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persuasive speech topics in college

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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persuasive speech topics in college

103 Good Persuasive Speech Topics for Students in 2023

March 31, 2023

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 85 Great Debate Topics , which can be used to generate further ideas.

What is a 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 great 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, and the more your audience will be 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.

103 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?

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 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 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?

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?

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 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?
  • 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?

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?

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 army. 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?

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?

Funny 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?

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?

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.

Putting Together 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 in helping you establish your authority. Take notes as you go.
  • 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 . 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 draw the audience in and engage them.
  • Practice ! As Yoda says: “ Mastery, you seek. Practice, you must .” It sounds cheesy, but it’s true: the more you practice, the more confident you’ll be when it’s time to get up there. Read your speech out loud several times. Be sure to speak slowly and enunciate, and don’t be afraid to make eye contact with your listeners to stay connected.

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!

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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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227 Amazing College Persuasive Essay Topics [Free Ideas]

persuasive speech topics in college

Ever wondered what a persuasive essay is? Are you struggling to differentiate it from an argumentative one? Do you think it’s impossible to find original persuasive speech topics for college students?

If you have answered yes to any question, you’ve come to the right place. Our team can help you!

A persuasive essay is a piece of academic writing that convinces readers to accept the author’s position and agree with their ideas. Through clear arguments and examples, the writer demonstrates the legitimacy of their point of view.

Below, we have provided a list of the most interesting and unique college persuasive essay topics. So, don’t waste any more of your time searching for the right title. Use our ideas and create an outstanding persuasive essay!

  • 👉 How to Choose?
  • ✨ Best Speech Topics
  • 🎓 Ideas on Education
  • 📜 Topics on History
  • ⚖ Ideas on Politics
  • 👍 Topics on Sociology
  • 💰 Ideas on Economics
  • 🚌 Transportation
  • 🌿 Environment
  • ⚙ Technology
  • 🌍 Traveling
  • ✌ Lifestyle
  • 🏫 Teenagers
  • 📚 Literature
  • 🖐 25 More Topics

👉 How to Choose a Persuasive Essay Topic for College?

The main secret of the successful persuasive essay is a compelling topic. Therefore, when choosing the right persuasive topic, follow these few simple pieces of advice:

  • Re-read the assignment . The task that you’ve received from your tutor can be of great assistance. You just have to read it correctly. Unfortunately, college students tend to underestimate the power of the question. Don’t make this mistake. Read your assignment carefully because it can provide clues on the topic to look for.
  • Brainstorm ideas. Before writing any paper, college students have to research. It will ensure the argumentative part of the persuasive essay. To understand what to examine, have an ideation session, and consider a variety of ideas. Picking the most appropriate one, you’ll see where to start your research. Try to find as many topics as you can. Free college essays collection is a good place to check out as a part of your session. You’ll be able to see what topics are already covered, and what you can expand upon. It will make your investigation and writing processes easier!
  • Don’t pick an idea if it’s too broad . You may think that in this case, you’ll have plenty of things to argue about. Well, maybe a bit too many. In your essay, you should cover an entire topic so that it sounds convincing. When the idea is too broad, you can’t fit every argument in one paper. So, specify your title. For instance, you want to persuade your readers to stay healthy. Then don’t investigate all the aspects of maintaining health. Focus on one specific issue. For example, explore the positive influence of sport on the general health condition of a human being.
  • Ensure that you have credible sources. In some colleges, even the smallest essays may require a list of references. Thus, make sure you have materials to research and later list as your sources. Remember: Good persuasive paper topics for college have to offer a wide variety of sources to investigate. So, if you are not confident in your materials, better change the title. It will prevent you from a lack of evidence to support your arguments.
  • Choose a topic of personal interest. We’re not compelling you to write something that you enjoy when it contradicts the assignment. But try to select an idea that doesn’t bore you from reading it out loud. It is always more pleasurable to write on a topic you are passionate about. Don’t miss your chance to make turn your essay writing process into an exciting activity.
  • Select something you have an opinion about, but open to debate. Your tutors can disagree with your position. Nevertheless, it is not a reason to give up. It’s the right time to show your critical thinking skills. State your position clearly and provide convincing arguments to support it. Show your readers that you can change your position if you see some compelling data. It can give you some extra credit. The best persuasion topics for college create an environment for debates and discussions.
  • Be unique! In colleges, the amount of papers done daily is enormous. Don’t make your professors read about the importance of waste sorting, for example, yet again. The topic of environmental protection is undoubtedly extremely significant. However: It is way too overused. The professors are tired of reading essays on the same issues again and again. Surprise them and stand out.

Finding an original topic for a persuasive essay is tricky.

✨ 12 Best Persuasive Speech Topics for College Students

  • How important is mental health?
  • Is online school more effective?
  • Are GMO products good?
  • Is social media dangerous?
  • What’s wrong with the education system?
  • Does recycling work?
  • Is veganism bad for the environment?
  • Should foreign policy be feminist?
  • Is marriage an obsolete institution?
  • Can protests and demonstrations bring change?
  • Can alternative medicine actually work?
  • Is modern advertising unethical?

🔑 Essential College Persuasive Essay Topics

We bet, every college student at least once had an assignment to write a persuasive essay. Haven’t you had yet? The best is yet to come! Thus, you have to be prepared to face all the challenges of a persuasive essay composing.

Searching for interesting persuasive essay topics is a complicated issue. However, you don’t have to worry about it. Our team of experts gathered the most popular and effective ideas in one place.

Don’t stress out about the topic:

Take a look at our list of persuasive essay topics for college students. We divided our ideas into sections so that you can find the most appropriate one. So, you can easily navigate throughout our page for a more effective search.

🎓 College Persuasive Essay Ideas on Education

  • An educational system should encourage creativity .
  • Student diversity should be present in a school classroom .
  • Why should college students care about their mental and physical health?
  • Why should we stop girls’ discrimination in the modern educational system?
  • Why should computer science programs be taught in colleges and universities?
  • Why should parents take part in their children’s education?

Parents should participate in their children's studying for numerous reasons.

  • Why reading performance of students with learning disabilities should be improved?
  • Studying abroad results in better education.
  • Homework does not help in the learning process.
  • The costs of higher education should be reduced.
  • A grade does not show a student’s knowledge.
  • The Internet overuse blocks the mental development of a modern teenager.
  • Education should not depend on technologies.
  • Essay writing develops the critical thinking skills of students.
  • Foreign language learning should be mandatory in school . Conduct research on how foreign languages influence children and teenagers. What are the positive sides of such education? Then, persuade your readers that foreign languages are essential in the school core curriculum.
  • Art classes should be a priority in middle school . Elaborate on the importance of the development of the sense of art for children and teenagers. Why should art classes be higher in the list of priorities than technical or science courses? How can the right perception of art help pupils in future life?
  • The core curriculum of the high school should not be too broad. Why do we have to narrow down our focus in high school? Explain how teenagers will benefit from studying particular subjects instead of getting general knowledge. Convince your readers about the importance of focusing on a specific field in high school.
  • A gap year before entering the university is beneficial. Give persuading evidence why students should take a gap year. What are the advantages? Make your readers debate whether a gap year is worth considering. Finally, convince them that it is worth it.
  • Mobile phones should not be allowed in school. State your position regarding the usage of smartphones during the learning process. What adverse ramifications do the mobile phones have on the academic results of pupils? Persuade your readers to prohibit phone usage in school.
  • Traditional education is more effective than remote learning . How the benefits of the conventional way of learning outweigh the advantages of remote education? Compare the aspects of remote learning for different age groups: 1st grade age, 6th grade age, and a college student.

📜 College Persuasive Essay Topics on History

  • The American Revolution was a turning point in USA history.
  • The year 1763 is crucial in US history.
  • The media played a crucial role in promoting the Vietnam War .
  • We shouldn’t underestimate the significance of African-American social reform.
  • Technological advancement of the 17th century was a new era in world history.
  • Without Enlightenment and Romantic Age , the European culture wouldn’t be so progressive nowadays.

Enlightenment took over the period of the 17th and 18th centuries.

  • People should’ve stopped the propaganda of Adolf Hitler and Jim Jones before the intensive development.
  • The historical influence of Abraham Lincoln should become a role model for modern political figures.
  • Americans should have abolished slavery in the United States way earlier.
  • The four voyages by Christopher Columbus are crucial in the progress of world history.
  • Cultural exchanges in the medieval period significantly impacted the civilizations.
  • Protestant reformation was the most influential Christian movement.
  • Japanese women in the Middle Ages should have been more powerful.
  • The world war should never happen again.
  • The age of exploration . Who are the key figures? How did they impact world history formation? Convince your readers of the importance of the age of exploration.
  • The Mayan calendar system did not predict the end of the world . Investigate the Mayan calendar system. What is your explanation of the fact that the calendar system ended in the year 2012? Persuade your readers that the suggestions about the end of the world in 2012 are false.
  • Racial discrimination in America violated human rights to a great extend . Give a brief overview of racial discrimination in the USA. Persuade the readers to perceive racial discrimination as an act of human rights violation.
  • Apollo 11 – the first spaceflight that landed people on the Moon . Discuss the importance of this event. Convince your readers about the significance of the Moon exploration.
  • History studying should become the top priority for students. The knowledge of history may help to prevent mistakes from the past. So, persuade your readers to explore historical events.
  • Holocaust should not be justified and denied . What are the horrible consequences of holocaust tragedy? Analyze an opinion regarding the denial of the holocaust. Persuade the readers not to support this idea.

⚖ College Persuasive Essay Ideas on Politics

  • Civil rights of black Americans should not be limited.
  • Migration should not be restricted because it has certain benefits to modern countries .
  • In the battle of socialism vs. democracy , the second one should win.

Why is socialism becoming so popular in democratic states?

  • Nationalism in international relations should be accepted.
  • E-government should become transparent and accountable for the citizens .
  • Celebrities should stay aside from political activities.
  • The laws for each state of America should become common.
  • A voting system should be transparent.
  • Ordinary people should not be allowed to own guns.
  • The federal tax return process should become more manageable.
  • Individual rights versus the common good . Express your position regarding the issue. What do you support: individual rights or common good? Persuade the readers to follow your ideas.
  • Gay marriage should be allowed . If you don’t agree with the topic, express the opposing opinion. Elaborate on your arguments and provide counterarguments. Exclude harsh comments and offensive language from the narrative.
  • The death penalty cannot be justified . Why do you think so? Give clear arguments to support your opinion. If you believe that the death penalty is justifiable, prove your position.
  • Electronic voting in the United States should not be banned . Present the positive sides of this way of voting and convince the readers in your rightness. Don’t you agree with this opinion? Then, provide counterarguments.
  • Abortion should be legal . Provide clear arguments to express your position. Or provide counterarguments to contradict the idea of abortion legalization.

👍 College Persuasive Essay Topics on Sociology

  • Community services should be provided for mentally disabled people .
  • Equality and diversity are the main social issues .
  • Interpersonal communication skills are crucial in modern society.
  • Gender inequalities in the 21st century should be overcome .
  • Should the Canadian government legalize prostitution?
  • Max Weber’s rationality theory should be accepted by society .
  • China should take specific steps to overcome the overpopulation problem .
  • Gender stereotypes in a family should be dismantled.

Present studies aim to fill a gap in the literature on gender role attitudes and family dynamics.

  • Abusive relationships in a family should not be hidden.
  • Implementing more tough punishments on the lawbreakers should reduce the crime rates of the USA.
  • Does family promote or limit mobility? Choose one side of the issue and provide clear arguments to support your ideas.
  • Divorce has negative effects on children . Do you agree with this statement? Convince the readers to accept your point of view by stating your position clearly and powerfully.
  • Birth control should be monitored on a governmental level. Express your opinion regarding birth control in modern society. Conduct a study on the cultural, religious, and political aspects of the birth control issue.
  • Is there the right age to get married? Decide if there are any age suggestions to create a family or no? Support your choice with bright ideas and appropriate examples.
  • To resolve the conflict, we need to know the nature of the conflict . Do you agree or disagree with this idea? Provide strong arguments to make people believe in your point of view. How do you think psychology works while resolving the conflict?

💰 College Persuasive Essay Ideas on Economics

  • Competing theories are the core of economic development.
  • We have to consider John Locke’s and Karl Marx’s economic ideas nowadays.
  • Demand and supply correlation in the market matters a lot.
  • Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” concept can improve modern economics .
  • If we want to stabilize the economy, we have to implement the monetary policy .
  • Should big banks be broken up?
  • We should consider the relationship between money supply and inflation while preventing the high level of inflation.
  • We shouldn’t take the Keynesian explanation of the recession too seriously.
  • Industrialization plays a significant role in economic development.
  • Small business owners should receive financial support during the period of crisis.

As an example or evidence for this persuasive topic, talk about the COVID-19 crisis.

  • The governments should reduce monopoly power.
  • The role of understanding the goals of human resource management in the context of human capital theory . Explain the significance of effective HR management for a business flourishing. Persuade your readers to invest enough resources in human capital.
  • Exchange regimes have a significant impact on macroeconomic performance . Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Provide well-developed arguments to prove your point of view. Persuade your readers to accept your position.
  • Consumer behavior is different in every country. If you agree, develop this idea by providing strong arguments. If you don’t, state your position. Either way, support your arguments with supporting evidence. Make your readers follow your opinion.
  • The understanding of the basic concepts of economics is essential for every person . Explain how the knowledge of economics can help people to manage their money wisely. How to survive during the crisis? How to lead a business successfully, etc. Persuade your readers to study the basics of economics.

💡 Interesting College Persuasive Essay Topics

Are you already impressed with a diversity of topics our team collected for you? But don’t think that’s all we have to offer for you. Since our mission is to help you, we have more persuasive essay ideas for college to share.

Below, you can find more fascinating ideas for your assignments. For your convenience, we divided persuasive essay topics for college into several sections. Investigate our ideas and don’t hesitate to use them.

🚌 Transportation Persuasive Essay Topics

  • Planes should newer take off if weather conditions are inappropriate .
  • Never drive a car if you are under the alcohol or drug effect .
  • Hybrid cars are environmentally friendly, so they should become the future of the transportation industry .
  • Why should people study driving?
  • The usage of alternative energy resources should reshape the global transportation infrastructure .
  • The governments should invest enough money in public transport advancement .
  • Cars usage should be regulated .
  • A school bus should be checked at least once a month to ensure the safety of pupils.
  • The reserves of petroleum should be replenished to provide a proper transportation industry operation.
  • The shipping of essential goods during the state of emergency (quarantine, dangerous natural conditions, etc.) should be free.
  • We should use public transport instead of private cars to save the environment.
  • Hybrid engine vs. standard engine . Examine the positive and negative aspects of both of them. Which one would you prefer? Persuade your readers to support your opinion by giving clear arguments.
  • Information technology influences the logistics industry to a great extent . Provide appropriate examples of the IT impact on logistics. Convince your readers of the importance of your opinion.
  • The role of transportation in the development of tourism . Prove your audience that transportation progress has a direct impact on tourism opportunities.

Transportation plays a vital role in tourism.

  • We have to reduce the use of crude oil in the transportation industry . What are the possible adverse ramifications of such oil usage? Persuade your readers to limit applying this type of fuel. If you don’t agree with the idea, express the opposing opinion. Elaborate on your arguments and provide counterarguments.

🌿 Environmental Persuasive Essay Topics

  • The government should control the overpopulation to prevent consequences for the environment .
  • Human activity should be limited to preserve biodiversity .
  • We have to examine an ecologically sustainable approach .
  • Alternative energy sources are essential for saving the planet .
  • We should try our best to live a zero-waste lifestyle .
  • Saving endangered species must be a top priority issue for environmental organizations.
  • Solar energy can save the environment.
  • Hunting sports should be banned because they harm biodiversity.
  • The conservation of global resources is necessary for maintaining the lifecycle of the planet.
  • Waste sorting should be mandatory all around the world.
  • Stopping deforestation will prevent the loss of natural habitat for animals.
  • Tourism negatively affects wildlife. Comment no the negative consequences of traveling on nature. If you believe that tourism does not harm wildlife, provide counterarguments to claim your position.
  • Farming has to be wise. Explain how intensive farming damages nature. Convince your readers about the importance of following the farming rules. They can help to prevent intensive farming’s adverse ramifications.
  • The Prime Days on Amazon should be banned . Explain how the incredibly low prices on items during the Prime Days result in extremely high costs for the environment. Persuade your readers to resist the desire to buy unnecessary goods from Amazon.
  • Without rainforests, our planet will suffocate . Prove the significance of the preservation of the rainforests for the environment.

Tropical forests are responsible for around 34 percent of photosynthesis occurring on land.

⚙ Technology Persuasive Essay Ideas

  • Globalization influences computer technologies to a great extent .
  • The government should implement Internet censorship .
  • Cloud computing is an innovative era in computer science .
  • Cyberbullying should be controlled to prevent a negative influence on youth .
  • Dependency on computers is a considerable threat to human well-being .
  • Data and information security should be a top concern of every internet user .
  • Investing money in developing information technology systems is profitable for companies.
  • The internet blocks the development of human intelligence.
  • To prevent the development of serious illnesses, we should use genetic technology.
  • Technological advancement should focus on the improvement of the health sector.
  • We have to use technology wisely to make people smarter.
  • A scientific revolution started the technological advancement. Convince your readers about the importance of the scientific revolution in technological development. If you don’t agree with the topic, express the opposing opinion, providing counterarguments.
  • E-books or audiobooks will never replace paper books. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? State your position clearly and make your readers accept it.
  • Nowadays, society is too dependent on computer technologies . Comment on its negative and positive sides in the life of modern people. Persuade the readers not to overuse technology in everyday life.
  • Technology and science complement each other. Provide clear arguments to prove this idea or counterarguments to disprove it.

😃 Easy College Persuasive Topics

Do you think that persuasive essays have to cover only serious or global issues? Do you feel as if you have to be overwhelmed with the complexity of the subject? You are mistaken. A paper won’t become less successful if it explores even everyday life topics.

That’s why:

We prepared the next section of the article for you. Here you can find simple persuasive essay ideas for college students. Select a fascinating topic and compose an outstanding essay.

🎶 Persuasive Essay Ideas for College about Music

  • Music has a significant impact on culture .
  • Music preferences depend on personality type .
  • Music can influence our behavior .

Research suggests music can influence us a lot. It can impact illness, depression, spending, productivity, and our perception of the world.

  • Songs with lyrics that promote violent behavior should be banned.
  • A musician is not just a job; it is a vocation.
  • Medical workers should investigate the positive effect of music on mental illnesses’ treatment.
  • Music can be helpful in the learning process.
  • Good song lyrics can inspire people . Provide a sample of inspiring verses. How can it motivate listeners? Persuade the readers to pay attention to the song lyrics while listening to music.
  • A guitar is always a good idea for friendly gatherings . Prove to your readers that several songs played on a guitar can create a warm and cozy atmosphere.
  • Rap reflects violence. This is a generally accepted opinion. Do you agree or disagree with it? Prove your point of view by providing well-developed arguments.

🌍 Persuasive Topics for College on Traveling

  • While traveling, health and safety issues should be a top priority .
  • Tourism should be sustainable .
  • A trip to India will make you see the world from the other side.
  • Summer will become more memorable and fascinating if you travel.
  • Traveling broadens people’s minds.
  • Traveling with family or friends is an essential part of a happy life.
  • Spending a holiday on a trip is always more pleasurable than in front of a TV or computer.
  • Every person should visit Europe at least once in life. Explain why Europe is a must-see destination for every tourist.
  • People should travel as much as they want. Persuade people not to resist the desire to explore new places by listing the advantages of traveling.
  • Traveling is affordable for everyone. Persuade people to visit various countries, even with a limited budget.

Give some useful tips to persuade your reader to travel more.

✌ Persuasive Essay Ideas for College about Lifestyle

  • Parents should be responsible for their children’s obesity .
  • Proper nutrition and positive behavior prevent cancer .
  • A healthy lifestyle prevents aging .
  • Weight management programs and hypnotherapy are useful in maintaining good shape and a healthy organism .
  • An active way of life should replace a sedentary lifestyle to prevent heart diseases.
  • You should plan your weight loss process wisely.
  • Well-balanced nutrition is a way to a healthy and beautiful body.
  • Regular yoga and fitness will help you to maintain mental and physical wellness.
  • Regular physical activities and enough sleep can help students to study better.
  • Media influences the development of eating disorders . Explain the mechanisms media’s effect on eating disorders. Persuade your readers to pay enough attention to the information on social media.

📺 Persuasive Topics for College about Media

  • The role of mass media in modern society shouldn’t be underestimated .
  • Media affects the way people look at society .

Dr. Pamela Rutledge says about the media's influence on society.

  • TV shows have a negative influence on children .
  • Parents should control the effects of mass media advertising on teenagers .
  • Professional psychologists should review every cartoon before being released on television.
  • The information on the internet should be filtered to avoid the spreading of fake news.
  • Censorship is a must-have for modern television.
  • Old cartoons are more insightful than modern ones. Compare and contrast old and new animated films. Prove the usefulness of old ones. Convince the audience to make their children familiar with old cartoons.
  • Social media develops an inferiority complex among teenagers . How pictures of luxurious life in social networking sites influence adolescents’ self-esteem? Persuade the readers to filter the information seen in social media.
  • Mass media in the 1950s was more ethical than contemporary mass media. Analyze the ethical issues that are present in modern media. Why is following the ethical rules while sharing the information through the mass media vital?

🏫 Persuasive Essay Ideas for College on Teens

  • Both abstinence and sex education should be taught in high schools .
  • Professional psychologists or psychiatrists should treat anxiety disorders in children and adolescents .
  • Cheating in schools should be strictly punished.
  • Understanding teen depression is a crucial step in overcoming it.
  • The federal government should enact anti-bullying laws .
  • Bullying in school should be the main issue to deal with for the headteacher.
  • The teenage period requires constant monitoring of children’s behavior by parents and teachers.
  • Parents should have access to teenagers’ academic results.
  • The mental health of teens is precarious. Convince the readers to monitor and maintain adolescents’ mental health.
  • Parents should control social media usage by teenagers. Why should parents monitor the social networking accounts of their children? Explain why it is useful to teach teens how to behave on social media.

Persuade the parents to keep track of kids’ social networking activity.

