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100 Speech Topics For College Students

public speech topics for college students

College won’t be complete without having to deliver a speech in front of the class. From social issues to current events, there are many topics to choose from when it comes to speech topics for college students. With the right topic, you can create an engaging and memorable speech.

Here are some speech topics for college students that can help you get started with your next presentation:

  • The Importance of Mental Health and Self-Care on College Campuses
  • How to Make the Most of Your College Experience
  • Finding Your Passions and Pursuing Your Dreams in College
  • The Benefits of Joining a Student Organization
  • Networking for Success: Making Connections in College
  • Overcoming the Fear of Failure in College
  • Balancing Academics, Social Life, and Extracurricular Activities
  • Time Management Strategies for College Students
  • Exploring Options for Off-Campus Living
  • Learning How to Budget and Manage Finances in College
  • Self-Care Tips for College Students
  • The Benefits of Studying Abroad
  • Developing Healthy Study Habits
  • Navigating the College Social Scene
  • Preparing for Life after College
  • Impact of Social Media on Communication and Relationships
  • Role of Technology in Education and Its Potential to Revolutionize the Way We Learn
  • Importance of Volunteering and Community Service for Personal and Professional Development
  • Impact of Globalization on Cultural Identity
  • Importance of Diversity and Inclusion on College Campuses
  • Challenges and Rewards of Studying Abroad
  • The Role of Activism in Creating Social Change
  • The Impact of Climate Change and What Individuals Can Do to Reduce Their Carbon Footprint
  • The Importance of Financial Literacy and Managing Money in College and Beyond
  • Climate Change and Its Consequences
  • The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in the College Setting
  • The Challenges and Benefits of Studying Abroad
  • Importance of a College Education
  • The Benefits of Building a Professional Network
  • The Impact of Social Media on College Life
  • How to Balance Education and Social Life on Campus
  • Finding the Right Career Path for You
  • The Benefits of Internships and Apprenticeships
  • Exploring Your Personal Values and Beliefs
  • Mindfulness and Mental Health
  • The Pros and Cons of Student Loans
  • The Impact of Student Debt on Future Generations
  • Dealing With Stress and Anxiety in College
  • Exploring Different Study Strategies and Techniques
  • Exploring Different Career Paths After College
  • The Benefits of Time Management and Organization
  • Navigating the Job Market After Graduation
  • The Benefits of Extracurricular Activities
  • Preparing for Graduate School and Beyond
  • Exploring Different Campus Resources
  • The Impact of Globalization on Education
  • Should College Be Free? Pros and Cons
  • Different Types of Leadership Styles
  • The Benefits of Networking and Mentoring
  • The Challenges of Being a Student Leader
  • Being A Top Student: Tips and Strategies
  • How to Balance Your Social Life With Your Studies
  • The Value of Quality Family Time
  • The Benefits of Having a Supportive Family
  • The Impact of Working Parents on Their Children’s Education
  • Role of Family in Encouraging Academic Achievement
  • How to Cope with Family Pressure During College Years
  • Benefits of Having a Mentor in Your Family
  • Role of Technology in Family Communication
  • Impact of Financial Stress on Family Relationships
  • Changing Dynamics of Family Roles in Society
  • The Benefits of Having a Positive Relationship With Your Siblings
  • The Challenges of Being a First-Generation College Student
  • How to Minimize College Debt
  • The Impact of College Debt on Your Future
  • Managing College Debt: Strategies for Success
  • Student Loans: How to Make the Best Use of Them
  • Is College Debt Worth It?
  • Understanding the Options for Repaying College Debt
  • Overcoming Depression and Low Self-Esteem
  • The Role of Positive Thinking in Mental Health
  • The Benefits of Therapy for Students
  • How to Recognize the Signs of Mental Illness
  • The Role of a Support System for Mental Health
  • The Impact of Stress on Mental Health
  • How to Balance Academics with Social Life in College
  • The Pros and Cons of Living on Campus
  • How to Select a Major that is Right for You
  • Understanding College-Level Expectations and Study Habits
  • Living with Roommates: Tips for Peaceful Coexistence
  • The Transition from High School to College
  • How to Manage Time as a Busy College Student
  • Navigating the College Financial Aid System
  • How to Stay Safe on Campus
  • Getting Involved in Campus Organizations
  • The Advantages of Taking Online Courses
  • Having Fun and Staying Healthy in College
  • Making Friends and Developing Social Networks
  • Adjusting to Life After Graduating from College
  • Coping with Loneliness and Homesickness
  • Dealing with Student Burnout
  • Managing Time and Prioritizing Tasks
  • Building Resilience and Handling Rejection
  • Overcoming Procrastination
  • Creating a Support System
  • Having Difficult Conversations
  • Making Healthy Choices
  • Developing Self-Confidence
  • Learning to Balance Work and Play
  • Taking Responsibility for Your Education

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, college students have a wide variety of speech topics to choose from. Whether it’s a persuasive speech about a current event, an informative speech about a historical figure, or a humorous speech about an interesting topic, there is something for every student’s tastes. These speech topics give college students the opportunity to explore their interests, challenge their beliefs, and develop their communication skills.

Related Posts:

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150 Good Persuasive Speech Topics for Students in 2024

April 1, 2024

good persuasive speech topics

Do you know that moment in your favorite film, when the soundtrack begins to swell and the main character stands up and delivers a speech so rousing, so impassioned, it has the entire room either weeping or cheering by the time it concludes? What distinguishes the effectiveness of such a speech is not only the protagonist’s stellar delivery but also the compelling nature of the subject matter at hand. Choosing an effective persuasive speech topic is essential for guaranteeing that your future speech or essay is as moving as these . If this sounds like a tall order, have no fear. Below you’ll find a list of some of the best and most interesting persuasive speech topics for high school students to tackle, from the playful (“Pets for President”) to the serious (“Should We Stop AI from Replacing Human Workers?”).

And if you’re craving more inspiration, feel free to check out this list of Great Debate Topics , which can be used to generate further ideas.

What is a Good Persuasive Speech?

Before we get to the list, we must address the question on everyone’s minds: what is a persuasive speech, and what the heck makes for a good persuasive speech topic? A persuasive speech is a speech that aims to convince its listeners of a particular point of view . At the heart of each persuasive speech is a central conflict . Note: The persuasive speech stands in contrast to a simple informative speech, which is intended purely to convey information. (I.e., an informative speech topic might read: “The History of Making One’s Bed,” while a persuasive speech topic would be: “Why Making One’s Bed is a Waste of Time”—understand?)

And lest you think that persuasive speeches are simply assigned by your teachers as a particularly cruel form of torture, remember that practicing your oratory skills will benefit you in all areas of life—from job interviews, to business negotiations, to your future college career in public policy or international relations . Knowing how to use your voice to enact meaningful change is a valuable skill that can empower you to make a difference in the world.

Components of a Great Persuasive Speech Topic

The ideal persuasive speech topic will inspire the audience to action via both logical arguments and emotional appeals. As such, we can summarize the question “what makes a good persuasive speech topic?” by saying that the topic must possess the following qualities:

  • Timeliness and Relevance . Great persuasive speech topics grapple with a contemporary issue that is meaningful to the listener at hand. The topic might be a current news item, or it might be a long-standing social issue. In either case, the topic should be one with real-world implications.
  • Complexity . A fruitful persuasive speech topic will have many facets. Topics that are controversial, with some gray area, lend themselves to a high degree of critical thinking. They also offer the speaker an opportunity to consider and refute all counterarguments before making a compelling case for his or her own position.
  • Evidence . You want to be able to back up your argument with clear evidence from reputable sources (i.e., not your best friend or dog). The more evidence and data you can gather, the more sound your position will be. In addition, your audience will be more inclined to trust you.
  • Personal Connection. Do you feel passionately about the topic you’ve chosen? If not, it may be time to go back to the drawing board. This does not mean you have to support the side you choose; sometimes, arguing for the opposing side of what you personally believe can be an effective exercise in building empathy and perspective. Either way, though, the key is to select a topic that you care deeply about. Your passion will be infectious to the audience.

150 Good Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Should tech companies regulate the development of AI systems and automation to protect humans’ jobs?
  • Should we limit screen time for children?
  • Is it ethical for AI models like Dall-E to train themselves on artists’ work without the artists’ permission?
  • Should the government regulate the use of personal drones?
  • Is mass surveillance ethical? Does its threat to civil liberties outweigh its benefits?
  • Are virtual reality experiences a valuable educational tool?
  • Do the positive effects of powerful AI systems outweigh the risks?
  • Do voice assistants like Siri and Alexa invade individuals’ privacy?
  • Are cell phone bans in the classroom effective for improving student learning?
  • Does the use of facial recognition technology in public violate individuals’ privacy?
  • Should students be allowed to use ChatGPT and other AI tools for writing assignments?
  • Should AI-generated art be allowed in art shows or contests?
  • Who holds responsibility for accidents caused by self-driving cars: the driver or the car company?

Business and Economy

  • Should we do away with the minimum wage? Why or why not?
  • Is it ethical for companies to use unpaid internships as a source of labor?
  • Does the gig economy benefit or harm workers?
  • Is capitalism the best economic system?
  • Is it ethical for companies to use sweatshops in developing countries?
  • Should the government provide free healthcare for all citizens?
  • Should the government regulate prices on pharmaceutical drugs?
  • Should the government enact a universal base income?
  • Should customers be required to tip a minimum amount in order to ensure food service workers make a living wage?
  • Should someone’s tattoos or personal appearance factor into the hiring process?
  • Should US workers have more vacation time?
  • Is big game hunting beneficial for local communities?
  • Should we legalize euthanasia?
  • Is it ethical to use animals for medical research?
  • Is it ethical to allow access to experimental treatments for terminally ill patients?
  • Should we allow genetic engineering in humans?
  • Is the death penalty obsolete?
  • Should we allow the cloning of humans?
  • Is it ethical to allow performance-enhancing drugs in sports?
  • Should embryonic stem cell collection be allowed?
  • Do frozen IVF embryos have rights?
  • Should state and federal investigators be allowed to use DNA from genealogy databases?
  • Should the government limit how many children a couple can have?
  • Is spanking children an acceptable form of discipline?
  • Should we allow parents to choose their children’s physical attributes through genetic engineering?
  • Should we require parents to vaccinate their children?
  • Should we require companies to give mandatory paternal and maternal leave?
  • Should children be allowed to watch violent movies and video games?
  • Should parents allow their teenagers to drink before they turn 21?
  • Should the government provide childcare?
  • Should telling your children about Santa Claus be considered lying?
  • Should one parent stay home?
  • Should parental consent be required for minors to receive birth control?
  • Is it an invasion of privacy for parents to post photographs of their children on social media?

Social Media

  • Should social media platforms ban political ads?
  • Do the benefits of social media outweigh the downsides?
  • Should the government hold social media companies responsible for hate speech on their platforms?
  • Is social media making us more or less social?
  • Do platforms like TikTok exacerbate mental health issues in teens?
  • Should the government regulate social media to protect citizens’ privacy?
  • Is it right for parents to monitor their children’s social media accounts?
  • Should social media companies enact a minimum user age restriction?
  • Should we require social media companies to protect user data?
  • Should we hold social media companies responsible for cyberbullying?
  • Should schools ban the use of social media from their networks?
  • Should we be allowed to record others without their consent?
  • Do online crime sleuths help or hurt criminal investigations?

Education – Persuasive Speech Topics 

  • Would trade schools and other forms of vocational training benefit a greater number of students than traditional institutions of higher education?
  • Should colleges use standardized testing in their admissions processes?
  • Is forcing students to say the Pledge a violation of their right to freedom of speech?
  • Should school districts offer bilingual education programs for non-native speakers?
  • Should schools do away with their physical education requirements?
  • Should schools incorporate a remote learning option into their curriculum?
  • Should we allow school libraries to ban certain books?
  • Should we remove historical figures who owned slaves from school textbooks and other educational materials?
  • Should we have mixed-level classrooms or divide students according to ability?
  • Should grading on a curve be allowed?
  • Should graphic novels be considered literature?
  • Should all students have to take financial literacy classes before graduating?
  • Should colleges pay student athletes?
  • Should we ban violent contact sports like boxing and MMA?
  • Should sports leagues require professional athletes to stand during the national anthem?
  • Should sports teams ban players like Kyrie Irving when they spread misinformation or hate speech?
  • Should high schools require their athletes to maintain a certain GPA?
  • Should the Olympic committee allow transgender athletes to compete?
  • Should high schools ban football due to its safety risks to players?
  • Should all high school students be required to play a team sport?
  • Should sports teams be mixed instead of single-gender?
  • Should there be different athletic standards for men and women?
  • In which renewable energy option would the US do best to invest?
  • Should the US prioritize space exploration over domestic initiatives?
  • Should companies with a high carbon footprint be punished?
  • Should the FDA ban GMOs?
  • Would the world be a safer place without nuclear weapons?
  • Does AI pose a greater threat to humanity than it does the potential for advancement?
  • Who holds the most responsibility for mitigating climate change: individuals or corporations?
  • Should we be allowed to resurrect extinct species?
  • Are cancer screening programs ethical?

Social Issues – Persuasive Speech Topics

  • College education: should the government make it free for all?
  • Should we provide free healthcare for undocumented immigrants?
  • Is physician-assisted suicide morally justifiable?
  • Does social media have a negative impact on democracy?
  • Does cancel culture impede free speech?
  • Does affirmative action help or hinder minority groups in the workplace?
  • Should we hold public figures and celebrities to a higher standard of morality?
  • Should abortion be an issue that is decided at the federal or state level?
  • Should the sex offender registry be available to the public?
  • Should undocumented immigrants have a path to amnesty?
  • Do syringe services programs reduce or increase harmful behaviors?
  • Should there be a statute of limitations?
  • Should those who are convicted of a crime be required to report their criminal history on job and housing applications?

Politics and Government

  • Is the Electoral College still an effective way to elect the President of the US?
  • Should we allow judges to serve on the Supreme Court indefinitely?
  • Should the US establish a national gun registry?
  • Countries like Israel and China require all citizens to serve in the military. Is this a good or bad policy?
  • Should the police force require all its officers to wear body cameras while on duty?
  • Should the US invest in the development of clean meat as a sustainable protein source?
  • Should the US adopt ranked-choice voting?
  • Should institutions that profited from slavery provide reparations?
  • Should the government return land to Native American tribes?
  • Should there be term limits for representatives and senators?
  • Should there be an age limit for presidential candidates?
  • Should women be allowed in special forces units?

Easy Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Should schools have uniforms?
  • Can video games improve problem-solving skills?
  • Are online classes as effective as in-person classes?
  • Should companies implement a four-day work week?
  • Co-ed learning versus single-sex: which is more effective?
  • Should the school day start later?
  • Is homework an effective teaching tool?
  • Are electric cars really better for the environment?
  • Should schools require all students to study a foreign language?
  • Do professional athletes get paid too much money?

Fun Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Should we allow pets to run for public office?
  • Does pineapple belong on pizza?
  • Would students benefit from schools swapping out desks with more comfortable seating arrangements (i.e., bean bag chairs and couches)?
  • Is procrastination the key to success?
  • Should Americans adopt British accents to sound more intelligent?
  • The age-old dilemma: cats or dogs?
  • Should meme creators receive royalties when their memes go viral?
  • Should there be a minimum drinking age for coffee?
  • Are people who make their beds every day more successful than those who don’t?

Interesting Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Is the movie ranking system an effective way to evaluate the appropriateness of films?
  • Should the government place a “health tax” on junk food?
  • Is it ethical to create artificial life forms that are capable of complex emotions?
  • Should parents let children choose their own names?
  • Creating clones of ourselves to serve as organ donors: ethical or not?
  • Is it ethical to engineer humans to be better and more optimized than nature intended?
  • Should we adopt a universal language to communicate with people from all countries?
  • Should there be a penalty for people who don’t vote?
  • Should calories be printed on menus?
  • Does tourism positively or negatively impact local communities?
  • When used by non-Natives, are dreamcatchers cultural appropriation?
  • Should companies require their employees to specify pronouns in their signature line?
  • Should commercial fishing be banned?
  • Are cemeteries sustainable?
  • Is it okay to change the race, culture, and/or gender of historical figures in movies or TV shows?

I’ve Chosen My Topic, Now What?

Once you’ve selected your topic, it’s time to get to work crafting your argument. Preparation for a persuasive speech or essay involves some key steps, which we’ve outlined for you below.

How to Create a Successful Persuasive Speech, Step by Step

  • Research your topic. Read widely and smartly. Stick to credible sources, such as peer-reviewed articles, published books, government reports, textbooks, and news articles. The right sources and data will be necessary to help you establish your authority. As you go, take notes on the details and nuances of your topic as well as potential counterarguments. Research the counterarguments, too.
  • Choose an angle. For example, if you chose the topic “Should we limit screen time for children?” your speech should come down firmly on one side of that debate. If your topic is frequently debated, such as abortion, capital punishment, gun control, social media, etc. try to find a niche angle or new research. For example, instead of “Should abortion be legal?” you might consider “Should you be able to order abortion pills online?” Another example: “Should the death penalty be banned?” might become “How long is it ethical for someone to stay on death row?” If you do some digging, even the most cliche topics have incredibly interesting and relatively unexplored sub-topics.
  • Create an outline. Your outline should include an introduction with a thesis statement, a body that uses evidence to elaborate and support your position while refuting any counterarguments, and a conclusion. The conclusion will both summarize the points made earlier and serve as your final chance to persuade your audience.
  • Write your speech. Use your outline to help you as well as the data you’ve collected. Remember: this is not dry writing; this writing has a point of view, and that point of view is yours . Accordingly, use anecdotes and examples to back up your argument. The essential components of this speech are logos (logic), ethos (credibility), and pathos (emotion) . The ideal speech will use all three of these functions to engage the audience.

How to Practice and Deliver a Persuasive Speech

  • Talk to yourself in the mirror, record yourself, and/or hold a practice speech for family or friends. If you’ll be using visual cues, a slide deck, or notecards, practice incorporating them seamlessly into your speech. You should practice until your speech feels very familiar, at least 5-10 times.
  • Practice body language. Are you making eye contact with your audience, or looking at the ground? Crossing your arms over your chest or walking back and forth across the room? Playing with your hair, cracking your knuckles, or picking at your clothes? Practicing what to do with your body, face, and hands will help you feel more confident on speech day.
  • Take it slow. It’s common to talk quickly while delivering a speech—most of us want to get it over with! However, your audience will be able to connect with you much more effectively if you speak at a moderate pace, breathe, and pause when appropriate.
  • Give yourself grace. How you recover from a mistake is much more important than the mistake itself. Typically, the best approach is to good-naturedly shrug off a blip and move on. 99% of the time, your audience won’t even notice!

Good Persuasive Speech Topics—Final Thoughts

The art of persuasive speaking is a tricky one, but the tips and tricks laid out here will help you craft a compelling argument that will sway even the most dubious audience to your side. Mastering this art takes both time and practice, so don’t fret if it doesn’t come to you right away. Remember to draw upon your sources, speak with authority, and have fun. Once you have the skill of persuasive speaking down, go out there and use your voice to impact change!

Looking for some hot-button topics in college admissions? You might consider checking out the following:

  • Do Colleges Look at Social Media?
  • Should I Apply Test-Optional to College?
  • Should I Waive My Right to See Letters of Recommendation?
  • Should I Use the Common App Additional Information Section?
  • High School Success

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Lauren Green

With a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Columbia University and an MFA in Fiction from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin, Lauren has been a professional writer for over a decade. She is the author of the chapbook  A Great Dark House  (Poetry Society of America, 2023) and a forthcoming novel (Viking/Penguin).

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  • Top 99 College Speech Topics

Ninety-nine emotional, controversial, or relatable speech ideas for college students

public speech topics for college students

Here's my list of 99 college speech topics! They cover all sorts of subjects, and you should be able to find something suitable for whatever type of speech you've been asked to deliver.

To make things easy on yourself, pick a topic that interests you and something you'll be able to speak about with passion!

It will make your research more interesting, and your speech more engaging for your listeners!

Are you returning to college, or just starting your freshman year?

Then check out these tips for time management for college students .

These tips for post-secondary students give you a fighting chance of thriving during your college years because you're capable of so much more than you realize if you schedule things right!

Round 1 - First 50 College Speech Topics

1st Fifty (50) College Speech Topics

  • The death penalty
  • Hazing in fraternities and sororities
  • Succeeding in college
  • What it means to be a hero
  • The dangers of drugs
  • The dangers of smoking
  • The dangers of alcohol
  • How to find a job
  • The dangers of credit cards
  • Staying Christian in college
  • Planning a party
  • How to make money on eBay
  • Tips to save money in college
  • Reality television
  • Today's music
  • Athletes as role models
  • My favorite celebrity
  • My best childhood memory
  • My worst childhood memory
  • The person who most influenced my life
  • My definition of "Family"
  • All about me!
  • My best friend
  • How to change a flat tire
  • How to get a second date
  • How to meet new people
  • My new year's resolution
  • We are living in the end times
  • The life and death of Robin Williams
  • Civil disobedience
  • Sex education
  • Teenage pregnancy
  • Gun control
  • Legalizing marijuana
  • Passing your driving tests
  • Study strategies - WaPo ex. " College Students: They don't know how to study "
  • Caffeine - Check out a sample informative speech - "The Truth About Caffeine"

Round 2 - 49 More College Speech Topics

49 More College Speech Topics

  • The importance of exercise
  • A turning point in my life
  • Gangs or gang violence
  • What type of legacy will you leave behind?
  • A moment that changed my life
  • If I won the lottery…
  • Platonic relationships
  • How to plan a vacation
  • The 'fake news' phenomenon and its dangers
  • Is Ebola a worldwide threat?
  • Energy drinks - useful or dangerous?
  • Practice makes perfect
  • A fair trial
  • What is a tornado?
  • The importance of a good night's sleep
  • Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Cell phones
  • Ideas for spring break trips
  • How to entertain on a budget
  • How to lose weight and keep it off
  • How to stop smoking
  • The media and self-esteem
  • The Kardashians
  • Immigration
  • O.J. Simpson
  • Trump and Twitter
  • Stephen King
  • The history of the internet
  • The invention of the telephone
  • The importance of a college education
  • Don't drop out of school
  • Muhammad Ali
  • Satellite vs. cable television
  • America's Got Talent
  • Should the school year be extended?
  • Teacher pay raises
  • The failure of the public school system
  • What is your credit score?
  • How to buy a car
  • What to look for in a roommate
  • How to reduce your carbon footprint
  • Is there life after death?
  • Life on other planets
  • Scientology

Knockout Your College Speech with a Great Topic

So there you have it - 99 college speech topics on which to base your presentation, or to inspire you to come up with a subject of your own!

