How do I come up with a topic?

I thank you all for the many comments I received private

on yesterday's post

A Day in the Life of a Genealogy Speaker

I can't recall a time when so many people 

reached out to me to thank me, and to ask questions.

One of the questions I had several people ask me was,

"How do you come up with all of these topics?"

That is actually a very good questions.

I can't speak for all genealogy speakers, 

but let me tell you how I do it.

First and foremost,

they come from researching my own family.

I have spent years taking up the research where my parents left off.

And, just when I think I have seen everything there is to see,

I find something new!

I have run across:

counterfeiters

moonshiners

illegitemacies

patriots

tories

people who should have received awards

people who should have kept quiet

veterans

grass widows

"idiots" on the 1880 DDD schedule

families that were nearly wiped out in 1918

babies that were previously unknown

courthouse burnings by my own family

cemetery destruction

massacres

school records

migration trails...

Oh, I could go on and on.

And, so could you.

But, if any of you have heard me speak,

or listened to webinars I have given,

you will notice that many of the above topics 

have been the subjects of my presentations.

I figure if they have happened in my family,

perhaps they have happened in someone else's, too!

So, I take what I learn...

and, I teach it to others.

There is another way I come up with topics.

I listen.

I listen very carefully during conversations at

conferences,

at luncheons,

to those passing me in the hall,

while waiting in line,

to those that may ask a question during a presentation,

when I see heads nodding at the answer to that question

(whether in one of my classes or someone else's).

All it takes is for someone to say they are having a problem in a certain area,

and my ears perk up.

Because if they're at a standstill,

then perhaps others are at a standstill, too.

So, I begin to research everything I can get my hands on

to learn about it.

WThese are two ways that I come up with topics.

And, when I say to my friends that I am always in research mode, 

it means

I am always in research mode.

Always.

There are many people who would love to eventually become 

a genealogy speaker,

or perhaps they are just starting out.

With all my heart, I say

welcome!

There is room for all.

Each one brings their expertise to the table,

and can perhaps help someone that has been struggling for a long time.

Here is how I have done it.

1.  Start out by letting local societies know that you have a topic that they may be interested.

They usually plan their programs a year in advance, 

but let them know that if something falls through,

you would like to be considered.

2.  When word gets around, say yes!

Say yes to societies, public libraries, schools, Scout groups, luncheon groups, etc.

These will all give you experience,

and your comfort will grow at standing in front of any crowd.

3.  Keep track of every single presentation you have given!

All of these presentations will show how serious you are at becoming a speaker.

Here is an example from my own portfolio:

Lecture Experience:

Ambassador – RootsTech 2016

Ancestry Academy - 2016

BYU Family History Conference - 2008, 2011, 2014, 2015

Crawford County, Ohio Genealogical Society/Bucyrus Public Library – 1996-2016

Darke Co., OH – Full-day Seminar- 2012-2015

Dayton, Ohio Family History Jamboree – 1996-2015

Fairfax, VA Annual Spring Conference – 2014

Galion, Ohio Public Library – 2008, 2009-2012, 2014

ICAPGen Conference, BYU, Provo, UT – 2007

Indianapolis, OH – Full-day Seminar – 2013, 2014

Knox County Career Center - Adult Education, 1997 – 1999

Legacy Family Tree Webinars - 2015-16

Muncie, IN Genealogy Symposium – 2012-2015

National Genealogical Society- 2016

OGS Conference – 1998-2016                                                                           

OGS Summer Workshop - 1999 - 2012
Ohio State University - Adult Education, 1994 – 1997

RootsTech – 2015-2016

Shelby Co., OH – Full-day Seminar – 2014

Southern California Genealogy Jamboree – 2015-2016

Webinar, Illinois Genealogical Society – 2012-2016

Webinar, Southern California Genealogical Society – 2013, 2014

Webinar, Wisconsin Genealogical Society – 2014

I don't show this to scare you off.

It's just example of how I have a visible list for organizers to looks at.

I also keep a spreadsheet that shows what I spoke about

at each of the above venues.

4.  Not only do I have a teaching list like the one you see above,

I have a learning list, too.

Each time I listen to a webinar,

go to a conference,

or a society meeting,

I keep a running track of what I have done to further my own education.

I don't want to get stale.

Nor do I want to get into a rut.

So, this is just a small sampling of what I do.

And, I have way too much fun doing it!!

Peggy speaking to a crowd in Sidney, Ohio.

It doesn't matter if the size is great or small,

they still get the same quality of program.

Getting ready to teach a Beginner's Class at the Ohio Genealogical Society Conference.

Or was it a Land Platting Class?

Sisters Cindy and Jodi came up right before one of my RootsTech classes last year.