📚 Persuasive Topics for College on Literature

  • Literature studying should be mandatory in schools.
  • Literature teaches us how to live a worthy life.
  • Robin Hood should become an example to follow.
  • You have to read some books several times throughout life to get the idea.
  • Lyric poetry may help in dealing with inner conflicts.
  • William Shakespeare is an outstanding figure of English literature that should always be appreciated.
  • Every person should have one book that will always remain their favorite one.
  • The theme of Romeo and Juliet will always remain relatable. Support this idea by providing compelling arguments and examples from the play. If you don’t agree with the statement, present clear counterarguments to prove your point of view.
  • The parents should read fairy tales to their children from early childhood. Persuade your audience to make their kids familiar with the fairy tales. Explain the importance of positive aspects of this genre of literature.
  • Dorian Gray and Oscar Wilde are connected. Describe Oscar Wilde’s background. Analyze how the author reflected his personality in the character of Dorian Gray. Convince your readers to accept your point of view. Propose examples from the book and the author’s biography.

🖐 25 More Topics to Persuade College Students

Here you can find a pleasant bonus from our team—25 more ideas to write about. You can use them not only for essays but also as persuasive speech topics for college.

So, take the benefit of our list of topics. Show an outstanding academic performance in the college.

College Persuasive Essay Topics: Family

  • A happy relationship should be based on trust and honesty.
  • In small and big families, parents should treat their children equally.
  • After giving birth, motherhood should become the primary concern of a woman’s life.
  • Parents should be the most significant support for their kids when they are sad, confused, or lost in life.
  • Children should take their retired parents to their home instead of the nursing home.

Support your position by providing strong arguments.

College Persuasive Essay Topics: Health

  • Physical activity is an effective way to prevent heart diseases.
  • People should quit smoking .
  • Mental health is not less important than physical health.
  • Well-balanced nutrition is key to a healthy body.
  • Taking care of general wellness should be everyone’s primary concern.

College Persuasive Essay Topics: Medicine

  • Strong pain killers should be sold by prescription only.
  • Drug prices should be set ethically .
  • Herbal medications are the safest.
  • Self-medication is extremely dangerous, even in the case of a simple cold or an allergy.
  • Differentiating various forms of medicines is essential . What is the working principle of a capsule, pill, syrup, etc.? Prove that the inappropriate application will not have an appropriate effect.

College Persuasive Essay Topics: Sports

  • Visiting a gym is extremely useful for our health .
  • Physical education should be mandatory in high school.
  • Extreme sports are only for professional athletes.
  • The governments should invest enough money in the development of sports schools.
  • Football is not only for boys. Women can create a successful football team, as well.

College Persuasive Essay Topics: Religion

  • Discrimination by religion or culture should not be acceptable in modern society.
  • Every person should have a right to choose a god or goddess to worship.
  • The representatives of different religions should be tolerant of each other.
  • The attitude towards wealth in Christianity differs from the perception of wealth in Islam.
  • Any other religious representatives should not criticize the central beliefs of Judaism .

Select a persuasive topic on a touchy subject with care.

Thank you for visiting our page! We hope the information was useful to you. Don’t forget to leave your comments and share the article with other students.

🔗 References

  • Persuasive Essays, Writing Resources, Hamilton College
  • Persuasive Essay Outline: HCC Learning Web, Houston Community College
  • Choosing a Topic for Your College Essay: Essay Writing Center, International Student
  • Choosing College Essay Topics: Accepted
  • 35 College Essay Prompts and Topics: Kayla Rutledge, SignUpGenius
  • How to Write a College Essay: Kelly Mae Ross, Devon Haynie, and Josh Moody for U.S. News
  • How To Answer the 2022-23 Common App Essay Prompts: College Essay Advisors
  • Writing a Political Science Essay: Charles King, Georgetown University
  • Writing a Paper about an Environmental Issue: Frederic Beaudry, ThoughtCo
  • Evidence: The Writing Center, the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill
  • Introducing Quotations and Paraphrases: UNSW Current Students
  • How Do I Write an Intro, Conclusion, & Body Paragraph: College of Literature, Science, and Arts, University of Michigan
  • Essay Writing Guide for Psychology Students: Saul McLeod, Simply Psychology
  • How to Write a Persuasive Essay: Writing Guides, Ultius
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100 Persuasive Speech Topics for Students

  • Homework Tips
  • Learning Styles & Skills
  • Study Methods
  • Time Management
  • Private School
  • College Admissions
  • College Life
  • Graduate School
  • Business School
  • Distance Learning
  • M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
  • B.A., History, Armstrong State University

There is a small but important difference between planning a persuasive speech and writing a persuasive essay. First, if you are planning a persuasive speech, you should think about a topic that can engage your audience. For this reason, you may want to consider a few topics before settling on the one that allows you to be more descriptive and entertaining.

Another important factor when picking a persuasive speech topic is to choose one that can provoke your audience. If you stir up a little emotion in your audience members, you'll keep their attention. The list below is provided to help you brainstorm. Choose a topic from this list or use the list to generate an idea of your own.

  • 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.
  • It's important to grow things in a garden.
  • Violent video games are dangerous.
  • Lyrics in a song can impact our lives.
  • Traveling and studying abroad are positive experiences.
  • Journal writing is therapeutic.
  • You should spend time with your grandparents.
  • A laptop is better than a tablet.
  • Religion and science can go hand in hand.
  • School uniforms are good.
  • All-female colleges and all-male colleges are bad.
  • Multiple choice tests are better than essay tests .
  • We should not spend money on space exploration.
  • Open-book tests are as effective as closed-book tests.
  • Security cameras keep us safer.
  • Parents should have access to students' grades.
  • Small classes are better than big classes.
  • You need to start saving for retirement now.
  • Credit cards are harmful to college students.
  • We should have a royal family.
  • We should protect endangered animals.
  • Texting while driving is dangerous.
  • You can write a novel.
  • Recycling should be required in the U.S.
  • State colleges are better than private colleges.
  • Private colleges are better than state colleges.
  • We should do away with penny coins.
  • Fast food containers hurt the environment.
  • Plastic straws are harmful to the environment.
  • You can eat and enjoy healthy snacks.
  • You can become a millionaire.
  • Dogs are better pets than cats.
  • You should own a bird.
  • It's unethical to keep birds in cages.
  • Liberal arts degrees prepare graduates to be better workers than other degrees.
  • Hunting animals should be banned.
  • Football is a dangerous sport.
  • School days should start later.
  • Night school is better than day school.
  • Technical training is better than a college degree.
  • Immigration laws should be more lenient.
  • Students should be able to choose their schools.
  • Everyone should learn to play a musical instrument.
  • Grass lawns should be prohibited.
  • Sharks should be protected.
  • We should do away with cars and go back to horse and carriage for transportation.
  • We should use more wind power.
  • We should pay more taxes.
  • We should do away with taxes.
  • Teachers should be tested like students.
  • We should not interfere in the affairs of other countries.
  • Every student should join a club.
  • Homeschooling is better than traditional schooling.
  • People should stay married for life.
  • Smoking in public should be illegal.
  • College students should live on campus .
  • Parents should let students fail.
  • Giving to charity is good.
  • Education makes us happier people.
  • T​he ​ death penalty should be outlawed.
  • Bigfoot is real.
  • We should increase train travel to save the environment.
  • We should read more classic books.
  • Fame is bad for young children.
  • Athletes should stay loyal to teams.
  • We should reform our prisons.
  • Juvenile offenders should not go to boot camps.
  • Abraham Lincoln was the best president.
  • Abraham Lincoln gets too much credit.
  • Students should be allowed to have cell phones in elementary, middle, and high school.
  • College student-athletes should be paid for playing.
  • Elderly citizens on fixed income should receive free public transportation.
  • Colleges and universities should be free to attend.
  • All American citizens should complete one year of community service.
  • Students should be required to take Spanish classes.
  • Every student should be required to learn at least one foreign language .
  • Marijuana should be legal for recreational use nationwide.
  • Commercial testing of products on animals should no longer be allowed.
  • High school students should be required to participate in at least one team sport.
  • The drinking age in the U.S. should be 25.
  • Replacing fossil fuels with cheaper alternative energy options should be mandated.
  • Churches need to contribute their share of taxes.
  • The Cuba embargo should be maintained by the U.S.
  • America should replace income taxes with a nationwide flat tax.
  • Once they reach the age of 18, all U.S. citizens should be automatically registered to vote .
  • Doctor-assisted suicide should be legal.
  • Spammers—people who bombard the internet with unsolicited email—should be banned from sending junk mail.
  • Every automobile driver should be required to take a new driver's test every three years.
  • Electroshock treatment is not a humane form of therapy.
  • Global warming is not real.
  • Single-parent adoption should be encouraged and promoted.
  • Gun companies should be held accountable for gun crimes.
  • Human cloning is not moral.
  • Religion does not belong in public education.
  • Juveniles should not be tried as adults.
  • American workers should be guaranteed a three-day weekend by law.
  • Middle School Debate Topics
  • 40 Writing Topics for Argumentative and Persuasive Essays
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Choose Your Test

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

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General Education

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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 Topics for a Persuasive Speech

50 Topics for a Persuasive Speech

  • 5-minute read
  • 13th January 2023

Some find writing a persuasive speech to be intimidating, but it’s an opportunity to share your position on a topic you care about and to invite listeners to support (or at least appreciate) your way of thinking. You’ll benefit from a clear position, credible evidence, and careful consideration of your audience.

Your first step is to pick a topic. Whether you’re a teacher creating an assignment or a student deciding what to speak about, our list of 50 suggested persuasive speech topics and tips are a good starting place.

Choosing a Topic

●  It’s more enjoyable to research and write a speech about a topic that genuinely holds your interest. It’ll make for better delivery, too. Passion is contagious! On the other hand, boredom and a lack of enthusiasm come through easily in vocal tone.

●  Avoid tired, overdone issues. If you’ve heard it all before, there’s a good chance your audience has, too. Pick something current and relevant to your listeners . If you go with a popular topic, try to approach it from a fresh angle.

●  Issues that contain multiple viewpoints are preferable to simplistic good/bad debates. Most reasonable people would agree that “bullying is bad.” But they might learn something new if you share recent research on bullying and offer different approaches to tackling it.

Let’s look at some interesting speech topics, categorized by subject.

Should free speech on the internet be restricted?

At what age should children have access to smartphones?

Does texting hinder interpersonal skills?

Should parents limit their children’s screen time?

Should laws prohibit using devices while driving?

Is there a link between device usage and decreased mental health?

Should the number of US Supreme Court Justices be increased?

Should voting be compulsory?

Should Election Day in the US change from Tuesday to the weekend?

Should the electoral college system be abolished?

Should election procedures be standardized in all states?

Should the Senate filibuster be abolished?

Should the death penalty be legal?

Should states be allowed to have different abortion laws?

Should the legal age to own an assault rifle be raised?

Should the US conduct a voluntary gun buyback program?

Are governments doing enough to address climate change?

Is student loan forgiveness fair?

Should the US invest in high-speed rail similar to those in Japan and Europe?

Should plastic bags be banned in grocery stores?

What is the greatest threat to international stability?

What can be done to prevent cyber threats?

Is the two-party political system of the US failing?

Should the US adopt a single-payer universal health care system?

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Should minimum wage be a factor in the cost of health care?

Is healthcare a human right?

Should access to abortion be required by healthcare providers?

Do school shooter drills damage students’ mental health?

Should vaccinations be required for students to attend public school?

Should employers offer incentives and bonuses to employees who bike or walk to work?

Do school uniforms offer any advantages?

Are school dress codes gender biased?

Are standardized test scores given too much importance in schools?

Do college entrance exams privilege those with higher socio-economic status?

Should teachers be allowed to keep firearms in their classrooms as protection against active shooters?

Should indigenous languages be taught in schools?

Should immigrants have access to free language classes?

Should books ever be banned in schools?

Should elementary schools be required to teach a foreign language?

Should schools be cellphone free?

Should volunteering before graduation be compulsory?

Should school cafeterias serve more plant-based foods?

Should parents let their children play tackle football?

Should college sports teams receive less money?

Should there be more female priests or pastors of churches?

Should churches and other religious organizations pay taxes?

Should all priests be allowed to marry?

Should prayer be permitted in public schools?

On balance, does religion create more conflict or foster peace?

Should there be exceptions to the freedom to practice any religion?

Persuasion Isn’t All or Nothing

People often think persuasion means getting others to agree with you, but persuasion is more nuanced than that. You might persuade someone to go beyond sympathy and act. You might highlight the gray areas of a typically black and white debate.

When total agreement is out of reach, you can settle for agreement in part. Consider your audience thoughtfully when you decide on your goals and remember that you have options.

Step Up with Confidence

We hope these suggested persuasive speech topics have the wheels of your mind turning. Whether it’s for a speech or an argumentative essay , getting your ideas on paper and editing them is a necessary part of the process. Our editors are here to help you confidently put out your best work. Submit a free sample today .

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Home — Blog — Topic Ideas — 130 Inspiring Persuasive Speech Topics For Students

130 Inspiring Persuasive Speech Topics For Students

persuasive speech topics

Definition of the Persuasive Speech 

Before you explore various persuasive speech topics , let's take a quick look at the definition and learn what a persuasive speech is and how it can be identified in writing. As the title implies, a persuasive speech represents a type of speech that aims to persuade a person to believe in a certain concept or a notion. In some instances, a persuasive speech contains a call to action. A persuasive speech topic may deal with professional challenges, world events, and debates that can be political, commercial, legislative, or educational. Depending on what you study or research, the choices are basically unlimited! Therefore, let your inspiration run free, and ensure that you have at least one statement or argument that poses the ground for persuasion. Choose a certain idea, take a note about your take, and make it clear as you choose a competitive persuasive topic. 

How to Compose an Excellent Persuasive Speech? 

Regardless of what persuasive essay topics you may choose, specific structure rules will help you to achieve success and avoid confusion as you shape your ideas and make your speech inspiring and clear. Here are the main points to consider: 

  • Choose a topic that inspires you and reflects your research objectives. 
  • Narrow things down and do your best to define the goal of your speech. 
  • Study your target audience and check whether your persuasive speech addresses their concerns. 
  • Continue with the thesis statement representing your opinion or a certain notion. 
  • Create an outline for your speech with the hook sentence in the introduction. 
  • Provide facts from both sides of the debate. 
  • Include at least three pieces of evidence for your writing. 
  • Make a call to action in conclusion and repeat the main points. 
  • Edit your speech for repetitions and grammar mistakes. 
  • Proofread your speech aloud and check the readability factor twice. 

List of Persuasive Speech Topics 

Below is the list of 130 competitive persuasive speech essay topics you can use for brainstorming purposes as a speaker . Play with the wording of these persuasive speech examples , narrow things down, and choose the category that looks most suitable. 

Persuasive Speech Topics for College

Here are some persuasive speech topics college style that you will find helpful: 

  • College education should be made free or funded based on academic merits. 
  • The problems of college debt are artificial and can be resolved. 
  • The secret to college popularity: why fashion still matters in 2023? 
  • The colleges represent the best ground for social movements. 
  • Social media use among college students can benefit their studies. 
  • College safety should be increased, and the parties must have stricter control. 
  • American colleges are better than most European institutions regarding career chances. 
  • Hybrid form of learning is the future of college education. 
  • College bullying and the reasons why the cases of harassment are rarely reported. 
  • The best ways to overcome college depression and anxiety. 

Persuasive Speech About Art, Media, and Culture

Dealing with persuasive speech ideas , consider the field of art, media, and culture as one of the branches of science worth exploring. Here are some starting points worth checking: 

  • Modern metal music has roots in the blues and classical music creations. 
  • The older generation sometimes pays attention to the music we like. 
  • Why do college bands remain popular? 
  • The use of art exhibitions in colleges should be obligatory. 
  • The cultural aspect of baseball popularity’s decline in the United States. 
  • The wrong perception of wearing a hoodie: the cultural factor and misconceptions. 
  • The use of social media helps to keep people alert to environmental issues. 
  • Instagram influencers should not be considered journalists. 
  • Video game culture should be considered a separate cultural trend. 
  • Neuroscience and using artificial intelligence to write music will eliminate creativity. 

Persuasive Speech About the Economy and Work

Now, if you are majoring in Business Management, studying the Economy, or working in the Financial sector, the following persuasive speech ideas will be quite helpful in keeping you inspired as you overcome initial confusion: 

  • The concept of third-world countries is outdated and must be eliminated. 
  • Cryptocurrencies are damaging to the American economy. 
  • The phenomenon of economic wonder in Iceland is only possible because of the limited population. 
  • Economic education must be an obligatory part of each academic curriculum. 
  • Economic disparity in Afghanistan is caused by the current gender policies. 
  • Workflow issues can be eliminated with the help of LMS platforms. 
  • The challenges of employment in the United States during the pandemic could have been eliminated. 
  • Most social campaigns these days are driven by the funds provided. 
  • There is a man in the middle in every economic executive plan in business. 
  • What are the pros and cons of digital accounting systems, or why are pros speaking against them?

Persuasive Speech About Education

The problems encountered in education always remain a subject of heated debates as education poses a serious concern not among current learners and educators and everyone out there. Check these helpful topic ideas: 

  • ADHD is an overhyped problem and can be addressed with the help of stricter discipline. 
  • Dealing with PTSD and military veterans can be approached with the help of music education. 
  • AI-based tools will never replace the physical teacher in the classroom. 
  • Pandemic situation has shown us that virtual classrooms take away the sense of belonging. 
  • Smartboards as the solution for shy primary school students. 
  • The reasons why there is a negative bias concerning community colleges. 
  • Why should you choose a Christian college for your education? 
  • Handwriting is still an important skill that should not be ignored. 
  • The pros and cons of the Waldorf schools education system. 
  • Augmented Reality is a dangerous concept for middle schools. 
  • The benefits of gamification in the development of cognitive skills. 
  • The mechanisms that should be used for reporting teacher-student abuse. 
  • The problem of gun control in the classrooms: do teachers have a right to carry a gun? 
  • The racial prejudice in the business management schools in the USA: why it's still a problem.
  • Colleges in the United States should offer free mental coaching sessions. 
  • The reasons why every student should consider becoming an app developer. 
  • The subjects that should be added to a modern college education. 
  • The practice of exchange students leads to a lack of adjustability in the native country. 
  • Females represent better specialists in the cyber security field. 
  • The phenomenon of college athletes: why should they be treated just like anyone else? 

Mental Health Persuasive Speech Topics

Dealing with mental health subjects is quite complex. If you are majoring in Healthcare and Psychology, you must remember to be respectful and sensitive as you make your choice and portray a viewpoint : 

  • Why is depression often overlooked as a serious mental health problem? 
  • Social media addiction leads to negative body image issues and wrong perceptions. 
  • The phenomenon of bloggers creates a false impression of instant success. 
  • Childhood abuse recovery: why do the survivors often keep silent?
  • Schools and colleges in the United States must introduce strict mental health screening. 
  • The negative effect of violent media games on children. 
  • British medical ethics versus American perception of mental health. 
  • LGBT movement and dealing with mental health issues is a unique concept worth exploring. 
  • YouTube mental health courses as a free alternative to commercial offerings. 
  • Armed conflicts lead to prolonged mental health issues in the future. 

Business Persuasive Speech Topics

Business marketing and business management also represent a popular field of science for composing an excellent persuasive speech essay. Just take a look at these example ideas : 

  • Why is starting a business as a college student worth it in 2023? 
  • Digital marketing is always the problem of brand loyalty and switching. 
  • Social media and website localization: why should modern businesses implement the practice? 
  • Doing business in China: what are the cultural points worth considering? 
  • Why joining a free business course online will make you a better learner. 
  • The business aspect of the Black Lives Matter social movement. 
  • The male vs. female perception of a successful business in the IT sector. 
  • The use of virtual reality tools to study the target market: a fashion case study. 
  • British versus American understanding of corporate ethics. 
  • Politics have no place in the retail business. 

Medical Persuasive Speech Topics

The medical and nursing students will find these persuasive speech ideas quite helpful and interesting : 

  • The problems of the NHS system in the United Kingdom.  
  • The pros and cons of the ObamaCare healthcare campaign. 
  • What are the best methods to overcome professional burnout for nursing personnel? 
  • The most common challenges of the ER nursing department: ethics vs. personal safety. 
  • The readiness for the future risks: analysis of the pandemic threats. 
  • Covid-19 has helped to make our world a safer place. 
  • Why should medical volunteering be developed in 2023?
  • Technology is not always helpful if it's not accessible in remote areas. 
  • Dealing with religious beliefs when offering medical help. 
  • The limitations when reporting suspected abuse: why the changes must be introduced? 

Scientific Persuasive Speech Topics

In case you want to choose something complex and scientific, these ten persuasive speech topic offerings will help to keep you inspired: 

  • Augmented Reality tools usage will help people with learning disabilities learn. 
  • The link between the vaccination risks and the cases of autism among children. 
  • The psychological aspect of using painkillers and the damage to the person's system. 
  • Exploration of nuclear Physics remains useless for most people today. 
  • The negative side of the Green Energy transformation. 
  • Politics should have no place in the scientific community. 
  • An ethical aspect of genetically modified foods is ignored because of the lower costs. 
  • The scientific benefits of uniting physically challenged students with healthy learners. 
  • The positive effect of blues music on the human brain: the cardio wave effect. 
  • Social media changes how communication takes things to another level. 

Sports Persuasive Speech Topics

If you are a college athlete or majoring in the field of Sports Coaching and Recreational Medicine, you should consider checking these ten persuasive speech subjects that we have chosen for you: 

  • The best ways to manage stress when you become enrolled as a college athlete. 
  • Playing sports in college helps to eliminate depression and anxiety risks. 
  • College sports must be an obligatory part of the curriculum without grading. 
  • The history of college basketball in the United States helped to shape numerous subcultures. 
  • The social aspect of sports and communication among middle school and primary school learners. 
  • The use of sports to challenge substance abuse in the workplace. 
  • Why does politics have no place in sports, and why should athletes be allowed to compete? 
  • Tennis represents one of the best sports to help people maintain cardiovascular health. 
  • Why should playing golf be made more accessible for people with low income? 
  • Playing sports in college helps to address weight gain issues and improve a person's mood.

Family Persuasive Speech Topics

You can also approach the subject of family relations or talk about the values important to you. Check out these ten ideas below: 

  • The values of the methodist church in the United States and their perception of family.  
  • Stay Together For The Kids tour or how alternative rock bands contribute to family values. 
  • The perception of family times during the Victorian Era. 
  • Why is social media changing how children perceive their parents and grandparents? 
  • Resolution of family conflicts can be resolved with the help of mediation techniques. 
  • The psychology of domestic abuse in the Middle East: why are cultural points not likely to change? 
  • The practice of boarding schools in the United Kingdom and overcoming homesickness. 
  • The challenges of becoming independent when leaving home for college are overrated. 
  • Family problems or growing up in a broken home should not be considered a reason for stigmatization. 
  • The American Dream concept is still relevant for the majority of American families.

