Persuasive Speech Topics List

Persuasive Speech Topics

Persuasive speech refers to a particular type of speech in which the speaker has the objective of persuading the audience to accept his or her perspective. The first step is to get an appropriate topic for the speech. It should be in an area that you understand and which your audience can relate to. Consequently, it is important to know the audience before agreeing to present the speech. Furthermore, this will enable the speaker to anticipate objections to his ideas and to address them so that it is a balanced presentation.

The second step involves setting a goal. This is informed by what the speaker wants the audience to do. For example, a politician would want the audience to vote for him or her. The third step is to ensure that the speech is localized. The speaker should use local examples whenever possible. This is because human beings are prone to care if the issue being discussed is something they can relate to. Fourth, the speech should evoke empathy. Moreover, it should be backed by evidence. Therefore, the speaker should ensure that they use credible and relevant sources.

Fifth, the speech should address the other side of the argument. This will not only make it balanced, but will also add value to the speech by enabling the speaker to strike down opposing ideas. Lastly, having gathered all the material required for the speech, the speaker should select the structure of the speech. The structure should be deliberately chosen to ensure it suits the topic, audience and purpose of the speech.

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Persuasive speeches can be made interesting by the use of rhetorical questions to provoke the audience to think about the ideas being presented. Furthermore, the audience will appreciate an honest presentation of ideas. In addition, the use of a statistics will add weight to the speech. Moreover, the infusion of light humor will entertain the guests.

However, persuasive speech writing presents a number of difficulties. First, the speaker must ensure that they present a balanced argument without undermining their point of view. Second, the audience may be unresponsive to the speech. Third, the speaker has to strike a balance between presenting an insufficient speech and a long one which would bore the audience. Furthermore, the speaker has to ensure that they do not alienate the audience even as they present their genuine perspective on the subject.

List of topics for a persuasive speech:

• Health and welness
• Social, ethical and gender issues
• Politics and goverment
• Economy and monetary issues
• School and education
• Sports and physical education
• Security and civil liberties
• Environment
• Psychology
• Technology

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Topics on health and wellness

1. Meat consumption is harmful to human health.
2. The fast food industry is accountable for the high obesity rates in society.
3. Drug addicts should be sent to hospitals rather than  prisons
4. Universal health care coverage should be made compulsory for everyone.
5. Grocery stores should be forced to label GMO products as such.
6. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
7. Patients and their families should have the right to choose euthanasia.
8. E cigarettes as the safe alternative to cigarettes
9. Alcoholism is a behavioral disorder.
10. Bulimia should be considered a life threatening disease.
11. Anorexia should be treated immediately after diagnosis.
12. All pregnant women must have a compulsory HIV/AIDS test.
13. Genetically modified foods should be banned.
14. Blood donation should be made mandatory to the public.
15. Smokers should pay additional health tax.
16. School cafeterias contribute to rise in childhood obesity.
17. Low fat foods are the healthier alternatives.
18. Sugary snacks and sodas sold in school vending machines and bake sales must be banned.
19. Availability of HIV test kits in drug stores.
20. Doctors should be allowed to prescribe birth control pills to 16 year old girls.

Topics on social, ethical and gender issues

1. Marijuana should be legalized.
2. Gun ownership should be banned.
3. Abortion should be legalized.
4. The death penalty should be abolished.
5. Single parents should be allowed to adopt children.
6. Surrogate motherhood should be outlawed.
7. Freedom of speech is more important than security of state.
8. Voting should be made compulsory.
9. Elders over the age of 65 should be banned from voting.
10. The voting age should be reduced to 16 years.
11. Each board of directors should be forced to have 30% female representation.
12. Bloggers should be regulated.
13. Should product testing on humans and animals allowed?
14. Female genital mutilation should be outlawed.
15. Why you should not choose your child’s genetics.
16. Male and female construction workers should earn the same salary.
17. Domestic abuse awareness should be increased.
18. Polygamy should be recognized by the law.
19. Life imprisonment is the appropriate substitute for death penalty.
20. Gay people should be accepted in the society.