Good luck with creating your speech - and if you'd like to share your creation, I'd love to publish it to help inspire others!

Need More Help - Here are a few free speech samples on some more topics that may be appropriate for college students:

Truth About Caffeine

Hybrid Animals

Childhood Obesity

Global Warming

If you like to publish or share, submit your speech here as an example for others to read after completion.

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151 Best Public Speaking Topics In 2021

Thu Oct 21, 2021

Do you love giving a speech in front of a large group of people or simply feel nervous about it? Sometimes, the lack of preparation and planning a good speech may cause the latter. With today's fast-paced environment, you will have to step up on stage to deliver a speech at some time in your life. Writing a compelling and insightful speech necessitates the selection of a suitable topic, extensive research. It will need the creation of individual ideas to communicate everything fact and opinion. It might be difficult to select a suitable speech topic for your speech . But don't worry, the work has been done for you! This blog provides a list of popular English speaking themes as well as some useful tips and methods. Be ready to effectively communicate your views and suggestions in front of the public. Table Of Contents:

List Of Best Speech Topics For Public Speaking

1-minute speech topics.

  • 2-Minute Speech Topics

Unique Speech Topics

Interesting speech topics, easy speech topics, speech topics on environment.

  • Speech Topics On Social Issues

Speech Topics On Greatest Leaders

Speech topics on education, speech topics on health, frequently asked questions.

Speeches are entirely about the speaker's own ideas. It should not be duplicated from another source. It ultimately boils down to what the speaker believes about any particular issue. Examine the following collection of English Speaking Ideas on various current topics and themes.

public speech topics for college students

A 2-minute speech is an excellent method to start into public speaking and is often utilised in the classroom. It's brief. It's quick.

To make things easier for yourself, choose a topic that fascinates you and about which you can speak passionately.

  • Public Smoking
  • Bar Hours of Operation
  • Confirmed Alien Sightings
  • The Rape Culture
  • Indian Reservation Casinos
  • Marijuana Legalization
  • Making Prostitution Legal
  • The Dangers of Cosmetic Surgery
  • Adoption Across Cultures
  • What Causes Men to Have Affairs?
  • What Is the Importance of Reading?
  • Homelessness in the United States
  • Reducing the Legal Drinking Age
  • General Education Courses (20)
  • Is Online Dating Dangerous or Safe?
  • How to Speak English in America
  • Getting Your Pets Spayed/Neutered
  • Are Video Games Beneficial to Your Health?

Choosing new and exciting unique speech themes for your public speaking skills is vital. It can also help with any other special event that necessitates developing your own exceptional experiences. Read through these ideas and choose just the ones that are unique to you.

  • Seniors are no longer able to adopt children.
  • TV commercials are not works of art.
  • Allow students to use social media at school.
  • Cash will be phased out.
  • Music has the ability to heal.
  • Historic structures must be protected.
  • There should be a one-car-per-family regulation.
  • Marriage should be permitted only after the age of 25.
  • Parents who home educate their children should first have to pass examinations.
  • The Bermuda Triangle is not a work of fiction.
  • Medication has no effect on hyperactive youngsters.
  • It is possible to survive without internet access.
  • Leadership cannot be learned.
  • Married couples should engage in extramarital relationships.
  • Modern art just requires ambition.

Almost always, you will be required to present one or more compelling speeches throughout your career.

Unless the topic is appropriate, no matter how good your material or delivery is, you will fail to make an impression. As a result, when making this decision, one must use extreme caution and wisdom. Here are some interesting topics to choose from, especially if it’s your first on stage.

  • Reality television is a source of exploitation.
  • Reality programmes are far from authentic.
  • Computer-based learning is the most efficient.
  • Gamification and virtual reality are the educational technologies of the future.
  • Juvenile criminality is tolerated.
  • Prostitution need to be legalised.
  • To conserve endangered species, severe fines should be imposed.
  • Pollution of the environment is a worldwide issue.
  • The developed world is to blame for global warming.
  • Is Pink appropriate for men
  • Eco-fashion is the way of the future.
  • Fashion shows one's actual self.
  • Travel introduces fresh experiences.
  • Travel broadens your horizons.
  • Rhetorical learning is less essential than personal experience.

If you don't have much time to prepare or research , it's necessary to adhere to what you know. This will greatly reduce your burden because you already know the majority of what there is to know.

Here are some simple and easy speech topics on popular topics.

  • There are less professional ads in schools.
  • Why are single-gender public schools preferable than co-ed?
  • From cradle to finish, schools should educate students on healthy nutrition.
  • Students who engage in cyberbullying should be expelled from school.
  • Before getting married, you should live together.
  • Higher education is a basic requirement for success in today's world.
  • French fries and drinks should not be served in schools.
  • Students who study online are more likely to cheat.
  • Classic literature should be reserved for college students alone.
  • Every kid at every school should be required to wear a uniform.
  • After completing a basic education, students should be put in trade schools.
  • Exam results provide little insight into a student's skills.
  • History textbooks do not always tell the entire storey.
  • It is critical for students to learn about all global faiths in school.
  • Homeschooling outperforms formal education.

For public speaking , consider environmental speech themes and essay writing on many elements of our ecology. https://www.letstute.com/s/store/courses/Spoken%20English

Do you want to write about sustainability in the environment? These suggestions will serve to enliven your imagination.

  • The dangers of oil spills in the water.
  • Recycling should be made compulsory.
  • Why is it necessary to save oil?
  • Why should we use reusable bags?
  • Why should palm oil be banned?
  • Mining should be prohibited in environmentally vulnerable regions.
  • Disposable diapers pollute the environment.
  • In deciding how a person will turn out, the environment is more significant than heredity.
  • The dangers of drilling for oil in Alaska.
  • Fishing restrictions are required to protect the ecosystem.
  • Endangered species must be protected.
  • We need to put more money into alternate fuels.
  • Endangered oceans ought to be protected.
  • We should work for a paperless society.
  • Conserve the world's resources.
  • Rain forests must be safeguarded.

You may also like:

  • The massive list of 51 English speaking tips
  • How talk in English
  • 13 Actionable tips to learn English Speaking

Spoken English for Learners Online Course

Speech Topics on Social Issues

When working on a speech that asks you to write about a societal topic, you must be neutral in your research and writing. The topic you choose should be related to and relevant to the societal issue addressed in your speech. Here are a few issues that will have a bigger influence in terms of social affairs.

  • The notion that all individuals are equal
  • The statistics on homelessness in the United States are accurate. Fashion is the biggest cause of kid misbehaviour.
  • Corporate corruption is a major factor of poor economies in many countries.
  • Never take your right to privacy for granted.
  • People are not killed by firearms. People kill one other, and the meaning of beauty pageants is muddled.
  • The prevalence of spoiled children has increased as a result of media violence.
  • The world's biggest population has lost its cultural identity.
  • There is an urgent need to put an end to the maiming and abuse of schoolgirls.
  • China's one-child policy is justifiable.
  • In current culture, correct tipping etiquette and procedures
  • Unemployment, a growing crisis
  • The Importance of the Right to an Education
  • Child trafficking as an unspoken issue

The capacity to lead is extremely powerful since it allows you to influence the future and control the behaviour of others.

Choose a theme for your speech that focuses on the notion of leadership. By delving into this subject and expanding on it in your speech, you may not only increase your personal understanding of what makes a successful leader. However, also communicate your insights with your listening crowd. Pick on the topics below to exemplify leadership.

  • Jacinda Adern
  • Mahatma Gandhi
  • Nelson Mandela
  • Winston Churchill
  • Martin Luther King Jr
  • Abraham Lincoln
  • Mother Teresa
  • Napoleon Bonaparte
  • George Washington
  • Julias Caesar
  • Franklin D Roosevelt
  • Francoise Hollande
  • Pope Francis
  • Akbar the Great

Education is a human right to which everyone is entitled. When individuals differ on what is good and wrong with education, problems occur. As a part of public speaking, education becomes an important topic to address the audience about.

The topics listed below are ones that everyone working in or with education must deal with at some time.

  • The value of education in advancing one's career
  • Outside the classroom, there is a lesson to be learned.
  • The Advantages of E-Learning
  • E-learning vs. traditional classroom instruction
  • What will the future of education look like?
  • Is it appropriate for instructors and students to connect on social media?
  • Should homework be assigned in schools?
  • How to Achieve Academic Success in College Through Online Learning
  • Which is the better measure of success: theory or practise?
  • Various modes of learning and teaching
  • Before being admitted to school, one should undergo a psychological evaluation.
  • Do you believe it should be permissible for students to drop out before reaching the age of 18?
  • Should life skills classes be required in schools?
  • Should public universities be free?
  • Should laptops take the role of textbooks?

Today, public health speeches are required so that people may concentrate on promoting and safeguarding community health. It is critical to implant the concept of well-being in broad groups of people, with a focus on wellness.

Here is a list of compelling and instructive health and wellness speech themes. These are certainly, also for the purpose of enhancing your own thinking and that of others.

  • Diet beverages are frequently not diet at all, while ordinary beverages are not quite regular.
  • Going barefoot in the summer is beneficial to your feet.
  • Take a test to determine whether you are susceptible to any hazardous diseases or viruses.
  • Why you shouldn't work too hard if you have diabetes.
  • Breakfast is the most essential meal of the day for several reasons.
  • Fast food establishments should provide healthier choices.
  • Do you believe that sex education should be taught in schools?
  • People who live in cities will die younger.
  • Excessive salt consumption is harmful to one's health.
  • Consumption of meat should be decreased.
  • People should be more concerned about their sleep.
  • Why should you become an organ donor?
  • Why should we utilise homoeopathic remedies?
  • Why are vaccinations beneficial?
  • Are e-cigarettes preferable to cigarettes?

1. What are the 4 types of public speeches?

To master public speaking, you must first distinguish between four styles of public speaking:

  • Ceremonial Speaking
  • Demonstrative Speaking
  • Informative Speaking
  • Persuasive Speaking

2. What do you say in a 2-minute public speech?

Prepare your 2–3 main points ahead of time, and keep in mind that a successful presentation would include:

  • Captivating start, such as a strong quotation or questions that pique your audience's attention.
  • Introduction, major body, and conclusion are all well-structured.
  • A strong conclusion that will stay with the viewers.

3. What is the best topic for students?

The Best Speech Topics for Students:

  • Noise Pollution
  • Women Empowerment
  • Environment Pollution
  • Health and Wellness

4. What are the 7 elements of public speaking?

The 7 aspects of public speaking are:

  • The speaker
  • The message
  • The channel
  • The listener
  • The feedback
  • The interference
  • The circumstance

5. How do you practice impromptu speaking?

You may practise spontaneous speeches in two ways:

  • You're on your own. Every day, pick a different random topic and talk out about it.
  • Speak in front of a group. The greatest method to master spontaneous speaking is to practise in front of a group and receive expert criticism.

People are generally encouraged to talk about a current issue in order to help them become better public speakers. They are also required to acquire the skill of expressing themselves in front of an audience. Choosing the appropriate topic before you begin practising your speech may make all the difference. It is a method of keeping your audience engaged and from being bored. You may also choose one about which you are enthusiastic so that you can express it properly. When considering these persuasive English speech ideas, ensure you keep it interesting, engaging, short, and clear. Do you think we left something out? Or do you have a topic that you believe is significant and would want to add? Please mention them in the comments section below!

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112 Persuasive Speech Topics That Are Actually Engaging

What’s covered:, how to pick an awesome persuasive speech topic, 112 engaging persuasive speech topics, tips for preparing your persuasive speech.

Writing a stellar persuasive speech requires a carefully crafted argument that will resonate with your audience to sway them to your side. This feat can be challenging to accomplish, but an engaging, thought-provoking speech topic is an excellent place to start.

When it comes time to select a topic for your persuasive speech, you may feel overwhelmed by all the options to choose from—or your brain may be drawing a completely blank slate. If you’re having trouble thinking of the perfect topic, don’t worry. We’re here to help!

In this post, we’re sharing how to choose the perfect persuasive speech topic and tips to prepare for your speech. Plus, you’ll find 112 persuasive speech topics that you can take directly from us or use as creative inspiration for your own ideas!

Choose Something You’re Passionate About

It’s much easier to write, research, and deliver a speech about a cause you care about. Even if it’s challenging to find a topic that completely sparks your interest, try to choose a topic that aligns with your passions.

However, keep in mind that not everyone has the same interests as you. Try to choose a general topic to grab the attention of the majority of your audience, but one that’s specific enough to keep them engaged.

For example, suppose you’re giving a persuasive speech about book censorship. In that case, it’s probably too niche to talk about why “To Kill a Mockingbird” shouldn’t be censored (even if it’s your favorite book), and it’s too broad to talk about media censorship in general.

Steer Clear of Cliches

Have you already heard a persuasive speech topic presented dozens of times? If so, it’s probably not an excellent choice for your speech—even if it’s an issue you’re incredibly passionate about.

Although polarizing topics like abortion and climate control are important to discuss, they aren’t great persuasive speech topics. Most people have already formed an opinion on these topics, which will either cause them to tune out or have a negative impression of your speech.

Instead, choose topics that are fresh, unique, and new. If your audience has never heard your idea presented before, they will be more open to your argument and engaged in your speech.

Have a Clear Side of Opposition

For a persuasive speech to be engaging, there must be a clear side of opposition. To help determine the arguability of your topic, ask yourself: “If I presented my viewpoint on this topic to a group of peers, would someone disagree with me?” If the answer is yes, then you’ve chosen a great topic!

Now that we’ve laid the groundwork for what it takes to choose a great persuasive speech topic, here are over one hundred options for you to choose from.

  • Should high school athletes get tested for steroids?
  • Should schools be required to have physical education courses?
  • Should sports grades in school depend on things like athletic ability?
  • What sport should be added to or removed from the Olympics?
  • Should college athletes be able to make money off of their merchandise?
  • Should sports teams be able to recruit young athletes without a college degree?
  • Should we consider video gamers as professional athletes?
  • Is cheerleading considered a sport?
  • Should parents allow their kids to play contact sports?
  • Should professional female athletes be paid the same as professional male athletes?
  • Should college be free at the undergraduate level?
  • Is the traditional college experience obsolete?
  • Should you choose a major based on your interests or your potential salary?
  • Should high school students have to meet a required number of service hours before graduating?
  • Should teachers earn more or less based on how their students perform on standardized tests?
  • Are private high schools more effective than public high schools?
  • Should there be a minimum number of attendance days required to graduate?
  • Are GPAs harmful or helpful?
  • Should schools be required to teach about standardized testing?
  • Should Greek Life be banned in the United States?
  • Should schools offer science classes explicitly about mental health?
  • Should students be able to bring their cell phones to school?
  • Should all public restrooms be all-gender?
  • Should undocumented immigrants have the same employment and education opportunities as citizens?
  • Should everyone be paid a living wage regardless of their employment status?
  • Should supremacist groups be able to hold public events?
  • Should guns be allowed in public places?
  • Should the national drinking age be lowered?
  • Should prisoners be allowed to vote?
  • Should the government raise or lower the retirement age?
  • Should the government be able to control the population?
  • Is the death penalty ethical?

Environment

  • Should stores charge customers for plastic bags?
  • Should breeding animals (dogs, cats, etc.) be illegal?
  • Is it okay to have exotic animals as pets?
  • Should people be fined for not recycling?
  • Should compost bins become mandatory for restaurants?
  • Should electric vehicles have their own transportation infrastructure?
  • Would heavier fining policies reduce corporations’ emissions?
  • Should hunting be encouraged or illegal?
  • Should reusable diapers replace disposable diapers?

Science & Technology

  • Is paper media more reliable than digital news sources?
  • Should automated/self-driving cars be legalized?
  • Should schools be required to provide laptops to all students?
  • Should software companies be able to have pre-downloaded programs and applications on devices?
  • Should drones be allowed in military warfare?
  • Should scientists invest more or less money into cancer research?
  • Should cloning be illegal?
  • Should societies colonize other planets?
  • Should there be legal oversight over the development of technology?

Social Media

  • Should there be an age limit on social media?
  • Should cyberbullying have the same repercussions as in-person bullying?
  • Are online relationships as valuable as in-person relationships?
  • Does “cancel culture” have a positive or negative impact on societies?
  • Are social media platforms reliable information or news sources?
  • Should social media be censored?
  • Does social media create an unrealistic standard of beauty?
  • Is regular social media usage damaging to real-life interactions?
  • Is social media distorting democracy?
  • How many branches of government should there be?
  • Who is the best/worst president of all time?
  • How long should judges serve in the U.S. Supreme Court?
  • Should a more significant portion of the U.S. budget be contributed towards education?
  • Should the government invest in rapid transcontinental transportation infrastructure?
  • Should airport screening be more or less stringent?
  • Should the electoral college be dismantled?
  • Should the U.S. have open borders?
  • Should the government spend more or less money on space exploration?
  • Should students sing Christmas carols, say the pledge of allegiance, or perform other tangentially religious activities?
  • Should nuns and priests become genderless roles?
  • Should schools and other public buildings have prayer rooms?
  • Should animal sacrifice be legal if it occurs in a religious context?
  • Should countries be allowed to impose a national religion on their citizens?
  • Should the church be separated from the state?
  • Does freedom of religion positively or negatively affect societies?

Parenting & Family

  • Is it better to have children at a younger or older age?
  • Is it better for children to go to daycare or stay home with their parents?
  • Does birth order affect personality?
  • Should parents or the school system teach their kids about sex?
  • Are family traditions important?
  • Should parents smoke or drink around young children?
  • Should “spanking” children be illegal?
  • Should parents use swear words in front of their children?
  • Should parents allow their children to play violent video games?

Entertainment

  • Should all actors be paid the same regardless of gender or ethnicity?
  • Should all award shows be based on popular vote?
  • Who should be responsible for paying taxes on prize money, the game show staff or the contestants?
  • Should movies and television shows have ethnicity and gender quotas?
  • Should newspapers and magazines move to a completely online format?
  • Should streaming services like Netflix and Hulu be free for students?
  • Is the movie rating system still effective?
  • Should celebrities have more privacy rights?

Arts & Humanities

  • Are libraries becoming obsolete?
  • Should all schools have mandatory art or music courses in their curriculum?
  • Should offensive language be censored from classic literary works?
  • Is it ethical for museums to keep indigenous artifacts?
  • Should digital designs be considered an art form? 
  • Should abstract art be considered an art form?
  • Is music therapy effective?
  • Should tattoos be regarded as “professional dress” for work?
  • Should schools place greater emphasis on the arts programs?
  • Should euthanasia be allowed in hospitals and other clinical settings?
  • Should the government support and implement universal healthcare?
  • Would obesity rates lower if the government intervened to make healthy foods more affordable?
  • Should teenagers be given access to birth control pills without parental consent?
  • Should food allergies be considered a disease?
  • Should health insurance cover homeopathic medicine?
  • Is using painkillers healthy?
  • Should genetically modified foods be banned?
  • Should there be a tax on unhealthy foods?
  • Should tobacco products be banned from the country?
  • Should the birth control pill be free for everyone?

If you need more help brainstorming topics, especially those that are personalized to your interests, you can  use CollegeVine’s free AI tutor, Ivy . Ivy can help you come up with original persuasive speech ideas, and she can also help with the rest of your homework, from math to languages.

Do Your Research

A great persuasive speech is supported with plenty of well-researched facts and evidence. So before you begin the writing process, research both sides of the topic you’re presenting in-depth to gain a well-rounded perspective of the topic.

Understand Your Audience

It’s critical to understand your audience to deliver a great persuasive speech. After all, you are trying to convince them that your viewpoint is correct. Before writing your speech, consider the facts and information that your audience may already know, and think about the beliefs and concerns they may have about your topic. Then, address these concerns in your speech, and be mindful to include fresh, new information.

Have Someone Read Your Speech

Once you have finished writing your speech, have someone read it to check for areas of strength and improvement. You can use CollegeVine’s free essay review tool to get feedback on your speech from a peer!

Practice Makes Perfect

After completing your final draft, the key to success is to practice. Present your speech out loud in front of a mirror, your family, friends, and basically, anyone who will listen. Not only will the feedback of others help you to make your speech better, but you’ll become more confident in your presentation skills and may even be able to commit your speech to memory.

Hopefully, these ideas have inspired you to write a powerful, unique persuasive speech. With the perfect topic, plenty of practice, and a boost of self-confidence, we know you’ll impress your audience with a remarkable speech!

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45 Public Speaking Topics and Ideas

October 4, 2018 - Helen Hooper

Do you enjoy standing up in front of a large audience and making a speech? Or do you get so nervous that you forget what you were going to tell the audience about?

If the answer to the second question is “yes,” then you’re not alone. Many people, including well-known entrepreneurs, politicians, and actors, aren’t fans of public speaking. For example, did you know that Richard Branson is among them? Yes, one of the best entrepreneurs in history has a real far of public speaking!

“I loathe making speeches, and always have,”  Branson admitted  in one of the interviews. “Over the years, however, I have become much more practiced at giving speeches, though it still makes me a bit nervous.”

Richard Branson giving a public speech

“Fortunately, the fear of public speaking shouldn’t be an insurmountable obstacle for you with some learning and practice,” says Gordon Stevens, a motivational coach. “The more you develop your skills, the more confident you’ll feel during your speeches.”