Persuasive Speech About Politics and Society

Dealing with politics and society may sound easy, yet it often asks you to narrow things down and provide data from both sides of the debate to keep your position clear. See how it's done in the ten political persuasive speech ideas below: 

  • The concept of the Cold War is more relevant for our times than ever. 
  • Celebrities should not become involved in political campaigns and stay true to the art.
  • Most American television networks are run by private funds and offer biased information. 
  • The phenomenon of West-Coast and East-Coast politics in the United States is artificial. 
  • Politics and church should not mix, and why religion should not become a part of the conflict.
  • Racial prejudice in the United States is rooted in wrong politics. 
  • The cultural perception of Canada by an average American is often incorrect. 
  • Marijuana use should be banned as a society cannot control it adequately. 
  • School students should be allowed to vote, starting at 13 years old. 
  • The use of political agendas in colleges should be banned.

Government Persuasive Speech Topics

Now, some students will seek something related to governmental studies or legislation as a way to create their persuasive speech essays. As a way to help you out, here are the subjects for speeches you can start with: 

  • The U.S. government should raise the age limit for the use of alcohol and tobacco. 
  • The controversies related to the military budget of the United States should be turned into a public discussion. 
  • The concept of political immunity and diplomacy should be eliminated as it takes responsibility away. 
  • The government should decrease immigration to the United States. 
  • Politicians should have an obligatory education related to Law and Political Sciences. 
  • Famous media personalities should approach the external politics of the United States. 
  • Governmental support and the problem of cheating with college scholarships. 
  • The problem of racial prejudice could be eliminated with the help of a different political agenda. 
  • The concept of luxury taxing should not be obligatory for celebrities if they participate in charity campaigns. 
  • The reasons why children should learn Political Science and government structure in school.

Discover Thousands of Free Essay Samples! 

Getting your persuasive speech done can be quite challenging, so we have created a list of new topics you may consider. Still, you should see the actual essay examples, which we are happy to offer! Depending on the subject you would like to explore in greater depth for your persuasive speech (or any other purpose!), you can always refer to our free database, where you can find amazing essays and topics.

Our website offers thousands of topics that keywords or subjects can check. These represent essays you can use for inspirational purposes as you compose your persuasive speech. If you are unsure about something , you can always get in touch with our team, and we shall happily direct you toward something that fits your academic objectives.

Read your grading rubric twice, or hit us up with your questions! You must be inspired by what you choose because it is the only way to persuade others. Make sure to clarify your point and convince your target audience that your thoughts and ideas are worth checking and following!

essay topics on racism

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persuasive speech topics in college

My Speech Class

Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

212 Speech Topics For College Students [Persuasive, Informative, Impromptu]

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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.

In this article:

Informative

For higher education, thesis statement examples.

speech topics college students

List of Speech Topics For College Students

  • How Schools Should Improve the Quality of Teaching.
  • Why You Should Apply For International Exchange Programs.
  • What to Do About Low Self-esteem?
  • What You Can Do to Cut Poverty Rates.
  • Refurbish your old computer PC!
  • Seat belts in school buses increase passenger safety.
  • Qualitative consumer market research give fundamental insight.
  • Professors should never be allowed to crush a student’s dream.
  • It is important for students to find organisations to get involved in.
  • Students should take time to go visit their family and friends back home.
  • Setting goals is important.
  • Students must not be afraid to ask questions.
  • Students shouldn’t be afraid to challenge a professor if they disagree with something.
  • A study now and party later attitude should be adapted.
  • Contrary to popular belief college kids do want their parents to fuss.
  • Every college student needs a mentor.
  • College students should start applying for jobs before they leave college.
  • Students should spend more time enjoying their campus.
  • It is important to be able to cook and do washing before starting college.
  • Students need to make dorm check lists.
  • Students should form study groups.
  • Students should do extra credit.
  • Students shouldn’t drink or smoke just because they want to fit in.
  • Every student sharing a dorm or apartment should get themselves earplugs.
  • Changing a major isn’t the end of the world.
  • Students should make time to work out.
  • Getting a job on campus is beneficial to a student.
  • Students should write down questions that they need to ask the college tour guide.
  • To get a true sense of what a college is really like students should visit while it’s in session.
  • It is important to have study time scheduled into your day. Study time should be scheduled into a students day.
  • A student’s syllabus is a wonderful tool that should be used to its full potential.
  • Students should not be embarrassed to go see a tutor if they are struggling.
  • Rewriting notes is a good way of reviewing study material.
  • Students need to take breaks to do things other than just studying.
  • Students should treat themselves to something they like at the end of very demanding weeks.
  • Students should make use of student discounts.
  • Being well organise will help students to avoid stress.
  • The internet is full of great resources that are beneficial to students.
  • Students can volunteer their way into scholarship money.
  • Students should attend all the orientations available to them.
  • Finding an ideal place to study is important.
  • Academic advisers are key resources for students.
  • When students don’t get along with their advisers they should request another.
  • It is important that students have a balanced life.
  • Never make hasty decisions on what to major in.
  • Students should not procrastinate.
  • Homesickness will affect even the students who could not wait to leave home.
  • Students need to set up a budget and stick to it.
  • Professors want students who want to learn, participate and show commitment to learning.
  • Having a conversation with a classmate during class is an insult to the professor.
  • Students should dress appropriately to class.
  • Students should never turn in work that doesn’t follow their professors guidelines.
  • It’s a good move to sit towards the front of the classroom.
  • There should be a system in place to minimise students from dropping out of college.
  • To save money students should make use of campus amenities.
  • College students will need flip-flops in the bathroom.
  • Students should visit their college counselling centre at least once a week.
  • Students should take advantage of all the free activities on campus.
  • Getting caught doing illegal things will be very bad for any college record.
  • Students should register for classes as early as possible.
  • Getting a job during the first semester isn’t a good idea.
  • Study groups should be kept small.
  • Students living in dorms should wash their hands often.
  • College demands 100% effort.
  • Parents shouldn’t yell at kids who no longer get straight A’s like they did before attending college.
  • Students need to carry condoms with them at all times.
  • Pregnancy shouldn’t be the end of a student’s college dream.
  • Students need to realise that most people’s social media posts are exaggerated.
  • High levels of pressure can lead to suicide.
  • Students should never be told they are failures, even when they have failed.
  • Virtual classroom will take over in future.
  • Students who were raised by over controlling parents will have a hard time dealing with all the changes once they start college.
  • Convincing a student to stay in college is very important.
  • Long distant relationships do not work.
  • Students should marry someone with the same level of education.
  • Believing that everyone will mature in college is a myth.
  • Students should always back up their files.
  • Roommates need to have a good talk when they are having issues.
  • Applying for a summer orientation position for incoming students will be good for a student.
  • There is no need for a car in campus.
  • Keeping a journal is a great idea.
  • Going to career fairs is a smart move.
  • Students should not over commit themselves just to look good on their resumes.
  • It is important that students check their emails often.
  • Becoming a Resident Assistant is a good idea.
  • Libraries are a cool place to study.
  • Freshman 15 is a real thing.
  • Students should be careful about whom they borrow things to.
  • Credit cards are not a good idea for college students.
  • Shy students should attend a public speaking class.
  • Students should take small classes with professors that write recommendations.
  • A student should write a thesis even if they don’t need to.
  • Opportunities to study abroad should always be accepted.
  • College students should not go home every weekend.
  • Internships are overrated.
  • Students should take advantage of free tutoring.
  • Most college friendships are temporary.
  • Undergraduation does not mean you are not qualified for a succesful career.
  • The majority of graduate students struggle with emotional fatigue.
  • Legalizing prostitution will avoid campus date rape incidents.
  • It is important for college students to take a Sabbatical.
  • Every graduation student should obtain foreign experience.
  • An online spell checker isn’t enough for your research paper essay.
  • Censorship is needed in college and high school drama productions.
  • Why you must sign the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence.
  • Persuade the government to pay the basic healthcare of students.
  • Do undercover FBI agents belong on campus?

College speech topics to attain indirect clues about themes intended to apply in higher learning presentations by little or less effort on the road to a successful presentation.

  • Award or graduation ceremonies revealed from the backstage.
  • How to become a cheerleader and transcend yourself to indispensability.
  • Chemistry experiments and scientific breaktroughs.
  • Horse racing and betting procedures – compare odds bookmakers.
  • My plans for the future after I have completed this year:
  • How spy sunglasses and airport bodyscans can see through clothes.
  • Diving expeditions to shipwrecks that are buried on the ocean sand floor.
  • Famous painters and paintings from the Golden Century.
  • Favourite movie characters which are voiced by actors.
  • Why meet and greet Asian people politely.
  • Dining etiquette you must know for all occasions.
  • Digital multitrack music recording works to compose top hits.
  • Impress people at first sight – the psychology behind that adagium.
  • What would you do if you should have an unexpected week off?
  • What would you like to know more about.
  • What is your favourite career field, something that make all the difference?
  • Clothing styles and name brands for prom nights.
  • Famous fashion or sports apparel designers – as seen on tennis tv shows.
  • Your worst campus activities in the days your are off.
  • Mountain biking is fun and earth-friendly they say, it is risky too.
  • How I earn money with … (fill in a not ordinary student job)
  • Enhance campus life in dorm rooms by nice pranks.
  • Fashion trends this spring and summer, autumn and winter.
  • Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle revealed.
  • The hip-hop lifestyle is a no-life style.
  • Dangers of a cyber relationship on shady late night moments.
  • Start your own internet broadcast program in three steps.
  • How to impress people at first sight.
  • Ways to enhance campus life.
  • The causes of the American civil war.
  • How i prepared my trip to Europe.
  • The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
  • The Wonders of the Medieval World.
  • The Natural Wonders of the World.
  • The Wonders of the Modern Word.
  • The Vikings Boats – The fighting fleet of prehistoric Scandinavia.
  • The Samurai Warriors – Story of the Japanese military nobility.
  • Bermuda Triangle – The haunted southeastern Atlantic coast area.
  • Harry Houdini – The Great Illusionist and Magician.
  • The most famous cities of the Maya culture.
  • What are bar and bat Mitzvah.
  • The travels of Marco Polo.
  • What is an ISBN number and how it works.
  • What is an eclipse.
  • The secrets of crop circles.
  • Yoga for beginners.
  • 5 dangers of cyber relationships.
  • The world’s time zones.
  • How photosynthesis works in plants.
  • Special tricks to remain focused during lectures.
  • Sanction for students that are caught cheating around the world.
  • Summer jobs for students.
  • How our graduate system compares to other countries.
  • Check list for leadership of student council members
  • Graduation party ideas to impress your guests.

College speech topic inventory of logical action sequences for higher education students. All are broad and should be narrowed for a classroom speech. For example, Safe Sunbathing can be narrowed to persuasion on your personal tips on how to enjoy the sun safely on holidays.

Another sample: Homesickness. E.g. describe what it is, how it feels, what forms exist and what you can do about it yourself or with help from professionals.

Most and for all, read the higher education assignment rules and requirements very, very carefully. Do not take issues everyone will consider as overused.

Choose the one you like. When in doubt: ask friends or your public speaking professor.

Can We Write Your Speech?

Get your audience blown away with help from a professional speechwriter. Free proofreading and copy-editing included.

  • College education years are absolute not the best years of our life
  • Coping with anxiety in life
  • Dealing with loss and mourning grief
  • Honesty in college really matters
  • How to communicate effectively at our campus
  • How to cope with an autistic person
  • The international diplomatic circus
  • My motto: Learn from the past, prepare the future, and live present
  • Limiting the promotion of alcohol diminishes traffic casualties
  • My goals for the student council election
  • The pros or cons of organ donating
  • Safe sunbathing is a must in sunshine states
  • Sports football vs. soccer, or other sports for another college speech topic
  • Studying alone or studying with a group of college students?
  • Why skipping classes can isolate a student socially.
  • Ten rules for achieving successes
  • Cheesy pickup lines you should not stick on your vehicle
  • Funny awards and their meanings
  • High Tech industry job opportunities
  • Homesickness is not pose
  • How to boost confidence in public speaking
  • Handling your drunken roommate
  • How to stay in touch with old college mates
  • Money problems – this is a very hot college speech idea 🙂
  • Problem drinkers and the problems that occur
  • Human services in health care
  • The Free Speech Movement
  • Time management skills are no luxury these days
  • What I will do when I retire
  • Why movies are popular, or take one special movie that’s in and make a presentation of it.

The inventory can be expanded to many more. Here are three methods for developing:

  • Look in the education resources you have access to for surprising new bare facts and background data sheets.
  • And categorize the information in easy to do step by step instructions and logical educational action sequences.
  • Ask college classmates and peers for their opinions, thoughts, ideas and needs on the chochosenllege speech topic.

These informative speech topics for college students are not only nice for preparing the best public speaking speech, but also for essay writing, I have noticed.

Some students who provide me feedback and additional tips, wrote that they have successfully adapted these five samples for writing and essay or paper.

The suggested sub-points are given to spark your imagination,; expand or focus them till they fit the requirements of the educational assignment.

Impromptu speech topics for college in case your are required to speak in front of everyone out of the blue about specific issues ad-libbing as public speaking training:

Second, use my basic outline template. Print it and learn the simple structure by heart. No worries, it is really that simple 🙂

Do keep it simple. Especially when you have to speak for let’s say a minute of three to five. To put it roughly: one minute per main point often will do the trick! Rehearse your first line.

Rehearse your last line; that is your relevant call to action. See more of my basic checks for speaking off the cuff when you are invited to do so.

  • Show the essence of a college sports scholarship.
  • Present the reasons why international climate change mitigation strategies will fall short. Tip: each of those reasons could be good by themselves.
  • Decide the value of a BA or Master degree.
  • Show similarities and differences of good college essays.
  • Distinguish the economic differences between the North and South.
  • Give a judgment of the positive and negative effects of video games on kids.
  • Make clear what the word quality means under certain circumstances.
  • Provide the detailed features of your new iPhone. Or take an alternative gadget for similar impromptu speech topics for college.
  • List and judge the for and against of anti-doping programs in sports.
  • List the steps to help making an informed decision about a future professional career.
  • The usefulness of your public speaking training abilities.
  • Make clear how and why people get a burnout.
  • What is a final salary scheme in calculating retirement pensions?
  • The value of information provided through school libraries.
  • Why intelligence services must apply forms of domestic spying.
  • The effects of industrialization after the invention of the steam engine.
  • Teen girls are getting very liberal with sexual favors, no that’s a false understatement.
  • Be a critic of impromptu speech topics for college of your public speaking instructor suggests.
  • Wrap up the last meeting of your campus community board; any decisions taken for example about sports scholarships improvements?
  • The interesting process of genetic reproductive cloning, by which an animal is created with the same DNA as an existing animal.

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 hints for a higher education auditor.

Safety considerations related to school buses which operate under the supervision of the transportation authority boards.

Methods family genealogists use to research history and how they interpret data in an annotative critical perseverance way.

These are also very usable for starting up the thinking process for example essay writing and researching projects

  • Mass vaccination is a good public health strategy for protecting people in potential disaster regions against cholera. Or of course choose other diseases to get stringent in content speech topics if you study for gaining a degree in a specific area.
  • The concerns raised by the refurbishing of old computer PCs and recycling other consumer electronics.
  • Sedation could be a humanitarian solution for transporting acutely or critically ill patients and diminish safety risk issues on the way to hospital.
  • How a financial planner can identify those estate planning issues that are most forthcoming to you, and how you can solve many of the financial problems encountered.
  • I have also grouped and explained the famous travels of Marco Polo in three periods for vocal expressions if you like to orate on a great adventurer of centuries ago.
  • Consumer market research is an inevitable instrument to collect exact or valuable haphazard speech topics for college students data before you sell any goods.
  • How the seventeenth century judicial system of Checks and Balances is constituated in the US Constitution based on the hypothesis and theories of the father of the modern state structures, the honorable French politician Charles de Montesquieu.
  • Persons who are following a 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grades course and who are gifted and talented should be provided with special education funds for high-achieving pupils, like the tropicana program for public speaking education.
  • Common emotional problems with wills and trusts and ways to handle them adequately.
  • There should be one uniform standard set of higher learning edu challenges in closing commencement rates with the same characteristics for similar bookworm populations.
  • Employees have the responsibility to prevent sexual harassment, to response appropriate, and participate in misconduct investigations.
  • The importance for college students, teachers, and instructors of improving social studies knowledge of controversial civic issues.
  • You can distillate many college persuasive speech topics out of this topic for public speaking. Map out the food gap between developing and rich countries; the trends over time and how the United Nations Millenium Goal policy could cut poverty rates.
  • The labor force population explained. The employed, unemployed and self-employed put into the context of the labor policy of our government. The problems, causes and possible solutions.
  • How emerging India has become a serious international space competitive in the past years, and future topics related to India’s space race in the next decade.
  • Why bilingual language education divides us Americans. Some persuasive speech topics for school to consider for public speaking students are: why every new citizen should learn both English and Spanish, or just another universal foreign language.
  • Five ways to help the partially sighted or blind; visually impaired people in ordinairy life. Motivate your public speaking audience to act immediately!
  • The National holidays other countries around the world celebrate with various names, traditions and cultures. Why do we have so much national holidays. Take some discutable ones and translate them into college persuasive speech topics.
  • Husbands and wives should have the right to decide freely to have as many children as they can properly raise. The one-child policy in the People’s Republic of China is not acceptable for us in the Western Hemisphere? Or is it the only way to stop overpopulation?
  • The goals of the science of Paleontology – what do students want to achieve with the studying of prehistoric life, olds stines and fossils. Are they sufficiently enough?
  • Why we should help to prevent and to improve therapeutic treatment methods and extensive educational programs on stuttering. Do the existing methods work?
  • The basics of risk management explained in detail – the determination, the prevention, and the control of dangers.
  • Human body language is the one and only Cupido guide to success in dating; it reveals everything about her or him and of course about yourself.
  • How to cut the expensive costs of dorm fees, books, food and transportation and have a good and relaxed campus life as well. Wow, these are real speech topics for college – it paves the path to many more supplements.
  • Why a professional business and management liability insurance is not a luxury, but an essential need for each and every company.
  • What every employee should know about earn gratuities and the related regulations and obligations under the Income Tax Act.
  • Why we should buy an IPhone and why not – the pros and cons of the Apple invention explained for mobile phone dummies.
  • Why so-called Pro Bono Lawyers are not philanthropically legal aid attorneys for charity. How they work on deductive premises – bring home the steps in the legal process – is an alternative option to work out.
  • Human Papillomavirus and Chlamydia are the most common bacterial sexually transmitted diseases at college campuses and therefore actual public speaking speech topics for college students to deliver in class.
  • Carbon monoxide poisoning or the silent assassin that can build up to dangerous levels while you are sleeping – describe the causes, the problems, the treatment and how it can be prevented.
  • Stop the state and federal budget cuts to the deaf access programs and services for persons with a hearing disability. Or take other disability programs to make a personal and political statement.

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Easy Persuasive Speech Topics

When given a task to come up with a persuasive speech , it is most often up to a student to pick the topic. Choosing the right topic for a persuasive speech is sometimes not such an easy thing to do as it may seem. The infinite choice often gets a student confused. Problem solution essay topics may help to clear things out.

In any case, it is always a better idea to work with a topic that is particularly close to you and that you have a genuine interest in, as opposed to just picking a random topic. Discussing something that you are familiar is not only more fun but also a lot easier.

To aid the student, we have compiled this long list of topics in a broad range of categories. The topics in our list vary greatly in their subjects but are equally engaging and exciting. We have included both classic persuasive speech topics done by millions of students and other people throughout the years – such as termination of pregnancy, firearm control, same-sex matrimony, public smoking, etc., as well as some of the more original that remain relatively uninvestigated – for now.

persuasive speech topics

Here we go:

PETS AND FAUNA

Is it better to adopt a pet from an animal nursery or to buy one at a pet store?

Do some pets pose a danger to the community?

Should the owner get rid of a pet that has done harm to someone else’s health?

Should more kinds of animals be tamed and turned into household pets?

Is battery farming ethical?

Is factory farming too cruel to be legal?

Why is adopting a kitten better than buying one?

Is it a good idea to breed pets for sale?

How having a pet makes our lives better?

What makes a dog a perfect pet?

How having a pet affects a child?

How can one benefit from having a snake as a pet?

Why is it better to neuter your pet?

The amazing advantages of having your own horse

How having a cat benefits you?

Why is it important to safeguard dolphin populations?

Why we should not adopt forest animals?

How come some animals face the threat of extinction and what should we do about it?

CARS AND TRANSPORTATION

Should the familiarity with manual transmission be obligatory for getting a driver’s license?

What courses should one take before one can get a driver’s license?

How effective and safe are booster seats for kids?

If one should use the phone while driving, should one at least call hands-free?

At what age should people be allowed to drive?

What makes texting while driving unsafe?

How effective is it when the police chase cars?

What makes cars made in Japan stand out?

Why one should not drive sports cars in everyday life?

Is it justified to charge people money for passing driving tests?

How to optimize the street traffic to ensure the safety of bicycle drivers?

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

How advertising can mess with our minds?

How can advertising be regulated to make it more ethical?

Why should a business understand its target group(s)?

CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT

Is it justified to detain people without any proper procedures if they are suspected of terrorism?

Is burning flags a valid form of protest?

Should silent prayers at schools be outlawed?

How should the government control and manage the turnover of alcohol and other narcotic substances?

Why should school students be given the right to refuse from prayers?

ECONOMIC ISSUES

Is it fair to tax imported goods extra?

Why is it important to buy locally manufactured or grown goods?

How free trade agreements affect the national employees?

Can a trade deficit have a dramatic effect on home economy?

Why is it possible and necessary to increase the income of workers?

Why is it necessary to test and re-certify school workers for their pedagogical skills on a regular basis?

Is it justified to offer free higher education to all applicants from financially challenged backgrounds?

Should high schools be put in charge for the college admission exams?

How should students caught cyberbullying be prevented or persecuted?

Should community service become an obligatory part of the high school curriculum?

Pros and cons of allowing school students to use their phones in school territory.

Should only honor roll students be allowed into school sports teams?

Why should art classes be enforced in all public schools?

Does it really make studying at a study hall less effective when you listen to music?

Why boys and girls mostly share classrooms these days and how this rule holds up?

Should soda and sweets be present in vending machines and on the menu at buffets in schools?

Is it justified to let gym grades affect the GPA?

Is it justified to shut down schools that underperform on test scores?

Should college admission officers run obligatory psychological tests on all applicants to evaluate them?

Should it be made illegal to drop students out?

Is it a good idea to complement the curriculum with obligatory life skill classes?

Should state schools be run only for taxpayers money?

Should we replace textbooks with laptops or tablets entirely?

How important is it to support education in other countries and why?

Is it effective to force underperforming students to repeat the class?

Should there be quotas for minorities when it comes to college admission?

Is it really necessary for every student to learn a foreign language in the USA?

Should students who are on school sports teams be free from the gym class?

Should computer science be made into a compulsory discipline?

Should the college be concerned about their students’ employment upon graduation?

Should creationism be taught at biology classes alongside evolution theory?

Is it outdated to count the given and received amounts of education in hours at class?

Should commercial advertisement at schools be allowed?

Do students have to ask for permission to go to the restroom?

Is it a good idea to add a handwriting class to the curriculum?

Would it make sense to start school an hour or two later in the morning?

Should students be allowed to leave campus for the lunch break?

Why a study hall is equal if not better than a traditional class today?

Can we justify a student who listens to music in class?

Should school field trips be restricted to our country?

Should there be a certain age before and after which one could not work as a teacher?

How many foreign languages should be taught to a student?

Is the implementation of new technologies at schools sufficient?

Why is music education essential?

Should college fraternities and sororities be expanded into high school?

Should the students' financial backgrounds influence the amount of financial aid that they earn by studying hard?

Is it necessary to add home economics to the compulsory curriculum?

Should more students be encouraged to choose Chinese as the foreign language to study?

The importance of studying Spanish at schools

If SAT scores don't influence the chance for being enrolled in college, then why do they exist?

The pros and cons of private schools as opposed to public schools

Does standardized testing truly contribute to equal opportunities?

Why should students be encouraged to take part in international exchange programs?

Why are some social groups deprived of proper education and why it needs to be fixed?

Is the PARCC test adequate and/or necessary?

How should children be prepared for school before they start it?

From which grade should study hall be introduced?

Should everyone try and go to college?

Why do the students get insufficient financial assistance?

What it takes to make high school education for one student possible?

Does the school year have enough time to fit all the curriculum?

Should anime be studied at schools?

Should higher education be made available for all the population?

Why is homework necessary?

Is the curriculum overloaded?

Is it a good idea to take a year off from studying?

Is the school buffet menu sufficient?

Should schools owe (and provide) the housing for their teachers and other employees?

Do we need more scholarships for minority groups?

Should we give more opportunities for alternative education?

Is education in prisons working?

How we benefit from accelerated learning?

Is education overpriced?

Should private education institutions be forced to offer scholarships of their own?

Is security at schools sufficient?

How can schools attract extra funding?

The ways to confront and prevent various kinds of violence at schools

The benefits of home education

Are training programs for adults adequate?

How many languages should an average student learn?

Should the Oxford comma be made optional?

NATURE PROTECTION

Are the existing regulations to protect the environment enough?

Should garden owners be allowed to grow exotic plants?

Why is it crucial to decrease the number of cars by enforcing public transportation?

Are we using our natural resources wisely?

The negative effects of pollution today

How making oil from algae will improve the environment?

Is hydraulic fracturing that dangerous?

Disposable diapers are a threat to nature

The positive effects of implementing hybrid cars

How is everyone personally responsible for protecting the nature?

How hazardous are oil spills to marine species?

Why we need to enforce recycling

The negative effects of single-use bags

How harmful is palm oil?

We need to preserve the environmentally sensitive regions

The long-run negative effects of oil drilling

Are fishing restrictions sufficient?

Why is it important to protect the rare species?

Alternative energy sources should be enforced more decisively

The regulation to protect ocean life are insufficient

How nature can benefit from reducing the use of paper?

Why the reckless use of natural resources is dangerous and why they should be conserved

ETHICAL ISSUES

Should women plumbers be paid the same as men plumbers?

Should we legalize euthanasia when doctors lack other options?

Are there better alternatives to death penalty?

Are stereotypes about certain social and other groups of people justified?

Is it necessary to test products on animals and/or humans before launching the mass production?

Should we try and influence our unborn children’s genetics?

Does donating to charities that help the poor improve the situation with poverty?

Why do women still have their genitals artificially deformed and why we should no longer take it

Why eating meat is not unethical

Why we should stop buying and wearing fur clothes

RAISING CHILDREN

Should parents be entitled to allow their underage children to drink alcohol and smoke?

Should there be parental guidance for music video clips and music television?

How harmful can watching R-Rated movies be for children?

Does it help to restrict teenagers from playing violent video games?

Why parents of child performers and sportspeople should be less pressing

Why family violence is never a good idea

How fairy tales help to raise a good person

The potential harm of playing R-rated video games

How daycare helps children to be social

Why children should listen to their parents

Why children should stay away from chat rooms in the Internet

Why we need to raise awareness about family violence

The harm we do by lying to children about Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Toothfairy, etc.

Why women should not monopolize the pink color

FINANCE-RELATED ISSUES

Why should people be banned to wear hats and sunglasses at banks?

Why student loans need to be marked off in most instances

Why casinos at reservations are not as good idea as they seem

Is labeling genetically modified foods really helpful?

Why banning alcohol from being advertised on TV did not help?

Should every kid know how to cook?

Should cooking classes be added to the school curriculum?

Better things to do with unsold food products than throwing them to the garbage

Is adding sugar to food necessary?

How growing our own crops can improve our health and environment

Is there enough fruit and vegetables in our diet?

Genetically engineered food products are the future of humanity

How we underestimate peanuts

The amazing effects of drinking orange juice regularly

Are farmers’ markets that we have enough?

Can we get rid of the disease by switching our diets to exclusively organic food products?

Are the artificial chemicals in our food products that harmful?

STATE CONTROL AND RESPONSIBILITY

Should the Internet be controlled more strictly?

Should there be state-run websites where companies would be obligated to write about all of their job openings?

Is it the responsibility of the state to take care of the homeless?

Should the schools run by religious institutions get the taxpayers’ money?

Barack Obama’s portrait on newer dollar bills

How likely is Puerto Rico to be recognized as the 51 st State?

The imperfections of the US legislative system

Can the state interfere with what people choose to eat and drink?

How inflated is the military budget?

Should the state offer aid to everyone who claims they need it?

Where should we draw the line between local and federal governing?

Why are railroads so ineffective in the USA?

Local authorities neglect the problem of potholes

Are there any valid reasons for practicing eminent domain today?

Why drug-restricting regulations keep failing

Why is the zoning legislation ridiculous in its core

Should parents be informed if their underage daughter chooses to make an abortion?

Should aborted fetuses be utilized for genetic research?

At what age does it become healthy to use contraceptive medical treatment?

The American healthcare system is largely flawed and needs thorough revision

Does free distribution of condoms at schools improve the situation of sex-related problems among children of school age?

Exercise as an easy way to avoid health problems

All restaurants serving potentially allergenic ingredients in their meals should inform their customers thereof properly

How harmful fast food really is?

Why medical research would be rendered ineffective without animal testing

How effective are seat belts to prevent lethal casualties in traffic accidents?

How diabetes may affect your performance at work

The unpleasant consequences of skipping breakfasts

Is healthy fast food possible?

Is sex ed at schools effective?

Why we should consume as little salt as possible

Do we eat too much meat?

Why is the importance of good sleep underestimated?

School kids need to be educated about the prevention of rape and other sexual misconduct

How much soda can one drink without causing any damage to one’s health?

How junk food can be improved not to be junk

What happens if one works for several years without a good vacation

Why is it important to pick the right toothpaste

We consume too much sugar

Do we need more strict regulations regarding the advertisement of drugs?

Can we lower the percentage of suicides by legalizing euthanasia?

The underused potential of electroconvulsive treatment

The effective methods to withstand stress factors

The negative long-term and short-term effects of steroids for farm animals

Pros and cons of donating organs

The dangers of homeopathic treatment

The dangers of anti-vaccination ideology

How sleepwalking can be fatal

The hidden threat of vaporizers

The myth of electronic cigarettes being less harmful than tobacco

Why we should be skeptical about diet pills

What is Red Cross day for?

How donating blood benefits the society and you

The underestimated importance of drinking enough water

How to maintain a healthy diet without overdoing it

How few people can do a CPR

How you endanger others by smoking

Are there any 'easy' tips for staying fit?

Why and how should society confront mass obesity

Why are healthy food products too expensive?

The misused potential of gluten

How little do we know about side effects of popular drugs?

Do doctors get enough wages?

How high heels are bad for one's health

How we endanger ourselves by using tanning beds

Why prescription drugs need to be more accessible

The real and mythical dangers of smoking

Easy steps to keep your teeth healthy

Medical studies are dramatically underfunded

How to develop healthy everyday life habits

How laughing improves your health

Bike helmets save lives and should not be neglected

How having good friends can literally save your life

The deeds of the AA should be more advertised and appreciated

Medical care needs to be more accessible

How contraceptive treatment saves lives

Infectious diseases can be prevented more effectively

The health benefits of dark chocolate

Why positive thinking is good for you

How stomach stapling is being overused

Is it safer to chew tobacco than to smoke it?

Driving without seatbelts should be punished more severely

Do we know enough about food additives?

Until what age should mothers breastfeed their children?

Is binge drinking as great of a menace as it used to be?

Should teenage pregnancy be prevented?

What new factors cause teenage suicide?

Do we know enough about fire safety precautions?

Why people should donate their organs?

How to prolong your life without medical interference?

HISTORY IN GENERAL AND IN DETAIL

Did the USA drug their soldiers in Vietnam without their consent?

Do we know enough about the important figures from the African-American history?

What makes Abraham Lincoln a role model for all Presidents?

Why no nation should revise their history?

Why so many people believe that Neil Armstrong did not land on the Moon?

CROSS-CULTURAL AND INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

The USA should involve in international processes less

The actual dictatorships supported by the USA government

Should Catalunya be independent from Spain?

How independent can a country be?

Why should every nation seek to be independent in terms of energy sources

Is nuclear disarmament moving too slowly?

The USA should have never invaded Iraq

Is the UN as effective as it is supposed to be?

Whose responsibility is it to enforce human rights in regions where they are violated?

LEGAL ISSUES

How should drunk drivers be punished adequately?

Should we outlaw using a cellphone while driving?

Should any unauthorized use of music and films be outlawed?

Should an illegal immigrant be able to pass the driving test and get a license?

Should we outlaw driving motorbikes without helmets?

Should elderly people be allowed to drive?

What should be the legal age for driving?

Is it dangerous to keep the possession of deadly weapons legal?

Does forbidding the use of explicit vocabulary on TV in the daytime help its cause?

Is owing exotic pets regulated well enough legally?

Should one be able to sue a fast food joint if they become obese?

Would it help to introduce additional taxation for unhealthy food products?

It to rightful to outlaw public smoking?

Should English remain the only universally official language of the USA?

Why do some groups of people argue that abortion should be illegal and punishable?

Should gambling remain legal?

Do same-sex couples deserve to be granted the same rights as traditional ones?

Should being in a moving car without a fastened seatbelt be punishable more severely?

Is the current voting age justified or should it be lowered?

Should being too loud be considered a crime?

Should bullying be considered a full-scale crime?

Should recycling become mandatory?

Is it a good idea to legalize medicinal marijuana?

At what age should people become eligible for Social Security?

Was it a mistake to legalize abortions?

Is the current immigration legislation wise and fair?

The restriction of smoking in public places violates rights of citizens

Should military (or navy) service be mandatory for all the US citizens?

Why are laws against drunk driving ineffective?

Why same-sex couples should be granted same rights as other couples

Should it be legal for everyone to hunt

Is having death penalty as a practicable punishment justified today?

Should it be completely outlawed to employ the underage at any kinds of work?

LITERARY STUDIES

In what ways are books better than TV?

The positive impact of the likes of Twilight and Fifty Shades of Gray

Why is reading a good idea

Why media promotes certain beauty standards and how harmful it is

Do younger generations actually degrade due to the influence of the TV?

Should the teenage-oriented media be more careful about the messages they send to their audiences?

Has the Star Wars franchise and lore benefited after being acquired by Disney?

Children would treat TV more critically if Photography was studied at schools

Should age restrictions for TV shows be stricter?

How comic books are useful

How educational are educational TV shows?

Should TV be more education-oriented?

Public broadcasters are critically underfinanced

Violence, nudity and coarse language on TV needs to be regulated more strictly

The Cable TV market is too monopolized

How guitar music is better than synthetic

Lyrics in songs should not be censored

Music is the easiest and the most effective way to lighten up

How music contributes both to the individual and to the society

Music in MP3 format should be free as a promo material, whereas music in better sound quality formats should be for sale

POLITICAL ISSUES

Why is it dangerous to allow political parties to accept financial donations from large corporations?

The importance of every vote

Politicians should at least be fined for using personal abuse rhetoric

Why Bernie Sanders lost the primaries

LIFE SKILLS

Survival basics that everybody needs to know

Few simple rules of camping for everyone

How being clean affects your personal and professional life and wellbeing

PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIAL STUDIES

How much is intelligence pre-determined genetically?

To what extent does our environment influence who we are

Can a “shrink” be trusted?

What is the purpose of love in our lives?

How much does your feeling of happiness depend on your financial state of affairs?

PERSONAL ISSUES

Are long-distance relationships possible via online means?

Are words of love gender-biased?

It is possible to maintain a relationship being far away from one another

How to know the person for real before marrying?

RELIGION AND SPIRITUAL ISSUES

Should religion studies be included in the curriculum of public schools?

Can students from religious backgrounds make their prayers at schools?

Why most religions are not ready to allow women be priests

Why are religious conflicts the fiercest?

Why every religion claims to be peaceful?

Why fundamentalist movements arise

How we decide whether a certain cult is dangerous

Why it is important to allow people practicing their religion or lack thereof

SELF-IMPROVEMENT

How to confront stress and depression using art

Zeal is the most important factor in mastering anything

Why we should not overthink our lives

Is there any 'simple' time management advice for everyone?

How to benefit from stressful situations

How your looks influences your success

Why personal development is never enough

Confidence is crucial to any undertaking

Being persistent will help you achieve any results

EVERYDAY LIFE

Should obese people be forced to pay for two seats at public transport or entertainment venues?

Would it be effective to restrict the number of children in an American family to a certain number?

Is it justified to obligate residents to clear their adjacent sidewalks from snow?

Will we get rid of drunk driving if we appoint a responsible police officer to every pub?

Is it justified to present senior citizens with free use of public transportation?

Is it a good idea to make a certain period of community service compulsory for every US citizen?

Should we join the rest of the world and adopt the metric system?

How should we deal with people who refuse to stand up for the pledge?

Is it the responsibility of a good municipal government to arrange free Wi-Fi spots all over the city?

What makes urban life better than the countryside one?

Why it is important to stay open-minded at all times

Should an education worker give up on a “hard” kid in favor of the rest of the class?

Internet connection should be free of charge for everyone

Paparazzi and stalkers violate privacy of other people too often

Human life has improved a great deal in past 100 years

Why stereotypes exist?

Why raising awareness about feminism and gender studies is crucial

Is it ethical to aim marketing campaigns to underage audiences?

Should convicts be able to practice their right to vote?

How justified is Social Darwinism?

Why are jails so overcrowded with convicts in the US?

Are the currently running campaigns against poverty effective?

Is it possible to prolong weekends by one day without compromising working efficiency?

Are imposed gender roles a thing of the past?

The implications of traditional "trick or treat" custom

Should the state provide homes to lonely senior citizens for free?

Why are public restrooms so messy and what should be done about it?

Are genetically modified food products really that harmful?

Bullying is a destructive social factor

Society imposes downright dangerous beauty standards

Being polite will get you everywhere

Why buying at Walmart should be avoided

How to bring good to your community right now

Lack of fair-priced residences is a serious problem

The holidays are too short for no good reason

What makes propaganda a hazardous weapon?

How excessive wealth corrupts people

Why elderly people need the opportunity to use public transportation for free?

How public transportation system can be improved

Why everyone should contribute to the community

Why should all the homeless be assisted with finding homes

Cyberbullying is a serious threat

What you achieve by supporting charities

People can and should retire at an older age than they used to

Censorship is suffocating the emerging information society

Foster parenthood should be more advertised and encouraged

The real reasons for equality

How can we help children with single parents

How to tame corruption at a country level

Why it is important to buy local goods

Security alarms are a simple thing that can improve our lives drastically

The importance of alternative penitentiary options

Lawsuits are becoming a circus and profanate the very legislative system

Poverty cannot be dealt with unless we invest more resources into the social system

Working hours in pubs need to be reconsidered

Police should be the last place to come across corruption

The society should show more support to non-working single parents

Female workers still usually have to work at lower wages than their male colleagues, and it is a big problem

Cosmetic surgery is abused as a result of poor regulation

Senior citizens today need more care than ever

Why some companies still maintain the infamous tradition of racial profiling

How can we enforce more respect to people’s privacy

Why the struggle for women equality advances so slowly

Why relations between various ethnic groups still leave much to be desired

Mass media are biased and subjective

Should support crew such as marching bands and mascots be regarded as sportspeople?

Is bike sharing more than just a fresh trend?

Should college team players be treated as professional sportspeople and be rewarded financially?

Are school teams overfinanced?

Why are women sports less interesting to the media?

Why drug tests for professional sportspeople are still not a must?

Is it fair that sportspeople earn such tremendous amounts of money?

Sports is about pushing yourself to the edge, and not about defeating others

Is it justified to reflect ethnical-cultural details in team names and other attributes?

Are cheerleaders as good sportspeople as others?

Why even the most professional team would have no chance with a name like Yellowfaces?

Why sports get so much attention?

Gym classes should be more focused on practical physical skills like swimming

Why professional sports should remain privately financed?

Are the existing safety precautions for athletes sufficient?

Physical training is overrated

Sure, as we know from diagnostic essay page, with such a huge variety of topics to choose from, picking just one may be a challenge. As we already mentioned, the trick is to pick a subject that appeals to you personally. This is one of the surest ways to approach any academic paper because it's going to be way more interesting to research the subject and because writing the actual paper will quite a lot of fun!

Still, figuring out the best topic for your essay is not your only concern as a student. The next step would be crafting a compelling thesis statement. As a rule, essay writers present their thesis at the end of the introductory paragraph. Further on, you will base your paper on this statement, so choose wisely.

> The best tip on constructing a great thesis statement would be to choose something that is not too obvious. This way, you will have a chance to hook your reader and make him/her interested in what you have to say on the topic.

The number of body paragraphs will mostly depend on the length of your paper. Normally, having three major arguments to prove your point is enough for a convincing paper. This, in its turn, will give you three body paragraphs, each starting with its own point. Make sure to use logical transitions between the paragraphs, though - do not just skip from one issue to another.

The last (and usually, the fifth) paragraph of your paper is the conclusion. Here, it is very important to restate your thesis statement. But remember - you should not do it word for word. The main point of a quality conclusion is to summarise everything you have written and prove your thesis statement either right (this is the most common approach) or wrong (it may sometimes happen in argumentative papers).

All in all, you can see that writing a persuasive essay is no brain surgery. Still, it would be hard to argue that the process requires quite a bit of time and concentration. Plus, if you are assigned a persuassive paper topics in one of the minor subjects, it may often be challenging to take some time off the subjects you're majoring in. Fortunately for you, there is always a way out. In this particular case, custom writing is the perfect solution that saves time and effort.

Our company has already helped thousands of overworked students from all over the world with their academic assignments. We deal with a vast variety of essays in social, exact sciences, and humanities. And the best thing is - each paper is assigned to a qualified expert in the area, which is why all custom papers written here meet the high educational writing standards, as well as student's particular requirements.

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persuasive speech topics in college

Persuasive Speech

Persuasive Speech Topics

Cathy A.

Good Persuasive Speech Topics & Ideas for Debaters

18 min read

Published on: Mar 22, 2023

Last updated on: Nov 7, 2023

persuasive speech topics

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Are you stuck searching for persuasive speech ideas that will truly grab your audience's attention? You're not alone.

Picture this: You're tasked with delivering a speech, and you're worried about making it memorable. The problem? Finding the right topic.

Fear not! We've gathered a number of persuasive speech topics, neatly categorized for your convenience. Whether it's for a competition or a project, we've got the right topics for you.

So let’s dive into the topics!

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What is a Persuasive Speech?

A persuasive speech aims to influence or convince an audience to adopt a specific viewpoint or take a particular course of action. It's all about using words to sway opinions, inspire change, and ignite a spark of conviction in the minds of listeners.

Components of a Great Persuasive Speech Topic

When crafting a persuasive speech, it's crucial to consider the three fundamental elements that make a topic truly compelling that are;   ethos pathos, and logos :

  • Ethos: Establish your credibility and trustworthiness as a speaker. Your audience needs to believe that you are knowledgeable, sincere, and reliable in your stance.
  • Pathos: Appeal to the emotions and empathy of your listeners. A persuasive topic should evoke feelings and resonate with the audience on a personal level.
  • Logos: Build a logical and rational argument. Provide sound reasoning, evidence, and facts to support your position, ensuring that your audience can follow your line of thought.

Incorporating these elements into your speech topic will help you connect with your audience and effectively convey your message with conviction and impact.

Watch this video to learn how to organize a persuasive speech!

Persuasive Speech Topics for Students

Wondering what some good topics for a persuasive speech are? 

It can be hard to choose a perfect topic for your speech. But don’t worry, we have done the hard work for you. Just keep reading this blog, and you will get to know what are the good topics for persuasive speech.

Unique Persuasive Speech Topics for University Students

  • Graffiti is the art of the future.
  • A helmet is necessary for bike riders.
  • People should not use their phones while driving.
  • Easy steps for staying happy and healthy.
  • Money can’t buy happiness.
  • Wild animals should be tamed.
  • Why we should have a balanced diet.
  • Benefits of exercise. 
  • Why should Black Friday sales start on Thanksgiving?
  • We should learn from the wisdom of our elders.

Interesting Persuasive Speech Topics for College Students

  • College education should be free for students belonging to low-income families.
  • Psychological issues can never justify mass shootings.
  • Following one’s comfort level is more important than the following fashion.
  • Bragging about expensive possessions depicts immorality.
  • The tax rate should be double for rich people.
  • College students should be regularly provided with mental health counseling.
  • Classrooms should have background music to help the students focus on learning in a better manner.
  • Should athletes be paid less? 
  • Cell phones should not be allowed in classrooms.
  • People should not be allowed to change their names after high school.

Best Persuasive Speech Topics for High School Students

  • Exchange programs make the students more appreciative of the world and different communities.
  • Working part-time on weekends should be compulsory for teenagers.
  • Introverts are the best motivational speakers.
  • Modern youth have developed addictive personalities.
  • Religious discussions should not be allowed in schools.
  • Students should learn at least three foreign languages.
  • Writing research papers is a better way of learning than tests.
  • Money cannot ensure happiness.
  • Positive thinking makes life easier and happier.
  • Violent video games should be banned in the United States.

Science and Technology Persuasive Speech Topics

  • The ethics of artificial intelligence.
  • The impact of 5G technology.
  • Space exploration and its value.
  • Climate change mitigation technologies.
  • Privacy in the digital age.
  • The future of renewable energy.
  • Genetic engineering and ethical dilemmas.
  • Cybersecurity in the modern world.
  • The impact of social media on society.
  • The role of technology in education.

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Environment Persuasive Speech Topics

  • The importance of recycling.
  • Protecting endangered species.
  • Reducing plastic waste.
  • The impact of deforestation.
  • Promoting sustainable agriculture.
  • The need for clean energy.
  • Combating air pollution.
  • Conserving water resources.
  • The urgency of addressing climate change.
  • Preserving natural habitats.

Health and Medicine Persuasive Speech Topics

  • The importance of vaccination.
  • Mental health awareness.
  • The benefits of organic food.
  • Healthcare for all.
  • The opioid crisis.
  • The impact of fast food on health.
  • The need for more organ donors.
  • Alternative medicine options.
  • Obesity and its effects.
  • Access to affordable healthcare.

Mental Health Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Organic foods are good for health.
  • Junk food should be avoided to protect ourselves.
  • A morning walk is essential for good health.
  • A healthy diet has some great effects on the mind’s health.
  • College cafes should offer only healthy foods.
  • Alcohol and tobacco products have bad effects on health.
  • People who smoke cigarettes are more likely to die early.
  • Animal testing in medical research should be legalized.
  • The amazing effects of eating a sufficient amount of vegetables and fruits regularly.
  • Why is dieting not a good option to lose weight?

Bioethics Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Bioethics in medical research: Standardized testing of ethical standards.
  • Cloning and ethical concerns: Different points of view.
  • Organ transplantation ethics: Examining various perspectives.
  • End-of-life decisions and ethical dilemmas.
  • Genetic testing dilemmas.
  • Animal testing and ethics.
  • Reproductive technologies: Ethical considerations.
  • Privacy in healthcare and ethical principles.
  • Human enhancement ethics.
  • Ethical standards in environmental issues.

Economy and Work Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Universal basic income for economic stability.
  • The impact of automation on jobs.
  • Raising the minimum wage.
  • The gig economy and worker rights.
  • Reducing income inequality.
  • The future of remote work.
  • The benefits of financial literacy education.
  • Global outsourcing and job loss.
  • The importance of supporting small businesses.

Persuasive Speech Topics About Media

  • Advertisements should not be aimed at children.
  • How the media is encouraging cyberbullying.
  • The media is responsible for the moral degradation of teenagers.
  • Certain TV shows should have an age restriction.
  • How the media is helping to prevent corruption.
  • Media could become an educational resource.
  • The media is to be blamed for eating disorders.
  • The media should not promote certain beauty standards.
  • How advertising helps in promoting the product.
  • Freedom of the press has gone too far.

Persuasive Speech Topics About Government and International Relations

  • The impact of social media on modern diplomacy
  • Should countries abandon national borders and embrace global citizenship?
  • The role of international organizations in promoting world peace
  • Government surveillance vs. personal privacy: finding the balance
  • The pros and cons of foreign aid: are we really helping?
  • Challenges of cybersecurity in an interconnected world
  • The power of economic sanctions in international diplomacy
  • Climate change: a global responsibility for every nation
  • The role of the United Nations in resolving global conflicts
  • Is globalization benefiting or harming developing nations?

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Policy Speech Topics for Students

  • Ban car racing in mass pollution areas.
  • Domestic Violence Drug Policy.
  • Equal Employment Opportunities.
  • Sexist images of women should be banned.
  • Smokers should be treated like drug addicts.
  • What should be the minimum age for the voter?
  • Why should meals in school be free?
  • Why invading North Korea is a no-go plan.
  • Stop clothing and textile sweatshops.
  • Punish severely pupils taking drugs.

Law and Politics Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Charity is used as the source of converting black money into white money.
  • Detaining people on the suspicion of terrorism is justified.
  • Military service should not be compulsory.
  • Physician-assisted suicide should be a punishable crime.
  • Violent crime offenders should be sentenced to death.
  • Illegal immigrants should be instantly deported.
  • Foreigners should not be allowed to buy the property.
  • Surveillance should not compromise the privacy of the citizens.
  • Rapists and pedophiles should be hanged to death immediately.
  • Burning sketches and flags during protests should be punished.

Persuasive Speech Topics on Business

  • Why should businesses analyze their target groups?
  • How do social media advertising techniques work?
  • How to start a business with a little investment?
  • Why should you not do business with a family member?
  • Why do introverts make good leaders?
  • Why does the HR department need to be polite and understanding?
  • Why do sales and customer service departments need to be paid more?
  • What does it take to be a successful businessman?
  • What are small businesses successful and profitable?
  • How to do business analysis before starting a business?

Public Speaking Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Should schools still teach cursive handwriting?
  • Should prisoners be allowed to vote?
  • What is the best type of renewable energy?
  • The danger of texting and driving.
  • Why should you buy a Japanese car?
  • Why should alcohol be illegal?
  • More recycling should be encouraged.
  • The trade deficit with China is dangerous.
  • Should only native plants be grown in gardens?

Arts and Culture Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Modern art lacks authenticity.
  • Can action movies cause stress?
  • Importance of art and culture
  • The effectiveness of art and music therapy
  • Should graffiti be considered art?
  • Should art and music therapy be required for students?
  • Should all students be required to learn an instrument in school?
  • Is music therapy effective?
  • Should art be necessary for students?
  • Importance of performing arts 

Religion Persuasive Speech Topics

  • The role of religion in modern society.
  • Religious freedom and its limits.
  • The impact of religion on mental health.
  • The relationship between science and religion.
  • Religious tolerance and coexistence.
  • The influence of religion on politics.
  • The rise of non-religious beliefs.
  • Religious rituals and their significance.
  • The effects of organized religion on individuals.
  • Exploring the concept of the afterlife.

Sports Persuasive Speech Topics

  • College players should be treated as professional players.
  • Professional sports should be financed privately.
  • Drug tests should be compulsory in all professional sports.
  • The support crew should be considered sportspeople.
  • Media and society are less interested in women's sports.
  • Cheerleaders cannot compare with professional players.
  • Safety precautions for athletes should be upgraded.
  • Team names should not reflect ethnic and cultural affiliations.
  • Sports means depicting your limit and not winning or defeating.
  • Professional female players should get more opportunities for financial support than male players.

Persuasive Speech Topics About Automotive

  • The minimum driving age should be 18.
  • Everyone should take driving courses.
  • What are the best car seats for pets?
  • Drivers should avoid the usage of cell phones while driving.
  • You should drive in your lane.
  • Watch out for animals on the road while driving.
  • How to travel with your pet?
  • Are sports cars really dangerous?
  • Bike and bicycle riders should wear helmets.
  • Why are Japanese cars in trend nowadays?

Persuasive Speech Topics About Travel 

  • The perks of being an air hostess.
  • Tourism is ruining historical places.
  • Traveling should be cheaper.
  • Pets should be allowed to travel with their owner.
  • You should visit a new place every six months.
  • Switzerland is the most beautiful place on the face of this earth.
  • Why you should not visit the Bermuda Triangle.
  • Tourism plays an important role in presenting a better image of a country.
  • How to travel to Mars?
  • Airline tickets should be cheaper.

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Persuasive Speech Topics About Music & Fashion

  • Should white people listen to rap?
  • Jazz is an extinct music genre.
  • Good song lyrics can inspire people.
  • How do fashion trends differ in society?
  • Jewelry defines your worth
  • Marketing high fashion.
  • Men shouldn’t wear pink
  • Music has its own language
  • Fashion and music are different from each other
  • Fashion and music of 1987

Easy Persuasive Speech Topics About Education

  • School or college bullies should be rusticated immediately.
  • Coeducation makes students more competitive.
  • Homosexuals should have separate educational institutes.
  • Online teaching is not as constructive as regular teaching.
  • Kids should be taught ethics and moral values in school.
  • Schoolkids should be taught about the prevention of rape.
  • Sex education must be compulsory in high school.
  • How can we make social media more educational?
  • Teachers should take a basic skill test every year to renew their certifications.
  • Poor students should get a free college education.

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Persuasive Speech Topics About Workplace

  • Interns should always be paid for their work.
  • Part-time workers should have the legal right to claim annual paid leave.
  • How to deal with bullying in the workplace?
  • A friendly environment is important for the growth of a company.
  • Everyone should do a retail job once in their life.
  • Hardworking employees should be rewarded with performance awards.
  • All employees should get basic first aid training.
  • Everyone should learn basic survival skills.
  • The theory has no importance if it can’t be implemented.
  • Personal hygiene is essential for good health.

Interesting Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Energy drinks are far away from providing energy.
  • Watching television is more beneficial than reading books.
  • Health benefits and transport facilities should be free for senior citizens.
  • Confidence is the key to success.
  • Urban life is more tiring and energy-consuming than rural life.
  • Neutral behavior is the best coping mechanism.
  • The first impression is never the last impression.
  • Little conflicts strengthen and make relationships healthier.
  • Credit cards should not be issued to people under 30.
  • All US citizens should do community service.

Great Persuasive Speech Topics for Teens

  • Nuclear disarmament is necessary to restore world peace.
  • The salaries of single parents should be higher than for other employees.
  • Cyberbullying is the major cause of suicide among youngsters.
  • Stalkers and paparazzi should be sentenced to life in prison.
  • Genetically modified food products are less nutritious than natural products.
  • Why can’t we quit fossil fuels?
  • Birth control pills worsen the health of women.
  • Everyone should donate blood at least once a year.
  • The media should not promote beauty standards.
  • Foster parents’ homes should be regularly inspected.

Persuasive Speech Topics for Kids

  • The zoo or aquarium should not be closed on public holidays.
  • Uniforms should not be mandatory for public schools.
  • Schools should have a free period for video games.
  • My pet is very obedient.
  • Why shouldn't kids play R-rated games?
  • Why can't kids be Santa?
  • Why do I love my dad more than I love my mom?
  • Where babies come from.
  • The worst fruit on the earth.
  • How do rainbows work?

Persuasive Speech Topics Related to Food and Beverages

  • Kids should not eat fast food.
  • People are required to learn cooking skills.
  • There should be a period for cooking in school and college.
  • Benefits of growing our own vegetables.
  • Benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables.
  • Why we need to stay away from processed foods.
  • Frozen foods are not good for health.
  • Energy drinks do not provide any energy.
  • Artificial sugary drinks should be replaced with fruit juices.
  • An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Funny Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Funny pick-up lines help in the development of a serious relationship.
  • Endless memes can be made on my mother.
  • Life is troublesome due to your horoscope.
  • Girls are more interested in diamonds than makeup.
  • Guys are more interested in sports than their girlfriends.
  • You are not enjoying student life if you do not procrastinate.
  • It is your major duty to annoy your parents.
  • Life is useless without indulging in troubles without your friends.
  • Guys are more interested in gossip than girls.
  • Never add your parents on Facebook.

Want to leave your audience entertained? Click the link and enjoy a list of entertaining speech topics !

Persuasive Speech Topics About Animals

  • Taming wild and exotic animals is unethical.
  • Emotional support animals provide several health benefits.
  • Animals should have protection laws.
  • Why do bunnies make the perfect pet even for a small apartment?
  • Why do animals make the best companions?
  • The benefits of pets.
  • Why should emotionally disabled people have emotional support animals?
  • How do service animals differ from emotional support animals?
  • Why are dogs more loyal than humans?
  • How do birds and fishes provide support to emotionally disturbed people?

Controversial Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Animal testing of drugs is necessary for ensuring the safety of humanity.
  • Cosmetic surgery, being an unhealthy obsession, should be banned.
  • Human behavior is the product of society and not of nature.
  • The death penalty is the only solution for controlling the crime rate in society.
  • The legal age for drinking, driving, and voting should be set at eighteen years.
  • Corruption and bribery run in today’s economy.
  • Do you think immigration laws need to be revised?
  • Job Discrimination based on Hair Color/Style.
  • Our constitution should protect hate speech.
  • Regulations on applying safety devices.

Family Persuasive Speech Topics

  • Family traditions are important.
  • We are over-scheduling our kids
  • How to run a family business?
  • What is the most beneficial parenting style, and why?
  • Why do I love my family?
  • Should schools do more to teach family values?
  • Families should start every morning with yoga.
  • Laws for child abuse
  • Parents should teach their children to stay polite
  • It’s okay to say no to children.

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What Makes A Good Persuasive Speech Topic?

To craft an effective persuasive speech, consider the following key factors:

  • Relevance: Choose a topic that is current and matters to your audience. It should be relatable to their lives and interests.
  • Controversy: Controversial subjects often make for compelling speeches. They engage the audience and spark discussions.
  • Credible Sources: Ensure that you have access to reliable information and sources to support your arguments.
  • Audience Understanding: Consider the beliefs and values of your audience. Tailor your topic to resonate with them.
  • Clarity of Position: Your stance should be clear and concise. Ambiguity can weaken your persuasive impact.

How To Create And Deliver A Compelling Persuasive Speech

The following principles will help you choose persuasive topics effectively and deliver speeches that leave a lasting impact on your audience.

  • Research Thoroughly: Gather robust evidence and data to support your claims. The more you know, the more convincing you'll be.
  • Structure Your Speech: Organize your speech with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. This structure helps your audience follow your arguments.
  • Craft Engaging Openings: Begin with a captivating hook, a story, or a startling fact to grab your audience's attention.
  • Use Persuasive Techniques: Employ ethos, pathos, and logos to appeal to reason, emotions, and credibility.
  • Address Counterarguments: Acknowledge opposing views and refute them logically.
  • Practice and Feedback: Rehearse your speech multiple times and seek feedback to improve your delivery.
  • Confidence: Believe in your message, and your audience will be more likely to as well.
  • Engage the Audience: Encourage participation, ask questions, and use rhetorical devices to keep your audience involved.
  • End with a Call to Action: Conclude with a clear call to action, telling your audience what you want them to do or believe.

Let’s sum it up!

Hopefully, you have decided on a topic for your speech by now. But if not, don't let the stress of choosing a topic and writing a speech hold you back!

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Cathy A. (Literature, Marketing)

Cathy has been been working as an author on our platform for over five years now. She has a Masters degree in mass communication and is well-versed in the art of writing. Cathy is a professional who takes her work seriously and is widely appreciated by clients for her excellent writing skills.

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75 Persuasive Speech Topics and Ideas

October 4, 2018 - Gini Beqiri

To write a captivating and persuasive speech you must first decide on a topic that will engage, inform and also persuade the audience. We have discussed how to choose a topic and we have provided a list of speech ideas covering a wide range of categories.

What is persuasive speech?

The aim of a persuasive speech is to inform, educate and convince or motivate an audience to do something. You are essentially trying to sway the audience to adopt your own viewpoint.

The best persuasive speech topics are thought-provoking, daring and have a clear opinion. You should speak about something you are knowledgeable about and can argue your opinion for, as well as objectively discuss counter-arguments.

How to choose a topic for your speech

It’s not easy picking a topic for your speech as there are many options so consider the following factors when deciding.

Familiarity

Topics that you’re familiar with will make it easier to prepare for the speech.

It’s best if you decide on a topic in which you have a genuine interest in because you’ll be doing lots of research on it and if it’s something you enjoy the process will be significantly easier and more enjoyable. The audience will also see this enthusiasm when you’re presenting which will make the speech more persuasive.

The audience’s interest

The audience must care about the topic. You don’t want to lose their attention so choose something you think they’ll be interested in hearing about.

Consider choosing a topic that allows you to be more descriptive because this allows the audience to visualize which consequently helps persuade them.

Not overdone

When people have heard about a topic repeatedly they’re less likely to listen to you as it doesn’t interest them anymore. Avoid cliché or overdone topics as it’s difficult to maintain your audience’s attention because they feel like they’ve heard it all before.

An exception to this would be if you had new viewpoints or new facts to share. If this is the case then ensure you clarify early in your speech that you have unique views or information on the topic.

Emotional topics

Emotions are motivators so the audience is more likely to be persuaded and act on your requests if you present an emotional topic.

People like hearing about issues that affect them or their community, country etc. They find these topics more relatable which means they find them more interesting. Look at local issues and news to discover these topics.

Desired outcome

What do you want your audience to do as a result of your speech? Use this as a guide to choosing your topic, for example, maybe you want people to recycle more so you present a speech on the effect of microplastics in the ocean.

Jamie Oliver persuasive speech

Persuasive speech topics

Lots of timely persuasive topics can be found using social media, the radio, TV and newspapers. We have compiled a list of 75 persuasive speech topic ideas covering a wide range of categories.

Some of the topics also fall into other categories and we have posed the topics as questions so they can be easily adapted into statements to suit your own viewpoint.

  • Should pets be adopted rather than bought from a breeder?
  • Should wild animals be tamed?
  • Should people be allowed to own exotic animals like monkeys?
  • Should all zoos and aquariums be closed?

Arts/Culture

  • Should art and music therapy be covered by health insurance?
  • Should graffiti be considered art?
  • Should all students be required to learn an instrument in school?
  • Should automobile drivers be required to take a test every three years?
  • Are sports cars dangerous?
  • Should bicycles share the roads with cars?
  • Should bicycle riders be required by law to always wear helmets?

Business and economy

  • Do introverts make great leaders?
  • Does owning a business leave you feeling isolated?
  • What is to blame for the rise in energy prices?
  • Does hiring cheaper foreign employees hurt the economy?
  • Should interns be paid for their work?
  • Should employees receive bonuses for walking or biking to work?
  • Should tipping in restaurants be mandatory?
  • Should boys and girls should be taught in separate classrooms?
  • Should schools include meditation breaks during the day?
  • Should students be allowed to have their mobile phones with them during school?
  • Should teachers have to pass a test every decade to renew their certifications?
  • Should online teaching be given equal importance as the regular form of teaching?
  • Is higher education over-rated?
  • What are the best ways to stop bullying?
  • Should people with more than one DUI lose their drivers’ licenses?
  • Should prostitution be legalised?
  • Should guns be illegal in the US?
  • Should cannabis be legalised for medical reasons?
  • Is equality a myth?
  • Does what is “right” and “wrong” change from generation to generation?
  • Is there never a good enough reason to declare war?
  • Should governments tax sugary drinks and use the revenue for public health?
  • Has cosmetic surgery risen to a level that exceeds good sense?
  • Is the fast-food industry legally accountable for obesity?
  • Should school cafeterias only offer healthy food options?
  • Is acupuncture a valid medical technique?
  • Should assisted suicide be legal?
  • Does consuming meat affect health?
  • Is dieting a good way to lose weight?

Law and politics

  • Should voting be made compulsory?
  • Should the President (or similar position) be allowed to serve more than two terms?
  • Would poverty reduce by fixing housing?
  • Should drug addicts be sent for treatment in hospitals instead of prisons?
  • Would it be fair for the government to detain suspected terrorists without proper trial?
  • Is torture acceptable when used for national security?
  • Should celebrities who break the law receive stiffer penalties?
  • Should the government completely ban all cigarettes and tobacco products
  • Is it wrong for the media to promote a certain beauty standard?
  • Is the media responsible for the moral degradation of teenagers?
  • Should advertising be aimed at children?
  • Has freedom of press gone too far?
  • Should prayer be allowed in public schools?
  • Does religion have a place in government?
  • How do cults differ from religion?

Science and the environment

  • Should recycling be mandatory?
  • Should genetically modified foods be sold in supermarkets?
  • Should parents be allowed to choose the sex of their unborn children?
  • Should selling plastic bags be completely banned in shops?
  • Should smoking in public places be banned?
  • Should professional female athletes be paid the same as male athletes in the same sport?
  • Should doping be allowed in professional sports?
  • Should schools be required to teach all students how to swim?
  • How does parental pressure affect young athletes?
  • Will technology reduce or increase human employment opportunities?
  • What age should children be allowed to have mobile phones?
  • Should libraries be replaced with unlimited access to e-books?
  • Should we recognize Bitcoin as a legal currency?
  • Should bloggers and vloggers be treated as journalists and punished for indiscretions?
  • Has technology helped connect people or isolate them?
  • Should mobile phone use in public places be regulated?
  • Do violent video games make people more violent?

World peace

  • What is the safest country in the world?
  • Is planetary nuclear disarmament possible?
  • Is the idea of peace on earth naive?

These topics are just suggestions so you need to assess whether they would be suitable for your particular audience. You can easily adapt the topics to suit your interests and audience, for example, you could substitute “meat” in the topic “Does consuming meat affect health?” for many possibilities, such as “processed foods”, “mainly vegan food”, “dairy” and so on.

After choosing your topic

After you’ve chosen your topic it’s important to do the following:

  • Research thoroughly
  • Think about all of the different viewpoints
  • Tailor to your audience – discussing your topic with others is a helpful way to gain an understanding of your audience.
  • How involved are you with this topic – are you a key character?
  • Have you contributed to this area, perhaps through blogs, books, papers and products.
  • How qualified are you to speak on this topic?
  • Do you have personal experience in it? How many years?
  • How long have you been interested in the area?

While it may be difficult to choose from such a variety of persuasive speech topics, think about which of the above you have the most knowledge of and can argue your opinion on.

For advice about how to deliver your persuasive speech, check out our blog  Persuasive Speech Outline and Ideas .

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Persuasive Speech Topics: The Best 150 Ideas

Plus, a step-by-step guide for writing and delivering your speech.

Persuasive Speech Topics

Persuasive speech topics can inspire an audience and influence change in your community, town, or city. Whether you are giving a presentation at a large conference or converting a college essay into a speech to be given at your high school's auditorium, delivering a persuasive speech is not an easy task. We are here to guide you through this difficult process and provide you with 150 persuasive speech topics that can help you prepare your own inspirational presentation.

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Article Contents 13 min read

The art of persuasion.

The art of oratory is one of the oldest and most compelling persuasion tactics in human history. The power of speech has been used for centuries by men and women to negotiate peace, start revolutions, and inspire generations. At the source of change, we often witness a great speaker or speech that affected people’s worldviews. King Solomon, Socrates, Cicero, Elizabeth I, Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, were all powerful speakers who changed the course of human history.  

Luckily, not every persuasive speech happens on such a grand scale. You do not have to become Napoleon to change the lives of people who hear what you have to say. You might have experienced this yourself – perhaps you have had a teacher who instilled in you a great passion for the study of physics during his lectures? Or you happened to attend a political, grassroots gathering where you heard a speech that changed your attitude towards homelessness or poverty. Or maybe your classmate's presentation revealed something about a novel you were reading in class that made you reflect on your own life and the people in it.

The power of a speech lies in your conviction and delivery of the topic you choose to discuss. A persuasive speech topic can be anything you are passionate about. Yes, it is true; whether you want to discuss the repercussions of the Cuban Revolution or analyze the power of K-pop in popular culture, it is up to you to enthrall the audience with your topic. The key to any successful speech is your confidence and enthusiasm. So, let’s start by examining what makes a speech persuasive.

To deliver a speech takes a lot of guts – not everybody is comfortable with public speaking. But to deliver a good speech takes conviction. Think of it like this: you must believe in the importance of your speech topic to discuss it. This must be something you care about and believe in; otherwise, your topic must be something that drives your curiosity, and you believe that it must be examined further.

Conviction stirs your desire to share this topic with others – you are convinced that other people will similarly find this topic fascinating! Whether it is the importance of recycling or bike lanes, the conviction is what will become the backbone of a successful and persuasive topic choice, as well as drive your desire to give a speech in the first place.

With conviction comes passion. These two elements of a successful speech are intimately intertwined. If you believe in the importance of something, you will be passionate about sharing it with the public.

If we look at some of the most famous speeches in human history, you will notice that conviction and passion are the driving force that makes these speeches legendary. Whether it's Cicero's defense of the Republic in the Roman Senate or Martin Luther King's speech in the defense of civil rights almost two millennia later, both these speakers believed in the importance of their convictions and were passionate about sharing their beliefs. In these cases, even despite the threats of death.

Unbiased Expertise

Conviction and passion should also drive your need to know everything there is to know about your topic. To give a persuasive speech, you must not only show confidence and excitement but demonstrate that you are an expert in the topic of your choice. Granted, if you are a high school student or an undergraduate who's been assigned to deliver a speech in less than 2 weeks, you are not going to become a world-renowned expert in your subject matter. However, as I pointed out, your speech topic should be something you are already passionate about, so you must have done some research and have some knowledge of your topic.

A persuasive speech should be based on facts. It should deliver arguments and counterarguments to show many sides of the issue you choose to discuss. For example, if you choose to discuss the importance of bike lanes, you can present several arguments in support of creating more bike lanes in your town or city, such as safety, decrease in traffic, environmental benefits, etc. However, make sure to include arguments that also show the other side of the issue, such as having to close down several major streets in your city to reconstruct the roads to fit in the new bike lanes and the side-effects of construction for businesses. Presenting both sides of the issue will show your comprehensive knowledge of the topic and demonstrate your professionalism.

Using the bike lanes topic as an example, I want to emphasize that showing unbiased research and knowledge of your topic can win the audience’s favor. You can, and should, still have your own opinion on the matter and defend your conviction in the speech but presenting the audience with both sides of the story is a tactic that will make them trust you.

Additionally, knowing both sides of the coin shows that you have come to your conviction after long and thorough research. You are not just presenting an uneducated opinion.

Taking care of the substance of your speech is the first step. While learning how to properly deliver your speech may seem less important, even the most well-researched and factually based speech will seem weak if the orator does not engage the public.

Though they certainly help your confidence, conviction and passion do not always result in strong delivery. This is understandable since public speaking is not everyone’s forte. While you may be animated and absorbing when you speak of your topic with friends, gripping an audience full of strangers is different.

There are three potential goals of any persuasive speech:

To familiarize your audience with a topic they have never considered before and inspire them to research it on their own. "}]" code="timeline1">

When you think about it, these objectives are pretty ambitious. Delivery plays a huge part in achieving these goals. It will be hard to move your audience to pursue any of these goals without clear articulation, professionalism, and charisma.

Strong delivery can be developed. Yes, there are those to whom oratory skills come more naturally, but this is rather an exception than the rule. Many successful orators were terrified of public speaking but worked hard to overcome their fears. A good example of this is King George VI of England. Before taking the throne in 1936, he was already an infamously bad speaker. The King trained to keep his speech impediment and nerves at bay once he was crowned and delivered one of the most inspiring speeches against Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich at the beginning of World War II.

Now that you know what makes a speech topic persuasive, let's go over a step-by-step formula that will help you choose the right topic for you. 

  • Brainstorm where your convictions lie and what you are passionate about. You must reflect on what interests, hobbies, news, events, individuals, and activities of yours could be developed into a persuasive, strong narrative. 
  • Narrow these down to 2 or 3 topics that are particularly important or riveting to you. 
  • Now comes the practical side of the brainstorming process: take a moment to think whether preparing a comprehensive and compelling speech on this topic is feasible in the amount of time you have available. Consider the following questions: Are the topics of your choice well researched by you? Do you know these topics well? If you are not well-versed in the topic of your choice, do you have enough time to do research to present a comprehensive and complete narrative? Do you have enough time to form a well-developed stance about this topic? A thesis? Will you be able to cover several sides of this topic in the amount of time you have available?
  • If you have answered “No” to these questions regarding each of the topics you had in mind, you must go back to the drawing board. 
  • If you have come up with a topic that results in a positive response to all the questions mentioned in step 3, you might have found the winner.
  • Start by developing a thesis, i.e., the main message of your speech. Without a thesis, you will not have a strong speech. 
  • Develop arguments that endorse your thesis and support them with facts. Remember, a strong speech must be based on facts, rather than opinions and unsubstantiated statements.
  • Research counterarguments to your thesis. While you may not personally support these, you must present a well-rounded picture of the issue you are discussing. 
  • You can finish off your speech by responding to the counterarguments in a way that reinforces your thesis. Don't forget to re-emphasize your main message in the closing paragraphs of your speech.

Know your audience

It is always a good idea to know who your audience is. Whether you are giving a speech in your high school, or traveling to attend an undergraduate conference, reflect on who will be listening to your speech. Before you sit down to write it, consider whether you can give yourself the freedom to use technical language, jargon, or make inside jokes on the matter. In general, I would advise you to avoid overly technical or niche language. It is never a good tactic for making a persuasive speech – this might alienate a large part of your audience.

However, if you are delivering a speech to a like-minded audience, you may use "industry lingo". For example, if you are delivering a speech at a video game convention, it is likely that many, if not most, attendees will be familiar with the terms and vocabulary you use. You will be able to strengthen your speech by using language that unites you with your audience. In this case, you are encouraged to engage the public by making inside jokes, using niche terminology, and creating a relatable experience with your speech.

Knowing your audience will allow you to develop a language for your speech. It will also allow you to gauge how deep you can delve into the topic of your choice. For example, if you are a young physics aficionado who is giving a lecture on black holes to your sophomore classmates, you might want to consider the fact that many of them have never studied physics in depth. This may help you shape your speech into something accessible and interesting for others.

If you are unsure about who your audience might be, try researching it. It is always good practice to know whom you will be addressing. Not only will it help you prepare the speech, but it will also ease your anxiety about the day of your speech delivery.

Hook the audience

Your opening sentences can hook the audience and guarantee their attention. While it will be the substance of your speech that keeps them listening to you, the opening must be captivating for your speech to have a chance for success.

So, what do I mean by hooking the audience with your opening? For example, you can state a shocking statistic about your topic. It will be especially impactful if it is related to your audience’s experiences, geographical area, community, or hot-topic issue. Here’s an example for an opening sentence for a speech about the importance of bike lanes:

“Last year, the city of Toronto recorded 715 serious accidents involving cyclists, with over 5% of these accidents resulting in a fatality."

Now, if I was living in Toronto, I would be surprised to hear such information; especially, if I have never thought about this before. I am saddened by this statistic and would like to learn how we can help prevent these accidents.

Let’s examine another opening. This time, we will consider a speech topic involving a historical event. For example, if you are captivated by the mystery of Princess Anastasia of the Russian royal family, the House of Romanov, you might start your speech thusly:

“The question of whether the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova survived the brutal execution of her entire family by the Bolsheviks is one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century.”

This sentence performs several tasks:

The opening sentence is your chance to establish yourself as the expert! You will seem like the authority on this topic, especially if you can pronounce the Princess's name without mistakes. "}]" code="timeline2">

Coming up with a strong opening sentence is not easy, but very worthwhile for delivering a persuasive speech. If you are having trouble finding the right opening sentence, you do not need to wait to start writing your speech. If you are stuck, move on to the main body of your speech and return to creating a captivating opening later.

To be persuasive, your speech must have a thesis. A thesis is the main argument you are trying to convince your audience of, or simply put, the purpose of you giving the speech. Without a thesis, your speech will be aimless, chaotic, and most likely, unengaging.

And while you can write your introduction after the main body of your speech is ready, you cannot write your speech without a thesis. It will be the landmark, the leading light, of your speech. Everything you say and every fact and argument you include in your essay must support your thesis. Certainly, you will be able to bring up alternative points of view later in the speech, but as we already discussed, your objective is to persuade the audience that your thesis is the correct one.

Let’s return to our bike lanes example. If you are a proponent of bike lanes, your thesis should be more than “Bike lanes are good”. While this can be considered a thesis, it is pretty thin. Instead, find a way to make your thesis compelling, include a supporting statistic, or a benefit of having bike lanes. For example: 

“Having more bike lanes in our city will not only reduce traffic by X% but also allow our city to be at the forefront of the environmentally friendly initiatives happening all over our country.” 

This thesis is clear and introduces the audience to some of the main points of the speech. The listeners get a concise prelude to what the speech is about and what it stands for.

Research and Arguments

Research is always conducted before you sit down to write. While you may have some general knowledge about your topic, remember that you are trying to be as persuasive as you possibly can be. This means that you need the latest statistics, the most up-to-date information, and the strongest support from experts in the field. 

Tip: keep in mind your thesis as you are writing. All your arguments and facts must be in support of the main purpose of your essay. While you should present alternative points of view in your speech to make it well-rounded and unbiased, a strong speech must contain arguments that make it clear that your thesis is the correct one.

Concluding your speech has a twofold purpose. In addition to persuading the audience of your thesis, you must complete your narrative. Give the audience some closure about the topic. On the other hand, you must leave them even more interested in learning about your research. In other words, they must be compelled to explore on their own.

Tip: your conclusion cannot be a dry summary of your thesis and arguments. While you must restate your thesis in the conclusion, you are strongly encouraged to incite an emotional response from your audience. For example:

“More bike lanes will alleviate the heavy traffic and relieve our city from car fumes and soot. It is our responsibility to start making our city more eco-friendly. These small steps will inspire even more initiatives across our hometown and lead to a brighter, greener, future."

In this example, the audience is not only reminded of the main purpose of the speech but is also encouraged to think of other green initiatives that can help their town. The author does a good job of invoking responsibility for the future to encourage their audience to act. 

Want to learn how to choose persuasive speech topics? Check out our infographic:

Now, let’s go over 150 persuasive speech topics that can inspire your own essay and presentation! Note that these are questions that should help you form ideas, arguments, and most importantly, theses. Rather than giving you the thesis upfront, we are encouraging you to come up with your own opinion and answers to these questions.

Your speech should be between 15 to 20 minutes long. Anything longer may lose your audience's attention. If applicable, don't forget to factor in some time after your presentation for questions from the audience.

The best way to approach the choice of topic is to reflect on your convictions and passions. If you are truly interested in a topic, your excitement will be felt by the audience.

Of course, you must be interested in your topic, first and foremost. Secondly, your speech must demonstrate a level of expertise and knowledge that will allow the audience to believe that you know what you are talking about. Thirdly, your delivery will have a great effect on whether you succeed in persuading the audience. Even a well-researched speech will suffer from poor delivery.

Firstly, only practice can really help you improve. Once you have written your speech, read it over several times. Do not memorize it, but rather, remember the structure, the flow of your arguments, your main points. Then start practicing pronouncing your entire speech in front of the mirror. Do this until you are quite confident with the content of the essay. Then, you can start practicing with family members, your friends, and classmates. Ask for their feedback: can they hear you well? Are you being articulate? Does your speech have a logical flow? Did they understand your thesis? Their feedback can help you modify not only your content, but also your presentation.

Your speech should take the form of an academic essay: introduction, main body, and conclusion.

Your speech must have a thesis, otherwise it will be meandering and pointless. A thesis will guide you and keep your essay/presentation well-structured. A thesis is what you will be arguing for (or against, if it's a negatively stated thesis) throughout your speech. And while you can include some alternative points of view in your speech, your thesis will inform every argument you make in the speech.

Typically, you should avoid using overly technical language. Even if you are presenting at a professional conference in front of peers, there is a chance that some of your audience will be unfamiliar with the professional terminology. To be inclusive, you should avoid niche language.

To be frank, there is no such thing. You can make a great speech on any topic of your choosing! Your research, your delivery, and your passion will determine whether your speech is successful.

Acknowledging opposing views and presence of debate will demonstrate your thorough knowledge of the topic. Additionally, you will demonstrate that you came to your conclusion/thesis after researching the topic, rather than simply forming an uneducated opinion.

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persuasive speech topics in college

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60 Persuasive Essay and Speech Topics

60 Persuasive Essay and Speech Topics

Whether you’re in high school or in college, there will be some point in time where you will be asked to write a persuasive speech. Knowing how to write a persuasive speech may come in handy during the course of your career, depending on which career you choose.

Writing a persuasive speech isn’t always easy. You’ll need to find a topic that will interest you as well as your audience, and sometimes that can be difficult to do.

There are so many options for you to choose when you’re trying to decide what to write about. So how do you choose the right topic?

Pick a topic that you have a genuine interest in; you’ll be doing a lot of research on that topic. If it’s a topic that you have an interest in, you’ll have more fun writing about that topic and writing may seem a bit easier. Your audience will also see that you are interested in the topic and you’ll have more enthusiasm when writing the speech and presenting it. You’ll also want to make sure to pick a topic that the audience will have an interest in, otherwise, you may lose their attention.

Choose a topic that you’re familiar with. This will make it easier for you to research and write about.

Also, make sure that you choose a topic that is relatable to your audience. People like to hear about solutions to issues within their community and country. It’s easier for your audience to connect with you when you’re speaking about an issue that they care about.

Ready to pick a topic?

We put together a list of persuasive speech topics covering a wide range of categories to help you write that perfect persuasive speech.

Arts/Culture

  • Are paper books better than e-books?
  • Should all students be required to learn an instrument in school?
  • Should all national museums be free to citizens?
  • Should art and music therapy be covered by health insurance?
  • Why public schools need art classes more than ever.
  • Should offensive language be removed from works of classic literature?
  • Should the federal minimum wage be increased?
  • Should tipping in restaurants be mandatory?
  • Should all interns be paid for the work?
  • Reasons to buy products manufactured in your country.
  • Why the American retirement and pensions systems need to change.
  • Why you should buy goods and produce from local producers and small sellers.
  • How outsourcing work to foreign countries hurts our economy.
  • Should all schools require students to wear uniforms?
  • Why students who bully others should be expelled.
  • What are the best ways for schools to stop bullying?
  • Why cell phones should be prohibited on school grounds.
  • Ways to increase student interest in learning.
  • Should students be required to complete community service hours before graduating?
  • Why the arts and music programs are just as important as math and science.
  • Should people with more than one DUI lose their driver’s license?
  • Should assisted suicide be legal for people who suffer from terminal illness?
  • Should assault weapons be illegal or legal?
  • Should the death penalty be abolished?
  • Reasons why cannabis should be legalized or illegal?
  • Reasons to go or not to go to war.
  • Should product testing on animals be allowed?

Government/Politics

  • Should voting be made mandatory?
  • Should the President be allowed to serve more than two terms?
  • Should there be term limits for Congress?
  • How to nation’s justice system needs to be improved.
  • Should people who receive state aid such as food stamps be required to have a drug test?
  • Should convicted drug users be sent to a recovery program instead of prison?
  • Why a wall should or should not be built between the United States and Mexico.
  • Should assisted suicide be legal?
  • How eating fast food can do as much harm to your health as smoking or doing drugs.
  • How going to the gym alone will not help combat obesity.
  • Why insulin should be made free to anyone dependent on it.
  • Should female minors be allowed to get birth control without telling their parents?
  • Should stem cell research be allowed to help cure diseases?
  • How regular exercise can improve your health.
  • Should the US have a universal health care system?
  • Should public prayer be allowed in schools?
  • Does religion have a place in the government?

Science/ Environment

  • Should animal testing be illegal?
  • Why we should use reusable bags
  • Should recycling be made mandatory?
  • Should Pluto be considered a planet?
  • Reasons why not or why you should donate your body to science.
  • Should genetically modified foods be sold in stores?
  • Should human and animal cloning be allowed?
  • Should professional athletes be required to pass regular drug tests?
  • Should college athletes be paid?
  • Should self-driving cars be legal?
  • Does technology make kids lazy?
  • How technology has changed the way we communicate with our friends and family.
  • Is telemedicine a good or bad thing?
  • Would you let your small child use a tablet or smartphone? Why or why not?
  • Do you think video games help children learn and develop thinking skills?
  • Do video games make people more violent?

Extra Tips to Create Your Persuasive Speech

1.Know your position When you begin writing your speech, you need to state your position on the subject from the start, whether you agree with the subject or you don’t agree. Use a strong and clearly worded statement in your opening paragraph stating why you agree or why you don’t agree with the subject

2. Know your audience. It’s important to know who you will be presenting your speech to so you’ll know who you need to persuade. When you’re writing your speech, think about what your audience may already know about the topic and what areas of that topic they may care about the most.

3. Research your topic. A strong argument requires solid evidence. Without evidence, your speech may not be very persuasive. Being able to give hard facts will make your speech more convincing and strong. Also, be sure to give facts from more than one source.

Test Prep Resources: Accuplacer test , TSI Practice test , Civil Service exam , GRE test

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  • 311 Remarkable Persuasive Speech Topics
  • 311 Remarkable Persuasive Speech Topics to Convince Everyone

311 Remarkable Persuasive Speech Topics to Convince Everyone

How to Choose Good Persuasive Speech Topic

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  • Persuasive Speech Topics on Society

What is a persuasive speech

What are the three types of persuasive speech.

  • Tips Crafting Good Persuasive Speech

Want to improve your class with astounding persuasive speech? Then you need to pick perfect persuasive speech topics and prepare for a rocking performance. This article includes information on writing a good speech to convince your audience.  But most of the text is a list of 311 topics for persuasive speech so you can easily proceed to choose the needed one. Enjoy! Also, remember that you can always buy essay from our academic professionals.

To choose an outstanding persuasive speech topic, there is no need to do in-depth research, as in the case with research paper topics . A successful speech depends on the chosen topic, so remember to pick the one among:

  • Topics you are interested in
  • Topics that would spark the interest of the audience
  • Provocative topics
  • Topics that are relevant to the audience
  • Personal topics
  • Interesting topics

To produce more persuasive speech topic ideas, college students should remember that the best persuasive speech topics should be:

  • thought-provoking
  • interesting
  • clearly expresses writer’s point of view

We have created a list of the most interesting and relevant speech topics and divided them into categories to help you choose the topic that fits you the most.

  • The core characteristics that will make you a hero.
  • A laptop is one step ahead of a tablet.
  • Violence in video games is dangerous.
  • Journal writing occurs to be therapeutic.
  • The use of school uniforms matters.
  • Security cameras make people safer.
  • Small class is better than a big one.
  • Texting while driving is enormously dangerous.
  • Dogs are better than cats.
  • Fast food containers are harmful to the environment.
  • Animal hunting should be banned.
  • Night school benefits compared to day school.
  •  Lenient immigration laws are better.
  • Homeschooling is better compared to traditional schooling.
  • How can lyrics impact human lives?
  • How can religion and science go hand in hand?
  • What is the difference in the efficiency of open-book tests and closed-book tests?
  • Should endangered animals be protected?
  • How to make recycling a required option in the USA?
  • State colleges and private colleges comparison.
  • How to become a millionaire?
  • How technical training stands out of a college degree?
  • Students should have the opportunity to choose a school.
  • Is there any reason to go away with cars but go back to horses for transportation?
  • Smoking should be illegal, especially in public.
  • Should the ​death penalty be outlawed?
  • Abraham Lincoln got too much credit.
  • The drinking age in America should be 25.
  • Should the replacement of fossil fuels with alternative energy options be mandated?

Best persuasive speech topics

  • Recycling should be kept up.
  •  Drivers should not text while driving.
  • Towns should provide bike-sharing programs for free.
  • Celebrities should not omit stiffer penalties.
  • Teachers should renew their certification annually.
  • People should not eat junk food.
  • People should stop poverty and world hunger.
  • Elders should be valued in our society.
  • Money cannot buy happiness.
  • Incentives for doing right are better than punishment for doing wrong.
  • How have educational costs changed through time passing?

Need more ideas? Look through the list of debate topics and find something interesting. 

  • Carpe diem!
  • Become a donor — which organ would you choose?
  • Should I start planning for the future?
  • Be vegetarian — make a healthier lifestyle.
  • College students and uniforms.
  • Violence in video games.
  • College tuition should involve parking, coffee, and homework.
  • Marijuana should be sold in the US coffee shops.
  • Losing weight is a perfect way to start a new life.
  • As gas prices rose up, wages should too!
  • Giving to charity remains to be good.
  • The reality of total peace on Earth.
  • How good should the first impression be?
  • Electric cars should be cheaper and more affordable.
  •  Middle class in America, does it exist?
  • Blood donation is of vital importance.
  • Luck and success relation.
  • Is veganism classist?
  • The complications of a surrogate mothercare use?
  • Should single parents be allowed to adopt their children?
  •  Marriage — an outdated institution in the modern society.
  • Foster care system — pros and cons.

Make time and browse our informative speech topics to get more inspiration.

  • Animal Research
  • Animals Used in Research
  • Animal Research Personnel.
  • Animal rights
  • Protection movement.
  • Animal sheltering problems.
  • Animal-assisted activities.
  • Animals in literature
  • Animals in poetry
  • Animals in folklore.
  • Benefits of animals to humans.
  • Should health insurance cover art and music therapy?
  • Should all college students learn an instrument?
  • Should the country offer free national museums to citizens?
  • Is graffiti similar to art?
  • Should classic literature involve an offencive language?
  • What are the benefits of paper books compared to the e-books?
  • RT programs in public schools take an essential part of school education.
  • Art relieves stress and reduces depression.
  • What is “Philosophy of art”?
  • What are the primeval musician instruments?
  • How is the Apocalypse depicted by different painters? 
  • The benefits of reading Harry Potter.
  • Newest car models
  • Hot models among crime spots
  • Budget-friendly cars
  • Practical cars
  • Energy-efficient cars
  • Car maintenance tips
  • Best family-safe cars
  • Car manufacturers
  • Cars for college students
  • Best car auctions
  • Gear and accessories
  • Managing People.
  • Technology.
  • Innovation.
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Leadership.
  • Communication.
  • Managing Yourself.
  • Corporate responsibility
  • Ethics & accountability
  • Social entrepreneurship
  • Economics and financial issues
  • Productivity performance in National Bank
  • How does financial issues affect the American economy?
  • The most reliable predictors of financial and economic crises?
  • Is there any relationship between the financial system and economics?
  • Global financial crisis in 2020
  • Economics is harder than finance
  • Finance vs economics
  • What will happen in the next economic collapse?
  • Is there a recession coming?
  • What is the prime indicator of upcoming recession?
  • Does Trump do something valid for the US economy?
  • The curse of Macbeth.
  • Ancient Egyptians were smarter than modern people
  • Great depression. (Consult: Great Depression essay .)
  • Natural disasters & environment.
  • Inventions & science.
  • Mexican-American war.
  • Should trans people be banned from the military?
  • Does America need more freedoms?
  • Should abortion be legal?
  • Male birth control.
  • Gun control.
  • Religious freedom.
  • Free market capitalism.
  • Own political culture.
  • International Security.
  • Emergency Management.
  • Ethical issues
  • Honesty and integrity. 
  • Carefulness.
  • Objectivity.
  • Confidentiality. 
  • Respect for intellectual property. 
  • Responsible publication. 
  • Should students have plastic surgery?
  • Should a student tell if he/she saw a friend cheating on an exam?
  • Should a student tell if he/she saw a popular child bullying? (Take as an example our bullying essay .)
  • Environment and nature protection
  • Should parents have the opportunity to choose the gender of their unborn children?
  • Should people own exotic animals?
  • Should animal selfies with animal species be allowed?
  • Should pit bulls be a part of a family?
  • What is the most efficient type of renewable energy?
  • Should plastic bags be banned?
  • Should puppy mills be banned?
  • Should fracking be legal?
  • Should animal testing be illegal?
  • Should offshore drilling be allowed in protected marine areas?
  • Is Pluto a planet?
  • Should the US rejoin the Paris Agreement?
  • Career counseling.
  • Ability grouping.
  • Bilingual education.
  • Adaptive physical education.
  • Blended learning.
  • Charter schools.
  • Boarding schools.
  • Retention policies.
  • School choice
  • STEAM vs STEM
  • Overconsumption.
  • Habitat destruction.
  • Overpopulation.
  • Biodiversity loss.
  • Desertification
  • Deforestation.
  • Global warming. (Look at our global warming essay .)
  • Climate change.
  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • Our urban world
  • Law and legal issues
  • Elections & campaign finance.
  • Aeronautics and space.
  • Banking and finance.
  • Armed forces.
  • Communications.
  • Crime and law enforcement.
  • Constitutional issues.
  • Children's rights.
  • Plea Bargaining
  • Cross-cultural issues
  • Family and social relationships.
  • Child development.
  • Language acquisition.
  • Personality.
  • Social behavior.
  • Who should learn cross-cultural psychology?
  • Key elements of emotions
  • The subjective experience
  • The physiological response
  • The behavioral response
  • Should genetically modified foods take place in grocery stores?
  • Should vaccinations be a required option to attend public school?
  • Should human cloning be leagal?
  • Infections.
  • Diabetes mellitus.
  • Birth defects.
  • Mental health and behavior.
  • Injuries and wounds.
  • Poisoning, toxicology, and environmental health.
  • Metabolic problems.
  • Credit cards harm college students.
  • How does advertising impact the media?
  • Should there be a compelling content in advertising?
  • Advertising issues.
  • How do commercials affect us?
  • Ethical issues in advertising
  • When ads are not ethical?
  • TV commercials effects on American culture.
  • Advertising impact on the culture.
  • Social issues in advertising.
  • Moral concerns about advertising.
  • How does music impact fashion?
  • Fashion is bad for American society.
  • Dress and subculture identification.
  • The military impact on fashion.
  • Body image and high fashion models.
  • Fashion in the Elizabethan era.
  • Fashion and music: Trends in the 1980's.
  • Fashion and music: Trends in the 2000's.
  • Fashion and music: Trends in the 2020's.
  • Understanding cycles of fashion. 
  • Dress in modern democracy.
  • The role of garments in ancient society.
  • Tudor and Stuart fashion.
  • Marketing high fashion.
  • Social agendas and fashion
  • Psychology, personal issues, and relationships
  • Human cloning is immoral.
  • Fame is harmful for health.
  • Our prisons need reformation.
  • Doctor-assisted suicide can’t be legal.
  • Relationship Boundaries. 
  • Spending Habits. 
  • Relationship Needs. 
  • Fighting Style.
  • Relationship Fears. Pexels. 
  • Each Other's Family.
  • Violent video games should be banned.
  • Modernism and religion.
  • Black churches.
  • Democracy and Islam
  • Christianity and economics.
  • Freedom of religion
  • Church and social action.
  • Church sex abuse scandal.
  • Creationism.
  • Homosexuality and religion.
  • Intelligent design and religion.
  • Political Islam
  • Should American government increase the budget of NASA?
  • Social media and human communication.
  • Artificial intelligence development will help humanity.
  • Alternative energy sources should be invested by governments.
  • Individuals should have their own DNA.
  • The world should invest money in technology to explore other planets.
  • Communication technology
  • Unmanned aerial vehicles.
  • Emerging technologies.
  • HealthCare technology.
  • Technology, science, and innovation policy.
  • Defense wins championships.
  • Who is the best QB of all time?
  • MJ or LeBron?
  • The Best Team Ever.
  • Pitching vs hitting.
  • Tackle football in college.
  • Boxing should be illegal.
  • Should college athletes be paid for being a member of a sports team?
  • Should all athletes pass regular drug tests?
  • Should there be an equality between professional female athletes and male athletes in the same sport?
  • Winning is not a prime goal as trying your best.

Persuasive Speech Topics on Society 

  • Overpopulation. 
  • Immigration stresses
  • Civil rights
  • Racial discrimination
  • Gender inequality
  • Health care availability
  • Corporate culture.
  • Aged staff and the workforce
  • Apprenticeship
  • Professional growth
  • Career planning
  • Child labor
  • Domestic servants
  • Drugs at work
  • Workplace violence

Today, students get tons of interesting and not very assignments to write different types of academic essays. Sometimes, they have to prepare a specific type of convincing speech named a persuasive speech. This speech aims to persuade the audience to accept the speaker’s particular point of view.  

Most of the professors ask their students to prepare persuasive speeches with the intention of persuading and keeping the audience interested. In other words, listeners should take the speaker's point of view. There are three commonly used types of persuasive speech:

  • Policy persuasive speech
  • Factual persuasive speech
  • Value persuasive speech

 Tips Crafting Good Persuasive Speech 

Once you have got the task to write a persuasive speech, you should keep in mind some useful tips for choosing a brilliant topic for your persuasive speech. Here are some of them:

  • Keep your prime goal in mind
  • Believe in something you are trying to persuade your audience
  • Pay attention to the nature of your audience  
  • Know your audience 
  • Put emphasis on the audience
  • Build credibility in a speech introduction
  • Make sure to add a strong thesis statement
  • Use a lot of examples
  • Be emotional
  • Practice a lot!

And don’t forget to choose the topic that is interesting for you, not overdone, relevant, and exciting. Make time and read our blog about writing inspiration . It is crucial for such a task.

Picking up the right persuasive speech topic matters a lot because you need to provide as much evidence and arguments as you have to succeed in convincing the audience. To get your audience interested in your speech, you should give them a strong reason to listen.  Brainstorm new topic ideas on the basis of our great top-300 list of the most efficient and engaging persuasive speech topics.

Need Help? 

  Do not waste your time wondering, just have a look at the perfect list of persuasive speech topics and grab an idea for your original topic. To make it easier and quicker, busy students ask for academic assistance, and our experts help them in handling their persuasive speech preparation!

Among tons of academic assignments each day, students often need to create an informative speech. Sometimes, the professor provides informative speech topics, but students should come up with this idea themselves in other cases.Most people get stuck when choosing the best idea for an informative spe...

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The choice of persuasive essay topics can be a tricky part of the writing process. Before making a decision, you need to ensure that the subject suits your personal preferences and fits your audience's expectations. Furthermore, search for available sources and see whether you have enough informatio...

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Easy persuasive speech topics: examples

309 good persuasive topics + resources for writing persuasive speeches

By:  Susan Dugdale  | Last modified: 05-27-2023

Let's be right up front about this.

'Easy' and 'persuasive' are seldom paired when it comes to speech topics! Therefore, examples of easy persuasive speech topics are a bit of a rarity, and finding them can be tricky.

However, all is not completely lost. They can, and do, come together, but only if you work at it.  Let me show you how. 

What's on this page

309 potentially easy persuasive speech topics.

  • the myth of 'easy' and an 'easy speech'
  • what makes a successful persuasive speech
  • how a persuasive speech topic can become easy
  • additional persuasive speech resources

persuasive speech topics in college

The myth of 'easy' and an 'easy' speech

That word 'easy' is so very tempting. It seductively implies something you can fling together, without a lot of effort, at short notice. 

Image: a tiger-budgie. Text: Easy and persuasive are seldom paired when it comes to speech topics. That makes easy persuasive speech topics a bit of a rarity. Just like this tiger-budgie.

An 'easy' persuasive speech is not going to take a lot of work to plan, research, to write, or to practice. Everything needed to prepare it will be done without hassle, because it's, 'easy'. The entire process will flow smoothly from start to finish without fuss.

When you present the speech, the audience will be spell-bound, riveted by your outstanding choice of subject and its treatment. In short, they will be amazed. Gob smacked * , and 100% persuaded!

* astounded, overwhelmed.

Return to Top

What a successful persuasive speech usually takes

To give a successful persuasive speech means being able to use a compelling mix of reasoning and emotional appeal to convince whoever you are talking to that your point of view is right or at least, worth considering. Generally doing that well takes thought and effort.

You need to have chosen a subject your audience will be genuinely interested in and to use just the right combination of logical reasoning and emotional appeal to engage and hold them from the first words you say till your last. That in turn means thinking your speech through carefully, step by step, and then doing whatever is needed to make it work.

Those things include:

  • deciding on a specific speech purpose, (what you want people to do as a result of listening to your speech)
  • research to pull facts together to ground your speech, to give you a solid platform to build your speech on
  • understanding your audience so you know how best to shape your material to address their concerns
  • sorting out any additional resources you may want to use (e.g. images, graphs, handouts ...)
  • practice, and then more practice. 

You, see? Easy and persuasive don't seem to have a lot in common.

However, there is a way through.

How a persuasive speech topic becomes easy

You'll be glad to know there are exceptions. 

A persuasive topic becomes 'easy' if:

  • it fits with the criteria you've been given, 
  • you already know a lot about it, 
  • there's a readily accessible, and credible body of knowledge covering it, 
  • you're passionate about it, and
  • you genuinely want to do what is required to do it well.

Difficulties miraculously melt away when you are totally engrossed! 

Below are 309 good persuasive topics chosen for their broad appeal, and because they are subjects people generally feel strongly about.

  • 69 topics based on education
  • 135 based on aspects of health : mental health , the psychology of motivation , autism , natural medicine , the dangers of alternative medicine , current medical issues

21 food themed persuasive speech topics

  • 53 topics based on ethics, morals and values
  • 20 economy themed topics  

Read them through, making a note of any that jump out and that you think you may be able to use. These will be the ones you'll find much 'easier' than the others because you're already interested! 

69 persuasive speech topics on education

Put a group of people together who share concerns about the direction society seems to be headed and it won't be long before the hot topic under discussion is education!

Nelson Mandela quote: Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

  • that there is no such thing as the best form of education 
  • that some types of education are a waste of time and resources
  • that all education should be free
  • that education should be paid for by those who want or use it
  • that schools should provide experienced specialist support teachers to meet the needs of all their pupils 
  • that no child should be denied an education on the grounds of gender, race, poverty or the legal status of their parents
  • that online learning can never replace real-time and place class room learning
  • that competition with other students is a necessary part of education
  • that different learning styles need to be to be taken into account by teachers
  • that a student who drops out of school has been failed by the school system
  • that the problems created by illiteracy are bigger than we think
  • that society benefits from promoting gender equality and women's empowerment through education
  • that it is vital to teach media literacy to combat fake news and misinformation
  • that scholarships for those who need them should be increased
  • that a college education is not the right choice for everyone
  • that private schools support elitism
  • that the advantages of project-based learning far outweigh the disadvantages
  • that having a bilingual education is an advantage in a globalized world
  • that a good education is the passport to a better life
  • that a school uniform helps make everyone equal
  • that schools need to systematically teach critical thinking and problem-solving skills
  • that teachers should be held responsible for the performance of their students
  • that the students of a teacher who is enthusiastic about their topic will always achieve better grades
  • that textbooks, and other school supplies, should be provided free of charge to those who need them
  • that there needs to a comprehensive education program on consent and sexual assault prevention in schools
  • that life skills, (how to cook, how to budget and manage money effectively, how to shop economically, how to garden...) should be taught in schools
  • that making some school subjects compulsory should be abolished
  • that coding and computer science should be taught from an early age
  • that taking a gap year should be encouraged
  • that an arts education fosters creativity and critical thinking 
  • that alternative forms of education should be encouraged, and supported
  • that teachers should be thoroughly background checked
  • that teachers should have to pass a regular 'fitness to teach' test
  • that the school leaving age should be raised
  • that students should not be forced to take classes they do not want to
  • that there are significant advantages for using technology in the classroom
  • that school violence is a mirror of the society we live in
  • that students who take part in protests are actively learning about their rights and responsibilities
  • that grades do not reflect intelligence
  • that truancy is powerful comment on the relevancy of schools 
  • that homework, for homework's sake, should be banned
  • that residential segregation has a direct impact on the quality of education students receive
  • that prestigious schools maintain their prestige through only admitting students who are likely to succeed
  • that schools should focus on the core subjects: reading, writing and arithmetic
  • that parents should be far more involved in their children's education
  • that a person who is homeschooled is not disadvantaged 
  • that far too much importance is placed on IQ tests
  • that corporal punishment should never be used
  • that meditation and other forms of mindfulness should be taught in schools
  • that single sex schools are better for girls
  • that intelligence is more than quick accurate recall and clever problem solving
  • that a holistic education is best
  • that an education should be a right, not a privilege
  • that it is important to teach students about empathy and emotional intelligence  
  • that no girl should ever be barred from school because she is pregnant
  • that there is no 'right, one way' to educate a child
  • that bullying, in any form, by anyone, should be addressed immediately and appropriately
  • that students need to be taught how to handle social media responsibly
  • that the arts are equally as valuable as the sciences
  • that an old-fashioned school curriculum teaches respect and values
  • that it is advantageous to learn at least one other language, in addition to your mother tongue
  • that the foundation of all education is laid down in the home
  • that civics and ethics should be core subjects
  • that extracurricular activities are an essential part of a well-rounded education
  • that cheating on a test or in an examination is understandable
  • that community service should be an essential part of education
  • that financial education is essential and should be taught to all students in all schools
  • that guns should never be taken to school
  • that getting top marks in an examination is not the only way to prove a person’s intelligence

dividing line dark green

 135 persuasive speech topics about health

Health, according to the World Health Organization , is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity."  It's a huge topic! And that is an understatement! 

46 mental health persuasive speech topics

Knowing your own darkness is the best method of dealing with the darkness in others. - Carl Jung

  • that mental health should be taken more seriously by general health practitioners
  • that mental health should be discussed in schools
  • that mental health and physical health are interdependent
  • that early intervention is important to prevent long-term mental health problems
  • that good mental health begins with a good diet
  • that being 'mad' does not mean a person is 'bad'
  • that a person can learn to become more mentally resilient
  • that to be vulnerable is to be strong
  • that laughter heals
  • that how the media portrays mental health issues influences public perception for better and for worse
  • that mental health issues are passed down from generation to generation
  • that mental health issues can unnecessarily limit what people choose to do with their lives
  • that poverty and homelessness underpin many mental health issues
  • that we need mental health screenings and regular check-ups to monitor our overall well-being
  • that prolonged lack of sleep can cause mental health concerns
  • that religious practices and beliefs can contribute to mental health problems
  • that anxiety and depression need to be more widely understood
  • that sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me is a lie.
  • that vacations are essential for good mental health
  • that learning to live with mental health is very different from suffering from it
  • that acknowledging our own struggles with mental health makes it easier to understand other people's
  • that teachers need training to recognize symptoms of possible mental health issues in their students
  • that there is a direct link between physical exercise and mental health
  • that substance abuse can mask mental health issues
  • that green environments promote good mental health
  • that bullying can have serious consequences
  • that the real reason a bully bullies is never the person who is being bullied by them
  • that the impact of chronic pain on mental health needs to be more widely understood
  • that negative self-worth beliefs are reflected in mental health problems
  • that treatment for mental health issues should be fully integrated with any other health service providers 
  • that loneliness and isolation are often factors in mental health concerns
  • that cultural difference can underpin mental health issues
  • that being mentally unwell is not a sign of weakness
  • that shaming a person for needing treatment for mental illness is both cruel and ignorant behavior
  • that regular doom-scrolling significantly impacts on a person's mental health
  • that overlooking symptoms of mental health problems is dangerous
  • the pressure to 'fit in', to conform and to become someone else's idea of who you should be is unhealthy
  • that seeking help for mental health concerns is a positive proactive thing to do
  • that taking responsibility for our own mental wellbeing is vital
  • that to be a little bit crazy is a good thing
  • that understanding the cyclical link between addictive behaviors and mental health issues is critical to providing solutions
  • that how we talk to ourselves, about ourselves, influences our state of mind
  • that self-care and self-compassion are important for maintaining good mental health
  • that the adverse impact of traumatic events on mental health is often ignored or underestimated
  • that strategies for recovery from trauma and ongoing resilience should be taught in schools
  • that peer support groups and community networks are an important part of a person's recovery because they  provide a sense of belonging and support 

For 50 more mental health persuasive speech topics

24 persuasive ideas: the psychology of motivation

Motivation

Why do people behave the way they do?

What makes one person deliriously happy when they're in front of a large group of people telling them what to do and another person, utterly miserable?

Why do some people absolutely have to have the latest widget-wodget? And why do others not think about widget-wodgets at all?

The answers are found in motivation.

Motivation is the driving force behind our behavior. It provides the explanation for what we do. 

  • that personal success is motivating
  • that envy is a powerful motivator
  • that 'Fear of Missing Out' (FOMO) motivates/influences people to do things regardless of whether they really want to or not
  • that seeing success in significant others gives people the motivation to make positive changes
  • that finding out what motivates a person at a fundamental level is key to persuading them to follow a certain course of action
  • that social media is responsible for motivating people to strive for the unattainable
  • that carefully selected strategies for motivating students lead them to excel in their studies.
  • that fear of failure motivates many people
  • that the desire to be better than others, and to be seen to be better, is a powerful motivator for many people
  • that money makes the world go round: the need and desire for money motivates how we behave
  • that desire for public recognition and acknowledgment is a powerful motivating force 
  • that the possibility and promise of becoming famous and powerful can motivate all sorts of extreme behavior
  • that knowing what you do is helpful, useful, and kind is motivating
  • that mindfulness practices increase personal motivation
  • that the desire to understand a particular process or to solve a specific problem is the motivation behind most innovative developments and inventions
  • that setting inspiring yet realistic goals motivate a person to strive to reach them
  • that fear of consequences motivates people to continue to do what they would rather not
  • that curiosity motivates exploration and experimentation
  • that being motivated by the acquisition of material rewards, wealth and possessions, will ultimately not be enough
  • that fear and anxiety motivate aggression
  • that serving your community the best way you can is motivating
  • that positive self-talk increases and sustains motivation
  • that people are happiest and most creative when they motivated by what they are passionate about
  • that being genuinely and sincerely proud of oneself is motivation to keep ourselves on track
  • that we need to understand and nurture what motivates us to become the best of ourselves

For more information:  Motivation and What Really Drives Human Behavior (positivepsychology.com)

10 persuasive speech topics about autism

Image: jigsaw puzzle with a piece missing. Text: Persuasive speech topics on Autism

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of mild to severe conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. A recent (2020) study revealed that 1 in 36 children (2.7%) in USA have been diagnosed with the disorder. And that number is increasing. 

  • that promoting autism awareness matters and makes a difference
  • that early intervention and treatment is important 
  • that education for students with autism should be inclusive and supportive
  • that the myths and stereotypes about autism need challenging 
  • that inclusive hiring practices and workplace accommodations are beneficial for everyone: employers and employees.
  • that families affected by autism need accessible resources, services, and support systems.
  • that technology plays an important role in enhancing communication for nonverbal individuals with autism.
  • that ongoing research, and funding, is required to improve understanding and treatment options.
  •  that there needs to be a holistic approach to autism care.
  • that individuals on autism spectrum have value and strengths just like any other person.

19 persuasive speech topics on natural medicine

The term 'natural medicine' is one of several used interchangeably to describe any medical product or practice that is not standard (conventional) medical care.

Other synonyms are:

  • alternative medicine or therapies,
  • holistic medicine which implies taking into account the 'whole' person rather than focusing on and treating isolated symptoms,
  • herbal (plant based) remedies and,
  • complementary medicine: a treatment regime that includes elements of conventional and alternative medical care.

'Natural medicine' polarizes people. There are those who are vehemently against any form of it and who will not consider any treatment other than what is current standard medical practice. Then there are those who resolutely choose alternative options. Either way, it's a fascinating field!    

Image: chamomile daisy plants. Text: Chamomile tea has been used for centuries to aid relaxation.

  • that traditional herbal remedies effectively treat common ailments
  • that acupuncture is beneficial for pain management
  • that practicing meditation and mindfulness improves mental health
  • that chiropractic treatments effectively relieve back and neck pain
  • that yoga supports physical and mental wellness
  • that naturopathy should be used as a complementary approach to conventional medicine.
  • that homeopathy is effective in treating chronic illnesses.
  • that aromatherapy can relieve stress and enhance relaxation.
  • that traditional Chinese medicine should be incorporated into modern healthcare.
  • that good nutrition prevents disease
  • that massage therapy promotes physical and mental well-being.
  • that energy healing treatments like Reiki and acupuncture work well
  • that CBD (cannabidiol) oil helps people effectively manage pain and anxiety.
  • that the advantages of integrative medicine: combining conventional and alternative approaches should not be underestimated
  • that herbal supplements support good immune system health.
  • that holistic Ayurvedic medicine and practices are proven and promote wellness.
  • that the common myths about alternative health care and its potential harms are overstated
  • that acupuncture is an effective fertility treatment 
  • that hypnotherapy is an effective treatment for public speaking fear, smoking cessation, weight loss, and more...

