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This article provides a comprehensive list of persuasive speech topics and answers to some of your frequently asked questions about speech topics.
Persuasive writing is hard, and it’s even harder to try to come up with an engaging topic that interests you and your audience.
Not only do you have to convince your audience to take your side on subjects that are often pretty divisive, you also have to persuade them to take your side of the argument. The first step to making a successful persuasive speech that will amaze your audience is having a strong topic.
Keep reading for 125+ persuasive speech topics.
Persuasive speech ideas are harder to come up with than you may think. There is a fine balance between interesting your audience, interesting to you, unique and fresh, all while being thought-provoking without being outright offensive.
Here is a breakdown of various topics for persuasive speeches, organized by categories, to inspire you.
Art and culture are always hot topics amongst individuals and groups. There are many interesting arguments and stances on both topics, and many people have strong opinions when it comes to the subject matter.
See below for prompts for persuasive speeches about art and culture:
Topics in arts and culture are always fun to debate and discuss because you have the opportunity to talk about your favorite pieces of media!
Economics is a hotly debated topic. There is no shortage of compelling, engaging arguments involving economics.
Here are some good persuasive speech ideas on the topic of economics:
Economics is a great topic for a persuasive speech because it affects our everyday lives in so many ways. There are tons of research and perspectives to help support your argument.
Many people feel strongly about education and there are many sides and perspectives that come into play: teachers, parents, students, student athletes, and more.
Here is a list of some engaging topics to write a persuasive speech on:
Education is another great topic to write a speech about because it intersects with economics, culture, and politics. These topics will guarantee an engaged audience. This is a popular topic for high school students who are learning about tuition and scholarships at their top colleges!
Since the release of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” and Greta Thunberg’s unapologetic activism, climate change has been at the forefront of many political, economic, and cultural conversations.
If environmental issues spark your interest, consider writing on one of the topics below:
The environment and climate change are becoming, if not already, some of the most pressing issues of our day.
Ethics may be one of the most difficult topics to write a persuasive speech about because the topics tend to cover sensitive subject matter. However, ethics are also some of the most compelling and complex topics to explore.
Here are some potential topics for a persuasive speech about ethics:
Tackling a persuasive speech on ethics is a challenge, as many of these topics are complex and sensitive. It can also be difficult to wrap up a speech on such huge ethical debates.
However, these topics also provide some of the most riveting and energizing debates - if you’re up to the challenge, you should definitely try to tackle one of these topics.
From fitness to food prices to economic privilege, there are tons of debatable topics regarding health. Here are just some of the potential topics you can write a speech on:
People have varying opinions and understanding of health, which makes these topics very engaging and interesting to write about.
It goes without saying that almost every political issue is debatable.
Politics are all about persuading people to take a side, which makes it a strategic topic for delivering a moving persuasive speech.
Sports is another big topic that people care a lot about. There are sports related matters that are questioned everywhere: sports on TV, the Olympics, college sports and athletics, and athletic sponsorships.
Below is a list of captivating sports topics for a persuasive speech:
Sports is a topic that people don’t often think of as controversial. However, your audience is bound to be engaged and contemplating your argument as you present your speech.
As the world increasingly moves to online spaces, and technology advances faster than ever before, technology is another hot topic that people have a lot of thoughts and opinions on.
As technology continues to advance and expand into our personal lives, it is a great topic to write a unique persuasive speech on.
Having a unique and creative speech topic discussing one of your interests can make it stand out more! Think about extracurriculars you participate in, podcasts you enjoy, or fascinating facts you’ve learned. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box.
Exploring these kinds of diverse and intriguing topics will not only capture your audience's attention but will also allow you to share your passions with your peers!
The best persuasive speech topics are topics that are not overdone, and topics that the speaker is genuinely passionate and knowledgeable about.
Persuasive speech topics should also be a bit controversial (this does not mean offensive) because the topic and speech itself should be thought-provoking. The more people are emotionally invested in the topic, the better.
For example, while you can try to persuade your audience that strawberry ice cream is better than chocolate ice cream, it’s unlikely that many people have a strong emotional investment in that topic. Without an emotional investment, audiences will be sitting listening to your speech thinking: “so what?”
On the other hand, a topic like “Should government’s set limits on how many children a family can have in overpopulated countries?” is emotionally charged and truly matters to people.
After reading through all the possible topics you can write a persuasive speech on, you may still have some questions before you get going. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about persuasive speech topics.
Any persuasive topic can be easy to write about if you are passionate about your stance. The more passionate and knowledgeable you are about your topic, the easier it will be to research and write.
There are also easy persuasive topics that are more lighthearted than controversial, which some people may find easier to debate and write about. Some easy persuasive topics include:
These topics are all fun to debate, which makes it easy to write a persuasive speech or essay. Whereas some persuasive topics can be complex and sensitive, the topics listed above are pretty straightforward, which makes them easier to discuss than more complex topics.
A good start to finding a good speech topic for school is looking for a topic that involves something related to school. For example, you can look into talking about school uniforms, class sizes, tuition and scholarships, and school sports, just to name a few.
Having a speech topic related to school is a good idea for school because your audience (teachers and peers) are directly in that environment as well. This means they will likely be more engaged as the topic, whether they agree or disagree, is relevant to their everyday lives.
Any of the above topics listed in this article are examples of persuasive speech topics. Three specific examples that have not been listed are:
These topics are examples of persuasive speech topics because you need to take a clear stance in order to answer the question. The point of a persuasive speech is to convince or persuade the audience that your side of the argument is valid and should be considered, so the topic needs the individual to take a specific stance.
As briefly touched upon before, your topic needs to interest your audience for a successful persuasive speech. While you should make sure your topic isn’t overdone, you don’t want to go with something too ‘safe’ as that will most likely bore your audience.
Coming up with a topic for a persuasive speech may be the most difficult part of the writing process.
Read over our list of topics and pick out a few topics that genuinely interest you. From there, do some preliminary research on each topic and see which one has the strongest evidence to support your argument. Then, you’ll be good to start writing your persuasive speech that will amaze your audience!