Moreover, having strong public skills can greatly boost your career and improve your position in the labor market.  Warren Buffet stated  “you can improve your value by 50 percent just by learning communication skills – public speaking”

So, whether you’re looking for topics for your next public speech or just for practice, take a look at these 45 ideas, including tips on how to choose the best ones for your purpose.

Public speaking topics

Category: science.

1. Why humans should colonize mars

Let’s be honest here, humans are endangered species because all of us live only on one planet. Colonizing mars increases the chance of long-term survival of humankind and has many other benefits, so it’s definitely a great topic to talk about.

2. When will AI exceed human performance?

It’s one of the most discussed topics in science right now because AI has been developing at an amazing speed in the recent years. So, there are tons of quality materials to retrieve information from, such as  this article from cornell university .

3. What is the future of commercial space flight?

Elon musk has recently announced the name of the first space tourist who will orbit the moon several times on SpaceX’s most advanced spacecraft, the BFR. When do you think this will happen?

4. Should nanotechnology research continue?

With all the risks and ethical issues that nanotechnology research is facing now, it could be an interesting topic to discuss.

5. Should we bring extinct species back from the dead?

Animal cloning is becoming more common, so cloning extinct species appears to be a matter of time. But should we really bring back animals like mammoths? What would we do with them if we succeed?

6. Potential for super greenhouse effect on earth

Global warming is the real thing, and governments around the world are starting to take this issue seriously. But where are we on our way to triggering a runaway greenhouse effect that turned our neighboring planet Venus into a hellish world?

7. What is gene therapy?

For example, could we use it to prevent diseases and conditions?

8. Why whales should not be hunted for food

Also an interesting topic that touches upon one of the most relevant issues in environmental health.

9. Stephen Hawking’s contributions to science

One of the greatest minds in history, Stephen Hawking, passed away recently, so it would be great to share his main contributions to science.

10. When will the next solar superflare hit earth?

The scientists know it’s coming, but can we make some predictions?

Category: self-development and self-help topics

11. How can you improve public speaking skills?

Why not, right?

12. What leadership style is the most suitable for your personality?

There are a number of leadership styles, so finding out which one suits you is an interesting idea.

13. How to get a fresh start after a breakup / divorce?

14. Why you should become a freelancer

15. Why being lazy isn’t always a bad thing

16. What Richard Branson recommends to everyone to make everyday a success

Here are  some materials  for you to start researching.

17. Why you should visit at least 5 countries by the time you’re 30

18. Gluten isn’t bad for health

19. Scientific evidence on why you shouldn’t skip your breakfast

20. Why success if often an extreme tolerance for failure (Jeff Bezos experience)

Jeff Bezos is an excellent example of a person who  thinks of a failure as a chance to learn .

Category: society

21. Do professional athletes make too much money?

22. Why the your country should promote legal immigration

23. Is it possible to eliminate poverty in every country in the world?

24. The internet should be free for everyone

25. Why punishing children for bullying others isn’t a solution

This conversation article  has some good ideas on that for you to explore.

26. The U.S. should encourage the spirit of volunteerism

27. Society should make monopolies illegal

28. Is our society too dependent on technology?

29. Why we need to support local businesses

30. Being gay: choice or nature?

31. Cell phone use while driving should be banned in all U.S. states.

Category: workplace

32. How to spot a toxic employee?

33. Give 5 reasons why we should abolish tipping restaurant servers

This Huffington Post article  will be of great help to you on this topic.

34. Why the minimum wage should be raised?

35. Top reasons why best employees invest in employee wellness programs

36. The best ways to increase employee engagement for better performance

37. Should age discrimination be a criminal offence?

38. All internships should be paid internships

39. The minimum age for unsupervised driving should be raised to 18

40. LGBT workers are protected from workplace discrimination.

Category: controversial

41. Airline passengers should sacrifice their privacy for the sake of flight safety

42. Your government should promote conservation

43. Your government should make animal testing illegal

44. The use of the internet by teens should be limited

45. The internet contributes to media bias

How to choose a public speaking topic?

Check out these quick tips for picking a great topic:

  • Choose a topic that you’re fairly familiar with or have an interest in. This might help you to include some personal experience as a bonus to your speech.
  • Know your audience. Your topic should always resemble the interests of your audience, otherwise they could find it boring. In this case, you’ll be wasting yours and their time.
  • Pick up a hot topic that describes a current event, place, or process.

Read this article for additional information on  choosing a public speaking topic .

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 105 interesting persuasive speech topics for any project.

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General Education

feature_persuasivespeech.jpg

Are you struggling to find good persuasive speech topics? It can be hard to find a topic that interests both you and your audience, but in this guide we've done the hard work and created a list of 105 great persuasive speech ideas. They're organized into ten categories and cover a variety of topics, so you're sure to find one that interests you.

In addition to our list, we also go over which factors make good persuasive speech topics and three tips you should follow when researching and writing your persuasive speech.

What Makes a Good Persuasive Speech Topic?

What makes certain persuasive speech topics better than others? There are numerous reasons, but in this section we discuss three of the most important factors of great topics for a persuasive speech.

It's Something You Know About or Are Interested in Learning About

The most important factor in choosing and creating a great persuasive speech is picking a topic you care about and are interested in. You'll need to do a lot of research on this topic, and if it's something you like learning about, that'll make the process much easier and more enjoyable. It'll also help you sound passionate and informed when you talk, both important factors in giving an excellent persuasive speech.

It's a Topic People Care About

In fourth grade, after being told I could give a persuasive speech on any topic I wanted to , I chose to discuss why the Saguaro cactus should be the United State's national plant. Even though I gave an impassioned talk and drew a life-size Saguaro cactus on butcher paper to hang behind me, I doubt anyone enjoyed the speech much.

I'd recently returned from a family vacation to Arizona where I'd seen Saguaro cacti for the first time and decided they were the coolest thing ever. However, most people don't care that much about Saguaro cacti, and most people don't care what our national plant is or if we even have one (for the record, the US has a national flower, and it's the rose).

Spare yourself the smattering of bored applause my nine-old self got at the end of my speech and choose something you think people will be interested in hearing about. This also ties into knowing your audience, which we discuss more in the final section.

It Isn't Overdone

When I was in high school, nearly every persuasive speech my classmates and I were assigned was the exact same topic: should the drinking age be lowered to 18? I got this prompt in English class, on standardized tests, in speech and debate class, etc. I've written and presented about it so often I could probably still rattle off all the main points of my old speeches word-for-word.

You can imagine that everyone's eyes glazed over whenever classmates gave their speeches on this topic. We'd heard about it so many times that, even if it was a topic we cared about, speeches on it just didn't interest us anymore.

The are many potential topics for a persuasive speech. Be wary of choosing one that's cliche or overdone. Even if you give a great speech, it'll be harder to keep your audience interested if they feel like they already know what you're going to say.

An exception to this rule is that if you feel you have a new viewpoint or facts about the topic that currently aren't common knowledge. Including them can make an overdone topic interesting. If you do this, be sure to make it clear early on in your speech that you have unique info or opinions on the topic so your audience knows to expect something new.

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105 Topics for a Persuasive Speech

Here's our list of 105 great persuasive speech ideas. We made sure to choose topics that aren't overdone, yet that many people will have an interest in, and we also made a point of choosing topics with multiple viewpoints rather than simplistic topics that have a more obvious right answer (i.e. Is bullying bad?). The topics are organized into ten categories.

Arts/Culture

  • Should art and music therapy be covered by health insurance?
  • Should all students be required to learn an instrument in school?
  • Should all national museums be free to citizens?
  • Should graffiti be considered art?
  • Should offensive language be removed from works of classic literature?
  • Are paper books better than e-books?
  • Should all interns be paid for their work?
  • Should employees receive bonuses for walking or biking to work?
  • Will Brexit hurt or help the UK's economy?
  • Should all people over the age of 65 be able to ride the bus for free?
  • Should the federal minimum wage be increased?
  • Should tipping in restaurants be mandatory?
  • Should Black Friday sales be allowed to start on Thanksgiving?
  • Should students who bully others be expelled?
  • Should all schools require students wear uniforms?
  • Should boys and girls be taught in separate classrooms?
  • Should students be allowed to listen to music during study hall?
  • Should all elementary schools be required to teach a foreign language?
  • Should schools include meditation or relaxation breaks during the day?
  • Should grades in gym class affect students' GPAs?
  • Should teachers get a bonus when their students score well on standardized tests?
  • Should children of undocumented immigrants be allowed to attend public schools?
  • Should students get paid for getting a certain GPA?
  • Should students be allowed to have their cell phones with them during school?
  • Should high school students be allowed to leave school during lunch breaks?
  • Should Greek life at colleges be abolished?
  • Should high school students be required to volunteer a certain number of hours before they can graduate?
  • Should schools still teach cursive handwriting?
  • What are the best ways for schools to stop bullying?
  • Should prostitution be legalized?
  • Should people with more than one DUI lose their driver's license?
  • Should people be required to shovel snow from the sidewalks in front of their house?
  • Should minors be able to drink alcohol in their home if they have their parent's consent?
  • Should guns be allowed on college campuses?
  • Should flag burning as a form of protest be illegal?
  • Should welfare recipients be required to pass a drug test?
  • Should white supremacist groups be allowed to hold rallies in public places?
  • Should assault weapons be illegal?
  • Should the death penalty be abolished?
  • Should beauty pageants for children be banned?
  • Is it OK to refuse to serve same-sex couples based on religious beliefs?
  • Should transgender people be allowed to serve in the military?
  • Is it better to live together before marriage or to wait?
  • Should affirmative action be allowed?
  • Should prisoners be allowed to vote?
  • Should Columbus Day be replaced with Indigenous Peoples' Day?

Government/Politics

  • Should the government spend more money on developing high-speed rail lines and less on building new roads?
  • Should the government be allowed to censor internet content deemed inappropriate?
  • Should Puerto Rico become the 51st state?
  • Should Scotland declare independence from the United Kingdom?
  • Whose face should be on the next new currency printed by the US?
  • Should people convicted of drug possession be sent to recovery programs instead of jail?
  • Should voting be made compulsory?
  • Who was the best American president?
  • Should the military budget be reduced?
  • Should the President be allowed to serve more than two terms?
  • Should a border fence be built between the United States and Mexico?
  • Should countries pay ransom to terrorist groups in order to free hostages?
  • Should minors be able to purchase birth control without their parent's consent?
  • Should hiding or lying about your HIV status with someone you're sleeping with be illegal?
  • Should governments tax soda and other sugary drinks and use the revenue for public health?
  • Should high schools provide free condoms to students?
  • Should the US switch to single-payer health care?
  • Should healthy people be required to regularly donate blood?
  • Should assisted suicide be legal?
  • Should religious organizations be required to pay taxes?
  • Should priests be allowed to get married?
  • Should the religious slaughter of animals be banned?
  • Should the Church of Scientology be exempt from paying taxes?
  • Should women be allowed to be priests?
  • Should countries be allowed to only accept refugees with certain religious beliefs?
  • Should public prayer be allowed in schools?

Science/Environment

  • Should human cloning be allowed?
  • Should people be allowed to own exotic animals like tigers and monkeys?
  • Should "animal selfies" in tourist locations with well-known animal species (like koalas and tigers) be allowed?
  • Should genetically modified foods be sold in grocery stores?
  • Should people be allowed to own pit bulls?
  • Should parents be allowed to choose the sex of their unborn children?
  • Should vaccinations be required for students to attend public school?
  • What is the best type of renewable energy?
  • Should plastic bags be banned in grocery stores?
  • Should the United States rejoin the Paris Agreement?
  • Should puppy mills be banned?
  • Should fracking be legal?
  • Should animal testing be illegal?
  • Should offshore drilling be allowed in protected marine areas?
  • Should the US government increase NASA's budget?
  • Should Pluto still be considered a planet?
  • Should college athletes be paid for being on a sports team?
  • Should all athletes be required to pass regular drug tests?
  • Should professional female athletes be paid the same as male athletes in the same sport?
  • Are there any cases when athletes should be allowed to use steroids?
  • Should college sports teams receive less funding?
  • Should boxing be illegal?
  • Should schools be required to teach all students how to swim?
  • Should cheerleading be considered a sport?
  • Should parents let their children play tackle football?
  • Will robots reduce or increase human employment opportunities?
  • What age should children be allowed to have a cell phone?
  • Should libraries be replaced with unlimited access to e-books?
  • Overall, has technology helped connect people or isolate them?
  • Should self-driving cars be legal?
  • Should all new buildings be energy efficient?
  • Is Net Neutrality a good thing or a bad thing?
  • Do violent video games encourage players to become violent in real life?

body_speechwinner.jpg

3 Bonus Tips for Crafting Your Persuasive Speech

Of course, giving a great persuasive speech requires more than just choosing a good topic. Follow the three tips below to create an outstanding speech that'll interest and impress your audience.

Do Your Research

For a persuasive speech, there's nothing worse than getting an audience question that shows you misunderstood the issue or left an important piece out. It makes your entire speech look weak and unconvincing.

Before you start writing a single word of your speech, be sure to do lots of research on all sides of the topic. Look at different sources and points of view to be sure you're getting the full picture, and if you know any experts on the topic, be sure to ask their opinion too.

Consider All the Angles

Persuasive speech topics are rarely black and white, which means there will be multiple sides and viewpoints on the topic. For example, for the topic "Should people be allowed to own pit bulls?" there are two obvious viewpoints: everyone should be allowed to own a pit bull if they want to, and no one should be allowed to own a pit bull. But there are other options you should also consider: people should only own a pit bull if they pass a dog training class, people should be able to own pit bulls, but only if it's the only dog they own, people should be able to own pi tbulls but only if they live a certain distance from schools, people should be able to own pit bulls only if the dog passes an obedience class, etc.

Thinking about all these angles and including them in your speech will make you seem well-informed on the topic, and it'll increase the quality of your speech by looking at difference nuances of the issue.

Know Your Audience

Whenever you give a speech, it's important to consider your audience, and this is especially true for persuasive speeches when you're trying to convince people to believe a certain viewpoint. When writing your speech, think about what your audience likely already knows about the topic, what they probably need explained, and what aspects of the topic they care about most. Also consider what the audience will be most concerned about for a certain topic, and be sure to address those concerns.

For example, if you're giving a speech to a Catholic organization on why you think priests should be allowed to marry, you don't need to go over the history of Catholicism or its core beliefs (which they probably already know), but you should mention any research or prominent opinions that support your view (which they likely don't know about). They may be concerned that priests who marry won't be as committed to God or their congregations, so be sure to address those concerns and why they shouldn't worry about them as much as they may think. Discussing your topic with people (ideally those with viewpoints similar to those of your future audience) before you give your speech is a good way to get a better understanding of how your audience thinks.

More Resources for Writing Persuasive Speeches

If you need more guidance or just want to check out some examples of great persuasive writing, consider checking out the following books:

  • Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History by William Safire—This collection of great speeches throughout history will help you decide how to style your own argument.
  • The Essentials of Persuasive Public Speaking by Sims Wyeth—For quick direct tips on public speaking, try this all-purpose guide.
  • Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds by Carmine Gallo—This popular book breaks down what makes TED talks work and how you can employ those skills in your own presentations.
  • We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman—These two recent speeches by contemporary writers offer stellar examples of how to craft a compelling (and engaging) argument.

Conclusion: Persuasive Speech Ideas

Good persuasive speech topics can be difficult to think of, but in this guide we've compiled a list of 105 interesting persuasive speech topics for you to look through.

The best persuasive speech ideas will be on a topic you're interested in, aren't overdone, and will be about something your audience cares about.

After you've chosen your topic, keep these three tips in mind when writing your persuasive speech:

  • Do your research
  • Consider all the angles
  • Know your audience

What's Next?

Now that you have persuasive speech topics, it's time to hone your persuasive speech techniques. Find out what ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos are and how to use them here .

Looking to take your persuasive technique from speech to sheets (of paper)? Get our three key tips on how to write an argumentative essay , or learn by reading through our thorough breakdown of how to build an essay, step by step .

Want a great GPA? Check out our step-by-step guide to getting good grades in high school so you can have a stellar transcript.

Interested in learning about other great extracurricular opportunities? Learn more about job shadowing , community service , and volunteer abroad programs.

Still trying to figure out your courses? Check out our expert guide on which classes you should take in high school.

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?   We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download them for free now:

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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50 Interesting Informative Speech Topics for College

26 September, 2020

15 minutes read

Author:  Mathieu Johnson

Informative speeches grant speakers a responsible mission of educating people about significant ideas and themes. They’re also about sharing thoughts and opinions on this or that topic, aimed at expanding understanding and providing listeners with relevant insights for further deliberation. Therefore, it’s a particular type of speeches given to put things into sharp focus and offer food for thought. Read up to know which informative speech topics have the most impact.

Informative Speech Topics

What is an informative speech?

As mentioned above, it’s a kind of speech that, well, informs the audience about your topic. Sounds simple enough, but simplicity is deceptive, and there are enough secrets behind this science. Specifically, not all people are fully aware of the fact that the “what” question is a key element that needs to be answered, for with informative speeches, you want to choose a topic most likely to be well received.

Of course, you can speak about something you already know, but you can also talk about the topic which is absolutely new to you. In this case, however, you must make sure that the theme will be relatively easy to research and studied before speech delivery. Another important point worth noticing is that organizational requirements and type of information for informative speech usually intertwines with those for an informative essay, for the latter is often an extension of the first.

How to write an informative speech?

How to write an informative speech

So, now it’s time to move from theory to practice and write an informative speech. But where do you start from?

Although there are many different processes involved in the process, we’ll narrow them to essentials to help you better grasp the idea of how a perfect speech should be tailored.

Stage 1. Research and Brainstorming

Think about the topic.

The first and most crucial step is about choosing the right topic. We’ve mentioned before that it’s vital to select the issue you feel free to talk about. However, there are also cases when professors assign a specific task for you. Either way, the point here is to conduct thorough research based on the given or chosen topic.

If you want to explain the history of some company, band or event, for example, make sure to deliver the message clearly, without going here and there. For this, consider talking about particular points which will cover the whole speech and help the audience quickly digest it. Otherwise, your speech will depart from the topic, and listeners will find it challenging to follow your thoughts.

Gather Evidence

Every scholarly work proves its credibility by the inclusion of relevant sources to show both the audience and the instructor that you’ve put enough effort into the work to sound authoritative. This is a great chance to get a good mark, but more importantly, earn trust from listeners. To cite the evidence correctly, you can search for some facts, stats, or numbers in a variety of sources. These include textbooks, books, and encyclopedias (online ones work as well), scholarly articles, reputable news bureaus, and government documents. If these are hard to find for you, think of alternatives, like online journals and magazines. But be careful and don’t use sources from there if they are not credible and reputable. As an example, use The New York Times, The Guardian, Harvard Business Review, SAJE journals, Forbes, etc.

Also, keep in mind that the evidence you’ll use should depend on the subject of your talk. If it’s about science, check scientific publications. If it’s about medicine – embark upon texts on this specific sphere. Finally, don’t forget to create a works cited page at the end of your speech and put all your sources there. Even if your instructor does not specify such a requirement, create a list anyways. This will help you keep references organized, and you will be able to pick a suitable one from the list.

Generate a Nice Thesis

A thesis is the core of impactful speech that tells listeners about its focal points. It also reveals the purpose of your speech and provides the audience with an insight into what the speech is all about. Notably, your thesis should not exceed the length of one-two sentences and be as precise as possible. More so, thesis, like the speech itself, is not about convincing people to take your topic stance immediately. Rather, it’s about informing listeners about significant events or cases which they could analyze and make relevant conclusions themselves. No need to push them or force to change the perspective, just try to be genuine and honest with people you’re talking to. Considering that it’s a scholarly piece of work, there’s no room for appealing to emotions or subjective claims. So in informative speeches, objectivity is the key player.

How to Start Informative Speech Writing?

Informative speech outline

The outline is a skeleton of your speech that briefly explains each of your points. This is basically a list of short sentences which reveal the meaning of your main speech ideas. Remember that this list is not for the audience; it’s for your own use. So the task here is to write about every point in a way you’ll understand. You can also use notecards instead of paper so that it’ll be much easier for you not to get lost in a sea of ideas and organize the speech properly. Tip: include numbers and capital letters for headings, and bullet points or other figures to mark subheadings.

If you are still unsure on whether you can cope with your task – you are in the right place to get help. Our essay writers will easily answer the to the question “Who can write my speech?”

Stage 2. Writing

Once the sketches are ready and you have a clear understanding of what to speak about, move on straight to writing.

Craft an Engaging Intro

What does engaging stand for in this case? It denotes some speech elements which will be enticing for listeners from the first sentence. It’s a common practice to start speeches with different hooks to call for more people’s attention. There are a plethora of techniques you can use to make an unforgettable first impression: jokes, anecdotes, examples from personal life, interesting statistics, rhetorical questions, quotes of famous people. You can even invent your own attention-grabber which will help you knock down listeners.

Give More Detail in the Main Body

Once you managed to create impact by the introduction and made sure everyone will be eager to listen to you further, you need to expand the explanation of key speech ideas in a well-structured, organized manner. Like in regular life, you start a story from the beginning to the end, while gradually moving from one idea to another. The same goes for informative speech – you need to ensure that the flow of your narration is logical and concise, fully elaborated, and precise. Also, don’t forget about making transitions between sentences. They will make your speech flow naturally, helping the audience to process the information much easier and effortlessly.

Wrap Everything Up in Conclusion

The ending of your informative speech should restate the main idea and the thesis you’ve mentioned in the introduction. There’s no need to say new things that will only confuse your audience. Instead, all the conclusion needs is a nice wrapping of the already stated claims.

So basically you want to review your main points and thereby deliver listeners a message which they will perceive as a major takeaway from what you’ve just told them. However, the introductory part should by no means repeat previous information word by word. It’s just a short restatement that covers up the main points.

Proofread and Edit the Final Version

Once the text is written entirely, it’s a must for you to double check it to avoid possible mistakes. If your informative speech turns out not as informative as expected due to grammatical or lexical errors, you’ll not be taken seriously, which we bet is not the purpose of delivering your talk. So, to prevent casualties from happening, you’ll need to use reliable editing and proofreading tools. Grammarly is an excellent source for this. Its accurate algorithm detects all kinds of mistakes and fixes them on the fly in a matter of seconds. And you can also check the text for plagiarism to make sure that it has no analogs anywhere on the web.

The Writing Process of Informative Speech

Stage 3. Perfecting Speech Delivery

Memorize your speech.

Half work is done – you have a writing piece. Now it’s time to learn it. Of course, it’ll take you time to do this, but with a little patience and enough time, you can memorize it even faster than expected. Besides, it’s not recommended to learn the speech from A to Z, inside out and upside down by heart. If your instructor is indulgent enough, feel free to memorize your talk in a way that allows you to explain your ideas clearly and consistently. To facilitate the process of learning, you can memorize sentence by sentence until you’re confident. And even if you forget something during delivery, you can always count on the outline that’ll give you a hint on what to talk about next.

Practice Reading Speech Aloud

When the final product is finally ready and polished, you need to concentrate on reading it.

Practice the speech in a mirror, to a friend/relative/pet, or record yourself to trace the tone and intonation. This way, you’ll make sure that your informative speech is brilliant and you deliver it just the way you wanted. Besides, this practice can help you critically evaluate the flaws and correct them before the actual delivery. Have enough time for this, because even experienced speakers always rehearse their speeches. Finally, focus on the way you use gestures, the way you stand and look at the audience, and facial expressions.

How to Deliver Informative Speech?

List of informative speech topics

There are lots of easy informative speech topics to choose from, but we offer you to review our topics list with some of the most alluring ones to get you started. Let’s examine pro informative topics that’ll help you write a memorable speech.

Topics for informative speech about music

  • Frank Sinatra – a beloved father of music
  • The drastic evolution of french music
  • Deep house – the most popular music style among youngsters
  • Why did rock and roll became an epitome of popular dance music
  • Why does reggae music most known under the name of Bob Marley
  • The psychological and physical benefits of listening to music
  • Chill, lounge and electronica has market the era of progressive sound
  • The impact of rap music on society at large
  • The art of playing the violin
  • The evolution of jazz music and its connection to historical movements

Informative speech topics about animals

  • Why are so many animals under extinction today and how do we fix it?
  • Why dogs are considered as humans best friend?
  • The history and evolution of polar bears
  • Why does rhinos horn trimming in South Africa still allowed
  • How to properly raise chinchillas
  • The most dangerous types of dogs on the planet
  • Staggering intellectual abilities of elephants baffle even scientists
  • How to keep snakes away and save your life
  • Different types of butterflies
  • The history of bees and their role in the world

Topics for informative speech about global warming

  • Patterns in climate change: rising temperatures and flooding
  • What Effects does Climate Change have on the Earth and its Inhabitants?
  • What are the practical solutions to global warming
  • What is global warming and what causes it?
  • The future of global warming: dismal predictions and statistics
  • Controversial opinions about global warming
  • The greenhouse effect as the top one reason of climate change
  • The global issue of global warming: what’s next?
  • Humans are responsible for the emergence and progress of global warming
  • Sanctions against generation of greenhouses: will they ever take place?

Informative speech ideas about sports

  • How sports improve human physical and psychological health
  • Is golf the game of the past?
  • The real life of sport teams: from trainings to furious games
  • Can roller skating be considered a kind of sport?
  • What’s more dangerous: white water rafting or ice diving?
  • The history of sports: whom do we owe respect?
  • Hockey 101: gear, playing techniques, team spirit
  • Why is boxing the most dangerous type of sports
  • The most unusual kinds of sports humans have invented
  • The importance and potential threat of football for the world 

Interesting speech topics about food and drinks

  • How to bake a cake and not put on weight
  • Why does alcohol bring so much trouble to contemporary youth?
  • There are no superfoods, the study shows
  • Does fast food really cause addiction?
  • The secret ingredient of Coca Cola and why you’ll never want to drink it again
  • If the fruit diet useful for health?
  • Why bananas can save the world
  • Eating vegetables and olive oil is a golden ticket to rejuvenation
  • What’s the difference between natural and processed foods?
  • Why eating pizza is the worst way to get away with cooking

As you can see from the list of topics for speeches, informative speech is a perfect occasion to explore interesting themes in depth and share your knowledge with people who are most likely to learn new things with you. Discovering a variety of topics and writing them on paper is perhaps the most engaging task your instructor has ever assigned you. And if you find it challenging to come with the right idea for a good topic, just send a “ write my speech ” request, and we’ll complete your order in no time.

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100+ Speech Topics for College Students

Annesha Deb Image

Annesha Deb ,

Mar 4, 2024

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Politics, economics, medicine, science, technology, daily affairs, and social life subjects are included in speech topics for college students. Students need a thorough research, confidence, and organised thoughts to speak on these topics.

100+ Speech Topics for College Students

Speech topics for college students includes subject from variou spheres, such as politics, economics, social life, medicine, science, and more. Their subjects are usually delivered as well-researched topics. Students find arguments either in their favour or against them and present them in front of the audience. 

There are various speech topics for college students. Some are controversial, whereas others can ignite a healthy debate. Nevertheless, students must be completely aware of each statement they deliver. 

Here is the list of 100+ speech topics for college students:

  • Should libraries be replaced with e-books?
  • Should Bitcoin be recognised as a legal currency?
  • Studying martial arts is good for the mind and health.
  • Competitive sports can teach us about life.
  • Has freedom of the press gone beyond limits?
  • How can public speaking help in building confidence?
  • Should school students be allowed to use their phones in school?
  • The characteristics that make a person a hero.
  • Violent video games are dangerous.
  • Too much screen time will make children lazy.
  • How to procrastinate to avoid work?
  • Medical experiments shouldn’t be done on animals.
  • A laptop is better than a tablet.
  • Religion and science can go hand in hand.
  • Should textbooks be replaced with laptops or tablets?
  • Is artificial intelligence a threat?
  • Why are education costs growing progressively?
  • The slow death of ancient art forms
  • Is social media having a positive or negative impact on society?
  • The free media should be controlled.
  • How can we expand renewable energy on a global scale?
  • How is deforestation impacting the planet?
  • Why are people so addicted to the internet?
  • How has technology improved communication in our daily lives?
  • Is integrating technology in education beneficial?
  • Why is it essential to establish regulations on Internet privacy?
  • How has technology positively impacted the healthcare industry?
  • Are there any ethical implications of artificial intelligence and automation?
  • Why should social media platforms take more responsibility for online safety?
  • How has technology transformed the way we work and the future of jobs?
  • What are the environmental consequences of electronic waste, and how can we address them?
  • Why should there be stricter regulations on data protection and cybersecurity?
  • How has technology changed the way we access and consume information?
  • How video games can have a positive impact on mental health?
  • Is it necessary to implement stricter laws and regulations to combat climate change?
  • Should voting be made compulsory in democratic countries?
  • Is it ethical to use animals for scientific research and experimentation?
  • Is it essential to prioritise renewable energy sources over fossil fuels?
  • Effects of poaching on the economy.
  • Should pets be kept outdoors?
  • Is it ethical to keep animals in zoos and aquariums for public entertainment?
  • Should there be stricter regulations on single-use plastic products?
  • Recycling paper is going to save our planet.
  • Should oil drilling stop in Alaska?
  • Should stricter regulations be implemented to reduce air and water pollution?
  • How can we promote recycling and waste reduction in our communities?
  • Is biodiversity really at risk?
  • Why should we pay more to support small businesses?
  • Should companies embrace remote work as a permanent option?
  • What are the benefits of incorporating mindfulness and meditation practices into daily life?
  • How to balance Academics, Social Life, and Extracurricular Activities?
  • What are the benefits of building a professional network?
  • What are the pros and cons of student loans?
  • Why should imported products come with an extra tax?
  • Impact of technology on our health
  • Capitalism and the role of government
  • Corporate social responsibility in capitalism
  • Should children’s reality shows be banned?
  • Importance of Education
  • Discuss the Economic Consequence of Corruption
  • Why is it essential to generate fishing regulations?
  • Comment on the rise of E-commerce.
  • What is the role of technology in combating corruption?
  • Comment on the future of feminism.
  • Pros and Cons of Capitalism
  • Capitalism and the Digital Economy
  • Should exotic animals be kept as pets?
  • How do we control water pollution?
  • Ordinary people should not be allowed to own guns.
  • Celebrities should not become political members.
  • Gandhi’s philosophy of Swaraj
  • Benefits of reading books
  • Discuss the importance of the right to education.
  • What are the impacts of globalisation?
  • Can solar energy save the environment?
  • How does the internet influence or block human intelligence?
  • Differences in non-verbal communication in different cultures.
  • Discuss human thinking and their future.
  • How can we save nature from industrial bio and chemical waste?
  • How can we achieve peace for humanity and species of planet Earth?
  • Is medicine a business or humanity?
  • How marketing affects people and their perceptions 
  • The challenges of recycling and potential solutions 
  • Why is water conservation becoming an important topic?
  • Should we use products made with animal fur?
  • Is Ayurvedic healthcare effective?
  • What do you think can help prisoners rehabilitate and reconnect with society?
  • Brilliant ways to make money in the 21st century
  • Simple ways to overcome stress.
  • Can action movies cause stress?
  • Is religion compatible with secularism?
  • What are the effects of cultural diversity and inclusion in society?
  • Why are women the leaders in the fashion industry? 
  • Pop fashion is getting influenced more and more by alternative subcultures. 
  • What are the benefits of exercising?
  • What is the importance of internships and apprenticeships?
  • How to deal with stress and anxiety in college?
  • How to find a job after college?
  • What is the importance of critical thinking?
  • How do you deal with sexual harassment and assault?
  • How does YouTube influence us?
  • What are the dangers of prejudice?
  • Why is there a need for innovation?
  • New age spirituality: A fact or a myth
  • Comment on humanism and the renaissance period
  • Corporate culture: West versus East
  • How do reality shows affect people’s mental health?
  • Can a movie persuade you with something you don’t believe in?
  • Should the government spend more money on national security?
  • How has modern medicine increased mortality rates?

Also Check :  List of 10 Novels for Students to Read

How to Prepare for Speech Topics for College Students? 

Speech topics for college students can be from diverse fields. Therefore, students should be well prepared and aware of their speech. Here are some tips to prepare for speech topics: 

  • Please do thorough research: Students should know their topic thoroughly. They can read books and articles, get help from the internet, and watch videos related to the topic. 
  • Start with an introduction: Students should start with an introductory speech on themselves and the topic they got.
  • Organised thoughts : Next, students should follow a hierarchical structure. They must mind mapping the entire speech so they don’t fumble or miss anything on stage. 
  • Explain the topic: Students should be mindful and choose their arguments carefully. Further, they must explain the topic clearly to be presented with absolute knowledge. 
  • Conclude: At the end of the topic, students should try to conclude the topic. This will reflect their understanding of the topic. 

So that now we have discussed the 100+ speech topics for college students and ways to prepare, we wish all the students luck and success with their topics.

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Interesting speech topics for students

180 unique speech topic ideas from 5 broad areas

By:  Susan Dugdale  

What are the most interesting and unique speech topics for students? Or for yourself? How, and where do you find them?

Let's answer those questions, and more.

On this page you'll find:

public speech topics for college students

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So what are the best GOOD original speech ideas?

3 essential elements of interesting speeches.

Image: retro drawing of puzzled girl thinking. Text: What's an interesting speech topic? Comical novels? Cats? The history of chocolate?

Speech topics become interesting that way because they fulfill three essential requirements.

  • You are genuinely enthusiastic about the subject. You love the topic and want to find out more about it.
  • The subject will appeal to your audience. It has relevance for them. They'll want to know about it. 
  • The twist, angle, or perspective you bring to the topic is different - one the audience will not have heard before.

If you can tick off all three aspects your speech is much more likely to be interesting for everyone, yourself included.

Put your spin on these interesting speech topics

The five topic areas below are broad. I have suggested some potentially good speech ideas in each of them. You'll find those under the area's introductory overview.

Use my suggestions as a beginning point: a trigger to get  your own creative juices going. With luck you'll find exactly the topic you need to inspire you. (I sincerely hope so!)

Social media themed topics

Online social media like Facebook (recently re-branded as Meta Platforms), Twitter (which has now become X), Pinterest, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Tik Tok have been with us a comparatively short time. Yet their growth has been astronomical!

Facebook, the first of them, made its public debut in 2004, 17 years ago, and according to its Wikipedia page , has 2.85 billion monthly active users, as of 31 March 2021 .  Its use as a vehicle to reach people all over the world is extraordinary. The power and influence Facebook users have been able to exert is unparalleled. As a society we've never seen this before.

Twitter (X), Pinterest,  Instagram, Whatsapp and Tik Tok although newer players share, to a lesser degree, similar capacities.

Older electronic media, TV and radio, couldn't reach into the personal private lives in the same intimate one to one, person to person way. Neither could print.

What do these changes mean for society?  What will happen to old-fashioned face-to-face communication skills?

Look over these topics carefully. What aspects of them you'd find interesting to explore?

Our increasing reliance on varying forms of online communication is new and our scientists, psychologists, and doctors are only beginning to understand its impact on our behavior.

Image: young girl with badge showing Facebook thumbs up icon on her tee-shirt. Background text: Please like me, please like me, please like me...

50 interesting social media speech topics

  • Social media kills face to face conversation skills.
  • Texting is necessary for social survival.
  • An online friend can be just as real as an offline one.
  • Social media breaks down real-time relationships.
  • How did people build and maintain networks BEFORE  social media?
  • What is the real value of social media? Three points.
  • How to avoid being cyber bullied.
  • Rules for forming online friendships.
  • Spelling skills are dead. Long live txt speak!
  • What will be the next major social media development?
  • Rules for using social media responsibly.
  • Publicly "liking" or "not liking" a person's posts can cause anxiety.
  • What is real news and what is false? How do you know?
  • Three excellent community building uses of social media.
  • Social media is addictive.
  • Social media encourages and supports racialism.
  • Social media companies are not responsible for how people use them.
  • Social media dissolves social, economic and cultural barriers.
  • How private is personal information on social media?
  • Fake personas and social media.
  • There is not enough fact checking on social media.
  • It is too easy to post without thinking on social media.
  • There is too much content on social media. It overwhelms.
  • What is the impact of social media on business?
  • Having an opinion does not make a person an expert.
  • Social media makes it easy to help someone immediately.
  • Social media brings people with similar interests together.
  • Social media encourages the need for instant gratification.
  • Some social media challenges should never be accepted.
  • There should be an user age limit on social media platforms.
  • Getting news from social media is unreliable.
  • Censorship is impossible on social media.
  • How do politicians use social media?
  • What is a social media echo chamber?
  • How can social media undermine democracy?
  • Social media can be, and is, used for mass surveillance.
  • Social media can be a time waster.
  • Social media makes people dissatisfied with their lives.
  • The rise of cancel culture: what it is, how it works.
  • Why people share things they shouldn't.
  • How using emoticons is replacing using words.
  • How social media is used in hiring and firing people.
  • How social media stunts personal creativity.
  • How social media allows a person to find their voice.
  • Using social media improves fine motor skills.
  • How social media is used in peer-support programs.
  • Should social media companies be held accountable? 
  • What is the impact of not being social media?
  • How to become an influencer.
  • Outline the main differences between two or three social media platforms.

Visiting yesterday: historical speech topics

The importance of history is frequently debated. Those against digging around in their own or anybody else's past often use the saying "Life is best lived looking forward" to explain their stance.

What they want to avoid is becoming stuck in history, bogged down by old traditions or beliefs that inhibit a person in some way. "That was then, this is now", they say.

Crimes against humanity: ethnic cleansing, genocide, state sanctioned terrorism, racial discrimination, and religious persecution are all examples of attitudes and events people often want to leave in the past.

The main reason for that is because untangling them, acknowledging and accepting responsibility where required, and finding an equitable way to move forward can be exceedingly difficult for all concerned.

And yet, if we don't examine and learn from the past, surely we'll do similar things over and over again.

Those who believe that understanding and knowing our history is important say, to use the words of Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, that "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."

They argue that to know who we are, what we are doing, where we are going, and how our actions may impact on other people, other communities, countries, or the world, we need to thoroughly understand our past. That means looking carefully at the lives and times of our ancestors. 

I believe understanding our "yesterdays" helps us build better "todays" - richer futures for everyone. 

Attitudes change and as they do, so too does what society accepts as "normal". 

A brief shorts story

To illustrate here's a simple and these days, non-controversial example.

Something as ordinary as a woman wearing shorts was quite extraordinary in the 1940s and 50s. Women who wore them were considered fast: very unladylike.

And some American city councils actually went so far as to ban women from wearing them in public.

Image: 1950s pin up golfer girl wearing a pair of shorts. Text: When wearing shorts was taboo

The  United States Golf Association went further. They decreed neither men nor women could wear them while participating in tournaments: a rule that remained until the 1980s.

(In my family, my  Grandmother was forbidden to leave the house in them.)

Can you imagine what life would be like for women if we'd held on to that? 

Today we have moved on. A woman wearing a pair of shorts is no longer a disgrace or committing a crime. *

(Click this National Public Radio link  When wearing shorts was taboo  to find out more. It's a fascinating peek into the past.)

* I am fortunate to live in a country where women are free to wear what they choose. However there are many places in the world where they are not.

This 2020 study from Washington Pew Research Center is interesting reading:  Women in many countries face harassment for clothing deemed too religious – or too secular .

Family focused and community speech topics

The topics here are focused around the history of family and community life.

Dive into them and you may just find them compelling - really interesting. They'll give you new insights and maybe, an appreciation, of what went before, and what you have now. 

Image-retro 1950s-children crossing the road going to school. Text: Historical Myths Number 63 - School days! The happiest days of your life!

45 interesting historical speech topics

  • What Grandma/Grandpa did for fun and recreation 50 years ago.
  • What Grandma/Grandpa did to earn a living when they finished their schooling.
  • At the same age as I am now my parents were doing XXX and my grandparents were doing XXX (compare and contrast across 3 generations).
  • Were there differences between education for boys and for girls 50 + years ago? If so, what were they? 
  • Our town's history - why it was built where it is, who lived there.
  • What type of jobs did men and women typically do 50+ years ago?
  • The biggest manmade or natural disaster in our local history.
  • Headline stories from our local newspapers 50+ years ago.
  • How festivals and important events (birthdays, weddings, Christmas, Easter...) were celebrated in my family many years ago.
  • Food fads or food fashions - how have they changed over the years? TV dinner anyone? What about a smoothie?
  • Prepare a typical 1950s desert as a demonstration speech.
  • How has food preparation changed over the last 25 years? Over the last 100 years?
  • Check out the family photographs. How has clothing changed through the years? For babies? For girls? For boys? For adults?
  • Ask your grandparents about what household chores they did on a regular basis. How does that compare with what you do?
  • Did your grandparents get an allowance? If so, how much was it, and what did they do with it?
  • What are differences between the house or apartment that your grandparents grew up in and the one you live in?
  • What household items held pride of place 50+ years ago?  
  • The history of my first and last name - where it came from, what it means and how it's changed over the years.
  • A walk through a typical 1950s/1960s/1970s school day. Were they really "the best days of our lives"?
  • How has classroom discipline changed over the last 100 years?
  • How have the subjects taught in schools changed over the last 50+ years?
  • What school activities and sports were common 50+ years ago? 
  • Word fashion (the current slang) - what's in, what's out. Examples from bygone eras and present day.
  • The origin of local place names - how places get their names, why they stick, or change.
  • What jobs are no longer needed in your area because of modern technology?
  • How has going shopping changed over the last 3 decades?
  • Have attitudes around money and possessions changed over the last 50 + years in your community?  
  • How did the area you live in cope with the 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic? How does that compare with what happened during the height of the Covid Pandemic?
  • What is the predominant cultural background of the community you live in?
  • What languages are part of the linguistic history of your area? In what ways are they seen and heard today?
  • What traditions have been passed down the generations in your family or community?
  • What service organizations were active in the community 50 + years ago? What did they do? How did they help?
  • What religions were practiced in your community 50 + years ago?  Has that changed? How?
  • What were attitudes in your community towards people who were seen as 'different' 50 + years ago?
  • What were the most common ways of meeting new people and socializing 50 + years ago in your community?
  • Tell the history of an local historic building or monument. 
  • What was the latest music 20/50/100 years ago?
  • What were the biggest social issues 50 + years ago in your area? Have things changed?
  • How have historical events directly affected your family and community?
  • What were the commonest methods of transport 50 + years ago in the area. What changes have there been?
  • Tell the story of a local character or hero.
  • What were the major natural features of the landscape in your area before towns and cities were built?
  • What were the native animals, birds, trees and other plants in the area  a long time ago? Has that changed? 
  • How have people changed the local natural landscape? For better? Or for worse? 
  • This day in history - a slice of major events from around the world for the date you are giving your speech.

Just plain weird: unusual speech topics

Things, natural or man-made, are often labeled weird or strange because we have never seen, considered or experienced them before. These "new" things become objects of fascination triggering responses varying from awe to disgust. Either way, "good" or "bad" weird jolts a person out their accepted ordinary/normal world, challenging them to consider something different.

Weird things, old and new, can be really interesting and stimulating!

Image: tiger-budgie Text: 100% pure weird

61 weird speech topic suggestions

Quirky clothing/body adornment fashions : some very old, some much newer!

