What makes a good persuasive speech topic?
Are you looking for a way to write and deliver the perfect persuasive speech topic but have no idea where to get started?
When it comes to finding an interesting topic, the research process is significantly important and can be the difference between a good speech and an outstanding speech.
So what are the best persuasive speech topics, where can you find them and what else should you consider when looking to write or present a successful persuasive speech?
The main purpose of a persuasive speech is to engage your target audience on a subject matter that resonates with them and one that can be presented with a strong argument for or against a particular topic.
How can I be sure to grab the audience’s attention?
One of the main points to consider in any persuasive essay or speech is the engagement of your audience members.
It doesn’t matter if you have a great topic, if you have a hard time getting a response from your audience then you just as well have not bothered.
Professional writers and persuasive speakers understand that you have to deliver the right persuasive speech topic to the right audience.
The way to do this is to find a subject matter that you feel passionate about. Speaking from the heart can inspire an emotional connection between you and your audience, especially if they feel the same way about the topic in question.
This brings me onto my second point. Make sure that the topic you pick is the right topic for your audience.
Emotional appeals are fantastic but if they don’t carry the interest of the audience then they aren’t going to have the desired effect.
Delivering a well rehearsed, informative speech about the dangers of violent video games to hardened gang members probably isn’t going to resonate as much as if you had delivered the same speech to concerned parents of teenagers.
Passion and relevance are arguably the most important factors in determining the perfect topic for your intended audience.
Lastly, it’s also important that your speech incorporates something new and intriguing that your audience won’t have heard before.
Not all persuasive speeches are on unique topics but a great speech will carry an insightful point of view from the writer. You want to make sure that all of your hard work is recognised and adding a personal touch is a good way of using a small change that adds big value.
How to write an excellent persuasive speech
Once you have chosen the best topic out of our full list of 201 great persuasive speech ideas (coming up) the next step will be to start the writing process.
This might seem a daunting task but by following 5 simple steps in the persuasive speech outline example below, you should put yourself in the best possible position to write an effective persuasive speech.
- Work out your stance. What opinion or belief are you trying to put across? What is your passionate point of view? Are you asking them to take a specific action after listening to your speech? Just like college students in public education, make sure your stance is clear before you start writing.
- Organize your persuasive argument. Create an outline of the best evidence you’ve collected to support your thesis statement. Make sure your ideas flow!
- Add facts and examples. The best evidence is always backed up by facts and anecdotal examples can bring this to life. Using famous, relatable and well known examples are more likely to strike a chord with your audience.
- Acknowledge counterarguments. By acknowledging different perspectives not only will you come across as a subject matter expert but you’ll also help to negate any possible backlash, especially if you’re speaking on a controversial topic.
- First and last! Human beings are most impacted by first and last impressions so make sure yours counts. Open strongly with a bold statement and at the end restate your point of you, re-enforce that emotional connection and deliver your decisive call to action.
Now you’ve had an example of a persuasive speech template, let’s take a look at an extensive list of interesting persuasive speech topics.
201 Persuasive Speech Topics
20 Speech Topics for College Students
- College textbooks should be replaced by iPads.
- Mobile phones should be switched off during a lecture.
- College students shouldn’t skip classes.
- Students should only study something that they are passionate about.
- Gap years must be encouraged.
- Notes should always be taken in class.
- There should be an alternative to student loans.
- Students should mix classes with other colleges
- It’s smart to get the harder classes out of the way first.
- College should run all year around like a job
- Are charter schools hurting or helping low-income communities?
- Is homeschooling beneficial or harmful to children?
- Should mental health and wellness classes be added to school curriculum?
- Should sex education be taught in schools?
- What are the benefits of teaching art and music classes in high school?
- Should independent learning be offered as a larger option in high school?
- What are the benefits of making preschool free to all families?
- All students should see the value of being taught sports from a young age.
- Life skills and money management should be taught about mathematics
- The education system needs to be made fairer.
15 Media Related Speech Topics
- Beauty standards should be allowed to be whatever the media choose
- Is the media responsible for the moral degradation of teens?
- Social media is a risky way to spread news
- Disney should not be making Star Wars movies.
