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• 290 demonstration speech topics
• Demonstration speech topics

290 'how to' demonstration speech ideas 

By:  Susan Dugdale   | Last modified: 02-10-2023

What are good topics for demonstration speeches? 

The answer is simple but frustratingly inconclusive. It depends. These are 'how to', 'show and teach' or process speeches with literally squillions of topic possibilities.

You could spend hours, or even days, considering this 'how to' speech idea against that one, or that one, or that one. However, you don't need to.

The easiest way is to use the guidelines below to help you pick a good demo speech idea relatively painlessly and quickly.

What's on this page

• How to choose a good demonstration speech topic - 6 key elements to consider
• 290 good demonstrative speech topics in themed lists 
• Links to other pages of ' how to' speech topics and help
• The link to an extremely useful printable - a blank demonstration speech outline form

If you already know how to prepare a good demonstrative speech skip the guidelines and either click the link to go to ALL 290 demonstration speech topics or click on a heading to go a themed list.

Animals/Pets

Gardens/yards, games/sports.

• Food & More

Social/Personal

• And then there's...

Choosing a good demonstration speech topic

What makes a demonstration speech topic a good choice depends on 6 essential elements. You'll want to consider each of them carefully. 

1. Your interests

Your choice of demonstrative speech topic needs to be something you are genuinely interested in, and know about or, want to know about.

Without enthusiasm or knowledge, it's incredibly hard to inspire and persuade others that they want to find out more about a subject. And that's your goal!

Ideally when you finish your speech, you'll find yourself on the receiving end of question after question from eager listeners. 

2. Who the speech is for

You need to think about your audience before making your final choice.

• What demonstration speech topics would truly interest them?
• If you're considering a 'how to' topic you know they already know well, is there something new you could teach them about it?
• What would be of value, and appropriate, for them to know?

3. The setting of the speech

Where is the speech to be given? In a classroom? In a public hall? In a living room? In the open air?

Does what you're planning to do fit the venue?

4. The time you've got to prepare the speech

Does the topic you're considering need a long time to prepare thoroughly? Are there visual aids you need to make to accompany it? How much research do you need to do before you can begin to prepare the speech?

5. The time you've got to give the speech

There is no point in choosing something complex with a large number of steps to show and teach if you don't have the time to cover them. What you select needs to fit easily into the allotted time limit. 

If you really want to tackle a big topic, and it's a good fit with your audience, if it's possible, break it down into smaller, manageable pieces. Then choose one or two aspects (sub-topics) you know you can cover well in the time you have available.

For instance, how to knit has many elements: how to hold the needles, how to cast stitches on, how to choose the right wool, how to read a knitting pattern, how to do a specific stitch... Any one of those could become a speech.  

6. The guidelines for assessment ...

... if the speech is part of a public speaking course.

You may find there are restrictions on using varying forms of visual aids: video or power-point presentations for example. Check before you make a final decision.

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How to use these demonstration speech ideas

Use the 'how to' topics below to kick-start your own creativity. Think of them as beginnings or starting points.

Rather than pick the first idea that jumps out, build up a short list. Then go through it assessing the positive as well as negative aspects of each idea, keeping the audience members, your interest, setting, time and assessment needs in mind.

290 good demonstration speech topics

• read the clouds
• read the stars
• read the tides
• read tree rings
• recognize differing types of rock
• find fossils
• read and navigate a landscape without a map
• use a topographic map
• water divine
• recognize stars in the night sky
• use the phases of the moon for hunting, fishing, or planting crops
• forage for food safely
• collect wild honey
• take wood for fuel sustainably
• build a fire safely
• recognize the common birds or animals in your area
• identify different types of woods
• ensure water is safe to drink
• use the position of the sun to tell time
• tell if a storm is coming
• track an animal in the wild
• choose a good campsite
• forecast weather
• cross a river safely
• protect yourself from attack by wild animals
• tell if ice is safe to walk on
• tell which way the wind is blowing
• recognize poisonous plants or insects
• survive in the wild without an emergency kit
• prepare a survival kit

• train a puppy
• care for a kitten
• walk a dog on a leash properly
• saddle a horse
• hand milk a cow
• teach a cat to use a litter tray
• tell if your pet dog, cat, rabbit... is happy
• feed a dog, horse, cat...correctly
• carry a dog or cat correctly
• interpret a pet dog's or cat's aggressive behavior
• soothe a frightened dog, cat...
• keep a pet dog or cat in an apartment
• give medicines to your dog, cat...
• care for an injured or sick pet
• teach a child how to care for a pet
• make a cat gym
• dropper feed a fledging that's fallen out of the nest or an injured bird
• groom a cat, dog, cow... for a show
• care for baby chickens
• set up a fish bowl or an aquarium
• choose a pet
• clean an animal's teeth
• pet-proof your home
• re-home a dog safely
• care for an orphaned lamb or calf
• transport a cat, dog, rabbit..., safely
• make healthy treats for dogs
• teach a parrot to talk

• companion plant to protect vegetables from insect pests
• prepare basic landscaping plans
• lay bricks or paving stones
• build a fence
• make a swing
• make a children's play area
• build a compost bin
• make a greenhouse
• make a windbreak
• plant a tree
• build a garden seat
• grow from seed
• graft a plant
• prepare and plant a tub of flowers or vegetables
• plant a window box of herbs
• control garden pests
• mulch a garden
• trim a hedge
• prune a rose bush
• care for garden tools
• choose garden art
• make an ornamental pond
• make a bird feeder
• choose the right plants for the right situations
• plant spring bulbs
• make a no-dig garden
• encourage birds or bees into the garden
• make a patio or deck garden

• design & make a greeting card
• make a scented candle
• make a perfect posy of flowers
• learn to draw, sketch
• learn to paint in water colors
• make paper mache
• work hand or string puppets
• use stencils
• make and use natural dyes
• spin or weave
• create a seasonal center piece for the dining table
• make a Christmas wreath
• press flowers
• design and a friendship bracelet
• up-cycle a piece of clothing
• make attractive face masks
• make your own jewelry from antique buttons
• sew your own clothes
• design your own clothes
• bonsai a plant
• make resin and polymer clay jewelry
• arrange flowers for different uses: for the table, as a corsage...
• make your own soft furnishings
• take a brass rubbing
• make paper flowers
• make and use pom-poms creatively
• make a hand coiled pottery mug
• make a tufted rug or mat
• tie-dye a garment
• carve or whittle wood

• choose the right sport for yourself
• choose the right piece of sporting equipment (bike, surf or skate board, shoes, protective gear...)
• learn to skate board
• learn to surf
• wax a surfboard
• put on, and get off, a wet suit
• score a game of tennis
• serve in tennis
• catch a fish
• make a fishing fly
• cast a fishing line
• prepare and set a fishing net
• tickle a trout
• smoke a fish
• play chess, checkers, dominoes, cards...
• train for a marathon
• use a snorkel correctly
• avoid injury playing football
• learn football skills: pass, block or kick
• improve your golf swing
• care for a set of golf clubs
• set up a pair of ice skates well
• eat well to keep in shape for your sport
• prevent sporting injuries
• stick to a training schedule
• warm up before a game
• do yoga stretches
• be a team player
• hold a baseball bat correctly
• shoot a basketball goal
• practice basketball skills at home: dribble...
• cross country ski
• ski downhill
• set a bike up for yourself: adjust seat height, handle bars...
• fix a flat tire
• learn to ride a bike

Food and More

• make a perfect cup of coffee, tea...
• use chop sticks
• prepare green tea and serve it correctly
• make chocolate
• plan a dinner party
• make a fast summer salad
• store frozen food
• sharpen a knife
• prepare chicken safely
• make your own relish, jam, pastry...
• write a weekly food shopping list
• plan a menu
• organize your pantry
• bake bread, bagels...
• use seasonal vegetables
• dry fruits and vegetables
• make your own wedding cake
• make desserts
• cook economically
• make healthy meals
• carve vegetables
• fold table napkins
• match wine with food
• set a table for a formal dinner
• store fresh fruit and vegetables
• make your own cottage cheese or yoghurt
• make food for a picnic
• make your own baby foods
• use a pressure cooker well
• use an air fryer well
• use a barbecue well
• store and use left over foods safely
• use an oven safely
• select the best fresh fruit and vegetables to buy
• get children to eat vegetables
• train children to try new foods
• serve tasty low calorie meals
• use cutlery (a knife, fork, or spoon) properly
• follow a recipe properly

• read to a child
• use a 24 hour clock
• plan a surprise party
• talk to a deaf person
• buy online safely
• read body language accurately
• understand cultural differences in body language
• travel safely in a foreign country
• play with a small child
• leave a good telephone message
• eat politely
• defend yourself (basic self defense)
• do basic first aid
• take a pulse
• teach a child to read the time
• prepare a baby's bottle
• write a thank you letter
• write a business letter
• read braille
• alter your own clothes...take up a hem etc.
• iron a shirt properly
• take a good photograph
• make a baby sitter's kit
• lift without damaging your back
• apply make-up correctly
• learn French, German, Italian...
• plait or braid hair
• make an effective complaint
• waltz (foxtrot, line dance...)
• put on a dancing show
• organize a coffee morning
• run a meeting
• make a presentation
• do a cheap style make-over
• shop at thrift stores
• choose colors that suit you
• choose clothes that suit you
• walk in high heels
• make your own cosmetics, creams, etc.
• start your own business
• recognize sound business deals
• take control of your personal finances
• buy a house
• negotiate a deal
• choose a college
• decide what career you want
• keep mentally alert and fit
• select the right make-up for yourself
• be a good friend
• agree to disagree to maintain a relationship
• say no politely
• do a magic trick
• apologize sincerely
• use the Heimlich maneuver
• handle and store firearms safely
• keep your sense of humor

And then there's these 'how to' ideas...

• fix a blocked sink
• fix a leaking faucet
• replace a cracked tile
• polish wooden furniture
• restore a piece of furniture
• change a car tire
• interpret a modern painting
• read a palm
• burglar proof your home
• use the color wheel
• upcycle old furniture
• break a habit
• build a model airplane
• make and upload a video to YouTube
• become an influencer
• get a baby to go to sleep
• impersonate someone famous
• choose a piece of art
• stack firewood
• to be a good listener

More good demonstration speech ideas & help 

How to put an effective demonstration speech together.

Once you've chosen your demonstration speech topic find out more about how good demonstration speeches are structured. This is an easily followed 'how to' prepare your speech guide.

More interesting 'how to' speech topics!

If you're still looking, try this page of 50 how to speech ideas . These are unique demonstration speech topics focusing on teaching the soft skills that are vital for communicating well, living fully and harmoniously in our world. Two examples are: 'how to apologize sincerely' and 'how to accept personal criticism positively'.

100+ 10-minute demonstration speech topics

If you're still looking for inspiration to strike, you may find your perfect topic here: 100+ 10-minute demonstration speech topics . The list has been carefully curated to make sure the suggestions can be covered efficiently and effectively in ten minutes or less. 

Here's a couple of examples: how to make a friendship bracelet, and, how to give medicine to your cat without being scratched to bits.

And there is this collection of  188 funny how to speech topics .

Who said a demonstration speech needs to teach something practical and be serious? Many of these speech ideas are neither! Instead, they're pure, unadulterated silliness and fun. ☺

(I've included an example speech outline along with a free printable speech outline for your own use.)

Give your speech structure - use an outline

Would using a printable  blank demonstration speech outline   help you with your speech?

This outline will take you through an ordered sequence of  steps to ensure your speech flows well from beginning to end.

If you'd like to see the outline in use, please check this page: demonstration speech sample outline.

You can follow the text of my speech, 'how to leave an effective voice mail message', through each of the sections in the outline. 

I also made a video (audio + slides) so that you can hear, as well as see, how the flow of information from one point to the next works.

I hope both the completed outline and the video help. ☺

How to get top marks!

And if your speech is being formally evaluated why not find out what the judge will be marking you on? Click the link and you'll find a standard speech evaluation form explained and available to download.

• Return to the top of demonstration speech topics

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How To Speech Topics

Here's a list of 100 "how to" speech topics on which you can base your demonstration speech. If you're new to writing this type of speech, then I have some great tips here to help you get started.

10 Web-Related Topics

• build mobile websites
• rank in Google's search engine
• design a Wordpress blog
• unzip a .zip file
• take a ".xml" file and make it a feed
• optimize website graphics
• use an FTP program to upload files to the web
• open a Facebook account
• get set up on Twitter
• sell stuff on eBay

10 How To Speech Topics on Technology

• download from iTunes
• send text messages
• program a GPS tracker
• install more memory into a laptop
• properly clean a computer screen and accessories
• transfer music from an iPhone to a PC
• choose the best computer
• program a TV remote controller
• unlock your Wii console

10 Topics on Health

• lose weight safely
• increase your metabolism
• lift weights properly
• keep your heart healthy
• get rid of lice
• get rid of acne
• keep your teeth healthy
• quit smoking
• improve your eyesight
• exercise your brain

10 How To Speech Topics on Pets

• teach your parrot to talk
• teach your dog to play dead
• saddle a horse
• set up an aquarium
• breed animals to sell
• bathe a cat without getting scratched
• introduce new pets to older pets in your household
• choose the right pet for you
• control the pets on Sims 2
• get rid of fleas and ticks

10 Topics on Fashion

• make your eyes look bigger with makeup
• tie a hair bow
• get rid of static cling in hair and clothes
• shop for clothes on a budget
• curl hair with a curling iron
• apply false eyelashes
• pick clothes that make you look 10 pounds lighter
• care for dry, brittle hair or nails
• remove stains from fabric
• clean a suede or leather jacket

10 How To Speech Topics on Gardening

• design a desert garden
• create a raised bed garden
• grow bigger tomatoes
• compost when you live in an apartment
• attract butterflies to a garden
• attract hummingbirds to a garden
• grow an indoor herb garden
• repel and kill garden pests
• develop humane animal traps
• control mole damage

10 Topics on Jobs

• never work again
• get a job after being fired
• write a resume
• write a cover letter
• ask for a raise
• make money on the internet
• work as a virtual assistant
• deal with office politics
• search for a job online
• add my resume to online job sites

10 How To Speech Topics on Education

develop a photographic memory ace your PSAT, LSAT, MCAT, etc. become valedictorian apply for college financing get an online degree avoid problems with homeschooling get a GED write a speech deal with bullying decorate school books

10 Topics on Holidays

• put on makeup to look like a zombie for Halloween
• make fake vampire teeth
• carve a scary pumpkin
• create a Christmas tree out of wire hangers
• make a pop-up Christmas card
• build a gingerbread house
• make a Thanksgiving turkey out of lunch bags
• make firework fuses
• decorate a cake like a flag
• decorate Easter eggs

10 How To Speech Topics on Sports/Recreation

• do a 360 flip on a skateboard
• improve your golf swing
• knot a climbing rope
• tighten wheels on rollerblades
• put together a wakeboard
• repair a bicycle shifter
• arm wrestle someone more muscular than you
• play ping-pong like a pro
• choose the best paintball gun
• put a spin on a baseball

Phew! There you go, 100 how to speech topics for you to choose. Hopefully, they'll give you some ideas so you can come up with a hundred more!

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100 Best How To Speech Topics & Ideas In 2023

How to topics make students feel like experts. They also allow them to practice non-fiction writing. That’s because these topics require them to explain how a person can do something. It can be something simple like how to follow more topics on Pinterest or something complex like how to create a nuclear reactor.