I grew up with these remarkable women!

All of these experiences led me to be invited to be an instructor for

Ancestry Academy.

I remember starting out with storytelling at my children's school

They would bring me in when they were learning about Ohio history.

The neat thing is that the stories I told about early Ohio history and the 

Northwest Territory

always involved stories about my own family.

My kids became heroes!

Their friends loved it!!!

A Day in the Life of a Genealogy Speaker

RootsTech 2016 is set to begin in just a few days!

It has been so fun to scroll through my Facebook and Twitter feed and be part of the excitement.

People are coming from all over the world.

This year, I am attending alone.

Mr. Kerry and I were fortunate last year that we had such good weather to travel across the country.

But, there's no guarantee that we'll have good traveling weather two years in a row

to travel across this great country.

Genealogy conferences usually begin with a "Call for papers", 

in which an organization is announcing that they are hosting a conference

and looking for speakers.

There have been a few times where I submitted nothing to the "call for papers",

but was personally asked to develop classes for the event.

Which, I gladly did.

I normally have 30-35 class proposals that are 'at the ready'.

That means that if asked to present, these are ready to go.

The syllabus materials are written.

The slides are done.

Just give me the time you want me to be there.

Speakeres have to make sure that my topics are not "canned".

I look to the audience I will be addressing, understanding what level most of them are in their research, and tweak what may be needed.

I can tell a canned lecture, no matter the venue.

In a few weeks, you find out if you're accepted, and preparations for travel begin.

These are the good parts.

Let me tell you some of the bad parts.

Several years ago, I was asked to present an all-day series of classes for a society.

They had their own projector, so I wouldn't need to bring mine.

I loaded up my laptop, my flash drive, and drove to across the state to get things ready.

It meant getting up and out of the house before 6:00 am.

Mr. Kerry was with me.

He is my rock.

When we arrived, I was taken to a room where a projector was waiting for me.

My laptop and the projector were not on speaking terms.

There was no expert I could turn to.

I was the expert.

No amount of tweaking, begging, cajoling, threatening, etc. seemed to work.

A dear woman volunteered her laptop to see if it would communicate with the projector.

It did!

  Both pieces of technology seemed happy!

I pulled out my flash drive that contained a back up of my presentations.

It wouldn't fit into her USB drive.

The ends were crimped.

I have no idea how in the world it happened, but the ends were bent in an awkward position, 

and they couldn't be inserted into her laptop.

I was beginning to sweat bullets.

People have paid good money, and given up part of their day to hear me!

I asked if the room had access to wifi, and it did!!!!

I signed into my Dropbox account from her computer,

pulled up my presentation, and within a few moments we were good go.

There were a few important things I learned from this:

1.  It is probably a good idea to bring your own projector, if possible.

We were driving, so it worked out fine.

2.  It might also be a good idea to have two flash drives with you.

I have no idea what happened between my house and the venue, 

but somewhere along the way, those ends became crimped.

And, all of the information was lost that was on that drive.

3.  Thank goodness for the wifi connection that was strong enough to allow access to files I had backed up in Dropbox.

I honestly don't know what I would have done without having that option.

4.  It's important that your audience doesn't get a sense of how frazzled you are.

Believe me, I was frazzled.

But, not a person in the room knew it.

They knew something may have had a kink in it, but they didn't have to worry.

And, I didn't need 500 voices telling me how to solve the problem.

It got solved.

Now, on the eve of leaving for RootsTech 2016, why would I even be writing about this?

I have things to do!

Because right now, there are literally hundreds of speakers

 that are going over and over their presentations.

They are tweaking slides.

They are taking some out and putting others in.

Some that have been asked to give permission for their presentations to be streamed.

For them, that means changing their entire presentation to a different ratio,

for the screens are much larger for the streaming.

This would be me.

I spent all day Thursday re-sizing every one of my slides.

They will be re-size again when I present in Fort Lauderdale in May for the

National Genealogical Society.

Miss Peggy, doing what she loves!

If you are fortunate enough to be at RootsTech next week,

be sure to take the time and let a speaker know how much you enjoyed their presentation.

I can tell you right now,

a lot of work went into it.

Hours and hours of work went into it.

And, it's never really done, for that speaker will go over it again

before the next presentation is given.

But, it's all worth it when you receive an email that says:

" I want to thank you so much for teaching 

the class on women at the Dayton Jamboree. It really was the best class I took all day.  Indeed, I was having such a good time in that class, I regretted having to leave and go on to the next one!"

That, my friends, is called payday.

Enjoy RootsTech this week, whether in person or at home.

And, if you see me, come and say hello!

#RootsTech16