- Everyone should study digital marketing
- Should certain T.V. shows have age restrictions?
- Why the media is to blame for eating disorders.
- Influencers have a moral responsibility for their fans.
- Why the Russian should have beaten Rocky.
- Technology should be banned for children under 10
- Every child should spend time without a mobile phone
- TV networks should be transparent with their agenda
- The media should only show good news
- TV licenses should be banned
- Violence on television should be regulated.
10 Political Speech Topics
- Should it be legal for politicians to accept campaign contributions from corporate lobbyists?
- Everyone should vote.
- Ban abusive language in elections.
- Students should know who Abraham Lincoln is.
- There should be no limits on how long a President governs for
- Give Kurdistan back to the Kurds.
- China is the next drama in world politics.
- America should be more tolerant of other nations
- The United States should be in charge of the United Nations
- Globalization pays off.
10 Economy Related Speech Ideas
- Should Billionaires be capped?
- Is the boom of e-commerce harmful or beneficial to small communities?
- Should everyone receive paid maternity and paternity leave?
- Is capitalism a harmful or beneficial economic system?
- Each country should manufacture its own goods for residents.
- Would three-day weekends increase work productivity?
- Should working from home be the new standard?
- Why should we pay more to support small businesses and services instead of going to large companies and retailers?
- The UK should have mandatory military service for 16 year olds
- Should there be a mandatory retirement age?
15 Healthy lifestyle speech topics
- Universal healthcare be freely given to everyone?
- Sugary foods should be banned from schools.
- Should tobacco products be completely banned in EU countries?
- Is a plant-based diet better than a meat-based diet?
- Should addiction counseling and treatment be covered by health insurance?
- Why the world needs to wake up to the obesity crisis
- Should we ban all genetically modified foods?
- What would be the benefits of making all birth control methods (e.g. condoms, the pill) free of charge?
- Doctors should be taught to understand and prescribe natural medicines.
- Meat should not be fed to children.
- Alternative uses of oral contraceptives
- Restaurant responsibility with peanut, gluten, and other allergies
- Everyday products that could be dangerous: deodorant, toothpaste, etc.
- Teaching yoga and meditation in public schools
- Massages as necessities rather than luxuries
15 Science based speech topics
- Should animal testing be banned?
- Should organ donation be optional or mandated for all?
- Is artificial intelligence a threat?
- Should parents be allowed to scientifically alter their children’s genes?
- What is the best option for renewable energy?
- Should military forces be allowed to use drones in warfare?
- Should self-driving cars be legal?
- Do the benefits of the internet outweigh the loss of privacy?
- Should it be illegal for companies to sell their consumers’ information?
- Should the government more strictly regulate the Internet?
- How much screen time is too much?
- Should everyone receive free internet?
- Should we build a colony on the moon?
- Jeff Bezos should be named president of Mars
- Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are pioneers for the world of science
20 Ethical speech topics
- Wearing fur or using fur for any profit
- Mistreatment of farm animals: what is the solution?
- How do we address the increasing problem of homelessness?
- Tithing – how much should each person give?
- Euthanasia for terminally ill individuals
- Pet shops and breeders versus shelters
- Returning or rehoming pets: is it right?
- Preselecting the gender and other aspects of an unborn baby
- Abortion: pro-choice or pro-life?
- Product testing on animals in labs
- Stem cell research
- Protecting children from inappropriate websites
- Should children be allowed into an R-rated movie even with a guardian?
- Should violent movies and video games be banned?
- Do zoos and circuses abuse animals?
- Arranged marriage: a cultural tradition or outdated practice?
- Raising children without being married
- How to impart ethical behavior to the next generation
- Do parents deceive children by telling tales of Santa Claus?
- Should pharmaceutical patents be removed so affordable generics can be made?
15 Environmental speech topics
- Hybrid and electric cars on the road
- Oil spills and world wildlife
- Saving rainforests and their indigenous species
- Palm oil: should it be outlawed?
- Make all bills and business correspondence paperless.
- Dangers of drilling for oil
- Replacing plastic with glass and cardboard
- Trophy hunting: should the penalties be harsher?