Topics on politics and government

1. America should adopt an isolationist policy.
2. The American democratic system is broken.
3. The expenditure of the military should be capped.
4. The war on drugs is a failure.
5. Zoning laws should be common sense.
6. America should go back to conservatism.
7. Role of media in politics.
8. Autocracy versus democracy.
9. Should Puerto Rico become a separate state?
10. How policy works in local governments.
11. Fixing potholes is the priority of the local government.
12. The government should increase funding of Amtrak.
13. Whose face should be printed in the newest blank note?
14. Should people be drug tested for state aid?
15. The government should have a say on the number of children a family can have.
16. Should the government fund institutions run by religious groups?
17. The government should provide shelter for the homeless.
18. Scotland should be independent.
19. Multiparty politics is the way to go.
20. Anarchism is better than all forms of governance.

Topics on economy and monetary issues

1. Unpaid internships are slave labor.
2. Developed countries should bear the cost of combating climate change.
3. The estate tax should be broken.
4. Religious organizations should pay taxes.
5. Patents inhibit rather than protect innovation.
6. The tax system is broken.
7. Politicians’ pay should be tied to economic growth.
8. The capitalist system is broken.
9. Frequent absenteeism in the workplace should be punished by salary reduction.
10. Effect of NAFTA on employment in the United States.
11. E- Commerce as a substitute to traditional trade.
12. Gun control laws can ruin the fire arm industry.
13. Should successful entrepreneurs who dropped out of college share their success stories?
14. All brands should use social media accounts.
15. All small businesses should have websites.
16. Pay should be based on performance.
17. Call center outsourcing to India cuts cost.
18. Pre- employment drug testing is necessary.
19. English should remain the international language for business.
20. Can the European debt crisis affect America’s small businesses?

Topics on school and education

1. Students should be subjected to mandatory drug and pregnancy tests.
2. There should be compulsory youth service for all high school graduates before joining college.
3. Every student should be forced to learn how to code.
4. Students must wear uniforms.
5. Every student should learn at least one foreign language.
6. Exams should be abolished.
7. Video cameras should be installed in classes to monitor teachers- students’ interaction.
8. No homework should be assigned to students during weekends.
9. Schools should shift from a nine month school year to year – round schooling.
10. Armed policemen and metallic detectors should be installed in all schools.
11. Art and music are an essential part of education.
12. Should boys and girls have separate study halls?
13. Schools should have a mandatory life skills class.
14. Should state colleges be free?
15. Why we should support education in developing countries.
16. Schools with constant low test scores should be closed.
17. Students responsible for bullying should be expelled from school.
18. Teachers should have to pass a test of basic skills every decade to renew their certifications.
19. Should free college tuition be offered to poor students?
20. Students should be allowed to listen to music during prep time.

Topics on sports and physical education

1. American football should be banned in colleges.
2. Sports salaries should be capped.
3. Sports men and women are role models.
4. Drug tests must be carried out for players in all levels.
5. Students in sports teams should attain a certain grade point average in order to play.
6. Coaches should give secondary school level players equal playing time regardless of skills.
7. College athletes are smart.
8. Mind reading during poker games should be banned.
9. Soccer mums should establish their own soccer leagues.
10. Boxing is no longer an entertaining sport.
11. Athletics is given more priority as compared to other sports.
12. Cheerleading should not be considered as a sport.
13. The media should give female sports more coverage.
14. All students should enroll in sports programs to keep fit.
15. Grading of students should include their gym and sports activities.
16. Athletes who take performance enhancing drugs should be banned from professional sport practice.
17. Parents – spectators should sign a “Spectator Expectation Code of Conduct.”
18. Spectator sports are overemphasized in America today.
19. Physical education should be mandatory to students every day of the week.
20. Great college sportsmen and women involved in doping should not be admitted to the Hall of Fame.

