Pubilc Speaking - The theme of your speech

At the heart of every speech is a message. Your job as a public speaker is to pass that message to your audience and in so doing, convey a theme, evoke an emotion or elicit a response - be it emotional or otherwise.

The first step is to identify the single most important idea, theme or message you want to convey in your speech. This message will likely be informed by the public speaking occasion you identified earlier.

For example, if you identified the occasion as the retirement of much loved lifelong company man whose grandson has just joined the firm, some potential themes you identify may include:

• Family (grandson & grandfather, also the company family)
• Continuity
• Gratitude
• Respect
• The future

Once you have identified 3-7 potential themes, it's time to decide which of theme will be the dominant one. Again, there is no right and wrong answer. It's your speech, pick the theme that resonates most with you. It's important to note that the themes not selected as your primary theme should still play a part in your speech. DO not discard them just yet.