When writing about how to essay topics, students should dissect processes from the beginning to the end. They should also include all the necessary information to enable the reader to achieve their desired results. Essentially, essays and speeches on these topics should guide readers into doing something successfully.

The Purpose of How To Speech Topics

Good how-to topics make learners more confident and competent nonfiction writers. Some students consider this as their writing genre. These topics describe how certain tasks are completed. Something good about this writing genre is that it allows learners to describe processes that they are familiar with.

This enables learners to focus on writing while enjoying the experience that’s enjoyed by experts. They also feel good about communicating something meaningful to their audiences. In most cases, students are asked to write how-to speeches. That means they have to choose how to topics for demonstration speech. And, this genre has many topics that students can choose from. Here are some of the major categories of how to speech ideas.

How To Speeches Topics for High School Students

Some high school teachers ask students to write speeches demonstrating how certain things are done. If you’ve been asked to write on such a topic, here are good how-to speech topics to choose from.

• How to write an admission letter for university or college
• How to remain safe in an unfamiliar or new environment
• How to make new friends at a new college
• How to choose a college or university
• How to choose a study program
• How to choose a career
• How to choose the best game
• How to become a public speaker
• How to choose activities that improve self-esteem and confidence
• How plants produce and use oxygen
• How to put off something you don’t like without hurting others
• How to prepare for a marathon or a long race
• How to get a scholarship to study overseas
• How to stay fit in high school
• How to grow flowers indoors or in a garden
• How to create something like a painting or building at home
• How to prepare French fries at home
• How to prepare for college
• How to search for academic articles on the internet
• How to prepare for a trip with family

These are great how-to speech topics that can earn top grades for high school students when researched and written properly. It’s, however, important that learners choose the topics they are familiar with and comfortable writing about.

How To Topics for Second Grade

Second grade is the time when children are developing writing skills. At this time, children start to express their opinions and recount narratives. They can also provide instructions in writing. Here are some of the best topics of how to teach writing to second-grade children. Asking second-grade children to write about these topics will engage them in writing and spark their creativity.

• How to be kind to other people
• How to make your birthday special and memorable
• How to build a beautiful house
• How to read a bedtime story
• How to tell a story
• How to make chocolate
• How to play your favorite games
• How to tie your shoes
• How to keep a friend
• How to take care of your pet
• How to get a good school report card
• How to make a friend
• How to prepare for dinner
• How to sharpen a pencil
• How to blow bubbles
• How to draw a picture
• How to paint the best picture
• How to tidy your room
• How to tidy your desk
• How to give a pet a bath

These are great how to presentation topics that can enable second-grade children to express their opinions with simple words and improve their writing skills.

How To Speeches Topics for College Students

College time provides a chance to sharpen writing skills. This is the place where students learn to research, analyze, organize, and present solid ideas. Here, students are expected to write on how to process speech topics that can be used to do something professionally.

Here are great how to demonstration speech topics community college students can choose from:

• How to use a Smartphone to complete homework
• How to avoid peer pressure
• How to avoid recurring nightmares
• How to write a great essay
• How to write a research paper
• How to look stylish and fashionable in college
• How to choose a major
• How to avoid procrastination in college
• How to avoid stressful situations in college
• How to finish Aleks topics fast
• How to study for exams
• How to write a great film review
• How to start a business after college
• How to improve your writing skills
• How to improve your public speaking skills
• How to enhance your leadership skills
• How to survive a recession
• How to start an online business
• How to avoid drug addiction in college
• How to learn a second language in college

These are also amazing how to topics for speech or presentation. However, they should be researched properly to come up with informative pieces.

Topics for How To Speech for University

Maybe you’ve been asked to write a speech and present it to demonstrate how to do something. Here are amazing how to process speech topics that you can choose from.

• How to survive a pandemic
• How to introduce a topic for an essay
• How to write a narrative essay
• How to choose an essay topic
• How to devise a lesson plan for teaching preschool children
• How to campaign for a leadership position
• How to search for academic journals on the internet
• How to write a book review
• How to research a topic before writing a paper
• How to effectively manage finances and save money
• How to perform a qualitative study using people as your subjects
• How to avoid stress in the workplace
• How to start and run an online cosmetic business
• How to stay fit during a pandemic
• How to prepare for a new job
• How to prepare for an interview
• How to install new software on a laptop or desktop computer
• How to stay fit without skipping essential meals

Funny How To Topics

Perhaps, you want to write the most interesting speech or essay. In that case, consider the following topics.

• How to fail exams easily
• How to become the best in procrastination
• How to look more intelligent
• How to use hobbies to judge others
• How to catch a liar
• How to persuade your parents to do homework for you
• How to use the horoscope to explain failures
• How to boost your IQ by playing computer games
• How to convince your friends to pay your bills
• How to determine the intelligence level of your pet
• How to teach your pet to talk
• How to become the most annoying person in your school
• How to make your parents accommodate you when you are already 30 years old
• How to ensure that your parents do not spend a lot of time on social media
• How to make your first date a total failure
• How to be the happiest person in your family
• How to make your girlfriend or boyfriend love you forever
• How to make other people hate you
• How to make people love you
• How to push an annoying person away

Every student knows how it feels to walk into hot topics. If you don’t want to struggle to search for the information required to write an essay or a speech, consider topics in this category. Ask our thesis writers to help you, if you cannot make your choice.

Choosing topics in this genre can mark the beginning of the nonfiction writing journey for most students. Nevertheless, learners should know how to come up with story ideas and research them properly to come up with informative, solid essays or speeches.

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279 Demonstration Speech Topics and Ideas: A Complete Guide

Before proceeding towards the demonstration speech topic, let us know what it actually does.

Demonstration speech clarifies how to do something or how something works. Here, the objects or physical activity by the presenter is displayed.

It is also considered as one of the basic types of presentation. They are usually assigned to high school and college students.

This type of speech is popular in commercial and other adult training surroundings. They are among the most widespread speech.

A demonstration speech is a kind of informative speech. The primary purpose of the presenter is to teach the audience about the task or the procedures in steps.

Due to its popularity, the presenter must present the demonstration speech decisively. The key purpose of Demonstration speech is to develop skills in expository speaking.

It also helps to present a process or steps using objects or physical activity.

• Argumentative Speech Topics and ideas: A Complete Guide
• Informative Speech Topics and Ideas: The Ultimate Guide
• 100 Easy Persuasive Speech Topics and Guide

Yet, most of you might not know the basics to deliver an effective demonstration speech. If you count on the one, this article is especially dedicated to you.

Through this article, I will present demonstration speech topics along with some effective tips.

When you have selected the demonstration speech topic, make an attractive and effective starting. It is better to start with an introduction.

Follow these steps for better consequence:

• Give short description about the topic you are going to present
• Why you decide to present on the topic
• Why your listeners should understand how to do it. Give them a sneak glance of a few paybacks.
• Tell them that they are going to do it themselves after sometimes. This is the only thing your audience have to do is pursue your directions.

Table of Contents

1. Start with why

4. give a brief summary of the complete process, 3. go through the steps, one-by-one, 4. talk about preferences, extras, or variation, 5. allocate time for queries, 6. summarize briefly, 1. try to get audience members doing it, 2. visuals lead a demonstration speech, 3. expand your demonstration with follow-up resources., some rules for presenting demonstration speech, informative demonstration speech topics:, specific demonstration speech topics:, tech-related demonstration speech topics:, hobby-related demonstration speech topics:, fashion-related demonstration speech topics:, household-related demonstration speech topics:, demonstration speech topics for students:, demonstration speech topics for business:, funny demonstration speech topics:, demonstration speech topics for health/fitness:, conclusions, outline of demonstration speech.

There are different methods to present a demonstration speech. Some of them are listed below:

A demonstration speech deals with training the audience to carry out a task or the whole process. Just as with any instructive task, it can become helpful when your audience is motivated to learn.

It is a must to tell your audience how they get to benefit from the knowledge you are about to present. When your audience knows the reason behind learning a new task, they desire to learn.

There are different ways to encourage your audience. Yet, one of the best ways is to start the speech with a why or some motivational stories. Draw an image of how their life improves with the new knowledge.  

Earlier than you dive into the information, give an overview of the general process. An advanced outline of the steps implicated makes audiences understand the benefit of speech.

While learning a new task, some of your audience will fear that it is difficult. An early outline ensures your audience that it is not too difficult.

When you do not provide a brief, it’s complicated for your audience to understand the steps. 

The audience won’t have the essential framework. An ideal way to show the outline is a figure explaining the steps of the task at a high level.

Together with the outline, you can list the basic needs of the task, and any assumptions you are making.

For an instance, for a speech on how to format the computer, explain with images. You can also use screenshots here to make them clear.

One of the finest things about a demonstration speech is the core of your overview that is set for you. Here, you only need to endure the steps of the task in order.

Better make the sequence of steps as easy as possible. Break down the process into important steps and make your audience understand clearly.

Now, your audience has noticed the task or procedure presented from start to end. Better provide some extra options or variations.

For an instance, you are presenting on how to cook chicken. Start with the necessary description at first. After that, discuss alternate ingredients, various flavors, and other ways to cook chicken. This makes your speech interesting.

Taking queries from the audience and answering them is compatible for a demonstration speech. This lets the audience look for an explanation on any of the steps which they do not understand. Relevant to the topic and circumstances, you can decide to take questions at the end.

At last, you should summarize the procedure in brief, and review the advantages. This lets your audience know the benefits of performing a similar task.

Best Ways to Elevate Your Demonstration Speech

Below is the list of best tips on how to elevate your demonstration speech:

Your preference for audience participation is often determined by how long your presentation is.

It also includes the setting in which the expression takes place. The accessibility of supplies can be shared by the audiences as well. It will be great if you get the audience to participate in the presentation.

Every demonstration speech gets better with appropriate visuals to follow your demonstration and procedures.

For an instance, for the speech on swimming, keep different relevant images. This gives audiences an idea to swim knowing the procedures.

Find here some options:

• Your body plays a significant role – For physical task speech like playing a football, your body plays a significant role. You can express each of the steps to enhance the demonstration.
• Physical support gives the real experience – There are two different types of support and they are real and models. Real support is the actual objects used while presenting the task. Models are the fake version of the real object and scaled-down version.
• Utilize images as much as possible – When your body and physical support are not enough, use images as much as possible. When you do this, it helps to engross yourself in the images to alive the action that would be implicated.

Any type of images you prefer, make sure your audience can see them with ease. If they cannot see your images they might not understand your speech as well.

A single presentation may not be enough to guarantee your audiences gained the knowledge. To get a better result, provide resources they can use after the demonstration is over.

This covers:

• Internet, books, pamphlets, or other specialist sources. They can ask for deeper information or high-quality training.
• Handout the steps, and diagrams or images to prove key details.
• Give contact information. So that your audience can contact in the future as they try to apply the knowledge you have presented.
• The speech you present should be original by the applicant.
• Objects or physical activity by the presenter should be displayed.
• Presentations will take place in a normal-sized room. A table or desk will be supplied. All visual aids, property, and tools are to be supplied by the presenter.
• This category excludes the use of property or tools. This comprises, but not imperfect too, weapon, sharp knives, unsafe chemicals, and animals.
• Only one person should be used to help out the presenter. They can help as the object of the demonstration. They can also set up or handle the equipment. It is permissible for the assistant to be both an object of expression and to assist with equipment.
• The highest time limit ion of the speech is 10 minutes, counting set up and strikes down. A 30 second is allowed, after which one point will be reduced from the assessment item coping with the rate.

Some Demonstration Speech Topics:

• How to Get the best airfare
• How to Work with a travel agent
• How to become the prime minister
• How to become a pilot
• How to Pack a suitcase
• How to Travel and Leisure
• How to landscape your front yard on a limited budget
• How to read a map
• How to print a digital photo
• How to use oven
• How to set and splint a broken leg (when medical help is not available)
• How to drive a car
• How to prevent injury
• How to calculate a mortgage payment
• How to register for voting
• How to tie a knot
• How to clean running shoes
• Give a baby a bath
• Change a diaper (think about baby safety too)
• Read and understand nutrition labels
• How to avoid identity theft
• How to play poker
• How to make beads
• How to make an ice sculpture
• How to make a bird feeder
• How to attract hummingbirds to your garden
• How to whistle
• How to make your garden full of flowers year round
• How to fix a flat tire
• How to create a Halloween mask
• How to clean your car
• How to cash a blank cheque
• How to Save electricity and save money
• How to Save auto fuel and money
• How to Buying a fuel-efficient car
• How to Save Money
• How to taste wine
• How to organize a surprise party
• How to clean your swimming pool
• How to clean your golf clubs
• How to make a new candle of old ones
• How to organize your wedding
• How to make a water-colour
• How to build a shed
• How to find a public speaking program that works
• How to become a good actress
• How to become a famous film star
• How to write a film script
• How to stop thinking
• How to write a business-like letter
• How to train your brains
• How to greet Japanese people
• How to become a policeman
• How to climb a building
• How to make a dancing show
• How to become the president
• How to be in the chair in a meeting
• How to start Green Commuting
• How to board in sand
• How to ride bicycle
• How to paint a room
• How to swim
• How to draw a house
• How to play chess
• How to clean golf clubs
• How to clean shoes
• How to wash and wax a car
• How to plan a party
• How to arrange flowers
• How to wrap a present
• How to build a sled
• How to Decorate a cake
• How to make a paper aeroplane
• How to juggle
• How to iron a shirt
• How to paint a table
• How to decorate a Christmas tree
• How to Install a dimmer switch for a light (not for fluorescent lights)
• How to Install a car stereo
• How to make garden stepping stones
• How to feed a snake
• How to make a fishing lure
• How to detect if someone is lying
• How to develop the best serve in a tennis game
• How to knot a carpet
• How to make honey
• How to blow a glass
• How to use the cruise control
• How to make a genealogical tree
• How to Make a hydrogen supplemental fuel cell
• How to calculate your golf handicap
• How to make a golf swing
• How to find the best health insurance
• How to find the best car insurance value
• How to calculate wallpaper
• How to build a go-cart
• How to clean silver
• How do bulletproof vests work?
• How do airbags work?
• What can duct tape be used for?
• How to create an animated character
• How to become an empath
• How to format computer
• How to Program your cell phone
• How to Download or upload files on the computer
• How to Build a good website
• How to Build a website
• How to Set up an e-mail account
• How to set up a blog
• How to install a WordPress theme
• How to create an iPhone application
• How to upgrade the memory in your computer
• How to remove scratches from DVD’s
• How to make a foxhole radio
• How to play a computer game
• How to send an email
• How to play an online games
• How to use linkedin
• How to live a more private online life
• How to play clash of clan
• How to use a cell phone
• How to text a message
• How to bottle your own wine
• How make a sweet lassi
• How to make an ice-cream
• How to pick a color and understand the color palette
• How to Grow a herbal garden
• How to dance
• How to do card tricks
• How to make sushi
• How to ride a unicycle
• How to do magic tricks
•      How to knit/crochet
• How to decorate a cake
• How to Grow and prune a bonsai tree
• How to throw a ball
• How to Play a video game to win
• How to make your own soap
• How to make candles
• How to play football
• How to use a DSLR camera
• How to create a worm farm
• How to do graffiti
• How to do poi spinning
• How to do origami
• How to take a picture with a digital camera
• How to paint an egg
• How to write a limerick
• How to line dance
• How to compose a photograph
• How to swim the backstroke
• How to pick locks
• How to edit a video
• How to dance a certain dance
• How to solve a Rubik’s cube
• How to make a pop-up card
• How to make animals out of balloons
• How to make paper Mache figures
• How to speak Italian
• How to make stained glass objects
• How to beatbox
• How to raise tadpoles
• How to read music notes
• How to learn playing guitar
• How to use your breath when you sing
• How to make beer
• How to play piano
• How to make a cocktail
• How to bowl
• How to read music
• How to lay a table
• How to waltz
• How to perform a card trick
• How to Apply acrylic fingernails
• How to Manicure your own fingernails
• How to Manicure someone’s fingernails
• How to Polish your shoes
• How to Accessorize with the clothes your wear
• How to Coordinate clothes for any occasion
• How to frost hair
• How to make your own jewellery
• How to apply hair dye to your hair
• How to apply a permanent to someone’s hair
• How to braid cornrows
• How to braid hair (had to do this in nursing school)
• How to dry your hair properly
• How to clean brush your teeth (back it up with scientific research)
• How to put on makeup
• How to trim a bonsai tree
• How to trim your moustache
• How to wrinkle a skirt
• How to do braids
• How to use scarves on your head, neck, body
• How to tie a tie
• How to make your own wedding dress
• How to dress like a princess
• How to become a princess
• How to fold a skirt
• How to apply face paint
• How to Set a formal dinner table
• How to Choose a bottle of wine for dinner
• How to open a can peaches
• How to carve a pumpkin
• How to Plan a vegetarian meal
• How to Frost and decorate a cake
• How to Make a fast summer salad
• How to Make Barbecue sauce
• How to Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
• How to make a sweet dessert
• How to make ice
• How to Make a root beer float
• How to Make an omelette
• How to Make pancakes
• How to Make Ice cream
• How to Tenderize meat
• How to Make a subway sandwich
• How to Plan an eight course meal
• How to make peanut butter bars
• How to make chicken chilli
• How to Bake cookies
• How to Make devilled eggs
• How to Bake a cake
• How to Stuff a turkey
• How to Make fudge
• How to bake a pie (or anything else you like / know how to cook)
• How to be a vegetarian
• How to eat oysters
• How to Make your own jelly
• How to Eat with chopsticks
• How to make burgers
• How to make Irish Coffee
• How to make a fast summer salad
• How to Save water at home
• How to Recycle at home
• How to Build Green
• How to Save energy at home
• How to Grow your own garden
• How to change a plug
• How to mend a fuse
• How to Create a PowerPoint presentation
• How to write a resume
• How to be a model student
• How to do well on standardized tests
• How to deliver an informative speech
• How to do proper time management
• How to socialize with more people
• How to balance work and school
• How to find a part-time job
• How to write a college essay
• How to give a presentation
• How to organize an event
• How to start a bed & breakfast
• How to hire the right people
• How to sell yourself
• How to effectively close any client
• How to network well
• How to create a business plan that works
• How to make the most of working from home
• How to do nothing for a living
• How to live an anti-social life
• How to make your ex jealous
• How to get more presents on your birthday
• How to deliver a speech with a handover
• How to scramble together a last-minute presentation
• How to lose your belly fat
• How to do yoga
• How to stretch before working out
• How to kick box
• 5 minute workouts to keep you fit
• How to perform tai chi
• How to plan your diet
• How to snowboard
• How to manage stress
• How to check your blood pressure
• How to check your blood sugar
• How to train for a marathon

The demonstrative speech topics and ideas presented above should help you get started with your demonstrative speech and deliver a powerful speech. Let me know what you think about this article by commenting below.

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300+ Demonstrative Speech Topics & How to Ideas

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One type of speech that you will probably be required to give as a student is a demonstration speech. These types of presentations are the easiest and most common forms of public speaking in schools. They involve describing ways of doing a specific activity with detailed step-by-step explanations. Visual aids such as graphs, charts, or handouts may also be used to clarify points. However, to be effective, you must find good topics for demonstration speeches. However, selecting your subject may pose challenges because there are thousands of topics to choose from. Besides, it takes a lot of time comparing different “how to presentations ideas” against each other to choose a suitable one. In turn, this highlights the importance of understanding how to create interesting demonstration speech ideas. This article discusses diverse topics for demonstration speeches and techniques from speech writers to develop various demonstrative ideas for effective presentations. Use this guide to simplify your subject selection process.

What Are Demonstration Speech Topics?

A demonstrative speech topic is a theme or subject of a presentation. In other words, it is what the demo is about. While you can select the topics that you are good at, the nature of your presentation affects which subject you will focus on. Remember that any selected topic should help you show ways of making something or how something works. Examples of themes include “how to organize your bedroom” or “how a smartphone touchscreen works”. Conversely, process speech topics describe ways of completing a process e.g., how to play softball. Therefore, you need to select an exact theme for your presentation to avoid confusion.

What Makes Good Demonstration Speech Topics

As discussed previously, delivering an effective presentation starts with choosing a good demonstration speech topic. Avoiding potential problems when conveying your demo entails ensuring that you talk about something you are familiar with, good at, or have adequate experience with. This will streamline your work. When thinking about your demonstration topic, make sure that your theme:

• Can be described within a given time. Demo speeches typically last for 10-15 minutes.
• Is valuable to your target audience i.e., enhances their knowledge.
• Does not include excessive steps.
• Is not very technical.
• Can be explained to a wider audience.
• Does not include excessively discussed issues e.g., abortion.

How to Choose a Demonstration Idea?

A challenging part of any presentation is coming up with demonstrative speech ideas . Start by selecting those activities/events you find interesting. Let’s look at a proper way of developing demonstration speech topic ideas:

• Think about your interests, such as sports, the food you like, your favorite animal, hobby, or an interesting place you visited.
• Understand your audience by considering how relevant your idea is to them. This will help you save time because knowing your listeners aids in selecting appropriate and engaging themes. For example, you cannot choose engineering topics for an audience interested in psychology. Besides, your idea should be relatable to your listeners such as issues affecting the community or people.
• Decide on the things you want to focus on in demonstration speech by being specific e.g., how to solve puzzles. However, this theme is too wide, and you will not cover it in a 5-10-minute presentation. Narrow your focus to something precise e.g., how to solve a math crossword puzzle.
• Consider what your presentation intends to accomplish i.e., your goal. Do you want your audience to practice healthy eating habits? Or do you want them to save more money?

Best Demonstration Speech Ideas

Your topic and language ability affect how effective your presentation will be. First, you must have a theme. Some topics may appear nice at first. However, you may face difficulties creating a demo out of them. Conduct a thorough investigation, as it aids in generating decent demonstration speech ideas. Do not copy “how to topic ideas” directly from anywhere. Use existing themes as prompts for producing your subject. Here is a list of the best demonstration speech topics on diverse issues:

• Tips for managing water pollution.
• Dressing for a date.
• Writing a novel.
• Cleaning your kitchen properly.
• Purchasing a smartphone.
• Dividing your garden.
• Steps for performing yoga.
• Techniques for saving water.
• Techniques for taking nice photos with your smartphone.
• Ways of making a 1-hour exercise plan.
• Ways of speaking confidently in public.
• Ways of building a website.
• Preparing a stew with herbs and vegetables.
• Dealing with the fear of mathematics.
• Playing the trumpet.
• Meditation techniques for seniors.
• Surviving without sugar.
• Ways of traveling abroad cheaply.

Liked an idea but don’t know how to prepare a memorable demonstration speech? Delegate this task to real pros. Leave us a ‘ write my speech for me ’ message and specify instructions so we can compose a custom speech. 

Easy Demonstration Speech Ideas

What makes a demonstration topic easy? Factors such as your interest and familiarity with a specific matter, the age and type of audience, your age, and study field determine which topics are less complex for you. Besides, you can create easy demonstrative speeches if you understand something comprehensively. Ensure that you talk about themes you know to simplify your work. Presentation ideas are all about how you view issues affecting you or the people around you. Examples of easy demonstrative speech topics that you may work with include:

• Useful tips on learning French.
• What are the basics of identifying fake news.
• Tips for improving your social skills.
• Becoming an actor.
• Eating healthier.
• Guidelines for reading body language.
• Mouth hygiene tips for men.
• Techniques for completing your homework quicker.
• What makes a good soup.
• Precautions for using autopilot in your car.
• Healthy exercise tips for tackling weight gain.
• How to use Google Docs.
• Changing a car tire.
• How to bathe your baby.
• Using an oven for dummies.
• Overcome destructive habits.
• Bake the best chocolate cakes.
• Making online learning fun.
• Swimming techniques.
• Useful guidelines to follow while walking on a busy street.

Interesting Demonstrative Speech Topics

Your demo must involve matters you feel excited talking about. What does this mean? Effective presentations must involve simple messages, charismatic delivery, and interesting how to topics. These things stimulate your listeners or motivate them to develop new knowledge. As you explore demonstration ideas for your presentation, select only enthralling themes. For example, take note of themes that make your heart beat faster and demonstrate them. Here are interesting topics that you can choose from:

• Ways of making your smile contagious.
• Finding real online friends.
• Riding a horse.
• Seeking forgiveness from someone.
• Ways smartphones affect your brain.
• Guidelines for creating a garden out of a lawn.
• Investing $100 and becoming a millionaire.
• Influencing your employees to stay loyal.
• Tips on being successful like billionaires.
• How do electric cars work.
• How to stop checking your Facebook feed excessively.
• How to fly a plane.
• Talking with your emotions.
• How do video games benefit students.
• Tips on making life easier.

Good Topics for Demonstration Speeches

Still not sure which issues to show? Remember that topics for a demonstration speech should tell your audience exactly what you will present. Therefore, describe them clearly. Picking a subject is quite a fun activity that also teaches you novel things. Avoid controversial or highly technical topics. Choose simple topics that have adequate information online. Have a look at these good how to speech topics and use them in developing your ideas:

• Ways of delivering your CV to online job sites.
• Tips for making traps for wasps.
• Cleaning natural and synthetic fabrics.
• Making lemonade.
• Meditating correctly.
• Creating a silk flower bouquet.
• Coloring Easter eggs.
• Ways of making a fragranced pillow.
• Guidelines for relieving stress using stretching techniques.
• Ways of creating animated gifs.
• How to defend yourself when attacked.
• Offering yourself a pedicure/manicure.
• Cleaning your laptop.
• Different poses for yoga.
• Performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Intriguing How to Speech Ideas

It is hard to find captivating topics for how to speeches if you are unsure of how you should begin. Nevertheless, if you read books or news articles on diverse subjects regularly you can easily formulate intriguing themes. Therefore, combine your imagination with your experience and come up with new process speeches ideas. Try new things and be up to date with global events. Look at this list of concepts about how to presentations:

• Why girls do not like each other.
• Ways of identifying the right tires for your electric car.
• Why should you not borrow money from friends?
• Ways of increasing the forest cover to deal with climate change.
• How celebrities are idolized today.
• Learning geography from sports fans.
• Ways DNA tests are used to identify criminals.
• How do tourists influence economic development.
• How do organ transplants affect mental health?
• Guidelines for dealing deal with sleeping disorders.
• How private prisons work.
• Ways media independence affects democracy.
• Tips for dealing with stuttering problems.
• Tips for living on $5 a day.
• Guidelines for creating a successful brand.

Funny Demonstration Speech Ideas

You can also use fun subjects for presentations. Funny demonstration speech topics are good at helping you entertain and influence your listeners to view life optimistically. Even if your theme is less serious, ensure that your ideas for a demonstration speech are educational. You can do funny demonstrative speeches on:

• The benefits of procrastination.
• A list of bizarre sports you do not know about.
• Lie like a spy.
• Secrets to lasting intimate relationships.
• How to bathe your cat.
• Techniques for initiating conversations with people you dislike.
• Tips on how not to be punished at school.
• How to avoid dreaming about ghosts.
• What are the techniques to avoid cheating in exams.
• Crazy business ideas.
• Ways of catching liars.
• Why daily 30-minute naps at work are good for everyone.
• Tips for not forgetting to turn off the iron after using it.
• How to watch a horror movie alone.
• Techniques for living with a terrible roommate.

Creative Demonstration Speech Topics

Creative people can describe concepts easily. For demonstration topics to be ingenious, they must highlight innovative matters. Using these themes, you can show processes or ways of participating in a specific activity creatively. The things to demonstrate for your presentation are all about thinking outside the box and developing engaging subjects. Consider these examples:

• Guidelines for registering a company in your country.
• Ways of using robots at home.
• Tips for creating 2D animations with a smartphone.
• Photoshop use techniques.
• Guidelines for finding part-time work remotely.
• Techniques for dealing with stage fright or anxiety when speaking in public.
• Why telemarketing is beneficial.
• Ways technology benefits the education sector.
• Guidelines for securing your house from burglars.
• How to prepare for interviews.
• Developing cross-platform apps.
• Organizing your scholarship application papers.
• Creating a stunning essay.
• Tips on using technology to prevent crime.
• Techniques for saving money effectively.

Unique How to Presentation Ideas

How do you hook your audience? First, you must spend an adequate amount of time picking a unique theme. Regarding these types of how to ideas for a presentation, delivering impactful demos entails being simple. This means focusing intentionally on valuable ideas and including sufficient details as this will engage your audience. Take a look at these unique demonstrative speech topics for inspiration:

• Tips for using idioms in your writing work.
• Guidelines for finding effective health insurance in your area.
• Why school uniforms are needed.
• How to select the best running approach that suits your needs.
• Bottling white wine confidently.
• Finding and buying cheap books.
• Color books as an adult and its benefits.
• Ways of checking your blood sugar level.
• Tips for lifting weights like an Olympic champion.
• Techniques for practicing tai chi safely.
• Living without technology.
• Why separating classrooms for girls and boys is beneficial to the study process.
• Why teachers and students should not befriend each other on social media.
• Why religion should be taught at schools.
• How smart cities work.
• The effect of texting on the writing and vocabulary abilities of students.

5 Minute Demonstration Speech Topics

Producing five minute demonstration speech topics is not very difficult. If you are an experienced speaker, you can address all your main themes within that time. However, while the timeframe is adequate for these speeches, you can easily become uninterested during the delivery process. Still, you have a high chance of keeping your audience involved by choosing subjects that instill curiosity in them. You can achieve this by generating enough demonstration speech ideas and developing several points out of them for an easier presentation. Here are some topic examples:

• Tips for enjoying life as an introvert.
• Techniques for organizing a party.
• Tips for wearing a scarf.
• Being financially secure.
• Overcoming fear .
• Five steps for writing a blog article.
• How to motivate yourself every day.
• Caring for your shoes.
• Starting a successful online business.
• Ways of using colors to elevate your mood.
• Ways of telling if a person is lying.
• Ways of shopping online securely.
• Tips to revive dead plants.
• Ways of being happy without money.
• Ways of becoming a vegan.
• How online classes affect grades.

Process Speech Ideas

Process speeches topics are excellent in assisting you to analyze methods or issues and present a step-by-step outline of your ideas. These presentations highlight how processes are achieved, instead of discussing how results are achieved. You may include visuals such as photos or sketches to help people understand the presentation better. These are a variety of how to speech topics related to processes that you can select from:

• How to make Turkish coffee.
• Locating and purifying water in the desert.
• Tips for mining diamonds ethically.
• How to provide safe and clean water to a drought-affected area.
• How do bills work in Congress?
• How does a nuclear reactor function?
• Putting oil in your bike.
• Making a fishing net.
• How to overcome a bad breakup.
• Building a fence.
• Tracking wild animals.
• Becoming successful at school.
• How to become a politician.
• Making feeders for bird.
• Painting using watercolors.

Would you like more ideas? We have many blogs with various topics. Start with argumentative essay topics .

Demonstration Speech Ideas & How to Topics for Students

As a student, you will encounter tasks or assignments requiring you to deliver a perfect demonstration speech. Whatever school level you are, presenting information is a good way of practicing your public speaking skills and building your self-esteem. Therefore, if you intend on speaking in front of people, consider selecting easy things to demonstrate for a successful presentation. These subjects will enable you to develop strong arguments while conveying persuasive how to ideas. Even though you may want to focus on your interests as the basis for creating entertaining and memorable demos, be wise and careful with your topic selection. Use the themes described in this section to come up with good demonstrative speech ideas.

Demonstration Speech Ideas for Middle School

If you are a student at this level, then you will find it fun to convey easy demonstrations on subjects you have already studied. These speeches help you improve your analytical knowledge. While it is a daunting task at first when attempting to organize your thoughts, consider these ideas for demonstration speech to save time:

• How to save new contacts on a smartphone.
• Ways of impressing your friends.
• Cleaning the table.
• Performing magic tricks.
• Taking care of your dog.
• Downloading games to your tablet.
• Techniques for tying various knots.
• Learning to cycle.
• Turning old newspapers into paper bags.
• Tips to clean your room.

Demonstration Speech Ideas for High School

In high school, you will complete tasks that differ from those in college or middle school. Presenting demonstrations is one activity that is present at all school levels. However, delivering demos successfully requires more than just showing ways of completing something. You will need to create effective demo speech ideas first. Indeed, your instructor understands that you are not a professional yet. Nonetheless, you will be given assignments necessitating talking about a variety of demonstration topics for how to speech. You can choose from these themes:

• How to deal with technology addiction.
• Ways to debate effectively.
• Memorizing song lyrics.
• Choosing the right education field.
• Overcoming addiction to technology.
• Becoming a book-reading fanatic.
• Voting during elections.
• Enhancing your communication skills.
• Techniques to protect your computer data.
• Tips for selecting your career field.

Ideas for a Demonstration Speech for College Students

Whether you are afraid of speaking publicly in college, you still must be prepared for public speaking classes. Avoid being embarrassed when conveying your presentation to your colleagues by learning about how to speeches topics for college students. This will help you impress your tutor and deliver exhilarating presentations. These demonstration speech topics for college are fascinating:

• Techniques for preventing major causes of death in the country.
• Sustainable ways of halting climate change.
• How to count your carbon footprint.
• Conducting qualitative research.
• Starting a money-making business while in college.
• Potential alternatives to micro plastics.
• How a gap year before attending college benefits you.
• Tips for maintaining work-life balance.
• Ways of applying for international scholarships.
• Tips for making smart investments.

Demonstrative Speech Topics & How to Ideas on Different Subjects

In this section, you will learn about potential topics for demonstration speech in different fields including business, health, tech, craft, marketing, food, and education. Numerous examples of ideas for a how to speech will also be provided. Remember that these are just recommendations so you must evaluate whether they are appropriate for your specific field and audience. You can adapt them easily to suit your needs by conducting further research and tailoring your topic. Try one of these demonstrative project ideas:

• How to secure a broken leg when medical assistance is unreachable.
• Creating Twitter threads.
• Selecting the best mortgage.
• Securing data in the cloud.
• Moving on after a breakup.
• Creating advertisement campaigns on Google.
• Organizing your closet.
• Recognizing food labels accurately.
• Tips on getting cheap airfares.
• Why will speech-to-text innovation replace keyboards in five years?
• Tips on tracking your expenditure.
• How social media increases unhappiness in society.
• Brain training techniques.
• Tips on avoiding overthinking.
• Tips for saving fuel for your car.

Demonstration Speech Topics for Health

As a medical student, you will likely create and deliver a demo presentation throughout your school period. For your health demonstration speech ideas, the goal may be showing your listeners ways of adopting healthy living approaches or eating habits. If you are stuck in choosing a topic, these examples might be useful:

• Why you should drink dark chocolate regularly.
• The health impact of e-cigarettes.
• How to deal with stress.
• Preventing asthma attacks.
• Identifying if someone will suffer from a stroke.
• Ways authentic friends affect your health.
• Why you are addicted to fast food .
• Tips for developing strong bones.
• How can your lifestyle cause cancer?
• The benefits of fermented foods.
• Why happiness extends your lifespan.
• The dangers of eating gluten.
• How do fats affect your brain?
• Why pesticides are dangerous.
• How your diet affects your mental health.

Demonstration Speech Ideas for Business

In the business field, effective presentations are vital for topics such as sales, management, and finance. In this subsection, you will develop the capability and confidence to offer speeches by gaining insights into easy demonstration speech topics for business. Firms are prevalent in society and each one of us can associate with business discourses because they are crucial in social life. Use these themes in generating business demonstration speech ideas:

• How to register your business.
• Launching an online business.
• Attracting potential customers through social media.
• Turning your social media followers into paying clients.
• Becoming a solopreneur.
• Turning your business idea into an income.
• Motivating employees.
• Increasing your productivity using computers.
• Creating business plans that work.
• Earning while doing nothing.
• Tips on selecting the appropriate taxation approach for your business.
• Tips on organizing business events.
• Tips on managing time effectively.
• Tips on hiring the right employees.
• Techniques for networking well.

Demo Speech Topics on Marketing

Whether introducing a business to customers or experts, marketing is a vital part of organizations. In such situations, you may be required to give great demonstration speeches about various subjects. However, you need an appropriate demonstration speech topic as this aids in delivering informative pieces. Here are examples of marketing demonstration speech ideas:

• How online marketing affects society.
• How to conduct green marketing.
• Using the internet as a medium for marketing.
• Apply the 7PS of marketing to business.
• Using CSR to build your brand.
• Delivering targeted advertisements.
• Managing customer relationships.
• Shifting from traditional to digital marketing.
• Using social media for marketing.
• How networking marketing works.
• Why marketing is important today.
• How does your social accountability affect customers?
• How SMEs can use digital marketing to their advantage.
• How mobile marketing works.
• How ethics can be used in the sales domain.

Demonstration Speech Ideas With Food

Do you enjoy talking about topics related to food? Or maybe, do you like preparing different kinds of food for yourself or your family? Then you have a lot of food presentation speech ideas. Maybe you hope to display your food preparation or knowledge level in a competition. Learn about helpful how to demonstration speech ideas with food that you can use:

• Simple ways to prepare cinnamon rolls.
• How to fry meat alternatives.
• Replacing meat with peas, lentils, and beans.
• Preparing tasty food in camps.
• Using spices and herbs for a healthy meal.
• Prepare and eat chili.
• Dressing your salad in a healthy way.
• Controlling the food chain to support sustainability.
• Preparing a vegetarian barbecue.
• Preparing a healthy breakfast.
• Making Italian Pizza.
• Making British sandwiches.
• Tips on making burgers.
• What to consider before picking a wedding cake.
• Tips on matching wine with food.

Demonstration Speech Ideas on Crafts

Do you love crafting? Good craft projects help you overcome boredom. Besides, making things yourself is so satisfying. Thus, if crafting is your hobby, then you know several themes about crafts. Use your experiences to develop a demonstration speech idea. However, if you find it hard to come up with one, here are some demonstration speech topics on crafts:

• Tips on designing your clothes.
• Ways of sewing tone clothes.
• How to print photos or art on T-shirts.
• Using stencils.
• Using crochets.
• Organizing flowers.
• Making soft furnishings.
• Techniques for carving or whittling wood.
• Tips on using antique buttons to make jewelry.
• Ways of tie-dying your T-shirt.
• Ways of becoming a puppeteer.
• Ways of creating natural dyes.
• Techniques for designing and creating greeting cards.
• How does the Paper-Mache Work.
• Sketching techniques.

Ideas for How to Speech Topics on Life

Sometimes in life, you will want to share your experiences about various issues. It can be about ways you overcame challenges, how you became rich, or something mundane such as how to decorate a house. While you may have many ideas for demonstrative speeches on life, you still must choose the good ones. This helps you avoid conveying boring demos. Examples of demonstration topics ideas that you can select include:

• How to make a golf cup hole.
• Grow your garden.
• Getting the job that suits your personality.
• Write a phone message.
• Negotiating a pay raise.
• Write a thank you message.
• Preventing home fires.
• Filing claims.
• Restoring broken wood items at home.
• Replacing cracked tiles.
• Fixing a leaking faucet.
• Reducing waste by reusing items.
• Tips for preparing for emergencies.
• Tips for energy savings at home.
• Techniques for unclogging sinking drains.

Tech Demonstrative Speech Topics

There is no universally agreed method for selecting the best tech demonstration speech topics. However, this field has some interesting themes that can be explored such as smart homes, AI, robotics, and speech processing among others. Since technology is constantly evolving, you should focus on up-to-date and relevant demonstration presentation ideas. Consider some of these topics:

• Tips for selling on eBay.
• Techniques used to rank in search engines.
• Tips for designing a WordPress website.
• How TV remote controllers are programmed.
• How to clean your electronic accessories.
• Uploading files to a website using an FTP program.
• Burning a DVD using an external drive.
• Setting up your Twitter account.
• Designing e-commerce websites.
• Increasing the RAM of your laptop.
• Tips for selecting the best desktop.
• Tips for transferring files from your iPhone to a laptop.
• The benefits of technology for agriculture.
• How 3D printing works.
• How companies can use big data.

Education How to Presentation Topics

The education sector has a variety of opportunities and issues as well. In turn, this presents a multitude of how to topics for presentation. If you are searching for motivating presentation themes that are education related, then this subsection is for you. This is a list of easy how to speech ideas on education:

• Tips for getting financing in college.
• How to acquire a degree online.
• Dealing with online learning challenges.
• Teach sex education effectively.
• Overcoming bullying.
• Integrating autistic students into normal classrooms.
• Teach high school students’ financial literacy.
• Being productive each day.
• Perform better by sleeping well.
• Analyzing news articles.
• Using extracurricular activities to enhance your personality development.
• Why year-round schools are beneficial.
• How homeschooling harms your children.
• How the metric system works.
• Why students in high school should learn music and art.

There is one hint in case you lack inspiration. Look through other blogs with speech topics such as  impromptu speech topics . It will help you to come up with an interesting idea.

Final Thoughts on Demonstration Speech Ideas & Topics

Whether it is for business, health, or education subjects among others, demonstrative speech topics must be interesting, simple, and compelling. If you face challenges finding a good subject for your presentation, get inspired by the how to speeches topics provided in this article. Make sure you understand the type of demonstration speech that you will provide e.g., demo or process speeches. This helps in figuring out effective ways of organizing and preparing for the presentation. Also, remember limiting your focus to the themes you enjoy and are familiar with as these aids in presenting them completely and clearly within the set timeframe.

Ask our professional writing service for assistance. Hire an expert to prepare an outstanding speech for you. Our writers provide excellent results in a timely manner.

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

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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.
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150 Good Persuasive Speech Topics for Students in 2024

April 1, 2024

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

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

What is a Good Persuasive Speech?

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

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

Components of a Great Persuasive Speech Topic

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

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

150 Good Persuasive Speech Topics

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

Business and Economy

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

Social Media

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

Education – Persuasive Speech Topics 

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

Social Issues – Persuasive Speech Topics

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

Politics and Government

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

Easy Persuasive Speech Topics

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

Fun Persuasive Speech Topics

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

Interesting Persuasive Speech Topics

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

I’ve Chosen My Topic, Now What?

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

How to Create a Successful Persuasive Speech, Step by Step

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

How to Practice and Deliver a Persuasive Speech

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

Good Persuasive Speech Topics—Final Thoughts

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

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

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

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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Speech Topics in English for Students and Children

Many times we have wanted our voices to be heard and also inspire others with our ideas and thoughts. However, we aren’t able to do so in the correct manner sometimes. It is mostly because one fails to find the right words at the right times. That is why we have speeches. They help you attract the attention of the audience and make people listen to you. In school and college, speech topics become a part of our lives. While it is comparatively easy to write an essay, to deliver a speech is an entirely different thing. Proper persuasive speech topics can help you inform and convince your target audience. In order to do that, you need to do thorough research and state valid points to make a good impression.

When we talk about persuasive speech topics, it is important to note that they must inform, educate, convince or motivate your audience. In other words, you will be influencing them to accept your point of view. The finest persuasive speech topics are always stimulating, daring and very crisp and clear. Always remember to choose an interesting persuasive speech topic. It will help attract the attention of the listener or reader from the start to the end. Moreover, make sure to have ample knowledge about the topics, which will assist you in counter-questioning.

When choosing your persuasive speech topic, make sure it is familiar so you can prepare it easily. Further, your audience must care about the topic and must be able to easily visualize them. The main point is to make sure to not choose something that is overdone. Emotional topics help stimulate more emotions and give better chances of achieving the desired outcome.

Types of Persuasive Speech Topics

• Factual Persuasive Speech – Use facts and figures to prove whether the topic is true or false
• Value Persuasive Speech – Argues whether something is morally correct or not
• Policy Persuasive Speech – Speeches that try to advance policies, laws and more.

There are a lot of persuasive speech topics that we consider interesting enough to be chosen as given below. All these persuasive speech topics are relevant and will remain so for a long time. When it comes to choosing persuasive speech topics, your options are infinite. We have compiled some of the best ones to help you make a good impression.

Toppr has done all the thorough research on your behalf so you can solely focus on delivering the speech excellently. In this article, we have listed out numerous important speech topics from various categories for special occasions, on prominent leaders, motivational, persuasive speech topics and more. They are appropriate for everyone from school students to college ones. Our vast collections of speech topics ensure you find anything and everything that you are looking for. Following is a great list of speech topics divided into different categories like persuasive speech topics and more for a better and quick search:

List of 100+ Speech Topics for Students and Children

List of persuasive speech topics.

• Will punishing bullies help?
• How to speak confidently in public?
• Do exam results alone determine a child’s worth?
• Do video games promote violence?
• How to overcome the fear of Maths?
• Should schools have longer recess time?
• Should schools make swimming lessons mandatory?
• What is the best age to own a mobile phone?
• What is better: Paper books or E-Books?
• How to overcome exam fever?

List of Persuasive Speech Topics on Environment

• How will recycling help us?
• Should there be a ban on smoking in public places?
• Should zoos be banned?
• Should there be a ban on animal testing?
• Will banning plastic bags help?
• Should exotic animals be kept as pets?
• Is the government doing enough to tackle Global Warming?
• How to control water pollution?
• What is better: Buying pets or Adoption?
• Why Elephant riding is unethical?

Speech Topics about Prominent Leaders

• APJ Abdul Kalam Speech
• Jawaharlal Nehru Speech
• Lal Bahadur Shastri Speech
• Mahatma Gandhi Speech
• Speech On Swami Vivekananda

Speech Topics about Yourself

• My Aim In Life Speech
• My Mother Speech
• My School Life Speech
• My School Speech

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Speech Topics on Environment and Nature

• Climate Change Speech
• Global Warming Speech
• Save Environment Speech
• Save Water Speech
• Speech About Nature
• Speech On Air Pollution
• Speech On Deforestation
• Speech On Disaster Management
• Speech On Environment
• Speech On Importance Of Water
• Speech On Pollution
• Speech On Waste Management
• Speech On Water
• Speech On Water Pollution
• Speech On World Environment Day

Speech Topics on Festivals and Events

• Speech on Ambedkar Jayanti
• Children’s Day Speech
• Christmas Day Speech
• Gandhi Jayanti Speech
• Hindi Diwas Speech
• Human Rights Day Speech
• Independence Day Speech
• International Women’s Day Speech
• Labour Day Speech
• Mother’s Day Speech
• Speech On Baisakhi
• Speech On Diwali
• Speech On World Population Day
• Teachers Day Celebration Speech
• Teachers Day Speech
• Welcome Speech For Independence Day
• Tryst With Destiny

Speech Topics on Proverbs

• Health Is Wealth Speech
• Knowledge Is Power Speech
• Laughter Is The Best Medicine Speech
• Speech On Unity Is Strength

Speech Topics for Special Occasions

• Best Man Speech
• Best Farewell Speech
• Annual Function Speech
• Farewell Speech For Colleague
• Retirement Farewell Speech
• Thank You Speech
• Thank You Speech For Award
• Thank You Speech For Birthday
• Thank You Speech For Farewell
• Vote Of Thanks Speech
•  Welcome Speech For Republic Day
• Welcome Speech For Annual Function
• Welcome Speech For College Function
• Welcome Speech For Conference
• Welcome Speech For Event
• Welcome Speech For Farewell

Speech Topics on Social Issues

• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Speech
• Clean India Speech
• Organ Donation Speech
• Road Safety Speech
• Speech On Child Labour
• Speech On Agriculture
• Speech On Cleanliness
• Speech On Corruption
• Women Empowerment Speech
• Speech On Unemployment

Speech Topics about Education

• Importance Of Education Speech
• Speech on Education
• Speech On Books
• Speech On Education System In India
• Speech On Girls Education
• Value Of Education Speech

Speech Topics for Kids

• Doctor Speech
• Speech On Money
• Speech On Mother
• Speech On Music
• Speech On Respect
• Speech On Sports
• Speech On Sports And Games
• Speech On the Importance of Teacher in Our Lives
• Speech About Friendship
• Speech On India
• Speech On Junk Food
• Speech On Grandparents

Speech Topics on Public Speaking Topics

• Speech On Article 370
• Speech On Constitution Of India
• Election Speech
• Leadership Speech
• Political Speech
• Speech About Youth
• Speech On Fashion
• Speech On Generation Gap
• Speech On Indian Army
• Speech On Indian Culture
• Speech On Internet
• Speech On Technology
• Speech On Unity
• Speech On Yoga
• Speech On Travel And Tourism
• Speech On Health
• Speech On Importance Of Cleanliness

List of Persuasive Speech Topics on Education

• Should school uniforms be banned?
• Should we allow mobile phones in school?
• Co-Education has more benefits or drawbacks?
• What is better: Rote learning or Hands-on Learning?
• Boarding schools are better than Day schools?
• Dropping a year helps students or not?
• Are PowerPoint presentations a waste of time?
• Having the same grading system for all students, is it fair?
• Should it be mandatory for all schools to have a canteen?
• Are smart classes beneficial to students?

Motivational Speech Topics

• Speech About Dreams
• Speech About Life
• Speech On Time
• Speech On Discipline
• Speech On Happiness
• Speech On Kindness
• Speech On Value Of Time
• Speech On Health And Fitness

Tips for Writing a Speech

It does not matter if you have the most innovative ideas if you don’t execute them well in your speech. A good speech always invokes emotion, is well-researched and addresses relevant subjects. In order to write a good speech, make sure to follow the points given below:

Structure: Always remember to have a definite structure when you begin writing your speech. It is a frame that will give shape to your speech and help keep you on track. Jot down all ideas coming to your mind and then connect them so that each part has something interesting to keep the audience intrigued.

Vocabulary: A speech is meant for an audience that is filled with different types of people. You need to make sure you are using the right words so your message is conveyed successfully to each and every one. Only the right words can express and highlight your message. Thus, the level of complexity must match the level of the audience of your speech.

Relatable: Your speech is what you make of it, if your speech has incredible points but you don’t deliver it well, it won’t work. Try to include relatable things in the speech to make everyone comfortable and deliver it in a humanized manner so the audience relates to you as well as your speech.

Examples: When you use examples, it helps support and proves your point in a better manner. It also helps convince the audience and result in better engagement. Try using just enough examples so people buy what you are offering and also to add that emotional edge to your speech.

Short: The worst thing you can do to your audience is to deliver a long speech. Do not try too hard and sum up your views in a short and informative speech. In fact, the longer you take, the more mistakes you will make. When someone is investing their time to listen to you, make sure it is worth it.

To sum it up, a good speech requires time and effort. Try to pick the right topic if it’s in your hand and express your thoughts and opinions freely, without any hesitance. Consistency is key, you won’t get it perfect the first time, but eventually, you will get there.

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Speech for Students

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• Speech on Air Pollution for Students and Children
• Speech about Life for Students and Children
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• Speech on Internet for Students and Children
• Speech on Generation Gap for Students and Children
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Home — Blog — Topic Ideas — 130 Inspiring Persuasive Speech Topics For Students

130 Inspiring Persuasive Speech Topics For Students

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!

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April 5, 2024

235+ Ideas for persuasive speech topics

How to choose a great persuasive speech topic, inspiration and ideas, and example presentations for you to get started

Co-founder, CEO

Creating a great persuasive speech starts with picking the right topic. 

Some of these ideas are supposed to be funny, some are “easier” to create a speech around, and all of them offer the ability to take multiple sides or present multiple points of view.

Here are 235 of the best ideas for persuasive speech topics, categorized by topic area.

How to pick a topic for your persuasive speech

To make a great persuasive speech, you should pick a topic that meets the following criteria:

• You’re interested in the subject matter - Life is short! Don’t spend a bunch of time researching something that you don’t want to learn about.
• There are multiple perspectives - If there’s no need to persuade anyone, it’s not going to be a very effective speech.
• It’s relevant - Whether it’s relevant to your friends, classmates, or current events, there’s a reason to bring up this topic.
• You can bring insight - Whether you have a personal experience, unexpected facts, or can debunk some commonly misunderstood beliefs, surprising and educating your audience is one of the best ways to create an effective persuasive speech.

How to write a persuasive speech

The first step to writing your persuasive speech is to do a bit of research to understand the different viewpoints on the topic, form your personal opinion based on the facts, and then create a rough outline of your speech.

Depending on how long your presentation is , you will probably want to have 2 or 3 key points as well as supporting information about each of them.

Once you have the key points written out, you can write your full speech and create an accompanying presentation, if needed.

Create a first draft of your presentation with Plus AI

If you want to get a jump start on a first draft of the speech or presentation, you can also use a tool like Plus AI to quickly create a starting point for you, and edit it from there.

Most popular persuasive speech ideas

Here are some of the most popular ideas for persuasive speeches, based on topics we have seen in the past:

• Is student debt forgiveness a good idea?
• Should students be allowed to use AI ?
• Would universal basic income improve the day-to-day life of everyone?
• Should AI systems always be able to explain their decisions ?
• Are politicians getting too old to be effective?
• Is social media bad for you?
• Can money buy happiness ?
• Should religion be taught in schools?

Here’s an example presentation on whether students should be allowed to use AI .

Easy persuasive speech ideas

Here are some topics that should be easier persuasive speech ideas for students because you may already have a point of view or personal experiences that could enhance the content of your presentation.

• Should students be allowed to use AI tools?
• Should you exercise every day?
• Should we reduce the use of single-use plastics?
• Should voting be mandatory?
• Should schools teach kids a foreign language?
• Should schools teach financial management and other practical skills?
• Are phones and social media affecting how kids grow up?
• Should the government invest more money in space exploration?

Persuasive speech ideas about society

Here are some ideas for speeches about society and how we live where it could be interesting to share different points of view.

• Are romantic movies good for feminism? 
• Would universal basic income improve the day-to-day life of most people?
• How can education reduce social inequality?
• Is there still a stigma when people have mental health issues?
• Do people enjoy the commercialization of holidays?
• How should countries trade off the need for safety vs. privacy?
• How has reality TV changed dating?
• Why is religion becoming less important in modern society?
• Are communities stronger in urban areas or rural areas?
• Should schools encourage students to be politically active?
• Are we headed towards World War 3
• Is cancel culture a bad thing?

Persuasive speech ideas about AI

AI is a hot topic these days, and people have a lot of different opinions on AI. Here are some ideas that can help you find the perfect topic for a persuasive speech about AI.

• Should intelligent AIs have "human rights"?
• Who should be at fault if an AI system makes a bad decision?
• Will AI destroy jobs or lead to new forms of work for people?
• Who is the creator of an AI-generated artwork / book / song?
• Does AI increase inequality?
• How should people handle misinformation in the age of AI?
• Should AI systems always be able to explain their decisions?
• Will AI change the way we interact with other people in social situations?
• Should AI developers be reponsible for making AI behave ethically?
• Should there be a global regulatory framework for AI? 
• If AI performs better than human doctors, should it be allowed to make medical decisions?

Persuasive speech ideas about the environment

Given the media’s polarized coverage of climate change (see what I did there 😄), there are no shortage of opinions on the environment. Here are some interesting speech ideas on the environment.

• Should cities ban items like plastic bags and plastic straws?
• How should corporations be held responsible for climate change?
• Why is investing in renewable energy important?
• Should all endangered species be protected?
• Should farmers be forced to adopt water conservation policies?
• Are electric vehicles a failure?
• Should "fast fashion" be regulated in order to protect the environment?
• How can overfishing be prevented?
• Is nuclear energy a good solution or a threat?
• Is ecotourism good for local economies and ecosystems?
• Who should decide what makes a building "green"?
• Is "organic" a meaningless word today?
• Can technology solve our environmental problems?
• Should we limit the use of pesticides and chemicals in agriculture?
• Should countries limit the import and export of water?

Persuasive speech ideas about arts and culture

If you’re looking to do a persuasive speech on art or culture, there are certainly a lot of different opinions and interesting media assets you could share with your audience.

Here’s an example slide deck created by Plus AI on whether NFTs should be considered “art.”

• Should NFTs like Bored Apes be considered art?
• Has the quality of music gotten worse over time? 
• Should we keep reading literature that is offensive?
• Should people study video games as a form of art?
• Should paparazzi be allowed to invade celebrities' privacy?
• Should the government fund more arts and culture programs?
• When should art be censored?
• When does cultural exchange become cultural appropriation?
• Is AI-generated art really art?
• Is graffiti on public buildings art or vandalism?

Persuasive speech ideas about ethics

Ethics and moral dilemmas are a classic set of topics for persuasive speeches. Here are some of the traditional questions that often come up in this category as well as some newer ones based on the latest trends and news.

• Is political lobbying moral and ethical? 
• Is testing products on animals unethical?
• Should people be allowed to sell their kidneys?
• Should capital punishment exist as a form of justice?
• Should people have the right to euthanasia? 
• Is selecting for or against certain traits in embryos genetic engineering?
• Should governments be allowed to use torture in the name of national security?
• How should AI and robotic systems be used in warfare?
• What moral obligations do humans have towards animals and pets?
• What types of performance-enhancing treatments are ethical in sports?
• How should self-driving cars approach situations like the "trolley problem"?
• Are parents allowed to make decisions in the best interest of their children?
• Should prostitution be legal?

Persuasive speech ideas about health

People generally have a lot of opinions about their bodies and how to take care of them. Many debates come from other people having different opinions. Here are some persuasive speech ideas about healthcare and medicine.

• What should be taught in health education in schools? 
• Should we legalize more drugs and other illicit substances?
• Does the government have the right to declare vaccines mandatory?
• Does social media have positive impacts on mental health? 
• Would universal healthcare be a positive impact on our country?
• Who should be held responsible for the opioid crisis?
• Should the government discourage people from drinking alcohol?
• Are there benefits to cannabis use? 
• Should clinical trials use placebos?
• What is the best way to encourage people to exercise more? 
• Should pharmaceutical companies make drugs cheaper?
• How should organ transplants be allocated?
• Is alternative medicine legitimate?
• Is it ethical to develop life extension technologies?

Persuasive speech ideas about politics

Could there be a topic that needs more persuasive dialogue than politics? Here are some interesting speech ideas on the topics of politics and government.

We used Plus AI to generate this presentation on whether politicians are getting too old to be effective.

• Should we institute a mandatory military service or civil service program?
• Is there too much spending on the miltary?
• Should there always be term limits on elected officials? 
• How should we control the influence of money in politics?
• Should political campaigns be funded by the state?
• Do independent political candidates improve elections?
• How should we change our national immigration policies?
• How should public officials be held accountable for their actions?
• Should social media platforms be allowed to take sides in politics?
• Should our country be more focused on self-sufficiency or globalization?
• Are state-sponsored assassinations acceptable for national security?
• Should prisoners have the right to vote?

Persuasive speech ideas about sports

It might be hard to think about a fun topic like sports in the context of making a speech, but here are a few ideas on topics that can be both academic and relate to your passion in sports.

• Is there too much importance placed on football?
• Is betting in sports ethical? 
• Are athletes paid too much?
• Should athletes be allowed to take performance-enhancing drugs?
• Should physical education be a compulsory subject in school?
• Should female athletes be paid the same as male athletes?
• Do replays and other technologies enhance sports or take away from the experience?
• How important is racial representation in sports?
• Are animal sports like horse racing or bullfighting ethical?
• Are youth sports too commercialized?
• Should high school and college athletes be compensated?
• Should transgender athletes compete in gender-specific competitions?
• Is the celebrity culture of sports stars detrimental to the sport?

Persuasive speech ideas about technology

Technology is becoming one of the most important topics in the stock market, in politics, and in our everyday lives. Here are some ideas on interesting topics to present on in tech.

• Will cryptocurrency lead to stronger financial systems? 
• Should private companies be allowed to use facial recognition technology?
• Will automation hurt the economy and workforce?
• Should we place limits on the development of AI technology?
• Who should pay for space exploration?
• Should AI deepfake technology be banned?
• Can an AI be sentient?
• Should social media companies be allowed to collect so much user data?
• Is it ethical for scientists to develop gene editing technologies?
• Should AI companies be allowed to impersonate well-known public figures?
• How should tech companies handle censorship and content moderation?
• Is it good to pursue technology-driven solutions to immortality? 
• Has technology improved the quality of the average person's life over the last 10 years?
• Is lab-grown meat the future of food? 
• Should cloning be illegal?

Persuasive speech ideas about happiness

If you are going to be doing some research for this persuasive speech, you might as well learn something useful - like how to be happy! Here are some ideas on speeches about happiness:

• Can money buy happiness?
• Is the journey or the destination more important in being happy?
• What are the best ways to pursue happiness?
• Are older people happier?
• Is happiness a better measure of a country's success than economic output?
• Would teaching children mindfulness and mediation make them happier?
• Is volunteering one of the best ways to be happy?
• Does more choice lead to better decisions?
• Would getting rid of technology make people happier?

Persuasive speech ideas about work

Workaholics rejoice! If you want to spend some quality time researching and talking about work, here are some ideas.

• Is work life balance real? 
• Should companies offer unpaid internships?
• Do gig economy companies exploit their workers?
• Should companies be allowed to ask their employees to work after hours?
• Should companies monitor their employees' social media?
• Is the glass ceiling real or outdated?
• Is at-will employment a good thing for the economy?
• Are mandatory retirement ages discriminatory?
• Is remote work temporary or here to stay? 
• Should companies be allowed to use IQ tests and personality tests in hiring?
• Is outsourcing to lower cost locations ethical?
• Should employees be compensated purely on performance?
• Are DEI programs successful?
• Is it ethical for CEOs to get paid 1,000x more than employees?
• Are unions a good thing for workers?
• Should companies be responsible for employees' mental health?
• Would companies be more efficient with a four day workday?

Persuasive speech ideas about religion

Is it okay to talk about religion in a persuasive speech? Depends on the context, but sure! These are all about sharing your opinions and helping other people to understand your views.

Want to get a head start on your presentation? Here’s an example slide deck of whether churches should be classified as non-profits.

• Should churches be classified as non-profit organizations?
• Should religion play a role in the government?
• Is it moral to attempt to convert others to your religious beliefs?
• Can science and religion coexist?
• What happens if religious beliefs conflict with laws?
• How should religions promote interfaith dialogue?
• How should people deal with religious extremism?
• Is the commercialization of religious holidays bad?
• Should religious symbols be displayed in public spaces?
• Were any religious wars like the crusades morally justified?
• Should governments fund religious schools?
• Should religious groups be exempt from medical treatments or military service?

Persuasive speech ideas about animals

Here are some speech ideas if you want to talk about animals and find cute pictures of pets.

• Should animals be used in research instead of humans? 
• Is it ethical to use animals in entertainment and agriculture? 
• Is factory farming an unethical way to raise animals?
• Should pet ownership be regulated?
• Is it okay to hunt animals for sport? for subsistence?
• How should people manage invasive species? 
• Should people be allowed to keep exotic animals as pets?
• Is it moral to breed animals in captivity? If the animals are endangered?
• Should we respect cultural practices that involve the killing of animals?
• Are animals intelligent or self-aware?
• Should puppy mills be banned?

Persuasive speech ideas about mental health

Mental health is a serious topic, and if you want to do a speech on mental health, here are some idea starters.

• How should we destigmatize mental illness?
• Should we teach kids about mental health from an early age?
• How should schools support students dealing with mental health issues?
• Should employers give employees mental health days?
• Why is there a crisis in loneliness and mental health?
• Do conservatives have better mental health than liberals?
• Could we solve homelessness and crime by focusing on mental health?
• Should the government fund more mental health research?
• Is technology a major driver of the decrease in mental health?
• How can mental health be better integrated into primary care?

Funny persuasive speech ideas

If you’re looking for funny topics for a speech, you’re probably a lot more funny than the guy who is writing this blog post, but here are some ideas we came up with.

• What is the best fast food chain?
• What is the best Netflix reality show?
• Are McFlurrys better than Blizzards?
• Does every adult need a nap time? 
• Are cats better than dogs?
• Should you procrastinate?
• Should teenagers run the government?
• Is tea better than coffee?
• Are night owls more intelligent?
• Is chocolate the best food group? 
• Does toilet paper go over or under the roll?
• Should you shower at morning or at night?
• Should you take your shoes off in the house? 
• Is there evidence that the earth is flat?
• Should we get rid of Daylight Savings Time?
• Should dessert be the first course of every meal?

If you’re worried about coming up with an original idea for your persuasive speech, hopefully this list gives you some ideas and inspiration. 

If you’re done and ready to get started, check out Plus AI for Google Slides and Docs as a way to create a first draft of your speech and slide deck!

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50+ Easy English Speech Topics for Students: 2 & 5 Minute Speech

• Muskan Agarwal
• March 16, 2024

Table of Contents

Best english speech topics for students.

Speech topics are definitely going to be essential for students to learn about what they can speak when they are presented with an opportunity to speak on a particular topic which is common. There are lots of topics which may be common but students may not be well versed in those topics and hence they may find it difficult to speak clearly and in detail.

In this particular article, we will be mentioning more than 50 easy English speech topics for students and these topics will definitely make them feel better and explore all these to make sure that they become better in terms of public speaking and giving speeches. They can also try to write some content on these topics which can make them feel comfortable with these topics and they can write and speak anywhere confidently and fluently.

Also Check : Popular Proverbs in English

Easy English Speech Topics For Students 

There are lots of easy topics on which students can speak and they can definitely find their content available on various sources on the Internet and these topics have been mentioned as follows:

• What is success in life?
• How can we save ourselves from fake news?
• What is self-confidence?
• Is love more powerful than hate?
• What is the social impact of COVID-19?
• Can online learning be fun?
• How can violent video games be restricted?
• Speech on online games?
• Benefits of Music
• What are the benefits of learning a second language?
• Importance of education in our life

2-Minute Speech Topics For Students

There are lots of topics on which 2-minute speeches can easily be delivered by the students and they need to make sure that these topics are handled very well with enough content to be spoken. Below is a list of these topics about which students can easily feel confident once they start speaking at least for 2 minutes:

• Importance of homework in school
• Learnings from lockdown of COVID-19
• Is it possible to recycle food?
• Why should schools teach sign language?
• Are women better to become Presidents and Prime Ministers than men?
• How are books better than movies for students?
• Impact of technology on our life
• Should children’s reality shows be completely banned?
• Smart work versus hard work: which one is better?
• What is nuclear energy?
• Importance of kindness in our life

5-Minute Speech Topics For Students 

There are topics that students can choose to speak at least for 5 minutes and they can prepare for their speeches for schools and colleges. Below is a list of these topics on which students can try and speak confidently and that will help them feel better in terms of their English:

• What are the benefits of music?
• How can we get rid of fake news?
• Is making public transport free a good step?
• What should the government do regarding violent video games?
• Speech on honesty
• Speech on humanitarian work
• Speech on the importance of learning computer
• Speech on learning foreign languages
• How can self-confidence decide our career?
• Is it possible to learn English fast?
• How can good politics change a country’s future?

English Speech Topics On Environment

If you speak on topics related to the environment, it will definitely help you speak all the related topics comfortably. Let us know some of the topics from the environment that you can give speeches on:

• Speech on ozone layer depletion
• Speech on deforestation
• Global warming
• Water saving methods
• Speech on waste management
• Speech on climate change
• How do natural disasters influence the environment? 
• Extinction of rare species
• Benefits of recycling

English Speech Topics On Technology

Technology plays a very important role in our life and there are many topics that can be helpful for you as a student as you can try to explore them and know more about them to deliver speeches in an effective manner. Let’s look at some technology-related topics:

• The Impact of technology on our society
• The rise of artificial intelligence
• E-commerce and its benefits
• Gaming technology
• Entertainment industry

English Speech Topics On Festivals

Festivals play a very important role in everyone’s life and they are great especially for brotherhood and there are lots of festivals on which speeches can be delivered. Let us get to know some of the important topics that you can deliver speeches on:

• Speech on Diwali
• Importance of celebrating festivals together
• Speech on Holi
• Speech on Eid
• Speech on Christmas
• Speech on religious festivals and rituals

English Speech Topics On Corruption

It is crucial to spread awareness about corruption and this can be done through speeches as well. There are lots of corruption-related topics that need to be explored.

• What is corruption?
• Impact of corruption
• Media and corruption
• How is politics affected by corruption?
• How can corruption spoil a company’s environment?

English Speech Topics On Social Issues 4

Social issues are the most important issues that everyone needs to talk about. Having a good grasp on social issues can really make anyone give speeches comfortably. If you are aware of social issues, there are a number of topics you can select and prepare speeches on:

• Importance of equality
• Education for females
• Reservation
• Woman empowerment 
• Child labour
• Unemployment in society
• Globalization

Also Read : Common English-Speaking Sentences for Beginners

Tips To Prepare And Present A Good Speech

Giving a great speech is an art and you have to do with lots of things that are important for you to keep in mind. Understanding the topic that you are going to speak on is one of the most important things that you as a student of public speaking can think about. If you know that you have a topic, then it is important to go through other things that have been mentioned as follows:

1. Know your audience and engage with them

Since you already know that this is the topic that you are going to speak on, it is imperative for you to understand the type of audience that you are going to speak before. Once you know the audience, you have to start engaging with them during speech which can really enhance the speech in a better way.

2. Keep it simple

You don’t have to complicate your speech by using complicated vocabulary but you have to make sure that your speech is simple and you are able to connect with your audience in a better way. Your main focus should be to convey the message that you want to in as better way as possible.

3. Use your body language

The importance of body language is such that once you understand it and start using it, it will be able to give you more and more confidence in terms of giving your speech in a better. You have to use your body language to make sure that your audience is able to connect with you very clearly. The importance of body language while delivering any speech plays a very essential role in terms of conveying the message effectively.

4. Do as much practice as possible beforehand

Practice is what becomes the key when it comes to delivering a great speech on any topic. Beforehand, you need to practice the written content as much as possible and then you will be able to feel more confident before you step on to deliver your speech.

5. Structure your speech

Having a fixed structure of the topic that you are going to speak on is something which can make you feel more confident. Know what are the things that you are going to speak about next. The structuring of the speech will make sure that there are a few points that are going to be in your mind and you have to speak those points in a very clear manner.

Topics related to the environment, corruption, social issues and technology are so common topics that you as students studying in schools and colleges can make yourself ready with in order to deliver speeches. Once you are able to deliver speeches in English on these topics, it will certainly help in boosting your confidence level and you will be able to feel the difference in your language and in the manner of delivering speech yourself. This is something which if done on a regular basis can certainly make you a better speaker of the English language.

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How to start a speech for students (Ultimate opening lines)

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Speech Topics , Speech Writing

Schools and their love for speeches is an affair we are all quite aware of. Now if you are looking to move beyond the mundane way of delivering speeches in school and are in search of some amazing speech openings for students, you are at the right place!

Speeches are the most common form of public speaking that is encouraged in schools . Be it for a competition, assignment, presentation, or even as a punishment (oops), speeches are everywhere in a student’s life.  

To get a quick idea on speech opening lines for students , don’t forget to check out our video on 3 speech opening lines for students!

But before we dive into understanding how to go about your speeches, it is important to first understand why educational institutes focus so much on speeches or public speaking in general that they begin introducing us to speeches as early as primary sections.

Why is speech encouraged in Primary school?

It is a common practice to give the students a little idea about giving speeches as early as primary school. Part of the reason is that these are the foundational years and form as a stepping stone for the students to get a little more used to public speaking as they move to higher classes .

A couple of ways students in primary schools may be asked to give speeches would be to introduce themselves or at competitions like fancy dress competitions.

What is the use of speech in high school?

In high school, as students gain more understanding about the world at large and develop their opinions, giving speeches is encouraged in school to help them navigate their thoughts to their peers. Further, speeches as a form of public speaking also help build the student’s soft skills .

A few ways giving speeches in high school can help in developing their soft skills are:

1. critical thinking.

Speeches aren’t about blurting out your ideas or opinions, rather it requires you to research and find evidence to back your point of view, or to think critically to deliver a speech that effectively reaches the other students.

2. Problem-solving

Speeches could be framed around a popular or controversial issue that the student wishes to provide their insight into. This would encourage them to come up with solutions. Apart from that, even coming up with a speech can be a task sometimes, and overcoming those challenges too can be counted in as a way of problem-solving

3. Time-management

With a huge number of students in high school, speeches are almost always time-bound. This also means that the students have to structure their speeches in a way that fits the time given, further inculcating time management skills in them.

4. Active listening

Speeches are not only about delivering or conveying your ideas or findings but also about listening carefully to what others have to say in terms of questions that may ask.

Why is speech required at college?

Speeches in college have an entirely different goal than the one that schools have.

In college, it isn’t always mandatory to give speeches or to participate in public speaking. However, a few reasons why giving speeches or public speaking is encouraged in colleges is because:

• It helps in developing communication and public speaking skills that can be very beneficial to their professional life later.
• Speeches may also be a way to meet new people and make new connections.
• It improves the student’s leadership skills. How? We have all heard how a good speaker carries with him or her the potential to influence and lead the crowd, and that is how practicing public speaking in college helps improve a student’s leadership skills.

When can students be asked to give a speech?

As we just discussed that the purpose of giving speeches changes as we progress in our school. However, there are a couple of situations where mostly all students are expected to present their speech. And they are:

Classroom/section speeches

Classroom or section speeches are the ones you give in front of your classmates or people from your age group. Generally, the presentation of assignments and competitions comes under this category.

Graduation Speech

Students may also be expected to present a graduation speech . However, the big difference here is that not everyone gets the opportunity to present a graduation speech or commencement address as it is known.

What type of speech is a graduation speech? Or what type of speech is a commencement speech?

Graduation speeches or commencement speeches are parting speeches wherein the focus is on reflecting on the good times in the institute and motivating others for their bright future ahead. Depending on the purpose as selected by the speaker, these speeches could be persuasive, informative, or entertaining in nature . 

How to start a speech as a student 

Giving speeches as a student, even if you have been doing it for the past few years can still end up being a little challenging.  But rather than giving you tons of tips on things you can focus on while coming up with your speech or speech openings for students, we have got one ultimate tip . If you follow that, you should ideally be able to reach your audience more effectively.

Ultimate tip when writing speeches or speech openings for students

Write how you speak, not how you write.

When I came across this tip, I was surprised too. Because is indeed true that we write very differently when we have to show the speech to someone in written form but if asked honestly, do we speak in such a highly polished, extra professional vocabulary?

The idea is not to write the speech or speech opening riddled with slang but rather in a way that you’d feel comfortable listening to and understanding easily had you been the listener.

So in short, prepare the speech with the listener in mind, not the reader .

What is a good opening line for a speech?

Most opening lines for speech in school begin with a good morning.  We usually follow it with greetings or addressing the audience and the guests.

Wondering how you greet everyone in a speech?

Here is a list of ways you can begin with a simple good morning:

• Good morning everyone presents here today. I’m delighted to present my views and understanding on a very delicate yet overlooked topic; Gender sensitization in the workplace.
• Good afternoon esteemed members of the jury, my friends and peers, and everyone present in the room today.
• Good morning to the faculty, the non-teaching staff, and the class of 2022!!

Now it is a good practice to begin your speech with your usual greetings. However, in this blog, we are trying to look beyond the usual.

It doesn’t mean that you will not be saying good morning or your basic greetings; the only difference is that you’ll not be opening your speech with it but addressing these basic formalities later in the speech.

How do you start a speech without saying good morning?

There are a couple of ways you can start a speech without saying good morning. Here are some of the ways we will take a look at in this blog:

• “Imagine” scenario
• “What if” scenario
• Rhetorical questions
• Statistics and figures
• Powerful statements

Quotes are phrases or things spoken by someone influential . Quotes as speech openings for students can not only help them go beyond the widely popular way of beginning any speech but will also help them establish credibility right in the very beginning!

Now if you have ever wondered,

How to start your speech with a quote?

Here are a couple of examples of using quotes as speech openings for students:

Lon Watters had said that “A school is a building with four walls, with tomorrow inside.” And it would be wrong if I said that I didn’t agree with every bit of what he said. As we come to an end of our journey with this school that has provided us with tons of opportunities to learn, grow, interact and make memories we sure will cherish forever…

“If you don’t have a plan for your life, somebody else does.” This is a quote given by Michael Hyatt and isn’t it something we have all been experiencing all these years of growing up as our parents or guardians make plans for us right from the way we dress to the school we go to and sometimes even the careers we choose. Good morning everyone, I am Myra, a student of XYZ school standing here to voice my opinion on “Factors that influence your career decisions.”

 2. “Imagine” Scenario

This happens to be a personal favorite of mine when it comes to speech openings for students. A very simple yet beautiful way to engage your audience right at the beginning of your speech while at the same time allowing them to relate to what you’ll be saying next is what the image” scenarios are all about.

Before we begin, I’d like you to take a moment and imagine walking through a trail. You see the lush greens and pretty sky above you, the most dynamic clouds following everyone you go. Try sniffing the smell of wet soil and a hint of flowery fragrance as you walk towards the edge of the hill expecting to take a glimpse of the utter beauty that these hours of walking would lead you to, but you find something else. You see something that sends chills down your spine. There are some strange men performing rituals right in the very heart of these dense greens. You wonder what it is all about until it hits you; you have just uncovered a cult.

For the next example, I’d like you to take a look at the video below and check for yourself how wonderfully the speaker (although not a student) has made use of the “imagine” scenario to share his tragic experience with his audience.

Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.

3. “What If” Scenario

What if I told you that the best speech openings for students are actually the ones wherein they come up with an opening that best represents their style and comfort at delivering speeches, be it with a joke or a story?

Do you see what I did there?

That is an example of a “what if” scenario. It is similar to the imagination scenario we discussed above but the only difference here is that “what if” speech openings for students focus on providing an alternative idea to the audience while the imagined scenarios provide the audience an opportunity to relate to the speaker.

4. Rhetorical question

Rhetorical questions are questions the speaker includes in his/her/their speech that doesn’t necessarily require the audience to come up with an answer but are posed to get the audience thinking on the same.

Using rhetorical questions as speech openings for students can work wonders especially when you are looking for either a very quick speech opening or have very little time to deliver the speech.

An example of using rhetorical questions for speech opening is given below:

Talking about the new policy that makes it illegal to check the gender of the child before birth, do you think that it will curb the issue of female foeticide? Or will it simply take the activity underground?

The art of silence is phenomenal. Opening your speech in silence can help enhance your speech in two ways.

First, it will give the audience some time to settle in , post which you can expect to grab their dedicated attention. And secondly, silence would give you some time to understand the room and calm your pre-stage anxiousness .

6. Statistics and figures

Want to begin your speech on a hard-hitting and eye-opening note?

Show the numbers, the figures, and any statistics that serve your purpose for giving the speech.

It is very common to overlook the seriousness of any situation when you aren’t aware of the real extent of its seriousness. But when we have numbers in front of us, there is no more room for being in denial.

Examples of using Statistics or figures as speech openings for students

• According to the 2019 WWF report , on average, we consume about 1,769 microplastic particles every week. 1769 microplastic particles every single week, can you imagine that?
• 3.2 million teenagers between the age of 12-17 were depressed in the US as of 2017. Now you can only assume the number has increased over the past 5 years.

7. Powerful  Statements

Powerful statements are statements that try to break any common ideologies held by the public. Another example of a powerful statement is stating a fact or idea that isn’t openly spoken .

The video below is one such example of how the speaker tries to break a perception generally held by the people.

How often have we been told to include stories in our speech?

Almost every time isn’t it? So here we are to bombard you yet again by saying that stories are extremely fun and engaging forms of speech openings for students.

You can either share your experience or someone else’s story.

You can also refer to a Recent Conversation by starting your speech with something like “Just the other day as I was walking out of my Philosophy lecture, I asked Mr.Dee about his philosophy on life, and what he said was so eye-opening that I could not wait to share with all of you.”

An adorable example of how to begin a speech with a story is given below to help you get a clearer idea.

Examples of speech openings for students

Speech opening lines for public speaking competitions.

When it comes to public speaking competitions like elocutions, speech competitions, or even presentations, it is almost always recommended to begin with self-introduction . The reason is quite simple; there is a high chance that your audience might not know you .

But if you don’t want to begin with a self-introduction, you can start by using any of the alternatives we discussed earlier. Click here to go back and take another peek at it.

Speech Opening Lines for Self-introductions

Speech openings for self-introductions need to be simple, to the point yet descriptive.

Wait a minute? Wasn’t I contradicting myself in that line?

Yes, but that is how opening lines for self-introductions would ideally work. As people expect you to talk about yourself in depth in the rest of your speech, your opening lines would just be a teaser about yourself.

2 most important things to add in your self-introduction opening lines for students

• What do you do?

Other things that you can talk about in these opening lines include:

• Where are you from?
• What is your goal?
• What does your organization do?
• A little bit about your family

Examples of opening lines for students

Good morning, I am Reini. I recently graduated from BMU college and have since been working as a Design intern at Desgynopedia. 

Hello and good evening everyone. I am Nicole and this is my team, Alina, Tim, Harold, and Noman. We are in our senior year majoring in Organizational psychology. Today we would like to talk about the 5 main Psychological factors that impact any organization’s overall performance.

Hey, I am Nizan. I am a nerd for Political Science and Greek Philosophy and am currently majoring in the same. My love for the subjects is also the reason why I am here to present a topic I found very intriguing “The injustice behind socrates’ death.”

Funny speech opening lines for students

If you are giving a speech for a competition, one of the most fun ways of opening your speech could be to say “Good morning to the faculty, my friends, and (look at the opponents) others.”

Other funny opening line examples:

• I almost bunked school today until I realized that this speech carries marks and I sure don’t want to be in a class with our juniors. Just imagine! Who could do that?
• Hello and good morning to everyone, except the ones who are well prepared for their speeches today.
• Hello everyone, I’m excited to present my speech on XYZ’s topic today. I mean come on, what could be better than waking up at 7 am on a Monday morning to give a speech?
• Today I’ll be talking about XYZ because I was told to!

Best Speech Opening Lines by students

1. chase dahl.

In one of the funniest speech opening lines by students, Chase Dahl opens up by saying “You know I have never understood how imagining the audience naked was supposed to make you less nervous. Honestly, I’m just uncomfortable right now.”

2. Kyle Martin (The King’s Academy)

Yet another Valedictorian speech that has caught our eye is the one given by Kyle Martin. The reason we would suggest you take a look into the opening lines of his speech is so that you can take notes on how beautifully he has described the efforts taken by every department of the institute as he tries to thank them for their efforts.

Presentation Opening Lines

Presentation speeches are a little different compared to your usual speeches and the major reason for that is because now you have access to visuals or your PPT.

Besides some of the ways already discussed above, you can begin the presentation by pointing out a particular slide. You can show your audience a graph, table, pictures, or any other creative and eye-catching ideas that can also turn out to be an amazing presentation opening.

How to start a presentation speech example for students

A few common ways you can open your speech are:

• Hello everyone, I am Miya. I would first like to thank you all for your time.
• For those who don’t know me, my name is Nazia, and if you do know me, hello again!
• Good afternoon to all you wonderful people present here. I am Ryan and as you can see on screen, today I’ll be speaking on “The hazards of drinking from plastic bottles.”

For more examples of opening lines check out 50 Speech Opening Lines .

You might also like to know:

How to start a speech for the student council.

Speeches for student council are usually persuasive. They are your pitch to convince your fellow students to vote for you and help you get the position you are looking for.

So ideally, you should start by addressing everyone in the room . Then make a point to introduce yourself. Once you have introduced yourself, remind the audience why you are speaking which means let them know the position you are campaigning for. Bring up at least 1-2 issues that the students are most concerned about and tell them how if elected you’ll provide solutions to their issues.

Try to end it on a high note and don’t forget to add your campaign slogan .

You can also begin by stating your campaign slogan .

Yet another way to begin your speech for the student council is by challenging your opponent’s point of view or campaign . However, this would work only f you have a better strategy or solutions to the issues raised by your opponents.

Lastly, do something that no one expects from you . Let me share a story here to help you understand this point better. During one of the student council speeches, one candidate asked the audience to stand up, move a step in the front then go back to their seats and settle down. Following this, she said, “My parents told me if I could move the audience, I’d win.” And so she did win!

What is a speech class?

A speech class in high school or college is usually a short course or 1-semester course wherein the student is expected to improve on their public speaking skills along with critical thinking and active listening skills.

It essentially enhances their oral communication skills.

This also reminds me to introduce you to our courses that help enhance your public speaking and communication skills. If you are interested, head to Frantically Speaking .

But if your appetite for learning more about opening speeches isn’t satiated yet, we suggest you go check out our Video on the Powerful speech opening lines.

To Conclude

There are tons of ways to get creative with speech openings for students. From saying a simple good morning to adding stories, quotes, statistics, rhetorical questions, and even silence!

Get creative with your speech openings. As we always say, there are no right or wrong ways of public speaking as such, only a way that suits perfectly for you is the one that is right for you.

Enroll in our transformative 1:1 Coaching Program

Schedule a call with our expert communication coach to know if this program would be the right fit for you

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My Speech Class

Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

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

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.

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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104 Environmental Speech Topics [Persuasive, Informative]

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English Speech Topics for Students

• Updated on  
• Apr 2, 2024

Writing an exciting and thoughtful speech requires selecting a good topic, researching it thoroughly, and forming individual opinions to express the same. School students are usually asked to speak on a contemporary topic to help them become good public speakers as well as learn the art of expressing oneself in front of an audience. While many speech competitions often allot topics beforehand, you might also have heard of extempore where topics are given on the spot for speech. This blog brings you a list of common English speech topics as well as some helpful tips and tricks that can assist you in effectively expressing your thoughts and opinions in front of an audience. Let’s begin!

Checkout our 200+ Essay Topics for Students in English

This Blog Includes:

List of best english speech topics for students, 1-minute speech topics, 2-minute speech topics, 3-minute speech topics, easy topics for speech in english, english speech topics on environment, english speech topics on technology, english speech topics on independence day, english speech topics on diwali, english speech topics on corruption, english speech topics on feminism, english speech topics on mother’s day, english speaking topics on capitalism, engish speech topics on gandhi jayanti, english speech topics on reading, english speech topics on communism, english speech topics on deforestation, english speech topics on social issues, english speech topics on important days & events, english speech topics on greatest leaders in india & around the world, english speech topics on indian culture, english speech topics on proverbs, english speech topics on human rights, english speech topics on education, english speech topics on the importance of water, miscellaneous speech topics, types of persuasive speech topics, tips for writing and speaking a speech.

Speeches are all about one’s thoughts. It should not be copied from somewhere. It is all about what the speaker thinks of any given topic. However, take a look at the following list of English Speech Topics on different contemporary issues as well as concepts.

• The Best Day of My Life
• Social Media: Bane or Boon?
• Pros and Cons of Online Learning
• Benefits of Yoga
• If I had a Superpower
• I wish I were ______
• Human Rights
• Environment Conservation
• Women Should Rule the World!
• The Best Lesson I Have Learned
• Paperbacks vs E-books
• How to Tackle a Bad Habit
• My Favorite Pastime/Hobby
• Why should every citizen vote?
• Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): Is it real or not?
• Importance of Reading
• Importance of Books in Our Life
• My Favorite Fictional Character
• Introverts vs Extroverts
• Lessons to Learn from Sports
• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Quick Read: English Speaking Books

Quick Read: Essay on Peer Pressure

Quick Read: Essay on Health and Fitness for Students

• I mportance of Kindness
• Is there Value in Homework?
• Things I learned in Lockdown
• How can food be recycled?
• Should Art be a part of the school curriculum?
• Should schools teach sign language?
• Women make better presidents/prime ministers
• Why books are better than movies?
• Life was better when technology was simple
• Impact of technology on our health
• Should children’s reality shows be banned?
• Learning in the Wake of COVID-19
• Hard Work vs Smart Work
• What Makes Learning Fun?
• The Coolest Inventions You’ve Seen
• Nuclear Energy
• Importance of AI in Education
• Importance of Extracurricular Activities
• Should exams be banned?
• How to Tackle Bullying in Schools?

• Speech about dreams
• Speech about life
• Speech on time
• Speech on discipline
• Speech on happiness
• Speech on kindness
• Speech on value of time
• Speech on health and fitness
• Speech on Doctor
• Speech on Nurse
• Graduation Day Speech
• World Health Day Speech
• Sex Education Speech
• Importance of Education
• Is it beneficial to learn a Second Language?
• Music has healing power
• Success in life
• Self Confidence
• 18th birthday
• Love is more powerful than hate
• Social Impact of Covid-19
• How can Online Learning be Fun?
• Make Public Transport Free
• Should violent video games be banned?
• Speech on Learning

Exploring English Speech Topics? You must also take a look at Extempore Topics !

• Climate Change
• Ozone Layer Depletion
• Reducing Water Levels
• Deforestation
• Global Warming
• Waste Management
• Water-Saving Techniques
• Reducing the Green Cover of Earth
• Endangered species need protection
• Importance of fishing regulations
• Importance of investing in alternative fuels
• Impact of ocean acidification on marine organisms
• The misuse of the term “sustainable development” by environmentalists
• Microbial benefits
• E-Waste Management
• Natural Disasters and their impact on economic growth
• Energy alternatives – Only solution to the environmental damage
• Extinction of rare species
• World Environment Day
• Disaster Management
• Over and Improper Use of Natural Resources
• Air, Water and Soil Pollution
• Efficiency of Recycling

Also Read: How to Write Dialogue: Format, Tips and Examples

• Technology and Mental Health
• Privacy in the Digital Age: Navigating the Challenges of Data Collection and Surveillance
• The Impact of Technology on Society
• Artificial Intelligence: The New Normal
• The Role of Social Media in Communication and Social Interactions
• Sustainable Technology: Innovations for a Greener Future
• The Rise of E-commerce
• Gaming Technology: Entertainment, ESports and Interactive Experiences
• The Digital Divide: Bridging the Gap for Equal Access to Technology
• The Ethical Dilemmas of Emerging Technologies