Topics on security and civil liberties

1. Whistleblowers who disclose NSA and CIA secrets should not be discriminated.
2. The United Nations is an efficient means of solving international crises.
3. Space tours should be discouraged.
4. There should be stronger limits on immigration.
5. Racial profiling is necessary.
6. The war on terrorism is a failure.
7. It is unfair for the government to detain suspected terrorists without proper trial.
8. United States bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki cannot be justified.
9. The US should withdraw its troops overseas.
10. Development of nuclear weapons can fuel a Third World War.
11. A ban on gun ownership in America can cause a civil war.
12. The International Criminal Court has failed in prosecuting those guilty for crimes against humanity.
13. Terrorism is a worldwide disaster.
14. Does the US federal government have the authority to detain without charge or search without problem cause?
15. Domestic wiretapping and surveillance is not acceptable without a court order.
16. The US Patriot Act does not jeopardize civil liberties.
17. The government should authorize spying on citizens’ phones’ information so as to curb security threats.
18. All foreigners entering America should leave two fingerprints and a digital photograph of themselves.
19. Flag burning as a form of protest should be prohibited.
20. Cyber security awareness should be raised.

Topics on environment

1. Hunting should be outlawed to protect indigenous species.
2. Nuclear power is better than other renewable energy sources.
3. Pollution is negatively affecting humanity.
4. We need to invest more in alternative fuels.
5. Recycling should be compulsory.
6. Only native plants should be grown I gardens.
7. Cashless system is the key to saving trees.
8. Use of bicycles reduces amount of carbon emissions.
9. Un-reusable plastic should be banned.
10. Embracing ecotourism reduces global pollution problem.
11. Global warming is a worldwide concern.
12. Air pollution has a negative health impact.
13. All manufacturing industries should build a recycling center.
14. Licenses must be obtained before cutting down trees.
15. Bush meat should be banned.
16. Global warming is a universal disaster.
17. Selling of wildlife trophies should be rated as a universal felony.
18. Carpooling and use of public transport minimize pollution.
19. Releasing of factory fumes into the air should be punishable by law.
20. Fishing regulations are necessary for environmental conservation.

Topics on psychology

1. The Myers Briggs test is not a valid measure of personalities.
2. Not all mentally people are violent.
3. Dreams don’t possess any symbolic meaning.
4. Hypnosis does not help retrieve memories of forgotten events.
5. Lie detectors are always effective at unmasking lies.
6. Inkblot tests can’t tell much about someone’s personality.
7. 21- Day practice of something makes it stick.
8. Chocolate helps avoid depression.
9. Laughter is the best way to connect with people.
10. Changing residences is good for individual’s social development.
11. Memories of the past affect our present emotional well- being.
12. Social networks are addictive, why?
13. How music evokes sadness.
14. IQ scores; heredity versus environment.
15. Different cognitive styles influence learning outcomes.
16. Critical thinking should be the central element of any study curriculum.
17. Reasons why “good girls” fall for “bad boys”.
18. Psychiatric conditions don’t get worse during full moons.
19. Justify Pavlov’s dog experiment.
20. Midlife crisis is an issue of concern.

Topics on technology

1. There should be a plan for the internet.
2. Technology is more of a curse than a blessing.
3. Television promotes violence in children.
4. The sale of video games to children should be prohibited.
5. Desktop computers are outdated.
6. Traditional books are better than e-books.
7. School and household internet should be filtered.
8. Smart phones should be prohibited for teens below 16 years of age.
9. Text books are obsolete.
10. Online search engines have killed libraries.
11. Technology has made health care delivery easier.
12. Internet censorship is appropriate.
13. The world is a global village.
14. Machines make people lazy.
15. Tablets and smart notebooks should replace paper.
16. Computer games make children stupid.
17. Hybrid vehicles save on energy.
18. Technology is the key contributor to innovation.
19. The level of development in a country is determined by the milestones made in technology.
20. Everybody should have a smartphone.

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Persuasive Speech Outline Sample

Persuasive Speech Sample

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