Choosing a topic for your oral presentation

Hi there!

In every level you will be asked to prepare one or two oral presentations. Even if you don't like them much, they are extremely helpful for you to revise and consolidate contents, and also to develop your fluency and spontaneity in English.

The teacher might give you the topic, or they might give you the choice to talk about anything you want, but... how do you decide what to talk about?

Normally, students choose the topics based on one of the following criteria:

• They talk about what they think the teacher wants to hear.

• They choose topics that they consider easy.

• They choose a topic that inspires or excites them.

Without a doubt, the best results happen when the students are inspired by the topic.

The truth about your presentation is that if it doesn't excite you, it won't excite your listeners. If you're not fascinated by the content, the audience will automatically become bored. Plus, you'll lose your own motivation along the way...

So, the next time you ask yourself, "How do I decide what to talk/write about?", start with what inspires you and build from there.

Once you have the topic, explore your book and your notes and try to include all the new things you can!