A valuable idea I came across in the August 2026 edition of the Toastmasters magazine is that when preparing a speech, you need to start with your audience, not yourself. Don’t start by asking what you want to say. Instead, ask: Who is my audience and what do they need from me? This is a message from an article by Lauren Parsons, DTM, AS.

This is a powerful idea. An audience-first mindset. It means you give speeches to serve your audience, not to impress them.

Focus on the Audience

To focus on the audience, think about what they would want to learn and what could inspire them. Ask yourself why you want to share a particular idea, fact, or story. Just because an idea or story inspires you, it might not resonate with your audience. Look for ideas, facts, and stories that are relevant to your audience.

Something else to do is to brainstorm what challenges your audience faces. Then you can tailor your message to provide solutions to those challenges. For example, if you are speaking to an audience of club officers from community Toastmasters clubs your message would be different than if you are speaking to an audience of club officers from corporate Toastmasters clubs. Community clubs need strategies to market their club to the local community, whereas corporate clubs have a different audience:  the employees or members of their company or organization. A speech about recruiting members from the local community would not help a corporate club as that is not their target audience.

Research Your Audience

Something I learned from a friend is to do some research when you are preparing a speech for a particular audience. For example, if you are a professional speaker and you have been hired to speak at a company or at a conference, learn who the audience is and arrange to communicate with some of the attendees in advance to learn what their goals and needs are. Then you can adapt your speech to address those needs.

For example, my Project Managers United Toastmasters club (PMUT for short) has a PM Forum speaker at most of our meetings. A PM Forum speech is a 45-minute presentation on a topic that is of interest to project managers.

When I invited my friend Marc to be a PM Forum speaker for my PMUT club, he asked if he could interview some of the members of my club so he could understand how best to meet the needs of my club with his PM Forum speech. Marc didn’t assume he could just do a speech what would provide value for my club without doing a bit of work first. He understands the importance of learning who your audience is and adapting his message to be specific to that audience.

Conclusion

A great communicator focuses on addressing the needs of the audience first, not on what he or she wants to say. This is why Lauren’s message is so powerful. Remember not to focus on what you want to say. Instead, identify who your audience is and what they need from you. This will help you to provide a message that is tailored to your audience and that will provide them with real value.