A Whirlwind of Ideas

I lived in Oklahoma for a period of time.  While there, I experienced a number of tornadoes and tornado warnings.  One of my favorite things to do was to go outside right before the sirens went off and watch the lightning and clouds swirl around, much like a strobe light. When I hear the term "brainstorm" I think of a tornado.  As a tornado travels along its path it will pick up whatever it encounters and toss it around and tumble it about.  Eventually the items it picks up will be either thrown about in some inconvenient array, or placed down unharmed. 

Brainstorming is probably one of my favorite aspects of preparing a speech.  Similar to a tornado, it involves picking up random pieces of information, some of which will be used in the speech, some tossed out of the way, and others put on a shelf for use at a later date.  Brainstorming has no limits to what ideas are potential content.  It gives allowance for any interactions that take place in daily life to become part of the presentation.  I always find it interesting to see what content I find that I am able to utilize in a speech that I probably wouldn't  have even considered if it weren't for the brainstorming process.  It is because of this very important piece of the public-speaking planning, that aspects of one's life are able to take their place in the presentation.