14 persuasive speech topics on the possible dangers of using alternative medicine

Image: mortar and pestle with herbs. Text: 14 persuasive speech topics on the possible dangers of using alternative medicine

  • that there are hidden risks in using unregulated alternative health care practices
  • that there are potential dangers in relying solely on alternative health care for serious medical conditions
  • that there are risks in self-diagnosis and self-treatment with alternative health care
  • that misinformation is a problem in alternative health care practices
  • that there are potential adverse effects with unproven alternative health care treatments
  • that there are hidden financial risks with alternative health care therapies
  • that evidence-based medicine is more reliable than alternative health care approaches
  • that we need to protect vulnerable people from the dangers of untested alternative health care remedies
  • that unqualified practitioners in alternative health care fields can cause harm
  • that relying on unverified testimonials and anecdotal evidence in alternative health care is dangerous
  • that there are risks of negative interactions with conventional medications while using alternative health care treatments
  • that unregulated supplements and herbal remedies in alternative health care could be dangerous
  • that alternative health care therapies for incurable diseases promote false hopes 
  • that informed consent and transparency in alternative health care practices is important

22 current medical issues speech topics

Image: doctor giving a patient a vaccine. Text: 22 current medical issues speech topics. Example: that vaccine hesitancy must be addressed and countered.

  • that vaccine hesitancy must be addressed and countered 
  • that stigmas around mental health must be challenged
  • that good accessible mental health care should be available for all
  • that cosmetic and reconstructive surgery should only be for those who genuinely need it
  • that comprehensive specialized mental health programs and support systems need to in schools 
  • that the lessons for the opioid crisis must be learned
  • that inequal access to medical services needs addressing
  • that the balance between patient autonomy and a physician's responsibility needs careful monitoring
  • that strategies for promoting healthy aging and elderly care are essential with an aging population
  • that organ donation needs to be actively encouraged to overcome the shortage of organs available for transplantation
  • that the ethical implications of genetic testing need careful consideration
  • that healthy active lifestyles must be promoted to combat childhood obesity and the obesity epidemic
  • that the increasing role of technology in healthcare presents as many innovations as it does challenges
  • that pharmaceutical drugs need to be accessible and affordably priced
  • that the impact of social media on body image need to be countered by actively promoting positive self-perception
  • that developing countries need support to improve health care infrastructure and access 
  • that precision medicine or personalized healthcare has better patient outcomes
  • that we should encourage conversations about end-of-life care before the need for it arises
  • that the legal and ethical concerns about euthanasia and assisted suicide can be humanely and respectfully resolved
  • that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medicine presents great opportunities as well as challenges
  • that improving obstetric care would lower maternal mortality rates
  • that for the good of the health of the mother, abortion on demand should be legal
  • that all tobacco products should be banned
  • that the use of medical marijuana by patients in hospitals needs careful consideration from a legal standpoint

The subject of food: its cultivation, preparation, scarcity or abundance, generates passionate debate regardless of who we are, or where we are on the planet.

Have fun with these!

Image: root vegetables growing in garden Text: 21 food-themed persuasive speech topics. Example: that a plant-based diet is healthier.

  • that poor nutritional health in first world countries is the result of poor food choices
  • that the use of unsustainably produced palm oil in food and other products should be banned
  • that the benefits of eating locally sourced food outweigh the disadvantages
  • that we must reduce food waste to lessen its environmental impact
  • that eating fast food long-term is dangerous
  • that a plant-based diet is healthier
  • that the negative effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food system outstrip their shorter term benefits
  • that organic farming has positive effects on health and the environment
  • that nutrition education in schools helps combat childhood obesity
  • that a sugar tax would help control the consumption of foods with high sugar content
  • that factory farming is unethical
  • that we need to adopt humane animal welfare practices
  • that advertising and marketing of unhealthy food choices makes them attractive
  • that food safety and strictly enforced regulations are necessary for public health
  • that food waste should be against the law
  • that food deserts (areas that have limited access to affordable and nutritious food) have an enormous impact on the health of communities 
  • that there are workable, sustainable, affordable strategies to combat the effects of food deserts and food insecurity
  • that the food we eat effects our mental as well as our physical health
  • that producing food sustainably helps combat climate change 
  • that there are significant health risks associated  artificial food additives and preservatives
  • that genetically modified foods must be labeled for consumer awareness

53 topics: ethics, morals and values

The words 'ethics', 'morals' and 'values' are frequently interchanged as if they mean the same thing. However, although there is considerable overlap between them, they don't.

Diagram showing the overlap of values, morals and ethics.

Values  are the core beliefs on which we center and base our lives. They are the values we have decided are important and can be personal as well as shared. Examples are honesty, service, cooperation, family, heritage, freedom of expression, independence, privacy, loyalty, integrity, or success. 

Morals  are based on our values. They elicit feeling or emotional responses in us. For instance, we feel good when we behave in accordance with our values, and bad when we don't. Like values, our moral codes can be either personal or shared.

For example: if one of our core values is the importance of family, then we will feel guilty and uncomfortable if we don't honor it. We make a moral judgment about our own behavior. 

Ethics : These let us know what is right and wrong. For instance, many professions have a code of ethics to regulate the behavior of their members. Examples are medical practitioners, lawyers, and teachers. They are rules based on a shared moral code as are the laws governing how we function as a society. 

Because life and people's experience of it, is not static, values, morals and ethics can change over time. And although there are some behaviors that have generally always been unlawful, (murder, fraud, infanticide...), what was acceptable and normal once, does not guarantee its rightness now.

For a fuller explanation please see this excellent article:  What's the Difference Between Ethics, Morals and Values?

28 topics based on morals and ethics

  • that there are major ethical implications of the role of artificial intelligence in our daily lives
  • that the unmonitored use of facial recognition technology is a violation of individual rights
  • that corporations have a moral responsibility to address climate change
  • that war is never right ethically or morally
  • that the ethics of genetic engineering and its impact on society need careful monitoring
  • that it is important to fully consider the ethics in the development and use of emerging technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrency need
  • that the ethical challenges of data privacy and protection in the digital age must be met for the safety and security of society
  • that the ethical implications of using animals for scientific research requires regular reviewing
  • that the ethical and moral implications of our current abortion laws need thorough and careful investigation
  • that the ethics of capital punishment need scrutinizing. Is it ever morally justifiable?
  • that the ethical implications and long-term impact of gene editing and designer babies need careful consideration
  • that it is no longer either ethical or moral to differentiate salaries or workplace benefits on the basis of gender
  • that the moral obligations of healthcare professionals in end-of-life decisions need to be fully considered 
  • that whistleblowing is an ethical way of ensuring corporate accountability
  • that the use of drones and autonomous weapons demands a thorough review of the ethical considerations involved
  • that an individual has the right to choose their own death. The moral dilemma of euthanasia, if there is one, is their own to solve. 
  • that the ethical implications of the long-term impacts of genetic testing and personalized medicine need to be thoroughly investigated
  • that social media platforms have ethical responsibilities in combating the spread of online harassment and misinformation
  • that the moral issues surrounding the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports need to examined calmly and carefully
  • that the ethics of factory farming and its impact on animal welfare need to be thoroughly and regularly reviewed
  • that the ethical and moral implication of discriminatory adoption laws should be investigated
  • that the ethics and impact of online advertising should be independently monitored
  • that the ethical considerations in the allocation of healthcare resources should always play a major role in decision making
  • that the moral implications of genetic cloning and its potential consequences will force our governing bodies to legislate against it
  • that the ethics of global wealth distribution and poverty alleviation will always be in question while inequality exists
  • that the ethical challenges of conducting research on human subjects is entirely justifiable
  • that internet censorship is both sensible and ethical
  • that it is ethical and morally responsible that children should have their use of social media and the internet monitored.

25 persuasive speech topic ideas on values

Image: Father Christmas. Text: 309 persuasive speech topics. Example: that we must never tell lies to children, except about Father Christmas...

  • that we must never tell lies to children except about Father Christmas, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Rabbit
  • that honesty in personal and professional relationships is best at all times
  • that embracing diversity is essential for a harmonious society
  • that team sports build good character traits
  • that empathy, (compassion and understanding), has the power to change lives
  • that education is fundamental for personal growth and the progress of society
  • that privacy and the protection of personal information matters more than ever
  • that everybody is entitled to privacy, including children and teenagers
  • that taking personal responsibility and promoting sustainability for our planet's environment is vital for our and its survival
  • that actively advocating for gender, racial and social justice promotes equality
  • that life was better before the influence of online social media took over
  • that everyone should spend several months per year working for the betterment of others in a non-profit social service organization
  • that regular acts of kindness and goodwill make a positive impact no matter how small
  • that becoming self-aware increases our emotional intelligence, which in turn, improves our relationships with others
  • that the lives of all living creatures should be valued and protected
  • that we need to celebrate, tolerate and accept differences in beliefs, cultures and lifestyles
  • that expressing oneself freely is more important than getting the grammar, punctuation and spelling right
  • that integrity, honoring moral principles, in personal and professional settings, builds trust and respect
  • that cooperation, volunteering and civic engagement builds strong healthy communities
  • that everybody should learn to cook and clean for themselves
  • that we need to value, understand and learn from our history
  • that genuinely and sincerely acknowledging and apologizing for hurtful, damaging behavior promotes healing and encourages transformation
  • that it is better to earn your own living rather than to be financially provided for by someone else
  • that money is not a meaningful measure of success

20 persuasive speech topics about the economy

Diagram of the interrelationship of economics

What is an 'economy'? What does the word mean?  I hear and read it frequently and its often in different contexts. 

For example, at my local grocery store there's a large sign telling me that buying 10 cakes of soap at a never to be repeated discounted rate of 33% off per cake is good economy.

On the news I hear that our economy is challenging. There have been significant rises in the price of food over the past six months and mortgage rates are set to increase.

That's two different uses. The first is implying that buying in bulk will save me money. The second suggests it refers to the ebb and flow of monetary exchange for goods and services in society. 

I sought a definition for clarity and found this:

"An economy is a complex system of interrelated production, consumption, and exchange activities that ultimately determines how resources are allocated among all the participants. The production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services combine to fulfill the needs of those living and operating within the economy.

An economy may represent a nation, a region, a single industry, or even a family."

For more information:  Economy: What It Is, Types of Economies, Economic Indicators (investopedia.com)

This definition covers the dynamic interconnecting web of exchanges for goods and services underpinning our daily lives, and that is the focus of the topics below.  

  • that promoting entrepreneurship for economic growth has benefits
  • that investing in renewable energy for a sustainable economy is important
  • that there are both advantages and disadvantages of globalization on national economies
  • that the impact of automation on employment requires carefully thought through strategies for economic adaptation.
  • that multinational corporations need stricter regulations 
  • that increasing the minimum wage to improve income equality benefits everyone
  • that the advantages of a universal basic income for economic stability outweigh its disadvantages
  • that government should play an active role in fostering innovation and technological advancements
  • that financial literacy education benefits both individuals and the economy
  • that promoting fair trade practices benefits developing economies
  • that income inequality impacts on social stability and economic growth
  • that free trade agreements have significant advantages
  • that investing in infrastructure for economic development is important
  • that implementing sustainable economic policies has benefits for long-term growth
  • that government has a role in reducing poverty and income disparities
  • that immigration and inclusive immigration policies have a positive impact on the economy
  • that the advantages of austerity measures during economic crises outweigh the disadvantages
  • that promoting small businesses is important for local economic development
  • that investing in education and skills training benefits economic competitiveness
  • that technology transforms traditional industries and creates new economic opportunities

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More persuasive speech resources

Persuasive speech topics.

Image: one lonely piece of chocolate cake on a plate. Text: Fun persuasive speech topics - Having you cake and eating it too is fair.

  • 105 fun persuasive speech topics : ideal for light-hearted, informal speeches
  • 100 non-boring persuasive speech ideas   - a 'tired' topic is not for you. Choose something fresh and original.
  • 50 good persuasive speech topics with treatment examples to show you how the same topic is treated differently for different audiences.
  • 310 persuasive speech topics for college : mental health, society, family & friends, animals, education
  • 108 feminist persuasive speech topics : the top current women's rights & feminist issues

For assistance with planning and writing

  • Writing a persuasive speech - a 7 step action plan that includes how to choose a topic, analyze your audience, set a good speech purpose, decide on a structural pattern (with examples) and, more.
  • A persuasive speech outline example using the 5 step structural pattern: Monroe's Motivated Sequence. (With a free printable outline)
  • A persuasive speech example using Monroe's Motivated Sequence

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persuasive speech topics in college

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This guide was created to take you along a step by step process to develop a speech. It is mainly focused on helping you brainstorm, identify, and define a topic to research.

This is a general guide, so it may vary from your classroom assignments. As always, refer to your professor and syllabus for your project requirements. 

Narrow Your Topic

Evaluate your topic, cite your sources.

Consider these questions:

  • What subjects or ideas interest you?
  • What kinds of life experience do you have?
  • What kinds of issues have affected you or people you care about?
  • Do you have a passion about an idea, a question, a subject? How can you explain or describe it such that others might be passionate about it as well?
  • Does your subject have an edge? Does the topic have passionate supporters and opponents as well as being logical and reasonable? Is it debatable? Is it an unsolved problem?

A good practice is to make a list of ideas. As an example, here is an imaginary student’s list of ideas:

With the topics on your list, ask yourself these questions:

  • Which topics are most worthy of your time?
  • Why is your topic significant?
  • Does it work with my assignment? (Is your speech informative, persuasive, etc.)

It is often beneficial (unless the topic is given or encouraged) to avoid heavily discussed topics. This helps to keep the speech interesting rather than giving an audience information they hear regularly.

Overused topics may include abortion, global warming, affirmative action, the death penalty, recycling, and sex and violence in the media. There is always a possibility to find an interesting angle or portion of the topic, but make sure you verify it with a professor first.

Let's take our student's list as an example. Our student might not want to write a speech on recycling, but maybe they have a a great way to reuse/remake something that is normally thrown out. This could work as a topic for a demonstration speech, though they would need to have the topic approved.

What are some other topics ideas from this list?

One way to develop these ideas is to make a concept map. Below is a sample of the student's concept map if they focused on knitting.

  • Concept Mapping

Now this particular student enjoys mysteries and crime shows, because they like to figure out who the culprit is. The student needs to write an informative speech, and decides that they could inform others on how to solve mysteries.

Since it is a very large topic, the student decides to focus on helping people solve mysteries by informing them on how to tell if someone is lying .

After narrowing the topic, evaluate your speech to see if it is a good fit for your assignment.

  • If it takes a while to explain your topic is either too complicated or too broad. Consider your time requirements and if you can adequately discuss the topic.
  • Begin to focus on what you want to say and why. Part of this will already be dictated by the type of speech you are assigned. Making a concept map can help provide you with ideas.
  • Who will hear the information? Will they have experience with the topic? What other factors will influence how they will interpret the information?
  • You will want to use solid, scholarly information on the topic. General information might be easy to find, but you will need facts and research to back up your claims and information.

In our example the student’s evaluation would look like this:

Write out your research question or thesis statement. Underline words that you believe best represent the main ideas.

How can we determine if someone is lying to us?

Second, create a list of synonyms for each word you underlined and use these terms to search for resources.

Lying OR lie-spotting Face perception Body language. Deception.

You can add additional terms as you survey what is available:

Lying OR Deception AND workplace or business Friendship or workplace or business

As you gather resources be sure to evaluate the resources!

Check out the Searching Strategies for Websites and Databases for more tips. Check out the Evaluating Resources page to avoid choosing bad sources for your projects!

There are lots of reasons to provide references to the sources that you use.

Your audience may want to know how to investigate your topic further. By providing your resources you are helping others who are interested in the same topic.

You also need to credit the people who did the research you are using otherwise you will be claiming it is your own (even if unintentionally doing so). Plagiarism is a serious offense.

Here is a definition of plagiarism:

“Plagiarism is appropriating someone else's words or ideas without acknowledgment. To understand plagiarism we must consider two questions: (1) How is plagiarism like or unlike theft— (2) Why is plagiarism considered wrong; why should we acknowledge the originator of an idea.”

(Encyclopedia of Ethics. London: Routledge, 2001. Credo Reference. 17 April 2009 <http://www.credoreference.com/entry/7915618>.)

Just like in college writing, speeches should provide your audience with verbal cues to the information you have used: the SOURCE where you found your information. (This might be an interview, scholarly article, book, or website, etc.); the AUTHOR, when available, and the DATE when your source was published or accessed (for web sources and interviews).

Here are three ways to incorporate citations for your speech:

  • Use quotation marks to attribute words of another person on your note cards. You can express quotations in your speech in several ways.
  • Provide credit or citation such that the audience can trace back to the original source.
  • Paraphrasing the main ideas WITH correct attribution.  A paraphrase will replace some of the words while keeping the main idea of the original work.

For more information on how to cite sources, see the “Citation” page in this guide.

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Politics of language: jason stanley on speech as ‘hustle’.

Jason Stanley

Jason Stanley (Portrait by Mara Lavitt)

Since the publication of his 2018 bestseller, “How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them,” Yale’s Jason Stanley has become a familiar presence on radio and television news broadcasts. The Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Stanley is often called upon to explain the ways in which political language is being weaponized, especially when it seems to be for authoritarian ends.

“ There are very few philosophers in the media — people are usually historians or economists or psychologists,” Stanley said. “But I think philosophy has something to add.”

Stanley’s new book, “ The Politics of Language ” (Princeton University Press), which he co-authored with David Beaver, a professor of linguistics and philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, argues that all speech is imbued with meanings that go well beyond what is being plainly said. Words evoke certain emotions and images in listeners depending on their historical associations. And those associations can be manipulated by politicians and spinmeisters for persuasive and possibly deceptive purposes.

A scholarly work eight years in the writing, “The Politics of Language” lays the intellectual foundation for this particular framing of speech practices, and then applies that framework to analyze harmful speech types such as slurs, “dog whistles,” and genocidal messaging.

Stanley spoke to Yale News about sneaky speech, the political power of plausible deniability, and his new teaching appointment in Ukraine.  

The primary focus of your book is a type of speech you call “hustle.” What is hustle?

Jason Stanley: Hustle is when you intend and give one message, but wrapped inside that message, as it were, is a sort of secret, other message that is not straightforward to your audience — and sometimes, not even straightforward to you. Straight talk is when everything’s transparent. You know what I intend, I know what you intend, and that’s all that’s going on. Hustle is everything else.

In linguistics, we assume transparency. The model of communication we assume is, “I want salt,” and you say, “I have salt,” and I say, “Good, can I have your salt?” But actually, communication isn’t like that at all, right? We always come out of conversations wondering what was really meant. A central novel move in our book, especially for the formal areas of linguistics and philosophy of language in which we work, is that we base our analysis of speech on speech practices  and use these practices to elucidate speech that is not transparent. A lot of hustle is based on the properties of the speech practices in which words are embedded — their histories of use. I think that everyone outside of the disciplines of linguistics and analytic philosophy of language is aware that we hustle, and many people outside of these disciplines recognize the importance of speech practices. But we are trying to ground these facts in a detailed and foundational way.

My 2015 book, “ How Propaganda Works ,” was an attempt to use the standard tools of philosophy of language and linguistics to model propaganda. These tools just didn’t work. They also don’t work for more ordinary phenomena, such as slurs. That led me to enlist the support of the great linguist David Beaver to come up with new foundations for the theory of meaning that would be adequate to this task. To do so, we had to bridge multiple disciplines.

Stanley: Speech can be used in devious ways, and there are tests you can use to show this. One test is plausible deniability. If I say, “I met Sally at the mathematics conference,” I cannot add, “and I never met Sally.” That’s an obvious contradiction. Now, suppose that a politician says, “There is rampant corruption in inner cities.” The politician is engaging in racist messaging, using a dog whistle — in this case, the term “inner cities.” They are suggesting that the voting practices of Black voters are corrupted. But they can deny, without obvious contradiction, that they intended to convey a racist message. The tools of our disciplines have a hard time explaining this.

Another example is emotion. Some expressions are associated with negative emotions, like disgust. Politicians even try to imbue certain words with disgust. The scholar Moira Weigel has argued that this is going on now with the term “Marxist .” Other words encourage violence towards things described that way, such as describing immigrants as “vermin.” Ordinary tools in our discipline are not adequate to explain these phenomena, which is why you haven’t seen many analytic philosophers of language or linguists on TV in the past few years. If you recognize the embeddedness of speech in living practices, you can easily explain all of this.

This non-transparency of speech practices makes all speech “political” then?  

Stanley: Each word is part of a speech practice and has a history. And when you use a given word, you’re evoking that history in peoples’ minds. If you use the word “professor,” a whole bunch of images come to mind. And they’re involuntary. If you use the word “doggy,” one set of images comes to mind. If you use the word “canine,” those same images don’t come to mind. Words have these histories and the words we use consciously and unconsciously evoke those histories. So when we speak one way, rather than another, we’re evoking different histories. It’s a fiction to think we can speak without a history. In much theorizing in our disciplines we have employed this fiction as an idealization, and it has shielded from us a lot of the interest of speech.

Politicians use language very deliberately to evoke certain images. How does repetition of language function in political speak and propaganda?

Stanley: It sort of embeds the propaganda in your head. If Republicans keep repeating CRT [for critical race theory] or DEI [for diversity, equity, and inclusion], and they associate them with a kind of negative feeling, then after a while, the listeners don’t even think about what they mean. They just know they don’t like them. The content becomes irrelevant. Consider how Trump adds those adjectives before nouns, like “crooked Hillary” or “little Marco Rubio.” It’s a very effective thing, right? Or take pro-life versus pro-choice. Who’s against life? Who’s against choice? That’s a different way of coding.

One of your chapters focuses on “harmful speech,” including a discussion of genocidal speech. You offer as a prime example Russia’s justification for its invasion of Ukraine. Would you talk about that?

Stanley: It’s impossible to deny that Russia is appealing to genocidal narratives. When you represent other people as an existential threat to you, that you need to eradicate them or you will be eradicated, that’s genocidal and has been genocidal since the time of Cleon. Putin says Ukrainian identity is fake, and that all it means is “anti-Russia.” There’s no other content to Ukrainian identity other than, “we hate Russians.” And so you must extinguish Ukrainian identity.

What’s distinct about what’s happening in the Ukraine war is that the Russians think the Ukrainians really are Russian but have adopted this anti-Russian identity and a fake language.

You have a close connection with Ukraine, don’t you?

Stanley: I was there in August teaching a two-week course on colonialism and fascism to 300 Ukrainians. And I just accepted a permanent visiting position in Kyiv, so I’ll be going back this summer for two weeks. I’m an anti-fascist, and that is a very clear case of a fascist country attacking a democracy, so I felt I had to be involved. I’m donating my salary to Come Back Alive, an organization that purchases equipment for the Ukrainian armed forces.

Is the timing of this book especially meaningful given all that’s happening politically in the world?

Stanley: Liberal democracy involves this idea that we’re trading arguments to figure out the best outcome for all of us. But that’s not what’s going on in politics now. To understand this authoritarian moment here and across the world, this attack on democracy, it’s also a linguistic attack. It’s emphasizing the uses of speech that are sneaky, that are hustle.

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