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Writing speeches for presentations during club meetings always begins with the challenge…what to write? Occasionally the mind will wander to topics that broach on the potential controversy, i.e. religion, social norms, politics, etc. As club members should we speak on these types of topics? As club officers should we allow these types of topics to be presented?

As a firm believer in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution a member should be able to address whatever topic they wish as part of their presentation. The key is to use this as a learning opportunity in how to approach such a topic in an intelligent and competent manner without alienating your audience. There is no specific lesson in any of the Toastmasters’ manuals that address delivering a controversial topic so I thought I’d provide some suggestions.

Prepare

Before you walk into a room to present on a controversial topic, prepare carefully. Make sure you have your facts straight and can reference your sources if necessary. Controversial topics are emotion laden time bombs that can go off at any time. Being prepared to deal with this in a controlled, logical manner will help you complete your presentation with your audience still in tow.

No Bias

Unless you’re trying to persuade your audience to your side of the controversy, do not show any bias to one side or the other. Present the arguments equally with a balanced, even approach. You may favor one position over another, but again, unless you’re trying to convince your audience you need to rehearse even more than normal to make sure you’re not accidentally coming across as biased.

Caution: Humor

You can use humor in your presentation to offset a particularly tense moment or topic but do so with caution. Don’t make light of one side of the topic over the other. Find areas that cross both sides or have nothing to do with the topic at all. This again comes back to rehearsal as a critical piece of the presentation. The “off the cuff” joke has destroyed many a career and you don’t want to go down that path as well.

Accept the challenge

If you want to accept the challenge of presenting a controversial topic at your club meeting, talk to your VP of Education in advance so they can make sure the club is properly prepared and they take the presentation in the spirit it is intended…as a learning experience for a growing speaker. Good luck!

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