 1491 words capturing my stream of thought on this topic. Finally, the post took shape with the assistance of ChatGPT.

Mastering these techniques takes time and practice. Experiment with what works for you, and don’t hesitate to discard what doesn’t. The key is understanding the underlying concepts

1. Your topic doesn’t need to be extraordinary
2. Allowing distraction-free time for your thoughts to flow

As you hone these skills, you’ll find your voice and craft engaging speeches with comfort.