(Or read: 3 Content Tips For Novice Speakers.)

A speaker should not only consider the audience when choosing a topic, he or she should also consider what the audience is ready and able to hear. It’s been said that only 15 percent of the information in most good nonfiction books is new. The rest is conventional wisdom, things with which the reader is familiar, or simple common sense. The reason for this is that people can only digest so much new information at one time. A good speaker asks him- or herself: is the audience ready for this message, presented in this way?

Tip #1: Speak into the Listening of Your Audience

Imagine two teachers. Mrs. McBride teaches second grade and Mr. Kamp teaches high school. Both have a passion for history and do a good job of teaching it to their classes. Now imagine them swapping classes for one day. If Mrs. McBride approaches Mr. Kamp’s 17-year-old students the same way she teaches the 8-year-olds in her class, they will be bored and probably insulted. If Mr. Kamp presents history to the 8-year-olds the way he does with his 17-year-old class, they will be confused and lost.

This example about age-appropriate instruction highlights a general principle of human communication: Always speak into the listening of your audience. Parents know this principle. Counselors know this principle. Speakers need to know – and use – this principle. It simply means you should speak so that your audience can understand, and hopefully agree with, your message.

Before you settle on a particular approach to discussing or explaining your Core Message, ask yourself: Will your audience understand and agree with your ideas if you present them the way you usually would?

There are many reasons why you might decide to recast your message to make it more understandable or acceptable. For example, you might modify your usual message when you know there are differences between you and the audience in any of the following areas: language, age, career, subject-matter expertise, gender, culture, ethnicity, religion, geography, and life experience.

This is why smart speakers start with their audience. After you analyze who will be listening, you can decide how to speak into their listening.

Tip #2: Choose an Inclusive Topic

Choosing an inclusive topic is an extension of the advice to “speak into the listening of your audience.” If you choose a topic that appeals to some but alienates others, you’ve limited the reach of your message.

When I was a younger man I was a bartender by trade. Stan, the slick, experienced hand who trained me at Hedges 9-Mile Point Hotel, only gave me one piece of advice about how to talk to customers: don’t mention politics or religion.

It wasn’t obvious to me at the time, but the reason this is great advice is that 1) people feel strongly about their political and religious beliefs, and 2) no amount of discussion is likely to persuade the typical bar patron to change their views on these subjects.

Some speakers can’t avoid controversial topics. If your topic is politics or religion, then you will need to be prepared for audience members who disagree with your message.

The rest of us can avoid hostile audience members by avoiding controversial topics. This does not mean that you can’t talk about something important. It does not mean that you can’t express a strong point of view. It does mean that you should choose an “inclusive” topic.

Talking about values and virtues is always inclusive. Telling stories about how you learned a valuable life lesson will usually be inclusive. If you have favorite values that your parents, coaches or religious leaders stressed, any one of them could be the topic of a speech. Examples includes: appreciation, commitment, compassion, courage, dedication, generosity, gratitude, honesty, integrity, leadership, living your dreams, love, loyalty, optimism, patience, perseverance, respect, responsibility, sharing, teamwork, trust, and unity.

There are many other topics that are not divisive, but that doesn’t automatically make them inclusive. Most “Informative” speeches are not controversial and so not divisive, as long as the speaker sticks to the facts and remains impartial and balanced.

If you want to ensure that you reach a large percentage of the audience, avoid topics that you know will disturb a portion of your audience. There is always a way to give an audience your Core Message, without alienating a portion of the audience because of the way you choose to make your point.

Tip #3: Choose Metaphors, Examples, and Stories to which People can Relate

Choosing content that will be relevant to your audience is also an extension of the advice to “speak into the listening of your audience.” Metaphors, examples, and stories are some of the most powerful rhetorical devices available to a speaker. But they miss their mark if the audience cannot relate to them. A female speaker might have a great story about how she used to worry too much about her personal appearance and too little about her subordinates. But that’s probably not a good way to make her point to the average male audience.

As another example, I have been teaching college students since the mid 1980s. Over the years, I have needed to update my examples. Where I might have cited The Rolling Stones and Springsteen as examples of successful marketers in the 80s, in the 1990s I would be using U2 and R.E.M as examples, and by 2000 I had moved on to Dave Matthews and Jay Z. Twenty years ago when I discussed electronic text communication, I was talking about e-mail. Ten years ago I was talking about Instant Messaging (from a PC). Today I talk to my students about text messaging (from their cell phones).

Choose your metaphors, examples, and stories with your audience in mind: Will they be able to relate? Professional speaker John Maxwell said: “If there is a more important key to communication than finding common ground, I certainly can’t think of it.” Your job as a speaker is to find common ground with your audience.