By samaresan@hubspot.com (Swetha Amaresan)

I recently did a presentation night with my friends. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, it’s when a group of friends gets together to share presentations they created about a topic of their choice.

The topics are typically light-hearted and fun. For example, mine was “my friends as obscure animals.”

You would be surprised how difficult it was to develop ideas for something as silly and unserious as a social presentation night.

So, it’s naturally even harder to ideate presentation topics for a professional setting with the pressure of needing to impress, influence, educate, or entertain.

I will share how to develop thought-provoking and relevant topics for your presentations to ensure they are memorable and resonate well with your audience.

Table of Contents

• How to Choose a Great Presentation Topic in 5 Steps
• 120 Presentation Topic Ideas
• 5 Presentation Tips

How to Choose a Great Presentation Topic in 5 Steps

I’ve broken down the painstakingly long process of choosing a topic into five simple and easy steps. Let’s walk through it.

Step 1: Begin with the end in mind.

“Some things are better left unsaid” is what I don’t want people to say about my presentations. That’s why I always have a specific goal before choosing a topic.

Some questions I ask myself are:

• What do I hope to achieve from the presentation?
• How do I want to come across?
• What do I want my audience to take away from the presentation?

Having a solid goal helps me begin crafting the title of my presentation. For instance, if I’m presenting a seminar about AI, my goal might be to convince my audience to incorporate more AI into their daily lives.

A punchy idea for a title could be “Why AI Is NOT Ruining Your Life.”

Step 2: Know your audience.

Let’s say I’m preparing an internal presentation for my team at Nickelodeon. I would first consider my audience’s experience and interests.

I don’t want to present something they already know well or have the topic go over their heads. Since it’s my team, I would feel confident that these factors overlap comfortably with mine.

If you’re presenting to an unknown audience, research the individuals or general demographic if specific names aren’t available.

Next, I’d consider what style is preferred. Some workplaces might be more formal, requiring a serious presentation tone.

Based on the type of content we work on at Nickelodeon, we keep things light at work, so I’d integrate humor and a casual tone into my presentation.

Pro tip: Always consider your audience’s knowledge level on the topic before drafting your presentation. For example, a presentation on social media targeted at Gen Z will differ from that targeted at Millennials.

Step 3: Be current.

Of presenters, 47% tailor their presentation topics to current events, which is an easy way to ensure the topic …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron