I.E.S N 9-011 Del Atuel.

English Teaching Training Course.

English Language III.
Lic. Mara de los Angeles Prez.

Persuasive Speaking Topics

by Naomi Rockler-Gladen (2007)

HOW TO FIND A GREAT PERSUASIVE SPEAKING TOPIC:

1. Pick something you feel strongly about. If you don't feel strongly about your
topic, how are you going to persuade the audience to feel the same way?
Students sometime say, "But I don't feel strongly about anything!" Yes you do.
Sit down with a piece of paper and brainstorm. If you like baseball, give a
speech for or against salary caps. If you like rap music, give a speech on why
rap music is not as violent as many people think. You get the idea.
2. Avoid your "hot button" topics. Don't pick something you feel too strongly
about. Hot button topics are issues you feel so strongly about that it's hard for
you to understand where the other side is coming from. In order to give a good
persuasive speech, you need to understand the other side's point of view,
because how else will you change it?
3. Pick something controversial. It doesn't have to be extremely controversial,
but you do need to present a topic that not everyone agrees with. Otherwise
there's no persuasion going on, and it's not a very good persuasive speech. For
example, don't give a speech on why smoking is bad for your health. Who's
going to disagree with that? Instead, try giving a speech for or against a
campus-wide smoking ban. Now you have some controversy and a super topic.
4. Avoid "tired topics." Tired topics are those that students pick all the time and
that your instructor has heard over and over again. Yawn. Be creative. Here are
a list of tired persuasive speaking topics to avoid.
5. Pick a current event. Having trouble thinking of a topic? Go read a newspaper.
What's going on in the world? If there's an election, endorse a candidate or a
ballot referendum.
6. Pick a campus or local issue. Are there controversial issues around campus?
Are there controversial issues in your college town? These topics will be very
relevant to your audience members.
7. Pick an issue of interest to the audience. Give a speech about cell phones,
or music downloads, or tuition hikes, or something the audience cares about. If
they don't care about your issue, they won't be persuaded.
8. Pick a smaller part of a big issue. Don't try to change people's mind about a
huge issue in your short speech, because you can't. Think you can change your
classmates' mind about abortion in a 6-8 minute speech? Of course not.
However, you might change their minds about a portion of this issue, like
parental notification laws.
9. Be cautious with issues that some audience members might find
offensive. Speech topics that some students might consider to be racist, anti-
gay, or something along those lines are not great topics. Think about this: the
object of this speech is to persuade your audience. If some of your audience
members feel offended on a personal level, they sure aren't going to be
persuaded. I'm a huge free speech advocate, but you might consider
finding another outlet to express certain ideas than a persuasive speech.

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I.E.S N 9-011 Del Atuel.
English Teaching Training Course.
English Language III.
Lic. Mara de los Angeles Prez.

Here's Matt Dunn's list of persuasive speaking topics. The questions are in debate form, so consider using

Do schools have the right to search students lockers?

Should children be given sex education in schools, or should this be the responsibility of the
parents?
Should the state fund schools run by particular faiths?
Should schools require their students to wear a school uniform?
Are beauty contests harmful?
Should Physical Education in schools be compulsory?
Should parents be held morally and legally responsible for the actions/needs of their children?
Should young people be subjected to curfews as a way to reduce crime?
Should doctors be allowed to prescribe contraception for girls under the age of 16?
Is physical force a justifiable method of punishing children?
Should governments be sending people into space?
Should governments negotiate with terrorists?
Can terrorism ever be justified?
Should negative advertising in political campaigns be banned?
Should governments censor material on the world wide web?
Should the government censor lyrics of songs that are violent or expletive, for example gangsta
rap?
Does television have a negative influence on society?
Should flag burning as a form of protest be prohibited?
Should the state be fully privatized?
Should factory farming be banned?
Is it morally acceptable to experiment on non-human animals to develop products and medicines
that benefit human beings?
Should we be trying to prevent species becoming extinct? If so, why?
Should the present international ban on trading elephant ivory be lifted?
Should the international ban on the hunting of whales be lifted?
Should we ban the keeping of animals in zoos?
Should we ban the keeping of animals in circuses?
Should acts of hate be criminalized?
What acts should be considered hate crimes?
Is it correct for university authorities to ban hate speech?
Should schools be allowed to teach creationism alongside evolution as part of their science
curriculum?
Should examinations be replaced with other forms of assessment?
Should school students face mandatory drug-tests?
Should continued office for public officials be dependent on (successfully) taking a drug test?
Should HIV positive workers have to tell their employers of their status?
Should sex offenders be named and shamed?
Can the assassination of a dictator be justified?
Should assisted suicide be legalized?
Should we legalize the sale of human organs?
Should the numbers of women in the legislature be raised artificially?
Should mothers stay at home to raise their children?
Should prostitution be legalized?
Should the morning-after pill be banned?
Should popular consumerist images of women be banned because they are violent?
Should cell phone use in cars be banned?
Should gambling be legalized and regulated?
Should the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport be legalized?

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I.E.S N 9-011 Del Atuel.
English Teaching Training Course.
English Language III.
Lic. Mara de los Angeles Prez.

Is sport really good for us?