Show and tell the story behind:

  • powdered wigs - why men and women wore them
  • bustles - Why did women wear especially shaped padding ( bustles ) to hold out their skirts at the back?
  • crinolines - Why would a woman from the Victorian era want to wear a wide, bell-shaped, steel-hooped cage under her skirts?
  • panniers - Why did women in the 18th century broaden their skirts at the sides with panniers? 
  • chopines - The first platform shoes, popular in 16th & 17th century. Were they worn to avoid the dirt in the streets or for prestige?
  • lotus shoes - tiny jeweled slippers to fit the bound feet of Chinese women. Find out more: The consequence of foot binding . 
  • cod pieces - a male garment originally worn to conceal and protect genitals dating from the 15th century that became something so much more  
  • corsets - a garment worn by men and women to support and shape the body. In the 19th century their wide-spread use by women caused them major health issues.
  • bombasts - a 16th century practice of wearing padded clothing to enhance/exaggerate the body's natural shape
  • the cockade - a symbol of freedom - originally worn by French soldiers
  • ruffs - a detachable collar that grew larger and more elaborate
  • winkle picker shoes - Who were the men who wore them?   The history of winkle pickers 
  • body piercings - the different types of piercings, and their origin
  • tattoos -trace its history across cultures, its meanings, the wide spread use of tattoos, how to remove a tattoo
  • statement jewelry - the history of jewelry to show status  - wedding rings, engagement rings, crowns, chains of office, the use of precious stones

Are they hoarders or collectors? Why do some people collect things like: unopened bottles of coca cola, album covers, newspapers, playing cards, cigarette packets, menus, garden ornaments, old pens, comics, paper table napkins, autographs, branded memorabilia eg. McDonalds happy toys, Barbie dolls, hair clips, salt and pepper shakers ...

Find out. Do an interview. Take some photos.

Weird beliefs - research and present one or two beliefs you find the strangest. Who believed them?  When were they believed? Where? What country? Can you explain the reason why? 

  • that cigarettes were good for health
  • that the earth was flat and you could fall off its edge
  • that trains went so fast they literally rattled people's brains, making them insane
  • that washing hands before surgery was unnecessary
  • that some races and cultures are superior to others
  • that eugenics (controlled breeding in humans) is an acceptable way to eliminate inheritable characteristics seen as undesirable 
  • that disease was spread by smell
  • that the sun was the center of the universe
  • that seatbelts in cars were unnecessary
  • that a woman's role in life is to make her husband happy

Very strange animals, birds, fish or insects - what are the weirdest, where do they live, what do they eat? 

Here's ten remarkable creatures to get you started.

  • axolotls (Mexican Walking Fish)
  • flightless cormorants
  • long wattled umbrella birds
  • assassin bugs
  • stick insects
  • shoebill storks

Weird inventions - What was it? Who invented it? When, where and why?

Some inventions are truly weird. They were when they were thought up and made, and they still are now. Others were thought weird at first but today are regarded as impossible to live without. 

Investigate any of these:

  • The bicycle - It was considered a dangerous fad.
  • Talkies - talking in the movies. That was thought a gimmick.
  • Mono-wheeled motorbikes
  • Automobiles
  • The saluting device for perfect salutations
  • The hug me pillow and other 'clever' devices, like hairy stockings
  • Electric lamps or light bulbs
  • Personal computers
  • Vaccinations

Strange sports : where are they played, when, by whom, and how. For example:

  • wife carrying
  • egg and cheese rolling (two separate sports)

(The oddness of a sport is often a matter of perspective. If you've never heard of it, or seen it played before, then it may seem weird to you. However to the people involved, either as participants or observers, the sport is accepted as normal, frequently without question.)  

  • Fact or fiction? Choose an interesting true story to retell that seems unbelievable.
  • Trivia: little bits of often useless information. Why does it fascinate? 
  • Research and present little known awe inspiring facts about the functioning of our bodies. 
  • Urban myths - what are they, examples, how are they spread and why are they believed?
  • Weird people. Find out about famous eccentrics: people who have decided to live life on their own terms. 
  • Why do records like the largest man in the world, the longest fingernails, or the greatest number of pies eaten in an hour fascinate people?
  • How many other people share your name? Where are they in the world and what do they do?
  • Weird coincidences - Is it fate, the super-natural at work, or is it really a series of freak coincidences? 
  • Weird professions - passed and present. For example being employed as a rat catcher, chimney sweep, mud lark, lamp lighter, bicycle courier, doula, video game tester, mobile app developer 
  • Weird buildings - For example, the basket building in USA,  the egg shaped office building in India, or the bubble house in France.

Trading places

Image: vintage drawing of a man swinging from a rope upside down. Text: Good life lessons - getting a different perspective, looking from another angle.

Age old wisdom says there would be fewer misunderstandings and arguments if we learned to see the world from the each others perspectives. We would be less quick to judge, more tolerant and more understanding if we saw and felt how it was to walk in the shoes of another person.

Looking from a different perspective broadens and deepens our thinking.

The 5 topic suggestions below span personal through to major world events. Ask yourself, how would it be if I was there or, if this person was me? What would I think? What would I feel?

5 from another perspective speech topics 

  • In XXX {insert the name of a country eg Japan, Samoa, Chile} in XXX {insert the year or century eg the 19th century} a day in the life of a person my age would be ...
  • A day in my Mother's/Father's life at the same age I am now. Where did your parents live? Town or country? In a house or an apartment? How did they get to school? What did they study? What chores did they have to do daily?  
  • Retell an historical event as if you were there and part of it. Choose an event you find interesting eg. the fall of the Berlin Wall, granting women the right to vote, the death of Martin Luther King ...
  • Tell how a major invention or medical break-through changed lives as if you were there. Eg. the development of the smart phone, bionic prosthesis, laser surgery ...  
  • If I was {insert a word of your choice - eg. homeless, physically disabled in some way - blind, deaf, reliant on a mobility scooter ...} my experience of the world would be changed. How? What issues would you face? How would you meet them?

What were the beginnings or the origins of...?

There is a story behind everything and some of them are really interesting!

For instance the Christmas tradition of kissing under mistletoe (a plant that grows on trees) dates way back to the time of the Druids who thought it had mystical powers. It was supposed to bring good luck and keep evil spirits away.

In Norse mythology it signified love and friendship, hence the kissing! And, dear reader, of course there is more to find out. Enough to prepare an interesting, entertaining speech.

The same applies to all the other topic suggestions below.

Image: traditional Xmas card. Text: Christmas traditions: carols, food, presents, trees ...

19 speech topics exploring origins

  • Christmas celebrations or any aspect of them eg. cards, carols, gift giving, special food ...
  • Easter celebrations (or any other widely observed customary celebration)
  • Table manners or eating etiquette. How do "good" table manners vary from culture to culture? Why were they developed in the first place? 
  • Common sayings eg. "to be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth" or "the salt of the earth"
  • Types of music eg. rock and roll, jazz, hip hop ...
  • Types of art eg. folk art, sculpture, pottery, theater ...
  • Postal stamps or money
  • Softball, grid iron or any other sport
  • The current governmental system
  • Zodiac signs
  • Beauty Queen pageants
  • Modern warfare
  • Education - schooling in your country or your area
  • Card or board games 
  • Advertising
  • Television soaps. What's the story behind those long running TV serials?
  • Print - books, newspapers
  • Journalism - where did it start?
  • Language - how does it develop?

Avoiding the procrastination trap

The time is now! 

Having looked through all these potentially  good speech  topics  please don't fall into the  procrastination trap!

Tomorrow - (definition) - When everything finally gets done. Eg. I'll do this speech tomorrow!

Make yourself a  short list  of at least  three possibilities  and thinking about your audience, the main purpose of your speech and your personal interest or enthusiasm for each of them, whittle your list down to the best one.

Points you'll want to consider as part of your decision making are:

  • the time you have to prepare your speech
  • how much you know about the topic already. Do you need to do lots of research, or some? Is the research easy to do?
  • the angle you intend to use - is it persuasive, informative, humorous, unconventional, potentially shocking or upsetting, quirky? How does that fit with your audience's needs and if your speech is for a classroom assignment, the guidelines you have been given?

More places to find interesting speech topics

If you really are stuck for a topic that resonates with you check these sources out.

  • magazines for specialist opinion pieces
  • the top news sites, blogs - for commentary on political events, natural disasters, social issues
  • radio - community, country and world news plus commentary and analysis
  • television for documentaries and indepth reportage
  • bulletin boards in your own community - for current topical events eg a meeting to discuss the implication of closing the local mine or the impact of raising the cost of public transport
  • your family and friends
  • Listening to the conversations around you and observing closely what you see.
  • This site! Click this link - speech topics - to find many more pages full of interesting speech ideas.

How to get better grades for your speech

What does your teacher long to hear.

I taught high-school level English for many years and over that time listened to hundreds of speeches.

Those students I gave an A grade to got them because their:

  • topic was interesting. They'd either found an original angle to present known material or found a "new" topic.
  • speech was tailored for the audience. It was relevant to them and personalized.
  • presentation was well structured. It had a good opening, body and conclusion.
  • delivery had been rehearsed. They knew their speech. The use of props or additional material was appropriate and well integrated into the flow of the speech.
  • audience listened and enjoyed what they heard.

You are welcome to use my  speech evaluation checklist  as a guide to help you prepare an A grade speech of your own.

To prepare, structure & deliver your speech use these pages:

  • how to write a speech  You'll find full explanations and examples of the step by step process needed to get you safely from choosing your topic to presenting the speech itself.
  • voice image   Did you know your voice is an important part of giving your speech? The quality of your voice can make the difference between being listened to and not. Go to the  voice image   page. Read and follow the links to find out how you can optimize your vocal delivery.

public speech topics for college students

  • vocal variety Use tone, pitch, pause and pace to deliver your speech effectively. An interesting speech topic is a great start. It would be shame to waste it and the work you've done through weak delivery!
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15 Fun Public Speaking Activities for College Students

Hrideep barot.

  • Public Speaking , Toastmasters

Public speaking activities for college students

Public speaking activities for college students offer invaluable opportunities to develop essential communication skills, boost confidence, and prepare for future academic and professional endeavors. These activities go beyond the traditional classroom setting, providing engaging and interactive platforms for students to refine their public speaking prowess. Whether it’s through exercises that focus on vocal modulation and storytelling or games that encourage friendly competition, these activities empower college students to become more effective and articulate communicators. In this guide, we will explore a variety of public speaking activities and their benefits, offering college students a roadmap to becoming more confident and proficient speakers.

What is Public Speaking?

“Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.”  – Anonymous

Greetings, fellow wordsmiths and speech enthusiasts! If you’ve ever felt your heart race at the thought of addressing a crowd, or if you’ve found yourself tongue-tied when all eyes are on you, fear not! We’re diving headfirst into the exhilarating world of public speaking, where words wield power, charisma is your secret weapon, and confidence is your trusty sidekick. 

In this captivating blog, we’ll unravel the art of public speaking, demystify stage fright, and equip you with the skills to command any room, from a cozy gathering of friends to a roaring auditorium filled with strangers. Get ready to discover the hidden orator within you and embark on a journey that promises not just personal growth but also oodles of fun.

So, whether you’re preparing to ace that next presentation, dazzle at a social event, or simply want to boost your communication prowess, join us on this electrifying adventure. As we explore the ins and outs of public speaking, we’ll throw in some tricks, share tales of triumphs and fumbles, and sprinkle in a dash of humor to make the journey as enlightening as possible.

Can Public Speaking be learned?

Contrary to popular belief, not all great speakers were born with a silver tongue. The majority of captivating orators you admire today started as mere mortals who stumbled over their words and faced their fair share of stage fright. Let’s dive into the fascinating world of public speaking and explore how this skill is cultivated.

The Natural Born Orator: Myth or Reality?

While some individuals possess an innate knack for public speaking from a young age, they are the exception, not the rule. These “natural born orators” are like unicorns in the speaking world, rare and enchanting. They effortlessly command attention, spin mesmerizing tales, and leave audiences hanging on their every word. But here’s the kicker: there are a few of them around!

The Majority: Made, Not Born

The truth is, most of the world’s renowned speakers, from Winston Churchill to Oprah Winfrey, Malcolm X to J.K. Rowling, didn’t emerge from the womb delivering flawless speeches. They developed their skills through dedication, practice, and a willingness to learn from their mistakes.

Consider this: according to studies, around 75% of people suffer from glossophobia , which is the fear of public speaking. This statistic alone should reassure you that you’re not alone in your struggles. Even some of the greatest public speakers initially grappled with stage fright and stumbled through their early speeches.

The Power of Learning and Practice

So, how do these once-timid souls transform into magnetic orators? They embrace the art of public speaking as a craft that can be cultivated by immersing themselves in the intricacies of effective communication, learning about body language, voice modulation, and the art of storytelling. They attend workshops, take public speaking courses, and practice their skills relentlessly.

Moreover, they aren’t afraid to learn from their missteps. Every “um” and “uh,” every moment of nervousness, is seen as an opportunity for improvement. They analyze their performances, seek feedback, and refine their technique. The bottom line is this: public speaking is a skill, not a genetic trait. With the right mindset, determination, and a bit of guidance, anyone can become a masterful speaker.

Best Public Speaking Activities for college students:

A) public speaking games for college students.

Public speaking games are interactive and engaging activities designed to improve public speaking skills, boost confidence, and enhance communication abilities. Games are interactive and often competitive, making learning more engaging and enjoyable. Here are some examples of public speaking games:

  • 30 Second Speech 
  • Just A Minute Speech  
  • Debate Duels
  • Storytelling Relay
  • Public Speaking Bingo
  • Speech Speed Dating
  • Public Speaking Charades
  • Speech Olympics
  • Role Reversal

1. 30-second speech

What is the 30-second speech activity? Performing a 30-second speech in a classroom setting is a concise yet impactful way to communicate your ideas or present information. This activity typically involves standing in front of your classmates or audience and speaking for exactly 30 seconds on a chosen topic. The goal is to effectively convey your message within this short time frame while engaging your audience and leaving a lasting impression.

  • Introduction (5-7 seconds): Begin with an engaging opener, stating your topic’s relevance.
  • Main Message (15-18 seconds): Convey your core point concisely with supporting evidence.
  • Conclusion (5-7 seconds): Summarize or issue a call to action to reinforce your message.

Rules and Tips:

  • Manage time closely.
  • Speak clearly and at a steady pace.
  • Engage the audience with questions or prompts.
  • Use confident body language.
  • Utilize visual aids if allowed.
  • Stay calm by practicing and taking deep breaths.

By adhering to these steps and guidelines, you can confidently deliver a compelling 30-second speech in class.

2. Just A Minute speech (JAM)

What is the Just A Minute speech activity? The “Just A Minute” ( JAM ) speech activity challenges participants to speak on a given topic for one minute without hesitation, repetition, or deviation. It fosters improvisational speaking skills and quick thinking.

Preparation:

  • Topic Familiarization: Stay informed about various topics.
  • Practice: Hone spontaneous speaking abilities on diverse subjects.

How to Do It:

  • Selection: Participants are chosen randomly or in order.
  • Topic Assignment: A moderator provides a topic, and the speaker has one minute to discuss it.
  • Rules: Avoid hesitation, repetition, or deviation from the topic.
  • Scoring: Judges evaluate adherence to rules, fluency, and content quality.
  • The JAM speech activity is an enjoyable and educational exercise for enhancing public speaking and improvisation skills.

3. Debate Duels:

Activity: Debate duels involve organizing structured debates between two students or teams who argue opposing sides of a chosen topic. Participants present arguments, offer rebuttals, and conclude their case. The goal is to foster well-researched arguments and promote respectful discourse.

  • Topic Selection: Choose a relevant and debatable topic.
  • Research: Participants should research their respective positions thoroughly.
  • Format: Decide on debate format (e.g., timed speeches, cross-examination).
  • Roles: Assign roles such as debaters, moderators, and timekeepers.
  • Opening Statements: Each side presents its arguments.
  • Rebuttals: Teams respond to opponents’ arguments.
  • Cross-examination (if included): Teams question each other.
  • Conclusions: Summarize key points and restate positions.
  • Maintain respect and civility.
  • Use evidence and logic to support arguments.
  • Stick to time limits for speeches.
  • Follow the predetermined format.

Debate duels provide a platform for students to develop research, critical thinking, and communication skills through structured, respectful debate.

4. Storytelling Relay:

Activity: In a storytelling relay, teams of 3-4 students collaborate to create a narrative. It starts with one student providing an opening sentence, and each subsequent student adds one sentence to continue the story. The aim is to build a cohesive narrative with seamless transitions.

  • Team Formation: Divide students into teams of 3-4 members.
  • Topic or Theme: Decide if there’s a specific topic or theme for the stories.
  • Order: Determine the order in which students will contribute to the story.
  • Time Limit: Set a time limit for each sentence contribution, e.g., 10 seconds.
  • Opening Sentence: The first student in each team provides an opening sentence to begin the story.
  • Sentence Contributions: Each student takes turns adding one sentence to continue the narrative.
  • Transitions: Students must ensure their sentences connect smoothly with the previous ones.
  • Cohesion: Teams collaborate to maintain consistency and coherence in the story.
  • Maintain the predetermined order for sentence contributions.
  • Keep sentences concise and on-topic.
  • Ensure sentences flow logically from one another.
  • Encourage creativity and adaptability.

Storytelling relay is a creative and collaborative activity that fosters teamwork, creativity, and improvisation skills as students work together to build a compelling story.

5. Public Speaking Bingo:

Activity: In Public Speaking Bingo, bingo cards with different public speaking challenges in each square are created (e.g., “Use a compelling statistic,” “Maintain eye contact,” “No filler words”). During speeches, students mark off squares as they complete the challenges, aiming to achieve a bingo.

  • Bingo Cards: Create bingo cards with various public speaking challenges randomly placed in each square.
  • Topics: Prepare speech topics or allow students to choose their own.
  • Markers or Chips: Provide markers or chips for students to use when they complete a challenge.
  • Prizes (optional): Consider offering small prizes for students who achieve bingo.
  • Card Distribution: Distribute the bingo cards to students before the speeches begin.
  • Speeches: As students give their speeches, they mark off squares when they complete the challenges listed.
  • Winning: The first student to complete a row, column, or diagonal with marked squares shouts “Bingo!” and wins the game.
  • Challenges must be completed during the speech.
  • Challenges should be marked off honestly.
  • The winner should declare “Bingo” immediately upon completing a line of challenges.

Public Speaking Bingo is a fun and interactive activity that encourages students to focus on specific public speaking skills and techniques while delivering speeches, making the learning experience engaging and enjoyable.

6. Speech Speed Dating:

Activity: Speech Speed Dating involves pairing students and giving them 3-5 minutes each to introduce themselves or present a mini-topic. After each “date,” students switch partners. This exercise helps improve speaking under time constraints and fosters active listening skills.

  • Pairing: Arrange students in pairs.
  • Topics (optional): Prepare mini-topics or allow students to choose what they’ll speak about.
  • Timer: Set a timer for each speaking session.
  • Space: Ensure there’s enough space for students to move between partners.
  • Introduction: Students introduce themselves or present their mini-topic to their partner within the time limit.
  • Switch Partners: After the allotted time, students rotate to a new partner and repeat the process.
  • Repeat: Continue this cycle for multiple rounds, allowing students to interact with different partners.
  • Stick to the time limit for each speaking session.
  • Encourage active listening and engagement during each “date.”
  • Ensure students switch partners as instructed to maximize interaction.

Speech Speed Dating is a dynamic activity that enhances students’ ability to convey information succinctly and promotes effective listening and engagement in a fast-paced speaking environment.

7. Public Speaking Charades:

Activity: Public Speaking Charades involves creating cards with different public speaking scenarios or gestures (e.g., “Giving a TED Talk,” “Delivering bad news”). Students act out these scenarios without speaking, and the audience guesses what they’re portraying. This exercise enhances nonverbal communication skills.

  • Scenario Cards: Prepare cards with various public speaking scenarios or gestures.
  • Audience: Arrange for an audience or divide students into small groups to take turns acting and guessing.
  • Timer: Set a timer for each acting session.
  • Card Draw: One student draws a scenario card and acts it out without speaking.
  • Guessing: The audience or other students guess what public speaking scenario is being portrayed.
  • Rotation: After a set time or when the correct guess is made, a new student takes a turn.
  • No speaking or verbal cues are allowed during the charades.
  • Encourage creative and expressive gestures to convey the scenario.
  • Keep the game moving by setting time limits for each turn.

Public Speaking Charades is a lively activity that sharpens nonverbal communication skills and creativity while making public speaking scenarios more engaging and memorable.

8. Speech Olympics:

Activity: Speech Olympics is a structured competition where students participate in a series of public speaking challenges, which can include tongue twisters, impromptu storytelling, persuasive pitches, and more. Participants earn medals or points based on their performance. This activity provides a fun and lighthearted way to develop various speaking skills.

  • Challenge Selection: Choose a variety of speaking challenges that suit the skill levels of the participants.
  • Scoring System: Determine how participants will earn points or medals (e.g., judging panels or audience voting).
  • Materials: Prepare any necessary materials or props for specific challenges.
  • Medals or Prizes: Optional – acquire medals or prizes for winners.
  • Introduction: Explain the rules and challenges to the participants.
  • Challenge Rotation: Participants move through a series of challenges, competing against each other.
  • Scoring: Use the predetermined scoring system to assess performance and award medals or points.
  • Winners: Announce the winners and celebrate their achievements.
  • Participants must adhere to the specific rules of each challenge.
  • Judges or the audience score performances based on predefined criteria.
  • Encourage sportsmanship and respectful competition.

Speech Olympics is a dynamic activity that allows students to practice a range of speaking skills competitively and engagingly, making it an enjoyable learning experience.

9. Role Reversal:

Activity: In Role Reversal, students play both the role of the speaker and the audience. After delivering a speech, they switch roles, with the audience members providing constructive feedback to the speaker. This exercise helps students gain insight into the audience’s perspective and fosters effective feedback skills.

  • Speech Topics: Assign or allow students to choose their speech topics.
  • Feedback Guidelines: Prepare guidelines for constructive feedback.
  • Peer Evaluation Forms: Create forms or worksheets for audience members to provide feedback.
  • Speaker’s Turn: A student delivers a speech on their chosen topic.
  • Role Reversal: After the speech, the roles switch, and the audience becomes the feedback provider.
  • Feedback Session: The audience offers constructive feedback, focusing on strengths and areas for improvement.
  • Discussion: Encourage a brief discussion where the speaker can ask clarifying questions or provide context for their choices.
  • Feedback should be respectful and constructive, focusing on the speech’s content and delivery.
  • Encourage active listening and thoughtful feedback from the audience.
  • The speaker should be receptive to feedback and open to improvement suggestions.