- Banning disposable diapers in favor of cloth diapers
- Benefits of public transportation, biking, walking, or carpooling
- Conserving water in our everyday lives
- Wildfires on the rise in California
- Greenhouse gas emissions in Asia must be reduced
- Global climate change and increased severity of storms
- Cloning humans will help increase life expectancy
30 Random speech topics
- Mind-body fitness versus traditional Western sports
- Best genre and time period of music
- Healthiest world cuisine
- Uneven distribution of wealth: the top 1% versus everyone else
- Cost of living versus average salaries
- What to do about cults, gangs, and similar groups
- How to get accepted into an Ivy League school
- Religion versus spiritualism
- Survival skills should be taught in school.
- Benefits of forest schools for children
- The best U.S. President in history
- The most influential leader or figure in history
- Most effective ways to manage stress
- Obscure movies that people should watch
- Multitasking: fact or fiction?
- Buying a house versus renting an apartment
- Most exciting travel destination
- How to ace any test
- Overcoming social anxiety
- How our phones are hurting our eyes
- Are multi-level marketing companies really pyramid schemes?
- Protests: are they effective?
- Is a wedding reception worth the price tag?
- Should catfishing be a criminal offense?
- Mandatory study abroad semester in college
- Student loan borrowing: should it ever be forgiven?
- Responsible credit card strategies
- Living with parents to save money
- Can someone find true love on The Bachelor?
- Telemarketers and Harassment
20 Historical speech topics
- Did the U.S. Army provide their soldiers drugs during the Vietnam war?
- African- American achievements should be celebrated.
- Aboriginal and Native American history should be widely promoted.
- Winston Churchill was the reason the Allies won the war
- Historical disputes between countries are irrelevant.
- Why Lincoln was the best President.
- Politics is more important than history.
- Revisionist history is dangerous.
- The moon landing was a lie.
- The World Wars were a waste of life.
- Countries should be punished for their past mistakes.
- Martin Luther King was less important than Malcolm X
- Asia should be governed as one continent.
- Texas should be independent.
- More money should be given to fund historical dig sites.
- Ancestral DNA is important in understanding who we are and how we behave.
- The U.S. civil war holds little importance in the modern day
- The Italian mafia holds the keys for how to control groups of people
- We are too nostalgic over medieval battles
- The church is the single most important historical entity
11 controversial speech topics
- All drugs should be legalized
- Princess Diana was killed.
- Energy drinks are dangerous.
- School day needs to involve less sitting and more exercise.
- No credit cards for under 25.
- Healthy relationships require conflicts.
- Insurance should be optional
- Drink driving laws should be standardised
- Driverless cars will be safer than drivers
- Businesses should hire more apprentices.
- The death penalty should be mandatory for paedophiles
20 Sporting Speech Topics
- Muhammad Ali is the most significant sporting idol ever
- Lebron james is a better athlete than Michael Jordan
- Olympians of 100 years ago could not compete with those today
- Athletes from ancient times were more highly skilled than those today
- Advances in nutrition means than modern day boxers are better than 20 years ago
- Pele was better than Lionel Messi
- Money is more important to sportsman than prestige
- Formula 1 drivers rely more on the car than they do on skills
- Rugby players are more durable than American Footballers
- Boxing has lost sportsman to the NFL and NBA
- Equestrian should not be an olympic sport
- The world cup should be played every year
- Country is more important than club
- Chess should be considered a sport
- Athletes should be taught money management
- There should be an olympics for ordinary people
- Fishing is an elite sport
- There should be more awareness of mental health for athletes
- Sport should be more inclusive
- Extreme sports should be more mainstream
55 Best Growth Mindset Books for Children and Adults
Which Growth Mindset Book will you buy first? Ever considered getting yourself a growth mindset coach to broaden your horizons, encourage a positive attitude and
How to manifest love using the law of attraction 2021
Finding the love of your life using the power of attraction Have you had your fill of bad dates and now you want to find
39 thoughtful gift ideas for people with anxiety (2021)
Amazing Gifts for people with anxiety Gift ideas for people with anxiety aren’t easy to find and sometimes you can feel your own stress levels