Good luck, students! For more help with your public speaking class, check out these articles:

Public speaking class tips

Fear of public speaking
How to write a graduation spech
How to think of a great persusaive speech topic
Tired persuasive speech topics to avoid.
Fun persuasive speech and essay topics
Great informative speech topics

Read more at Suite101: Great Persuasive Speech Topics: A list of persuasive topics for students to
use in public speaking classes http://www.suite101.com/content/great-persuasive-speech-topics-
a12084#ixzz1DmiPbkMP

Fun Persuasive Essays and Speeches

Fun topic ideas for persuasive speeches and persuasive essays

Are you trying to think of a good topic for a persuasive essay or a persuasive speech? For help thinking
of good persuasive topics, here's some tips on finding topics for persuasive speeches and topics for
term papers. If you're looking for more specific ideas about how to find a good persuasive topics,
here are some great persuasive speech topics and essay topic ideas-- or keep reading!

Here's a tip about finding a great persuasive topic: have fun. You don't have to use a tired persuasive
topic that college students everywhere have used before. And unless you're told otherwise, you don't have
to chose a topic that sounds professional or "scholarly." Instead, find fun persuasive speech topics and
essay topics that you would enjoy working with. It's much easier to be persuasive if you're arguing about
something that interests you!

Here are some fun ideas for persuasive speech topics and persuasive essay topics. I've focused on two
popular categories: popular culture and sports. Be creative and come up with your own fun topics as
well.

POPULAR CULTURE TOPICS

Reality television as a positive or negative cultural phenomenon

Makeover programs
Hip-hop music lyrics
Disney films
Images of women in the media
Images of minorities in the media
Images of homosexuals in the media
Illegal music downloading
Violent video games
Violent movies
Television, movie, music, or video game ratings
Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction"
Sexual imagery in the media

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I.E.S N 9-011 Del Atuel.
English Teaching Training Course.
English Language III.
Lic. Mara de los Angeles Prez.

MySpace and Facebook as a cultural phenomenon

Internet cyberstalkers
Internet pornography
Internet filters
Internet privacy issues
The effect of cell phones on society
The effect of iPods on society
The effect of Facebook on society
The amount of television and other media used by children
Advertising in the public schools
Advertising that targets children
Alcohol or cigarette advertising
Requirements for children's educational programming
Public radio/public television
Celebrity gossip and the paparazzi

SPORTS TOPICS

Salary caps for professional athletes

Sports and steroid use
Funding issues for women's sports
Publicity for women's sports
The use of the Olympic basketball "Dream Team"
The designated hitting rule in baseball
Professional athletic strikes
Drafting of athletes out of high school
The rising price of tickets to professional games
Public funding of professional stadiums
Public funding of community sports programs
Academic expectations of college athletes
College sports recruitment practices
The benefit of team sports to children
Alcohol sales at sporting events
Athletes as role models
Beer commercials
Sports gambling
Violence and sports (hockey, boxing, etc.)
The commercialization of sports
Youth athletic participation in sports like gymnastics and figure skating

Have fun thinking up your own persuasive topics!

Tired Persuasive Speaking Topics

Avoid these overused persuasive speech topics in your public speaking class

Looking for a great persuasive speaking topic to use in your public speaking class? Here's one important
tip: be creative, and avoid tired topics that the instructor and the students have heard over and over again.
The audience is likely to get bored and tune you out. And since the instructor has heard this topic before,
he or she knows what kinds of mistakes students make when giving a speech about this topic, and will be
on the lookout for these errors.

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I.E.S N 9-011 Del Atuel.
English Teaching Training Course.
English Language III.
Lic. Mara de los Angeles Prez.

Does this mean you definitely should not give a speech about one of these topics? Not necessarily. If you
feel very strongly about one of these topics and want to give a speech about it, go ahead. Or choose a
creative and more interesting variation of one of these topics.

Here is a list of tired persuasive speaking topics that you probably want to avoid:

1. The death penalty. In my experience, this is by far the number one tired topic chosen by
students. I have no idea why, as I doubt many students have personal experience with the death
penalty.
2. Why you should join a fraternity or sorority. There's nothing wrong with this topic, but
everyone on campus has heard these arguments before. Your audience will tune you out.
3. Why marijuana should be legal. If you choose this topic, you need to give an excellent speech
or the class will dismiss you as a stoner.
4. Why the drinking age should be 18. See #3.
5. Abortion. This topic isn't as tired as you think, but everyone has heard these arguments before.
6. Why you should wear your seat belt. Or why you should wear your helmet. This is not new
information.
7. Why you shouldn't smoke. Also not new information. Why you shouldn't binge drink is kind of
a tired topic too, but it's more timely.
8. Why you should use a condom. An important message? Yes. A new message? No. If you do
this speech, for gosh sakes, don't demonstrate how to put a condom on a banana.
9. Why you should give blood. Another useful topic that unfortunately has been overused.
10. Why you should recycle. See #9.
11. Violence in the media. This topic is both tired and difficult. There's so much information out there
about violence in the media, and lots of it is conflicting. Sex in the media also is a tired topic.
12. Why you should adopt a pet. This speech always goes the same: cute pictures of kitties and
doggies, followed by horrible stats about how many animals are put down. The get your pet
spayed or neutered speech is not as tired, but avoid any cheesy references to Bob Barker.
13. Affirmative Action. There's nothing wrong with a controversial topic, but this one has been
overused big time.

Read more at Suite101: Tired Persuasive Speaking Topics: Avoid these overused persuasive speech
topics in your public speaking class http://www.suite101.com/content/tired-persuasive-speaking-topics-
a11704#ixzz1Dmj6hfwx