Role Reversal is an interactive exercise that enhances students’ understanding of both the speaker and audience perspectives, promoting effective communication skills and constructive feedback within a learning environment.

B) Public Speaking Exercises for college students: 

Public speaking exercises are structured activities and practices aimed at improving public speaking skills. Exercises are structured activities that often focus on specific aspects of public speaking, such as breath control, diction, or body language. Each exercise typically targets a specific aspect of public speaking or communication. Here are some common public speaking exercises:

  • Breathing Exercises
  • Tongue Twisters
  • Mirror Practice
  • Storytelling Practice
  • Impromptu Practice
  • Emotional Vocal Modulation

1. Breathing Exercises

Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique that involves using your diaphragm, a muscle located below your ribcage, to control your breath. It is a fundamental exercise for improving vocal projection and managing anxiety during speaking or public speaking situations.

How to Do It: To perform diaphragmatic breathing, sit or stand comfortably with proper posture. Inhale deeply through your nose for a slow count of four, allowing your diaphragm to expand and your lower lungs to fill. Hold your breath for four counts without tensing your chest or neck. Then, exhale slowly and steadily through your mouth for another count of four. Repeat this breathing pattern regularly to strengthen your diaphragm, enhance vocal projection, and reduce anxiety associated with speaking engagements.

2. Tongue Twisters:

Tongue twisters are word or phrase sequences designed to be challenging to articulate due to their repetitive or tricky sounds. This exercise is used to improve pronunciation, diction, and speech clarity.

How to Do It: To perform tongue twisters, start with simple ones and gradually advance to more complex ones as your proficiency grows. Pronounce each word or phrase, emphasizing correct articulation, and gradually increase your speed. The goal is to challenge your tongue and mouth muscles, enhancing your ability to enunciate words clearly and improving your overall speech clarity.

  • She sells seashells by the seashore.
  • Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear; Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy, was he?
  • How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
  • Unique New York, you know you need a unique New York.
  • Red leather, yellow leather.
  • Six slippery snails slid slowly seaward.
  • Betty Botter bought some butter but the butter was bitter, so Betty bought some better butter to make the bitter butter better.
  • Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?
  • Irish wristwatch, Swiss wristwatch.

3. Mirror Practice:

Mirror practice is a technique used to enhance your public speaking skills. It involves standing in front of a full-length mirror while delivering a speech or presentation. The aim is to closely observe and improve your body language, facial expressions, and gestures as you speak.

How to Do It: To perform mirror practice, position yourself in front of a full-length mirror, ensuring you have a clear view of yourself. Deliver your speech or presentation as you normally would, paying keen attention to your reflection. Focus on your posture, hand movements, facial expressions, and any other nonverbal cues you use while speaking. By actively observing yourself in the mirror, you can identify areas for improvement in your delivery and work on refining your public speaking skills over time.

4. Storytelling Practice:

Storytelling practice involves sharing personal anecdotes or stories with friends or peers while incorporating storytelling techniques such as creating suspense, infusing humor, and using vivid descriptions. This practice is aimed at refining your storytelling skills and making your narratives more engaging.

How to Do It: To perform storytelling practice, select a personal anecdote or story you’d like to share. As you share it with friends or peers, focus on the storytelling elements. Create suspense by building anticipation and keeping your audience curious about what happens next. Infuse humor by adding funny anecdotes or witty remarks where appropriate. Use vivid descriptions to paint a clear picture and evoke emotions. By practicing storytelling in this way, you can develop your ability to captivate your audience and make your narratives more compelling.

5. Impromptu Topics:

Impromptu topics practice involves regularly engaging in impromptu speaking by selecting random topics or prompts and delivering short, on-the-spot speeches about them. This exercise is designed to sharpen your ability to think quickly and articulate ideas effectively without prior preparation.

How to Do It: To perform impromptu topic practice, have a selection of random topics or prompts ready. These topics can be related to various subjects, such as current events, personal experiences, or hypothetical scenarios. Choose a topic at random and challenge yourself to deliver a brief speech or response to it without any prior planning or research. This exercise will help you become more comfortable with spontaneous speaking, improve your ability to organize your thoughts quickly and enhance your overall communication skills.

6. Emotional Vocal Modulation:

Emotional vocal modulation is a technique used to enhance the expressiveness of your speeches. It involves practicing the variation of your tone, pitch, and inflection to convey different emotions effectively. By modulating your voice, you can captivate your audience and convey a range of feelings and sentiments in your presentations.

How to Do It: To perform emotional vocal modulation, start by selecting a piece of text or speech. As you practice, deliberately vary your tone, pitch, and inflection to match the emotions or sentiments you want to convey. Experiment with different vocal techniques, such as using a higher pitch for excitement, a lower pitch for seriousness, or fluctuating tone for emphasis and engagement. Regular practice of emotional vocal modulation will help you become a more dynamic and compelling speaker, capable of engaging your audience on an emotional level.

Where to start Public Speaking?

Starting on the path of public speaking as a college student is a wise decision that can have a significant impact on your academic and professional life. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

1. College Public Speaking Courses:

College public speaking courses are an excellent starting point for students eager to develop their speaking skills. These courses typically provide a structured and comprehensive approach to public speaking. You’ll learn about speech organization, effective delivery techniques, and strategies to engage your audience. Instructors are often experienced public speakers who can offer valuable insights and feedback. 

Additionally, these courses offer a supportive environment for practicing your speaking skills. You’ll have the opportunity to present speeches in front of your peers, receive constructive criticism, and refine your abilities. As a bonus, college courses often provide resources like textbooks and access to speech labs to help you master the art of public speaking.

    “The best way to conquer stage fright is to know what you’re talking about.” — Michael H. Mescon

2. Join Public Speaking Clubs:

 Toastmasters and similar public speaking clubs are renowned for their ability to transform nervous speakers into confident orators. These clubs provide a supportive community of individuals who share a common goal: improving their public speaking skills. They offer a structured framework where you can gradually work your way up from short impromptu speeches to longer prepared presentations.

   What makes these clubs invaluable is the frequent practice opportunities they provide. You can refine your skills in a nonjudgmental environment, receive feedback, and witness the progress of fellow members. Joining such a club can be a powerful stepping stone in your public speaking journey.

   Toastmasters International has over 364,000 members in 16,200 clubs in 145 countries.

You can join our online community of Toastmasters for engaging in Learning and Group Discussions here.

3. Online Public Speaking Resources:

In today’s digital age, a wealth of online resources is readily available to aid in your public speaking education. You can find books, articles, videos, and courses dedicated to the subject. These resources cover a wide range of topics, from speech preparation and delivery techniques to managing stage fright.

The advantage of online resources is their accessibility and flexibility. You can explore these materials at your own pace, focusing on areas that need improvement. Whether you’re looking for expert advice, speech templates, or video tutorials, the internet offers a vast repository of knowledge to help you become a more effective speaker.

  Over 3,000 books on public speaking are available on Amazon.

4. Self-Practice and Recording:

Self-practice is a fundamental component of improving your public speaking skills. Whether it’s practicing in front of a mirror, recording your speeches, or rehearsing in an empty room, these exercises help you become more comfortable with your own voice and body language.

   Recording yourself is particularly valuable as it allows you to objectively assess your performance. You can analyze aspects like tone, gestures, and clarity of speech. By identifying areas that need refinement, you can tailor your practice sessions to address specific weaknesses and gradually build confidence.

    “Practice puts brains in your muscles.” — Sam Snead

5. Seek Feedback from Professors and Peers:

Constructive feedback is an essential component of growth as a speaker. Don’t hesitate to reach out to professors and peers for input on your presentations. Professors, with their expertise, can offer valuable insights into your content, organization, and delivery.

Additionally, peers can provide a different perspective and offer suggestions for improvement. Collaborative learning and sharing feedback within your academic community can enhance your speaking skills and help you gain a fresh outlook on your strengths and weaknesses as a speaker.

   In a survey, 94% of employees said they’d benefit from feedback, according to Harvard Business Review.

6. Volunteer for Speaking Opportunities:

Volunteering to speak in class or participate in campus events is a practical way to apply what you’ve learned. These opportunities allow you to gain real-life experience, helping you overcome nerves and improve your ability to connect with an audience.

Whether it’s delivering a presentation in front of your classmates or addressing a larger crowd at a campus event, each experience contributes to your growth as a speaker. The more you put yourself in these situations, the more confident and adept you’ll become at conveying your message effectively.

   Example: Delivering a class presentation on a topic you’re passionate about.

7. Study Renowned Speakers:

Studying the speeches of renowned public speakers is a powerful way to improve your skills. Analyzing speeches from figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill, Oprah Winfrey, or TED Talk presenters can provide valuable insights into effective rhetoric, storytelling, and engagement techniques.

By dissecting these speeches, you can learn how to structure your content, use persuasive language, and capture your audience’s attention. It’s a practical way to see proven strategies in action and apply them to your presentations.

   Example: Analyzing Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech for rhetorical techniques.

These seven options offer a diverse range of opportunities for college students to embark on their journey toward becoming effective public speakers. Whether you choose formal education, community support, online resources, or practical experience, remember that the key to success is consistent practice and a commitment to personal growth. Developing your public speaking skills will not only benefit your academic pursuits but also prepare you for future personal and professional endeavors.

Conclusion:

The world of public speaking holds endless possibilities for college students. It’s a realm where your voice, ideas, and stories can resonate and inspire. While the journey to becoming a confident and skilled speaker may seem daunting, the key is to remember that every great orator, from the classroom to the TED stage, started somewhere. 

The most crucial step is to just start. Put yourself out there, embrace the challenges, and dive into public speaking activities and exercises. As you navigate tongue twisters, engage in debate duels, or share personal anecdotes, you’re not only honing your communication skills but also building the confidence needed to succeed in academia and the professional world.

Don’t let fear or self-doubt hold you back. The first step may be the most challenging, but it’s also the most transformative. So, seize every opportunity, participate in these activities with enthusiasm, and let your voice be heard. With each word you speak and every audience you engage, you’re inching closer to becoming the confident, influential speaker you aspire to be. Start now, and watch as your public speaking journey unfolds, revealing the remarkable communicator within you.

To seek professional guidance and mentorship for public speaking or Toastmasters, you can reach out to us over here .

Hrideep Barot

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public speech topics for college students

50 Topics for Impromptu Student Speeches

Illustration by Catherine Song. ThoughtCo. 

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  • M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
  • B.A., History, Armstrong State University

For the many people who break out in a sweat at the very idea of speaking in front of an audience , the prospect of speaking on an unknown topic with little to no preparation is likely terrifying. But you don't have to be afraid of impromptu speeches. As it turns out, the secret even to off-the-cuff speeches is preparation.

Impromptu Speech Tips

  • Decide on your topic
  • Come up with three supportive statements related to your topic
  • Prepare a strong conclusion

Use this list of impromptu speech topics to practice making a quick speech outline in your head. For each of the topics below, just think of three main points you'd like to make. For example, if your speech topic is "Your least favorite chores," you could quickly come up with three statements:

  • I don't know anybody who likes to fold laundry, so the first task on my list of unhappy chores is folding laundry.
  • Taking out the trash is another chore that most people dread, and I'm no different.
  • The worst chore in the entire household has to be cleaning the toilet.

If you go into your speech with these statements in your head, you can spend the rest of your time thinking up supporting statements as you speak. When you've identified your three main points, think of a great finishing statement. If you end with a great closer, you'll really impress your audience.

Start Practicing With This List

  • My three favorite animals.
  • What you would find in my closet. Make something up.
  • What you'd find under my bed.
  • The best letter of the alphabet.
  • Why your mom/dad is special.
  • A day that stands out.
  • The best surprise ever.
  • If I had a million dollars to give away.
  • If cats/dogs ruled the world.
  • A trip to remember.
  • My favorite day of the year.
  • If I could only eat three foods forever.
  • If I could design a school.
  • Why books are important.
  • Three surprising facts about me .
  • How to impress your parents.
  • How to plan a party.
  • A job I'd love to have.
  • A day in my life.
  • If I could have dinner with anyone.
  • If I could travel through time.
  • My favorite book.
  • An important lesson I've learned.
  • What I've learned from cartoons.
  • The smartest cartoon character.
  • Three things I'd change if I ruled the world.
  • Why sports are important.
  • The worst chores at home.
  • Why I deserve an allowance.
  • If I were in charge of school lunches.
  • If I had invented school.
  • The best theme park rides.
  • Whom do you admire most?
  • What is your favorite animal?
  • How to achieve your dreams.
  • Why you need a baby brother.
  • How to annoy an older sister.
  • How to save money.
  • Three things that scare me.
  • Great things about snow days.
  • Things you can make out of snow.
  • How to spend a rainy day.
  • How to walk a dog.
  • Great things about the ocean.
  • Things I'll never eat.
  • How to be a slacker.
  • Why I like my town.
  • The best parts of a parade.
  • Interesting things you see in the sky.
  • Things to remember when you're camping.
  • An experience with a bully.
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100+ Good Informative Speech Topics for College Students

A group of multi-ethnic people gather around a speaker in a studio

Public speaking is a phase many students will go through before completing their academic careers. However, students find it challenging to stand before their class and speak. This action prompts students to browse educational websites, searching for informative speech topics that will help them out.

Coming up with essay topics and informative speech topics for college may be difficult but not impossible. We have 100 informative speech topics for college students to give you fresh ideas for your upcoming speech.

Interesting Informative Speech Topics for College Students

Accessible informative speech topics, fun informative speech topics, college informative speech topics, informative speech topics for high school, easy informative speech topics for college students, good topics for informative speeches, the best informative speech topics, unique informative speech topics, informative speech topic ideas for college students.

When searching for informative topics for speech, you must put all your informative speech topics in a well-structured format. Additionally, writing down your informative speech ideas will help you avoid leaving anything out.

Here are topic cases for informative speech writing.

  • Best career opportunities in IT
  • How to start an investment portfolio
  • How to choose the right career for you
  • What are the effects of greenhouse gasses
  • Is the media a reliable source of information?
  • The importance of validation to a person’s morale
  • The worst movie of the year.
  • How Hip Hop music affects American culture
  • What creates sibling rivalries?
  • Dealing with hyperactive children at school

Sometimes, your informative speech topic ideas are meant for a young audience; hence the informative topics should be exciting and easy to understand. Whichever informative speech topic you choose, it must also address current issues.

Here are some accessible informative speech ideas you can consider.

  • How does good or bad governance affect policy implementation
  • How vital are elections to the youth?
  • Disadvantages of student loans
  • Does journalism promote good governance?
  • Advantages of the public over private employment
  • Is it possible to effectively study while working?
  • Importance of teaching taxation to children
  • Are scholarships fairly handed out?
  • How to cater for your expenses while in college
  • How competition affects product or service delivery

Good topics for informative speeches should also be fun to help the audience remain engaged throughout the speech. When searching for good informative speech topics for college students, find out what subjects will interest your audience. Do you need some info speech topics or speech topics for college students?

Here are some informative speech topics for college students in 2020 for you.

  • How to plan for a holiday
  • How much bargain is a bargain vacation?
  • How the great wall of China became a world wonder
  • How to travel safely in these COVID times
  • What is the origin of St Patrick’s Day?
  • How did sending animals to space change space travel?
  • How did valentines come to be
  • Do party games improve social interactions?
  • Discuss the beginning of peanut butter.
  • Are people with tattoos viewed differently?

You may be a student searching for ideas for informative speeches for college students or informative speeches for college students for an upcoming address. For such occasions, it’s essential to go with informative speech topics college that touches on matters affecting students.

Check below if you’re looking for informative speech topics for students or informative issues for college students.

  • Disadvantages of too much caffeine
  • When does birth control not work?
  • Is there such a thing as a bad memory?
  • Effects of alcoholism on the family
  • Advantages of getting employment on campus
  • College tours; is DIY better than tour guides?
  • Should students enroll in college immediately after campus?
  • When is it best for students to study?
  • Women’s roles during and after world war 2
  • Is there life after death?

High school students also require informative speech topics 2021 for their class presentations. When choosing informative informational topics or speech topics informative ideas for a class debate, choose an example of informative speech topics that will help you make a stand.

Here are some informative speech ideas for college students and high school students.

  • Sex education should be left to the parents, not the school
  • How LGBTQ rights change the family structure
  • What is cultural pluralism?
  • Internet control as a way of preventing cyberbullying
  • Advantages of school uniforms
  • Why high school students should engage in political activities
  • Is homework effective?
  • How effective are online learning programs
  • Bunking classes: Right or wrong
  • Advantages of extracurricular activities

Are you searching for informative topics for college students or topics on informative speech? Look no further as other sites may give some outdated examples. Here are some informative speech ideas for college or informative speech topics for you.

  • Growing your business post COVID
  • Ways technology influences business
  • Why personal goals are essential for personal growth
  • Effects of fast food on children’s health.
  • Ways of reducing stress in college
  • What your posture says about you
  • How dangerous is sleepwalking?
  • Does social media cause depression in young adults?
  • How effective are safe spaces in college
  • How college basketball changed the NBA positively

The interesting informative speech topics need to be catchy; otherwise, you may choose good topics for speeches but your audience will find them dull. Below are some excellent informative presentation topics for your following remarks.

  • Discuss the relationship between innovation and technological advancement
  • Advantages of cultural diversity in today’s society
  • Discuss the benefits of learning different languages in school
  • Problem-solving through technology
  • Why Steve Jobs is considered the father of technology
  • Does violence in movies have an impact on children?
  • Discuss technological advancement in medical science
  • Discuss the quote, “News is verified gossip.”
  • Discuss media freedom about Russia Ukraine conflict
  • Is there a possibility of life on Mars?

You may have searched for great informative speech topics without any success. Don’t worry because the following topics to give an informative speech on are ready for use. Here are topics for an informative speech for college students.

  • Discuss the connection between Latin and English
  • Do you need a college education to be successful?
  • Discuss how pop music influenced the youth in the 1990s
  • Is war good for the economy?
  • Discuss UK’s dwindling land situation
  • Japan’s respect and honor culture
  • How nutrition influences life expectancy
  • Should robots be intelligent?
  • How safe is information in the cloud?
  • Discuss the origin of golf

Many unique informative speech topics touch on matters that some find pretty sensitive to talk about or are about a specific topic. These informative speech topics may also spark debate among your audiences. Here are some cases for an informative speech.

  • Is Jazz music the origin of Rock and Roll?
  • Do spiders make good pets?
  • How to tell if a rabbit is male or female
  • Can music influence a person’s mood?
  • Discuss the process of rescuing a dog.
  • Should religious classes be allowed in schools?
  • Should abortion be made illegal?
  • Should the WNBA lower the rim?
  • Should the 2 nd amendment be reviewed?
  • What are the effects of Finland and Sweden joining NATO?

For an informative speech topic to be termed so, it must be well-researched. These informative speech topics must be interesting for the audience and touch their daily lives. Here are issues on informative speech to consider.

  • Should religious clothes be allowed in school?
  • Is Jeff Bezos’ space industries viable?
  • How old should a child be before joining the school?
  • Is nuclear energy feasible in the future?
  • Is the death penalty a violation of human rights?
  • The earth can fix itself; discuss
  • Do mothers make better parents than fathers?
  • Is hydroponics the future of farming?
  • Discuss the world’s water situation by 2050
  • How to make your hobby profitable

We Can Help You with Informative Speech Topics and Papers

Whenever you want ideas for an informative speech or good topics for an informative speech, we are here for you. You shouldn’t have any challenges finding social media research topics , informative speech topics 2020, or 2022 informative speech topics for use.

Do you need any more good informative speech topics, or want a professional to come up with a topic and write an excellent speech for you? We can do that and so much more for you. Give us a call today, and let’s do this for you.

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David French

Colleges Have Gone off the Deep End. There Is a Way Out.

A dozen tents surrounded by students sitting on the ground on the quad at Columbia University; one sign reads, “Welcome to the People’s University for Palestine.”

By David French

Opinion Columnist

I had my head in a law book when I heard the drums. That was the sound of the first campus protest I ever experienced. I’d come to Harvard Law School in the fall of 1991 as a graduate of a small, very conservative Christian college in Nashville. Many of my college classmates had passionate religious and political commitments, but street protest was utterly alien to the Christian culture of the school. We were rule followers, and public protest looked a bit too much like anarchy for our tastes.

But Harvard was different. The law school was every bit as progressive as my college was conservative, and protest was part of the fabric of student life, especially then. This is the era when a writer for GQ magazine, John Sedgwick, called the law school “ Beirut on the Charles ” because it was torn apart by disputes over race and sex. There were days when campus protests were festive, almost celebratory. There were other days when the campus was seething with rage and fury.

That first protest was in support of faculty diversity, and it was relatively benign. I walked outside and followed the sound of the drums. A group of roughly 100 protesters was marching in front of the law school library, and soon they were joined by an allied group of similar size from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. I watched as they danced, sang and listened to speeches by student activists and sympathetic professors. That first protest had an angry edge, but it was also completely peaceful and endlessly fascinating to a kid from a small town in Kentucky who’d never seen a drum circle before.

But things soon got worse, much worse. Protests got more unruly, and student activists got more aggressive. The entire campus was in a state of conflict. In Sedgwick’s words, students were “waging holy war on one another.” Small groups of students occupied administrative offices, and angry activists shouted down their political opponents in class and often attempted to intimidate them outside class. I was shouted down repeatedly, and twice I received disturbing handwritten notes in my campus mailbox in response to my anti-abortion advocacy. My student peers told me to “go die.”

Watching the protests and experiencing the shout-downs changed the course of my career. I was both enthralled by the power of protest and repulsed by the efforts to silence dissenters. Given the immense cultural influence of American higher education, I agreed with the Supreme Court’s famous words in the 1957 case Sweezy v. New Hampshire : “Teachers and students must always remain free to inquire, to study and to evaluate, to gain new maturity and understanding; otherwise, our civilization will stagnate and die.” Those words, combined with my own negative encounters at Harvard, helped define my legal career. From that point forward, I would defend free speech.

