"But I'm an ERISA lawyer...how can I possibly pick a topic that's interesting for a panel?" 👀



It's that time of year.

 Lawyers and other professionals...are choosing topics for client CLEs or panels - it can feel daunting.


You don't want to be boring...and you'd like to get some business from it.

 Honestly it IS hard to give value and 'stay out of the weeds' as a lawyer.



Ask yourself these 3 questions to pick a topic that will resonate with your clients:



𝗧𝗶𝗽 #1: 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲



You'll want to be able to start your presentation by telling the audience why they should care about this topic.

Specifically - what's the actual impact on them?

 IF THERE IS NO IMPACT or it's weak - choose another topic



𝗧𝗶𝗽 #2: 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿



What one sentence do you want a member of your audience to say was your takeaway - two weeks later?

You need to boil down your message to be that clear.



Clients hire lawyers who are good at making complex ideas simple.



𝗧𝗶𝗽 #3: 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻



What do you want your audience TO DO as a result of your presentation?

That's your WHY. It should be specific, doable. It should matter to you.



For lawyers: "I want compliance counsel at big tech companies to hire me to do a compliance audit regarding the new xx regulation."



What do you find makes it easier to find a HOT topic to speak on?



I'd appreciate it if you would let me know which lawyer communications topics you'd like to see me write about in the comments or DM me.