You’ve probably heard of writer’s block. As many public speakers know, we often suffer from a similar problem. Oftentimes, whether you’re new to the subject, you’ll find yourself sitting at your computer or pen and paper staring off into space, not sure what you’re going to say. It can be quite frustrating!

Public speakers want to offer unique content in their presentations. Often this involves giving a talk on a familiar topic in a fresh and interesting way. What do you do when faced with “speaker’s block”? Maybe you could chime in in the comments section below. For now, let us offer you a few suggestions.

Stop thinking about your topic and start thinking about your audience.

This may sound strange, but if you’re not careful, you can easily focus more on the content than on those you’ll be delivering that content to. Step away from your notes and think about how this topic could help your audience. For example, if you’re talking about family relationships, instead of trying to find unique content first, think about the relationships of those who will be listening. put yourself in his place How they have struggled lately. How would their life be better if they could understand and apply its message?

Step away from your notes and practice delivering your speech extemporaneously.

Imagination is a wonderful thing. When released, it will prosper. Like a wild animal, it will suffocate in captivity. Put down your notes and go out and deliver your message to an imaginary audience. You might be surprised at how the creative juices start to flow. Chances are, you’ll be back to your notes soon, furiously writing what you came up with in this exercise.

Think about your message.

The message is not the delivery. The message is the grain of truth… the central idea you came to deliver. Unfortunately, you can’t just stand up and say that truth in one sentence and then sit down. (Though sometimes that would be preferable!) Instead, you should include stories, humor, and lots of other words in an effort to convey a message that would likely only take a couple of sentences. Spend time thinking about that message, idea, or truth. Think about how important it is. Think about what it means to you. Sometimes this is enough to get things working again.

Go do something else for a while.

This may not be possible if you put off your preparation until the last minute or if you were not given much advance notice. However, in most cases you can afford to take a break. Go for a walk. Bake something. Take a nap. Do anything other than think about your talk. Sometimes this is the break you need.

Delivering unique content consistently is hard. It requires work, time and experience. The best public speakers struggle to stay cool. What is your experience?