It’s been more than 30 years since that first campus protest, and over that time I’ve seen countless protests, I’ve defended countless protesters — and I’ve even been protested against at several schools. In the course of those cases and confrontations, I’ve learned that the issue of campus protest is remarkably complex and that campus culture is at least as important as law and policy in setting the boundaries of debate.

There is profound confusion on campus right now around the distinctions among free speech, civil disobedience and lawlessness. At the same time, some schools also seem confused about their fundamental academic mission. Does the university believe it should be neutral toward campus activism — protecting it as an exercise of the students’ constitutional rights and academic freedoms but not cooperating with student activists to advance shared goals — or does it incorporate activism as part of the educational process itself, including by coordinating with the protesters and encouraging their activism?

The simplest way of outlining the ideal university policy toward protest is to say that it should protect free speech, respect civil disobedience and uphold the rule of law. That means universities should protect the rights of students and faculty members on a viewpoint-neutral basis, and they should endeavor to make sure that every member of the campus community has the same access to campus facilities and resources.

That also means showing no favoritism among competing ideological groups in access to classrooms, in the imposition of campus penalties and in access to educational opportunities. All groups should have equal rights to engage in the full range of protected speech, including by engaging in rhetoric that’s hateful to express and painful to hear. Public chants like “Globalize the intifada” may be repugnant to many ears, but they’re clearly protected by the First Amendment at public universities and by policies protecting free speech and academic freedom at most private universities.

Still, reasonable time, place and manner restrictions are indispensable in this context. Time, place and manner restrictions are content-neutral legal rules that enable a diverse community to share the same space and enjoy equal rights.

Noise limits can protect the ability of students to study and sleep. Restricting the amount of time any one group can demonstrate on the limited open spaces on campus permits other groups to use the same space. If one group is permitted to occupy a quad indefinitely, for example, then that action by necessity excludes other organizations from the same ground. In that sense, indefinitely occupying a university quad isn’t simply a form of expression; it also functions as a form of exclusion. Put most simply, student groups should be able to take turns using public spaces, for an equal amount of time and during a roughly similar portion of the day.

Civil disobedience is distinct from First Amendment-protected speech. It involves both breaking an unjust law and accepting the consequences. There is a long and honorable history of civil disobedience in the United States, but true civil disobedience ultimately honors and respects the rule of law. In a 1965 appearance on “Meet the Press,” the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described the principle perfectly: “When one breaks the law that conscience tells him is unjust, he must do it openly, he must do it cheerfully, he must do it lovingly, he must do it civilly — not uncivilly — and he must do it with a willingness to accept the penalty.”

But what we’re seeing on a number of campuses isn’t free expression, nor is it civil disobedience. It’s outright lawlessness. No matter the frustration of campus activists or their desire to be heard, true civil disobedience shouldn’t violate the rights of others. Indefinitely occupying a quad violates the rights of other speakers to use the same space. Relentless, loud protest violates the rights of students to sleep or study in peace. And when protests become truly threatening or intimidating, they can violate the civil rights of other students, especially if those students are targeted on the basis of their race, sex, color or national origin.

The result of lawlessness is chaos and injustice. Other students can’t speak. Other students can’t learn. Teachers and administrators can’t do their jobs.

In my experience as a litigator , campus chaos is frequently the result of a specific campus culture. Administrators and faculty members will often abandon any pretense of institutional neutrality and either cooperate with their most intense activist students or impose double standards that grant favored constituencies extraordinary privileges. For many administrators, the very idea of neutrality is repugnant. It represents a form of complicity in injustice that they simply can’t and won’t stomach. So they nurture and support one side. They scorn the opposition, adopting a de facto posture that says , “To my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law.”

I’ve experienced this firsthand. I vividly remember representing a campus Christian group in a dispute at Tufts University in 2000 . The group had been derecognized for requiring that student leaders of their group share that group’s traditional sexual ethic, which reserves sex for heterosexual marriage. You might disagree strongly with that view, but granting religious groups the flexibility to impose faith-based requirements on religious leaders fits squarely within the American tradition of free exercise of religion.

Tufts is a private university, so it has some flexibility in suppressing religious expression on campus, but it had no excuse for attempting to toss a Christian group from campus at the same time that it permitted acts of intimidation against those Christian students. For example, at the most contentious moment of the dispute, Tufts officials prevented my student clients and me from entering the hearing room where their appeal was being heard, while a crowd of protesters gathered in a darkened hallway, pressed up around us and herded us into a corner of the hall. There was no campus outrage at this act of intimidation. We saw no administrative response.

University complicity in chaos isn’t unusual. In a case I worked on when I was president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, we discovered that administrators at Washington State University’s Pullman campus had actually helped plan a disruptive protest against a play put on by a student director, an intentionally provocative show that mocked virtually every group on campus.

University or faculty participation in unlawful protest isn’t confined to the cases I worked on. At Oberlin College, administrative facilitation of ugly and defamatory student protests outside a local business ultimately cost the school $36 million in damages. At Columbia, hundreds of sympathetic faculty members staged their own protest in support of the student encampment on the quad, and there are reports that other faculty members have attempted to block members of the media from access to the student encampment.

None of this is new. All of it creates a culture of impunity for the most radical students. Disruptive protesters are rarely disciplined, or they get mere slaps on the wrist. They’re hailed as heroes by many of their professors. Administrators look the other way as protesters pitch their tents on the quad — despite clear violations of university policy. Then, days later, the same administrators look at the tent city on campus, wring their hands, and ask, “How did this spiral out of control?”

There is a better way . When universities can actually recognize and enforce the distinctions among free speech, civil disobedience and lawlessness, they can protect both the right of students to protest and the rights of students to study and learn in peace.

In March a small band of pro-Palestinian students at Vanderbilt University in Nashville pushed past a security guard so aggressively that they injured him , walked into a university facility that was closed to protest and briefly occupied the building. The university had provided ample space for protest, and both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students had been speaking and protesting peacefully on campus since Oct. 7.

But these students weren’t engaged in free speech. Nor were they engaged in true civil disobedience. Civil disobedience does not include assault, and within hours the university shut them down. Three students were arrested in the assault on the security guard, and one was arrested on charges of vandalism. More than 20 students were subjected to university discipline, three were expelled , and one was suspended.

The message was clear: Every student can protest, but protest has to be peaceful and lawful. In taking this action, Vanderbilt was empowered by its posture of institutional neutrality . It does not take sides in matters of public dispute. Its fundamental role is to maintain a forum for speech, not to set the terms of the debate and certainly not to permit one side to break reasonable rules that protect education and safety on campus.

Vanderbilt is not alone in its commitment to neutrality. The University of Chicago has long adhered to the Kalven principles , a statement of university neutrality articulated in 1967 by a committee led by one of the most respected legal scholars of the last century, Harry Kalven Jr. At their heart, the Kalven principles articulate the view that “the instrument of dissent and criticism is the individual faculty member or the individual student. The university is the home and sponsor of critics; it is not itself the critic. It is, to go back once again to the classic phrase, a community of scholars.”

Contrast Vanderbilt’s precise response with the opposing extremes. In response to the chaos at Columbia, the school is finishing the semester with hybrid classes, pushing thousands of students online. The University of Southern California canceled its main stage commencement ceremony , claiming that the need for additional safety measures made the ceremony impractical. At both schools the inability to guarantee safety and order has diminished the educational experience of their students.

While U.S.C. and Columbia capitulate, other schools have taken an excessively draconian approach. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas posted on X, “Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.” On April 25 the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent a forceful letter to the president of the University of Texas at Austin condemning the display of force on campus. “U.T. Austin,” it wrote, “at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott, appears to have pre-emptively banned peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters due solely to their views rather than for any actionable misconduct.”

At Emory University, footage emerged of police tackling a female professor who posed no obvious danger to the police or anyone else. Protests are almost always tense, and there is often no easy way to physically remove protesters from campus, but the video footage of the confrontation with the professor was shocking. It’s hard to conceive of a justification for the violent police response.

At this moment, one has the impression that university presidents at several universities are simply hanging on, hoping against hope that they can manage the crisis well enough to survive the school year and close the dorms and praying that passions cool over the summer.

That is a vain hope. There is no indication that the war in Gaza — or certainly the region — will be over by the fall. It’s quite possible that Israel will be engaged in full-scale war on its northern border against Hezbollah. And the United States will be in the midst of a presidential election that could be every bit as contentious as the 2020 contest.

But the summer does give space for a reboot. It allows universities to declare unequivocally that they will protect free speech, respect peaceful civil disobedience and uphold the rule of law by protecting the campus community from violence and chaos. Universities should not protect students from hurtful ideas, but they must protect their ability to peacefully live and learn in a community of scholars. There is no other viable alternative.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .

David French is an Opinion columnist, writing about law, culture, religion and armed conflict. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a former constitutional litigator. His most recent book is “Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation .” You can follow him on Threads ( @davidfrenchjag ).

Those Who Preach Free Speech Need to Practice It

Too many leaders, on campus and in government, are failing to uphold the First Amendment rights they claim to champion.

A photo of student protesters facing off against riot police.

Updated at 9:35 a.m. ET on April 30, 2024

Say you’re a college senior, just a few weeks from graduation. For as long as you can remember—even back in high school, before you set foot on campus—older people have talked about free speech. More specifically, older people have talked about free speech and you : whether your generation understands it, whether you believe in it, whether you can handle it.

After watching some of those same people order crackdowns on campus protests over the past few days, you might have a few questions for them.

Last week, from New York to Texas, cops stormed college campuses clad in riot gear. They weren’t there to confront active shooters, thank goodness, or answer bomb threats. Instead, they were there to conduct mass arrests of students protesting the war in Gaza.

As the legal director of a First Amendment advocacy nonprofit, I teach students across the country that the government can’t silence speakers because of their beliefs, even—and perhaps especially—if those beliefs are unpopular or cause offense. That’s a foundational principle of free-speech law. But many of the crackdowns appear to be a direct reaction to the protesters’ views about Israel.

After sending a phalanx of state law-enforcement officers into the University of Texas at Austin campus, for example, Governor Greg Abbott announced on X that students “joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled.”

Erwin Chemerinsky: No one has a right to protest in my home

But no First Amendment exception exists for “hate-filled” speech. And for good reason: In our pluralistic democracy, everyone has their own subjective idea of what, if any, speech is too “hateful” to hear, making an objective definition impossible. And empowering the government to draw that line will inevitably silence dissent.

At UT, the officers arrested scores of protesters for “ trespassing .” But the students don’t appear to have violated school rules. And you can’t trespass on a place where you have the right to be, as students at the public universities they attend clearly do. Even a cameraman for a local news station was tackled and arrested . The next day, the Travis County attorney’s office dropped all of the trespassing charges for lack of probable cause—a telling indicator of the disturbingly authoritarian response. (Shockingly, the cameraman does face a felony charge , for allegedly assaulting a police officer—an allegation difficult to square with video of his arrest.) The government can’t throw Americans in jail for exercising their First Amendment right to peaceful protest.

Governor Abbott’s illiberal show of force has no place in a free country. It’s especially galling given the governor’s previous posture as a stalwart defender of campus free speech: In June 2019, he signed a law prohibiting Texas’s public colleges and universities from shutting down campus speakers because of their ideology. So much for that.

Governor Abbott isn’t alone. During her congressional testimony earlier this month, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik pledged investigations of students and faculty who voiced allegedly anti-Semitic criticism of Israel and Zionism, and agreed—on the fly—to remove a professor from his position as a committee chair because of his speech.

Michael Powell: The unreality of Columbia’s ‘liberated zone’

Columbia is a private institution, so it isn’t bound by the First Amendment. But the university promises freedom of expression to its students and faculty—and Shafik’s willingness to sacrifice faculty and student rights to appease hostile members of Congress betrays those promises.

If such things had happened only at UT and Columbia, that would be bad enough—but the problem is spreading. At Emory University, in Atlanta, police officers reportedly used tear gas and Tasers against protesters. State troopers with rifles directed toward protesters stood watch on a rooftop at Ohio State University. At Indiana University, administrators rushed out a last-minute, overnight policy change to justify a similar show of force from law enforcement, resulting in 34 arrests. It’s hard to keep up.

Students nationwide are watching how the adults who professed to care about free speech are responding under pressure. And they are learning that those adults don’t really mean what they say about the First Amendment. That’s a dangerous lesson. Our schools and universities could still teach the country a better one.

“Free Speech 101” starts here: The First Amendment protects an enormous amount of speech, including speech that some, many, perhaps most Americans would find deeply offensive. You may not like pro-Palestine speech; you may not like pro-Israel speech. You may think some of it veers into bigotry. The answer is to ignore it, mock it, debate it, even counterprotest it. But don’t call in the SWAT team.

George Packer: The campus-left occupation that broke higher education

Granted, free speech is not without carefully designated exceptions, and these exceptions are important but narrow. True threats and intimidation, properly defined, are not protected by the First Amendment. Neither is discriminatory harassment. Violence is never protected.

And public universities can maintain reasonable “time, place, and manner” restrictions on speech. That means, for example, that for the authorities to place a ban on playing heavily amplified sound right outside the dorms at 2 a.m. likely does not violate the First Amendment. A prohibition on camping overnight in the quad probably doesn’t either. And taking over a campus building, as Columbia students did early this morning , is not protected.

But the enforcement of these rules must be evenhanded and proportionate. The use of force should be a last resort. Students must be given clear notice about what conduct crosses a line. And any student facing punishment for an alleged infringement should receive a fair hearing. Consistency counts. Our leaders—in government, in university administration—must demonstrate their commitment to free expression in both word and deed.

Students are protesting on campuses nationwide, and they’re watching the reaction of university presidents and elected officials closely. The current moment presents a generational challenge: Do older people and people in authority really mean what they say about the First Amendment? Do they believe in free speech—and can they handle it? Right now, too many leaders are failing the test.

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

Remarks by President   Biden on Recent Events on College   Campuses

Roosevelt Room

11:07 A.M. EDT   THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning.   Q    Good morning.   THE PRESIDENT:  Before I head to North Carolina, I wanted to speak a few moments about what’s going on on our college campuses here. 

We’ve all seen the images.  And they put to the test two fundamental American principles. 

Excuse me.  (Coughs.)   The first is the right to free speech and for people to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard.  The second is the rule of law.  Both must be upheld.    We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent.  The American people are heard.  In fact, peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues.    But — but neither are we a lawless country.  We are a civil society, and order must prevail.    Throughout our history, we’ve often faced moments like this because we are a big, diverse, free-thinking, and freedom-loving nation.    In moments like this, there are always those who rush in to score political points.  But this isn’t a moment for politics.  It’s a moment for clarity.    So, let me be clear.  Peaceful protest in America — violent protest is not protected; peaceful protest is.  It’s against the law when violence occurs.    Destroying property is not a peaceful protest.  It’s against the law.   Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations — none of this is a peaceful protest.    Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest.  It’s against the law.   Dissent is essential to democracy.  But dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education.   Look, it’s basically a matter of fairness.  It’s a matter of what’s right.  There’s the right to protest but not the right to cause chaos.   People have the right to get an education, the right to get a degree, the right to walk across the campus safely without fear of being attacked.   But let’s be clear about this as well.  There should be no place on any campus, no place in America for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students.  There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind, whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia, or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans.   It’s simply wrong.  There is no place for racism in America.  It’s all wrong.  It’s un-American.    I understand people have strong feelings and deep convictions.  In America, we respect the right and protect the right for them to express that.  But it doesn’t mean anything goes.  It needs to be done without violence, without destruction, without hate, and within the law.   You know, make no mistake: As President, I will always defend free speech.  And I will always be just as strong in standing up for the rule of law.   That’s my responsibility to you, the American people, and my obligation to the Constitution.   Thank you very much.   Q    Mr. President, have the protests forced you to reconsider any of the policies with regard to the region?   THE PRESIDENT:  No. 

Thank you.   Q    Mr. President, do you think the National Guard should intervene?   THE PRESIDENT:  No.   11:11 A.M. EDT

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My Speech Class

Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

130+ Demonstration Speech Topics

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Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

demonstration speech topics

Begin your writing process by selecting some demonstration materials.

Choose a topic you are knowledgeable about, as this will help make your presentation much more effective.

If you cannot come up with good public speaking cases for a presentation, then use any of the subjects listed below for inspiration.

In this article:

How to Choose the Right Demonstration Speech Topic

Our list of good demonstration topics, process demonstration speech topics, health / fitness, technical how to ideas, demonstrate …, your central idea and purpose, how to introduce, your outline, the delivery of your demonstration speech topics.

You likely have plenty of processes and skills that you think would be valuable for others to know how to do, but that doesn’t mean that any topic you pick will be a good idea for your circumstance. You have to consider the complexity of the demo and whether your audience will be able to fully understand the process in the time given. Here are a few things to consider to help you choose a good demonstration speech topic:

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  • Interests – Both you and your audience’s interests are an important factor when deciding on a demonstration speech topic. Your excitement and enthusiasm is needed to inspire the audience to care about what you are teaching. If your speech gains great audience attention, you’ll likely have questions to answer afterword. Make sure to choose a topic you are knowledgeable and confident in.
  • Audience demographics – Consider what is appropriate for the group you are addressing. Aim to provide a skill that is of value to them, though be careful not to pick a topic that is either overly simple or complex.
  • Setting – Consider what your presentation space is going to be like. Will you be indoors or outdoors? How much room do you have? These details will help you understand which topics will be better suited than others, given the conditions you’re delivering your speech in.
  • Time limit – Think about what you can realistically teach in the time you’re given for your speech. While one topic may stand out to you, you may not be able to fully cover it if you’re only given five minutes.
  • Visual aids – While your demonstration itself is a visual aid, many how-to speeches can benefit from videos, PowerPoint slideshows, and handouts. Consider what technology or props you’ll have available for your speech.

Speech topics can be broad. To give an effective demonstration speech, it’s a good idea to customize a topic to fit your unique situation. Take a speech topic that interests you and work to hone in on one central idea within that subject.

To discover the main point you want to make in your speech, determine what the specific purpose is of teaching your audience about this topic. What exactly do you want to demonstrate to your audience?

Form a clear thesis statement that answers this question in detail. Describe in one sentence what your demonstration is about and why it’s important that you share it.

Once you’ve determined the central idea of your speech, play with different action verbs to set up your main point. Here are a few phrases and verbs to frame your demonstrative speech topic:

  • How to …
  • Fix …
  • Use …
  • … Works
  • … is done, produced, or made.
  • Structure…
  • X Steps to…

Try some of these other verbs too: deal with, draw, handle, execute, create, develop, incorporate, invent, operate, perform, or predict. Those words generate attention and they are in nature describing what your public speaking audience can expect .

These action verbs and phrases help describe to your audience what they can expect from your speech. Your headline will be more of an attention getter with these demonstration-specific words.

Below are lists of demonstration speech topics separated by category. In order to choose an effective demonstration speech topic, remember to consider your interests, audience, and what visual aids are available. Use action verbs to create an attractive headline and better target your audience.

  • cook a pie (or anything else you like / know how to cook).
  • fix a flat tire.
  • create a Halloween mask.
  • clean your car.
  • play piano.
  • change a bank check.
  • dress like a princess.
  • play a computer game.
  • make a cocktail.
  • taste wine.
  • organize a surprise party.
  • print a digital photo.
  • eat oysters.
  • register for voting.
  • make Irish Coffee.
  • read music notes.
  • learn playing guitar.
  • use your breath when you sing.
  • open a bottle of wine.
  • make your garden full of flowers year around.
  • build a web site.
  • clean your swimming pool.
  • clean your golf clubs.
  • make a fast summer salad.
  • make a new candle of old ones.
  • make your own wedding dress.
  • organize your wedding.
  • make a water-color.
  • build a shed.
  • prevent injury.
  • knot a carpet.
  • stop thinking.
  • speak Italian.
  • become a good actress.
  • become a famous film star.
  • write a film script.
  • write a business-like letter.
  • make honey.
  • blow a glass.
  • train your brain.
  • dry your hair.
  • greet Japanese people.
  • use the cruise control.
  • make a genealogical tree.
  • climb a building.
  • make a dancing show.
  • snow board.
  • board on sand.
  • make a golf swing.
  • draw a cartoon character.
  • build a snowman.
  • use the content of articles without violating their copyrights.
  • put a weave in hair.
  • sculpt your eyebrows properly.
  • apply nail polish.
  • apply makeup.
  • find a roommate.
  • choose the perfect pet.
  • survive in the wilderness.
  • make an emergency kit.
  • perform a magic trick.
  • organize your closet.
  • change a baby’s diaper.
  • find your ancestors.
  • set up an aquarium.
  • choose a digital camera.
  • use the process of deduction.
  • tie various knots.
  • use the U.S. Postal Service.
  • weave a basket.
  • write a resume.
  • knit a scarf.
  • write a will.
  • read a map.
  • avoid ID theft.
  • make bread crumbs.
  • pick a bottle of wine.
  • make banana pudding.
  • make homemade salsa.
  • decorate a cake.
  • make pizza.
  • make ice cream.
  • brush your teeth properly.
  • be healthy.
  • choose the right running shoe.
  • shoot a basketball.
  • wax a surfboard.
  • play chess.
  • play poker.
  • weight lift.
  • program car keys and remotes.
  • backup your DVDs.
  • pack a suitcase that passes customs.
  • find cheap airline tickets.
  • find the best spring break deals.
  • use a makeup if you a guy.
  • fly an real RC plane (only show this outdoors and only if you are good).
  • scribe a good poem.
  • be an ninja (PS Joking sorry).
  • pot a plant.
  • bake a birdhouse.
  • build a model.
  • make jello Jigglers.
  • arrange flowers.
  • polish Shoes.
  • design wedding cakes.
  • stamp greeting cards.
  • make ornaments.
  • color eggs.
  • make a pinata.
  • fold napkins in a funny way.
  • tie Die shirts.
  • get your keys out of a locked car.
  • fix a flat tire on a bicycle.
  • saddle horse (I did this and tooka video of saddling my horse and narrated it to my audience).
  • be a good student
  • make jewelrey.
  • text effective and clear messages.
  • make a paper airplane.
  • grow herbs – e.g. chamomile, parsley, catnip – in your own mini greenhouse.
  • make the crunchiest marshmallows at a camp fire place.
  • care for hamsters or other household pets.
  • fold an origami crane.
  • prepare invisible ink to write secret messages.
  • construct a boomerang that comes back to you.
  • prepare a banana chocolate shake to recover from a hangover.
  • make twirling confetti eggs for parties and events.
  • select the proper running shoes for recreational walks.
  • use a sextant for navigation like two centuries ago.
  • select and prepare a backpack for travel abroad.
  • make up a first aid kit for simple treatment of minor injuries.
  • learn break dance tricks and street moves.
  • build a rabbit hutch or cages and runs.
  • make a real Italian pizza with classic recipes.
  • read a barometer and analyze the results.
  • get energy from solar cells on your roof.
  • identify if a Louis Vuitton bag is authentic.
  • practice active listening communication techniques.
  • learn fast reading.
  • clean and polish golden rings, bracelets, and necklaces.
  • pick a color scheme and palette.
  • count the calories and make healthier choices.

And so on …

Another way of inventing demonstration speech topics is by association . Look at the general categories and themes below.

Food and Drink, Household Appliances, Sports Equipment, Outdoor Recreation Travel Trips, Health and Beauty Tips, Home Improvement, Home Decoration, Vintage Cars, Government Science, Nature Medicine, College Games, Culture, Tires and Suspension Trademarks, Travel Packing, Acne Curing, Building Treehouses, Vaccines, Vacuum Cleaners, Valentines Day Dating, Vanishing Tricks, Ventilation Systems, Video Game Consoles, Making Home Videos, Volleyball Techniques, Warm Ups and Stretching Training Methods, Water Polo Rules, Wind Turbines, Tasting Wine Vintages, Woodworking, How to Write a Testimonial About Yourself, Sales Elevator Pitches, Yoga for Starters Programs … Et cetera.

Process demonstration speech topics about deciding on an evening dress, roommates, and even personalized rubber stamps for public speaking and on how to do or fabricate something and the working of things and performing their functions.

Here are thirty example topics. You could show and explain how to:

  • apply table manners.
  • investigate a black box in an airplane.
  • choose jewelry for an evening dress.
  • choose tasty French champagne.
  • deliver an effective speech.
  • bake the best doughnuts.
  • organize a prom night the whole nine yards.
  • find a good dorm roommate.
  • get a refund after you bought something you do not like.
  • get a satellite tv for free.
  • secure your home from burglars.
  • lose weight safely and with a lasting effect.
  • build a recycle compost bin in your garden.
  • build a pyramid of a team cheerleaders.
  • prepare for a job interview.
  • register or establish a legal valued trademark or patent.
  • overcome fear of public speaking before you stand behind a desk.
  • get rid of roaches, mice and other pests in the backyard the natural way.

Unique Demonstration Speech Topics

  • How asphalt cement is made.
  • How batteries and accus work.
  • How original Aboriginal boomerangs work.
  • How bulletproof vests work.
  • How an artificial pacemaker stimulates a heart.
  • How perfumes and fragrances are designed.
  • How thermometer instruments work.
  • How antique barometers work.
  • How personalized rubber stamps for hallmark imprinted impresssions are made.
  • How topographic maps and globes are fabricated.
  • How air bags open.
  • How an espresso machine produces your cup of coffee.
  • Fireworks and other explosive devices precaution regulation.
  • Preparations for a tandem hang glider flight.
  • Why hot air balloons fly after the sun is down.
  • How lie detectors detect lies. This genre of topics for demonstration speech in education should be prepared with the help of professional officers of course.
  • How a cardiac surgeon does a heart bypass operation to relieve pain on the chest and improve blood supply?
  • Intelligent high IQ tests of the Mensa foundation for gifted and talented students.
  • How metal detectors for treasure hunting work.
  • The Academy Awards ceremony of the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Academy.
  • The patent examining procedure of the Trademark Office.
  • The organization of political election conventions.
  • The ultimate method to remove chocolate stains from your clothes or carpet.
  • The UN Security Council explained – start with positioning the permanent
  • The smartest and impertinent money laundering conspiracy tricks revealed.
  • The sun eclipse – the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sunview on Earth.
  • How a radar detector, a speed countermeasure equipment, works.
  • The four forms a rainbow can take – primary, secondary and supernumerary rainbows, and glory clouds.
  • Why our red blood cell production is important.
  • Satellite orbit types – polar, sun synchronous, and geosynchronous.
  • Barometers, the instruments used to measure atmospheric pressure.
  • The VoIP call process diagram demonstrated for teleconferencing.
  • The route of your Short Message Service text from your mobile phone to its destination. Ideal to show the virtual road for passage with a huge map.
  • Unique uses for duct tape.
  • Catcher hand signals in baseball and how to recognize them.
  • How the sun’s ultraviolet rays can damage your eyes.
  • How to stake a rose bush to get more flowers.
  • Making fake UFO photo’s is not difficult.
  • Marinate jumbo-size shrimps for your barbecue.
  • Tips for more privacy in a high school or college facebook.
  • A step by step guide to write an ebook
  • How to close a client
  • How to create a business plan
  • How to create an awesome finished product
  • How to file taxes as a business owner
  • How to network
  • How to pitch your services
  • How to prioritize your time
  • How to research a potential product
  • How to work from home
  • How to ace a test
  • How to balance your time as a college student
  • How to create the perfect study space
  • How to find cheap textbooks
  • How to make any professor like you
  • How to make friends on campus
  • How to make money while going to school
  • How to pick your schedule
  • How to sign up for classes
  • How to deliver an award-winning, persuasive speech
  • How to perform well on standardized tests
  • How to write a demonstration speech outline
  • How to write an informative speech
  • How to write in cursive
  • How to avoid making eye contact with your ex
  • How to breakdance
  • How to dress like a princess
  • How to prepare a presentation you forgot all about
  • The best way to eat a deviled egg without being messy
  • How meditation works
  • How to check your blood sugar
  • How to create a marathon training plan
  • How to find the best health insurance
  • How to perform an Olympic-style lift
  • How to perform a yoga pose
  • How to perform tai chi
  • How to plan a vegetarian meal
  • Incorporate veggies and fruits into your day
  • The proper running technique
  • The fundamentals of a weight-training routine
  • How to bottle your own wine
  • How to carve a pumpkin
  • How to decorate a cake
  • How to fly a kite
  • How to grow a vegetable garden
  • How to knit a sweater
  • How to make peanut butter
  • How to perform a simple magic trick
  • How to swing a golf club
  • Impress friends with an amazing card trick
  • Best ways to pack a suitcase
  • How to change a baby’s diaper
  • How to change a flat tire
  • How to organize closet space
  • How to organize your email account
  • How to save money
  • How to tie a tie
  • How to wash a car
  • The proper way to fold a napkin
  • 10 ways to use a curling iron
  • How an STM image works
  • How to choose the best pattern font for your website
  • How to create an email account
  • How to create an iPhone app
  • How to insert an image placeholder in WordPress
  • How to install WordPress
  • How to print a digital photo
  • Red/green/blue color mixing for website design
  • How to apply make-up
  • How to apply for college
  • How to find a part-time job
  • How to French braid hair

Technical how to speech topics to present information and instructional steps in a demo oral. To explain a techie or complicated issue to educate a public speaker must be concrete; do not only talk about abstract theories but describe it, make it vivid with visual aids, common metaphors and comparisons to ordinary live.

International fitting sizes; the different measurements for sizes in the United States and standards used in other countries, all about the yards, feet, inches, meters, centimeters and their history. You can limit these technical how to speech topics to clothing only.

Animation; show how to create a nice short animated movie or funny cartoon from a series of 2 D images. Give the full set of instructions while you are showing what you mean step by step. Start with a simple animated character, an avatar-like puppet that jumps over a wall.

Sunscreen; the working and the urgent need of using a topical product that absorbs and even reflects the ultraviolet sun beams. Everyone like to sit in the sun, although not everyone is aware that sun protection is important to prevent the damaging effects of sunlight on the long term.

Hard Disk Drives; how to recover data for a damaged hard drive, what does the police, government agencies, criminal investigation departments and internationally respected authorities do with modern technology to discover storages media on a computer.

April Fool’s Day; the best speech topics for a funny how to fool someone are from hoaxes and practical jokes on the First of April; give examples – your main points – in a top 3 on notoriety, absurdity and originality of the sense of humor that’s being used.

Tree Climbing Techniques; provide an adequate training in tree climbing for recreational climbers, discuss the gear, ropes and knots. And don’t forget the forest ethics!

Birth control pills; how does the Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill or C O C P, containing the estrogen and progestin hormones, stop an ovulation.

Mosaic Tile Projects; for decorating your kitchen, bedroom, living areas and even the garden wall. Tell your public step by step in this technical topic how to do it.

Room Air Conditioners; how are energy efficient and reliable systmes designed to meet your comfort needs, and which special technology is used?

One advice to help you with making things easier: Most audiences relate to technology issues in general, so again, don’t get to technical and avoid highly complex demonstratives when exploring these nine technic possibilities.

How To Draw

Draw a Bearded Collie dog, an Abyssinian cat, a Swallow Belied Mangalitza pig, a Dwarf Hotot bunny.

To make a picture frame, to do a magic card trick, to draw a cartoon animal, to kick a soccer ball, to do origami, to make flowers out of tissue, to make a ribbon necklace, to make a friendship bracelet, to play indian poker, to play basketball, to hit a volleyball, to make homemade gatorade, throw a baseball the right way, to knit a crochet, to braid hair.

How to Play Baseball You could talk about the rules – show how to swing a bat – also show how to feild – to run the base’s hit homerun’s.

Caps and Hats Describe in speaking instructions lessons how you can tailor made you school sports and collegiate caps and hats with logos in the latest styles and trends. And for affordable prices. Your speech topics could be about the steps you have to take in getting cool caps for your friends. And the call to action could be: let us get those for us all. If you succeed in convincing and persuading them it would be great. Further I will advice you to spice up your demonstration address with some persuasive arguments topics!

Dirt Pudding For the dirt pudding you will need: 4 cups of milk, 2 packages of instant chocolate pudding, 16 ounces of cool whip, You also need: 32 ounces of crushed oreos, 16-20 clear cups.

Horse Riding Saddle a horse, bridle a horse, clean and scrub a hore back, bath a hore tenderly, feed a horse water, feed a goat or sheep, bottle feed a baby goat nice and slow.

Wedding Planning a wedding: all the preps and the day itself.

  • riding a unicycle.
  • riding a bicycle.
  • making a scarf.
  • catching a fish.
  • sewing something.
  • making origami.
  • feeding a chicken.
  • cooking a meal.
  • using a remote.
  • eating really fast.
  • making someone or yourself faint.
  • using pressure points.
  • doing self-defence.

Set a table, build a birdhouse, plant a garden, make a scrap book, make friendship bracelets, any type of food, make a duct tape wallet, make a piece of clothing, blow a bubble with gum, make play dough, make paper beads, write a letter, tie your shoe, make soap, any type of mathmatical method, make a snow globe.

These are just a few demos that I have done or thought about. Make sure when conducting your demonstration to make it fun, catchy, and full of personality. This will make the judges or audience. It can also make it memorable to take first place!

Also, it is important to describe why it is important to know how to do what you are demonstrating or how it can be useful. And also warnings or things to look out for as far as safety goes. This generally comes in the conclusion. Also, if there is something that is inexpensive, than include prices of the supplies.

For example: If you choose for a playdough. You could say that in comes in handy for a craft project while babysitting or it makes a great craft project and take home in vacation bible school. Be sure to not let the children eat the any of the supplies or finished product. Children may need parental supervision.

While it is not always necessary, judges often find it impressive if you list and discuss the nutrition facts in a food talk and point out a positive health benefit.

For example: ‘Peanut butter is a sweet treat the contains no cholesterol, but has a lot of protein in it.’

This shows your judges or audience you have complete knowledge of the subject.

Random Things You’ve Never Thought Of Act like a blind sea horse, bring animals back to life using facial hair, create a dinasour out of burnt pop tarts and ashes, use the three unforgivable spells in harry potter, flex a bust out of a steel box, tame a huge dragon after stealing it from its true master, win a cage match against a sea lion and a goat create a weird odd monster using black magic.

How to write a Demonstration Speech

Determine the specific purpose of your matter in hand. State it in one simple sentence. E.g. I want to demonstrate how to ___ .

Determine the central idea of the text. In other words: a clear factual statement. Construe representing features or delineate the stages by using ppt picture and figure slide sheets.

They see at once what your try on is about and why you want to share it. E.g. It is important to preserve family recipes and this project is the best way in which to do that..

Determine the central idea of the text. In other words, produce a clear factual statement. Explain representing features or delineate the stages by using Powerpoint picture and figure slide sheets.

E.g. It is important to preserve family recipes, and this project is the best way in which to do that. .

Once you have decided on a demonstration topic, write an attractive, effective, and interactive attention-getting introduction. Think about these sample elementary preliminary parts:

  • Tell them what you are going to teach – (metaphor for “sell”) – them.
  • Why you choose to demonstrate this topic.
  • Why your listeners should know how to do it. Give them a sneak peek of a few benefits.
  • Tell them that they are going to do it themselves in a couple of minutes and that the only thing your audience has to do is follow your instructions.

Lay out in clear terms the procedure – the particular course of actions. You could consider a series of tactical exercises to help them feel what you mean. Design some kind of an approach for acquiring and applying the knowledge you want to share in class.

Arrange the steps. Show the activities or moves you have to make in a logical chronological order. Describe the details. Be clear.

Do not think the audience will understand your demonstration speech topics immediately. Let them ask you questions after each step before you proceed.

Conclude each step in one uncomplicated phrase. Perform these action checks on the main points before you jump to the next step.

Just show them how to do it, step by step. Have you read my checklist? Okay, let’s move forward:

First and for all, remember this ground rule: think about the rules and time limit of the assignment. Plus apply these eight public speaking tips for delivering your demonstration speech topics:

  • Visual aids, such as objects, actual items, models, and drawings all can help your presentation. Do bring them in. For a large object, ask your teacher how to incorporate it.
  • Include personal stories and examples.
  • Provide each audience member the proper materials and ingredients to practice with.
  • Ensure everyone is participating – keep eye contact, laugh, and make some funny remarks in between the lines.
  • Look around you and see if your audience is following you. If not, repeat some sections. There are always people who will not understand right away, but are too shy to admit it. Assist them to jump over the hump.
  • Ask yourself if someone in the audience would assist you with your demonstration. Stay patient and polite, and help if needed. Do not make a fool of that volunteer: praise their efforts in loud and clear supporting terms. You can do it!
  • Close with a memorable summary or with a sharply defined call to action.
  • Ask if there are any questions. And leave a handout of the explored information for people who want to know more.

274 Speech Topics for Business [Persuasive, Informative]

78 Agriculture Speech Topics

15 thoughts on “130+ Demonstration Speech Topics”

How to be strong

How to put air in your tire

how to fall asleep in class

How to do an ab workout at home

How to get a really bad grade or a F on a speech

How to make teachers hate you.

how to put on a condom

How to gain self confidence

How to play APEX Legends rather than doing your Trigonometry homework…

How to groom a dog

how to draw a cartoon figure how to wash laundry how to decipher someone’s handwriting

how to be happy

how to fail a demonstration speech

How to get out of trouble.

How to bring someone back to life.

example of demonstrative speech about life

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COMMENTS

  1. 100 Speech Topics For College Students

    From social issues to current events, there are many topics to choose from when it comes to speech topics for college students. With the right topic, you can create an engaging and memorable speech. Here are some speech topics for college students that can help you get started with your next presentation: The Importance of Mental Health and ...

  2. 150 Good Persuasive Speech Topics for Students in 2024

    Great persuasive speech topics grapple with a contemporary issue that is meaningful to the listener at hand. The topic might be a current news item, or it might be a long-standing social issue. In either case, the topic should be one with real-world implications. Complexity. A fruitful persuasive speech topic will have many facets.

  3. Top 99 College Speech Topics

    Ninety-nine emotional, controversial, or relatable speech ideas for college students. ... So there you have it - 99 college speech topics on which to base your presentation, or to inspire you to come up with a subject of your own! ... Public Speaking for Kids Time Management for College Students. Best Speech Topics >

  4. 212 Speech Topics For College Students [Persuasive, Informative

    Speech topics for college students formulated as ready to go public speaking education thesis statements. Just alter the sentences in the way you like it and there you are: you have your own personal slides and sheets writings for stirring the fire up somewhat and start a function or action based on the classic rhetorica essentials and oral ...

  5. 151 Best Public Speaking Topics In 2021

    1-Minute Speech Topics. A 2-minute speech is an excellent method to start into public speaking and is often utilised in the classroom. It's brief. It's quick. To make things easier for yourself, choose a topic that fascinates you and about which you can speak passionately. Public Smoking.

  6. 112 Persuasive Speech Topics That Are Actually Engaging

    112 Engaging Persuasive Speech Topics. Tips for Preparing Your Persuasive Speech. Writing a stellar persuasive speech requires a carefully crafted argument that will resonate with your audience to sway them to your side. This feat can be challenging to accomplish, but an engaging, thought-provoking speech topic is an excellent place to start.

  7. 434 Good Persuasive Speech Topics

    10 Easy and Simple Persuasive Speech Topics. Below follow topics that should be easy enough to persuade your audience without going into too much research. There are some which can be used as 'tongue in cheek' topics such as 'The paparazzi are the real stalkers' and 'People need to visit the dentist more often'.

  8. Persuasive speech topics for college: 310 of the very best ideas ☺

    It challenges an audience's thinking or position on a topic or an issue, asks them to pause, and consider changing their minds. There are 310 great persuasive speech topics for college students and/or their teachers here. 50 Mental health persuasive speech topics. 60 Education persuasive speech ideas.

  9. 100 Persuasive Speech Topics for Students

    100 Examples of Persuasive Speech Topics. Studying martial arts is good for mind and health. Competitive sports can teach us about life. Reality shows are exploiting people. Community service should be a graduation requirement for all high school students. The characteristics that make a person a hero.

  10. 45 Public Speaking Topics and Ideas

    24. The internet should be free for everyone. 25. Why punishing children for bullying others isn't a solution. This conversation article has some good ideas on that for you to explore. 26. The U.S. should encourage the spirit of volunteerism. 27. Society should make monopolies illegal.

  11. 105 Interesting Persuasive Speech Topics for Any Project

    105 Topics for a Persuasive Speech. Here's our list of 105 great persuasive speech ideas. We made sure to choose topics that aren't overdone, yet that many people will have an interest in, and we also made a point of choosing topics with multiple viewpoints rather than simplistic topics that have a more obvious right answer (i.e.

  12. Speech topics

    145 good cause and effect topics for students; Fun public speaking topics (2 pages:165 topics) 180+ interesting topics for students (1 page: 180 + topics) ... 310 persuasive speech topics for college; 108 feminist persuasive speech topics; 125 examples of narrative speech topics.

  13. 333 Informative Speech Topics To Rock Your Presentation

    Informative Speech Topics for College. If public speaking isn't scary enough, college speech classes can be brutal. You want to impress your professor without thoroughly embarrassing yourself in front of your peers. ... How college students can become millionaires by age 50 with monthly investing; How to start an organic garden; Private vs ...

  14. 110 Interesting Persuasive Speech Topics to Impress Your Audience

    Add emotional connections with your audience. Make your argument more powerful by appealing to your audience's sense of nostalgia and common beliefs. Another tactic (which marketers use all the time) is to appeal to your listeners' fears and rely on their instincts for self-preservation. Address counterarguments.

  15. 70+ Popular Extempore Speech Topics for College Students

    3. Develop a structure. Additionally, it is crucial to organize your thoughts and structure your speech in a logical manner. This will help you deliver your points effectively and ensure that your speech flows smoothly. While extempore speeches are spontaneous, having a basic structure can help you stay organized.

  16. 50 Interesting Informative Speech Topics for College

    Writing. Stage 3. Perfecting Speech Delivery. List of informative speech topics. Topics for informative speech about music. Informative speech topics about animals. Topics for informative speech about global warming. Informative speech ideas about sports. Interesting speech topics about food and drinks.

  17. 100+ Speech Topics for College Students

    So that now we have discussed the 100+ speech topics for college students and ways to prepare, we wish all the students luck and success with their topics. Politics, economics, medicine, science, technology, daily affairs, and social life subjects are included in speech topics for college students. Students need a thorough research, confidence ...

  18. 180 + unique and interesting speech topics for students

    180 unique speech topics for students from 5 broad areas Social media - 50 social media themed speech topics ... Facebook, the first of them, made its public debut in 2004, 17 years ago, and according to its Wikipedia page, has 2.85 billion monthly active users, as of 31 March 2021. Its use as a vehicle to reach people all over the world is ...

  19. 194 Fun Speech Topics [Persuasive, Informative]

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    Focus on your posture, hand movements, facial expressions, and any other nonverbal cues you use while speaking. By actively observing yourself in the mirror, you can identify areas for improvement in your delivery and work on refining your public speaking skills over time. 4. Storytelling Practice:

  21. 50 Topics for Impromptu Student Speeches

    Things I'll never eat. How to be a slacker. Why I like my town. The best parts of a parade. Interesting things you see in the sky. Things to remember when you're camping. An experience with a bully. Cite this Article. This list of speech topics plus tips for making impromptu speeches will help students learn to feel comfortable making a speech ...

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    Public speaking is a phase many students will go through before completing their academic careers. However, students find it challenging to stand before their class and speak. ... We have 100 informative speech topics for college students to give you fresh ideas for your upcoming speech. Contents. Interesting Informative Speech Topics for ...

  23. Opinion

    There is a long and honorable history of civil disobedience in the United States, but true civil disobedience ultimately honors and respects the rule of law. In a 1965 appearance on "Meet the ...

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  27. 130+ Demonstration Speech Topics • My Speech Class

    130+ Demonstration Speech Topics. Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class. Demonstration speech topics and methods to develop hundred demonstratives for good public speaking, step by ...

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