Also Read: English Vocabulary: Meaning, Types, Tips to Improve

• The Journey of Independence Day
• The Significance of Independence Day
• Indian Independence Day
• Remembering the Founding Fathers
• The Spirit of Independence
• Independence Day and Volunteering
• Independence Day Speeches
• India’s Road to Freedom
• Independence Day and National Identity
• Independence Day in the Digital Age
• Independence Day and Women’s Empowerment
• Diwali: The Festival of Lights and Its Significance in Hindu Culture
• Diwali and the Victory of Good Over Evil
• Diwali and the Art of Giving
• Diwali and the Spirit of Forgiveness
• Diwali and Cultural Exchanges
• Diwali and the Essence of Joy
• Diwali and Social Responsibility
• Diwali and Artistic Expressions
• The Rituals and Traditions of Diwali
• Diwali and the Symbolism of Light
• The Economic Consequence of Corruption
• Corruption and International Aid
• Media and Corruption
• Fighting Corruption
• Corruption in Politics
• The Role of Transparency and Accountability in Curbing Corruption
• The Role of Technology in Combating Corruption
• Whistleblowing and Protecting Mechanism
• Corruption in Business and Corporate Practices
• Understanding Feminism
• The Future of Feminism
• Feminism and Parenting
• Feminism and Online Activism
• Feminism and Environmental Activism
• Feminism and Reproductive Rights
• The Gender Pay Gap: Examining Inequalities in the Workplace
• Feminism and its Evolution
• Feminism and Body Positivity
• Feminism and Media Representation: Encouraging Authentic and Diverse Portrayals of Women
• Expressing Gratitude and Love to Mothers
• The Influence of Mothers in Shaping Our Values and Beliefs
• Motherhood and Education
• Mother’s Day and Volunteerism
• Mother-Daughter Relationship
• The Role of Mothers in Shaping Society
• Mother’s Day Crafts and DIY Gifts
• Learned Lessons from Mothers
• Mother’s Day Around the World: Cultural Traditions and Celebrations
• Capitalism: An Introduction to the Economic System and its Principles
• The Future of Capitalism
• Pros and Cons of Capitalism
• Capitalism and Globalisation
• Capitalism and Consumerism
• Capitalism and Financial Crisis: Undertaking the Risk and Mitigation Measures
• Capitalism and Environmental Sustainability
• Capitalism and the Role of Government
• Corporate Social Responsibility in Capitalism
• Capitalism and the Digital Economy
• Mahatma Gandhi: The Father of the Nation and His Ideals
• Remembering Gandhi: Reflecting On His Life and Legacy
• Gandhi’s Influence on the Indian Independence Movement
• Satyagraha: The Power of Truth and Nonviolent Resistance
• Gandhi’s Philosophy of Swaraj
• The Role of Women in Gandhi’s Freedom Struggle
• Gandhi’s Teaching on Education and Moral Values
• Gandhi’s Lasting Legacy
• Gandhi’s Vision for a Just and Inclusive Society
• The Relevance of Gandhi’s Principles in Today’s World
• The Influence of Reading on Emotional Intelligence and Empathy
• Reading and Mental Health
• Benefits of Reading
• Reading and Empowerment
• The Role of Reading in Academic Success and Lifelong Learning
• Promoting a Reading Culture: Encouraging Reading Habits in Society
• Reading Biographies and Memoirs
• Reading and Social Connections
• The Joy of Reading: Escaping Into the Different Worlds and Characters
• Reading and Personal Identity
• The Current State of Communism
• Communism: An Introduction to the Ideology and Its Historical Context
• The Evolution of Communist Movements
• The Role of the State in a Communist Society
• The Fall of Communist Regimes
• Communism and Religious Freedom
• Communism and Gender Equality
• Communism and Workers’ Rights
• The Criticisms of Communism
• Deforestation: Causes, Consequences and Global Impact
• Deforestation and Climate Change
• Deforestation and Carbon Sequestration
• Deforestation and Individual Actions
• Deforestation and Wildlife Trafficking
• Deforestation and Sustainable Development
• Deforestation and Indigenous Communities
• Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss
• Deforestation and Forest Fires
• The Importance of Forests

Quick Read: Speech on Nuclear Energy

• Women Empowerment
• Education of Girl Child
• Unemployment
• Casteism 
• Reservation
• Importance of Maintaining Hygiene
• Child Labour
• Social Distancing
• Organ Donation
• Importance of the Right to Education
• Child Trafficking
• Cultural Diversity
• Struggles of Immigrants
• Impact of Globalisation
• Adult education
• Independence Day
• Mother’s Day
• World Cancer Day
• World Population Day
• World Health Day
• Ambedkar Jayanti
• Gandhi Jayanti
• Human Rights Day
• Zero Discrimination Day
• Women’s Day
• Thanksgiving
• Anti-Terrorism Day
• Hindi Diwas 

Check out this list of all the important national and international days in 202 4 !

• Mahatma Gandhi
• Jawaharlal Nehru
• Raja Rammohan Roy
• George Washington
• Albert Einstein
• APJ Abdul Kalam
• Nelson Mandela
• Kailash Satyarthi
• Diversity in India
• Speech on Holi
• The Role of Yoga and Meditation in Indian Culture and Its Global Impact
• The Importance of Traditional Indian Clothing
• Indian Folklore
• Indian Festivals
• The Art of Indian Dance
• Traditional Indian Medicine (Ayurveda)
• Indian Epics and Mythology
• Social Customs and Etiquettes in Indian Society
• Indian Sports and Games

Also Read: Speech on Indian Culture

• Honesty is the best policy
• When there’s a will, there is a way
• Actions speak louder than words
• Knowledge is Power
• Ignorance is Bliss
• Don’t judge a book by its cover
• Hard work is the key to success

Explore these proverbs & their meanings through this blog on Difficult Phrases !

• The Role of International Organisations in Promoting and Protecting Human Rights
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Milestone in Human History
• Gender Equality: Breaking Barriers and Empowering Women
• Ensuring a Safe and Sustainable Environment for the Next Generation
• The Right to Education: Empowering Minds
• Bridging the Gap Between the Rich and Poor
• Human Rights and Armed Conflicts
• Global Fight to Combat Human Trafficking
• Human Rights and Climate Change
• Religious Freedom: Tolerance and Coexistence in a Diverse Society

To know what to mention in such speech topics, explore the Great Personalities in the World !

• Importance of teacher in your life
• SAT scores for college application
• Student bullies should be expelled
• Consequences of cheating in exams
• Homeschooling is better than normal schooling
• Importance of value education
• Importance of sports and physical exercises
• Schools vs colleges
• What is the difference between a school, college and university in the USA?

Check Out: Synonyms List

• The Water-Energy Nexus
• The Essence of Water: Exploring the Live-giving Properties of H2O
• Water as a Driver of Economic Growth and Prosperity
• Water Security: Ensuring Equal Access and Quality for All
• Water and Agriculture
• The Role of Water in Ecosystems
• Water and Blue Economy
• Water Diplomacy: Promoting Collaboration for Transboundary Water Management
• Water and Cultural Significance: Exploring Symbolisms and Rituals
• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH): Foundational for Human Health and Dignity
• Article 370
• Women rights
• The Constitution of India
• Youth of India
• Culture of India
• Importance of Unity
• Generation Gap
• Importance of Value Education
• Old Age Homes
• Family Values
• Leadership skills
• Rise of Smart Classes
• Grading System
• Importance of Practical Education
• Benefits of Co-Education
• Importance of Co-Curricular Activities
• The uselessness of Power-Point Presentations
• Rise of Technology
• Excessive usage of the Internet
• Speech on Fear
• Speech on Dependence on Technology
• Importance of Social Media
• Speech on India of My Dreams
• Indian Education System
• Speech on My India

While exploring persuasive English speech topics, you must make sure that they are stimulating, engaging, concise and clear. There are three main types of Persuasive Speech topics which are:

1. Factual Persuasive Speech : These topics include facts, figures and statistics to thoroughly analyse the given topic and assess whether it’s true or false.

2. Policy Persuasive Speech : Discussing policies, laws and reforms, these speech topics critically examine the advantages and disadvantages of the given policy or law and suggest the improvements that can be made.

3. Value Persuasive Speech : Mainly focusing on social or political issues, these speech topics present the critique and argument of whether certain actions are morally right or not.

While speaking on a particular topic, there are certain things that you must keep in mind to make your speech expressive and effective. Let’s take a look at some useful topics that help you in acing any topic you are speaking on.

• Always research the topic. If you are participating in an extempore, then make sure to go through the common and popular topics as well as the unconventional ones that you might get. Preparation is the key to delivering an impressive speech.
• Whether you are given a topic on the spot or you are prepared for the speech, it is always pivotal that you seem interested in speaking about it. Relate the given issues to your own life and this will help you in giving it your twist.
• Pay extra attention to your body language and enunciation. While a gesticulative approach will make you seem outward, having timid body language can cause a wrong impression.
• Ponder upon the different viewpoints on a topic . Try to present a holistic view of the given topic but don’t forget to present your opinion on it as well. Along with this, don’t try to take sides unless the topic demands you to.
• Involve your audience, if possible. This way, you will be able to interact with the people and it will also be useful in fighting the fear of public speaking.
• Don’t mug up a speech. It becomes evident when someone just speaks on a topic continuously and the audience might realise that you have memorized it or you might forget a certain part which will let the whole speech fade away from your brain.
• Instead, make notes about the topic in your mind, remember certain keywords and try to maintain a particular flow in your speech.
• Incorporate humour in your speech in a way that you do not offend anyone or overdo it but get a positive reaction from the audience. Humour is a great way of lightening the mood as well as ensuring the whole speech is interactive and engaging.
• When you need more specialized assistance, a  US essay writing service  can be a valuable resource for crafting your speech.

While preparing for English Speech topics, you must also check out IELTS Speaking Topics !

Juvenile delinquency is acceptable. Prostitution should be legal. Underage driving should be punishable by law. Beauty pageants for children should be banned. Prisoner’s right to vote. Voting rights should not be universal. Guns should be banned from college campuses.

A three-minute speech is undoubtedly a wonderful starting point for public speaking. This is because you need to communicate with your audience more effectively when you just have a short amount of time. In addition, the speech ought to be concise, pertinent, and clear.

Life is the gift of God in the form of trust that we will make it meaningful in whatever we can. We are all unique individuals. No one is born like you and no one will ever be, so cherish your individuality. Many times, I come across people accusing God of things that they don’t have. They always cursing their lives.

 2-minute speeches are  short and crisp speeches of about 260-350 words .

Related Reads

Thus, we hope that this list helps you in preparing for different English speech topics. Gearing up for IELTS ? Sign up for an online demo session with our experts at Leverage Edu and we will assist you in preparing for its different sections as well as improving your reading, listening, speaking and writing skills to ensure that you ace the exam with flying colours!

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14 comments

I take english speaking classes, please provide me sone more material to help student’s.

Here are some articles on books and study material that will help your students- https://leverageedu.com/blog/english-speaking-books/ https://leverageedu.com/blog/books-by-charles-dickens/ https://leverageedu.com/blog/best-books-by-george-orwell/

I want topic on students and online classes

It is helpful for my school homework thanks 😸

Glad we could help!

Nice advise 👍

Thank you, Pragya!

Not good topics 🤔🤔

Thanks for the suggestion. We will update the blog!

Helpful for students . So I like it

Thanks for reading! Also, read: Daily Used English Words Speech on Importance of English Reach us at 1800 57 2000 for study-abroad related matters!

You people are giving great contribution in internet learning and it is for all….

Hi, thank you for your valuable feedback.

Awesome! Its really awesome article, I have got much clear idea concerning from this post.

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• WEATHER ALERT Flood Warning Full Story
• student loans

Biden in Chicago for private campaign reception after speaking on student loans in Wisconsin

Protesters gathered on Michigan Avenue, as Biden held event at private residence near Drake Hotel

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden said Monday that college graduates would see "life-changing" relief from his new plan to ease debt burdens for more than 30 million borrowers, the latest attempt by the Democratic president to make good on a campaign promise that could buoy his standing with young voters.

Biden detailed the initiative, which has been in the works for months, during a trip to Wisconsin, one of a handful of battleground states that could decide the outcome of Biden's likely rematch with Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Biden said he wanted to "give everybody a fair shot" and the "freedom to chase their dreams" as he lamented the rising cost of higher education.

"Even when they work hard and pay their student loans, their debt increases and not diminishes," he said. "Too many people feel the strain and stress, wondering if they can get married, have their first child, start a family, because even if they get by, they still have this crushing, crushing debt."

Biden in Chicago

Biden was stopping in Chicago for a campaign event before returning to the White House late Monday.

He arrived at O'Hare airport after 2:30 p.m. before heading to the Soldier Field landing zone.

There, Rep. Danny Davis, Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle greeted him.

The president's motorcade then headed to the Drake Hotel and a nearby residence.

A group of protesters demanding an end to Israel's attacks on Gaza gathered down the block Monday afternoon.

The private fundraising event includes only about two dozen people.

Biden's trip comes less than a week after primary voting in Wisconsin that highlighted political weaknesses for Biden as he prepares for the general election.

More than 48,000 Democratic voters chose "uninstructed" instead of Biden, more than double his narrow margin of victory in the state in 2020.

Trump also saw a significant number of defections during the state's primary, with nearly 119,000 Republicans voting for a different candidate than their party's presumptive nominee.

But Biden's results, which echoed similar protest votes in states like Michigan and Minnesota, have rattled Democrats who are eager to solidify the coalition that catapulted him into the White House in the first place.

A critical fracture has been the war in the Middle East. Young voters are more likely to disapprove of Biden's enduring support for Israel's military operation in Gaza, which has caused heavy casualties among Palestinian civilians.

Some have also been impatient with Biden's attempts to wipe away student loan debt. The U.S. Supreme Court last year foiled his first attempt to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in loans, a decision that Biden called a "mistake."

Since then, the White House has pursued debt relief through other targeted initiatives, including those for public service workers and low-income borrowers. Administration officials said they have canceled $144 billion in student loans for almost 4 million Americans.

At the same time, the Department of Education has been working on a more expansive plan to replace Biden's original effort. Although the new federal rule has not yet been issued, Monday's announcement was an opportunity to energize young voters whose support Biden will need to defeat Trump in November.

Republicans said Biden's plan shifts the financial burden of college tuition onto taxpayers who didn't take out loans to attend school.

"This is an unfair ploy to buy votes before an election and does absolutely nothing to address the high cost of education that puts young people right back into debt," said Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who chairs a committee on education and other issues.

Biden will make the announcement on Monday in Madison, the state's liberal capital and home of the University of Wisconsin's flagship campus. The president is scheduled to speak at a nearby technical college.

Nearly 15% of Democrats in Dane County, home to Madison, voted "uninstructed." That is nearly double the statewide total of 8%.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, who represents Madison, said he was struck that concerns about Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza were top of mind among voters at five town halls over the past two weeks in more rural parts of his district.

"I was surprised to see the intensity on the issue of Gaza coming not from a student voice out of Madison, but older voters in more rural parts of the district," Pocan said.

Pocan said the number of "uninstructed" votes shows the concern in Wisconsin and that Biden needs to address it. He said he planned to talk directly with Biden about it on Monday.

"I just want to make sure he knows that if we're going to have a problem, that could be the problem in Wisconsin," Pocan said.

Biden's new debt plan would expand federal student loan relief to new categories of borrowers through the Higher Education Act, which administration officials believe puts it on a stronger legal footing than the sweeping proposal that was killed by a 6-3 court majority last year.

The plan is expected to be smaller and more targeted than Biden's original plan, which would have canceled up to $20,000 in loans for more than 40 million borrowers. The new plan would cancel some or all federal student loans for more than 30 million Americans, the White House said. The Education Department plans to issue a formal proposal in the coming months, with plans to start implementing parts of the plan as early as this fall.

"President Biden will use every tool available to cancel student loan debt for as many borrowers as possible, no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stand in his way," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a call with reporters.

Details the White House released on Monday largely mirror a plan drafted by the Education Department. It lays out five categories of borrowers who would be eligible to get at least some of their federal student loans canceled if the rule is approved.

The plan's widest-reaching benefit would cancel up to $20,000 in interest for borrowers who have seen their balance grow beyond its original amount because of unpaid interest. Borrowers could get the entirety of their interest erased, with no limit, if they are enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan and have annual incomes of less than $120,000 or couples making less than $240,000.

That part of the plan would forgive at least some unpaid interest for an estimated 25 million borrowers, with 23 million getting all their interest erased, according to the White House.

An additional 2 million borrowers would automatically have their loans canceled because they're eligible but have not applied for other forgiveness programs, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Borrowers who have been repaying their undergraduate student loans for at least 20 years would be eligible to have any remaining debt canceled, along with those repaying their graduate school loans for 25 years or more.

The plan would forgive debt for those who were in college programs deemed to have "low financial value." It's meant to help those who were in programs that ended up losing eligibility to receive federal student aid or programs found to have cheated students.

A final category would cancel debt for borrowers facing hardships that prevent them from repaying their student loans, either because they're at high risk of defaulting or are burdened with medical debt or child care expenses, among other criteria.

Cardona said in a call with reporters that the relief that would be provided under the new plan would be "on top of the $146 billion in student loan debt relief for 4 million Americans that we've already approved, more than any other administration in our country's history."

Hearings to craft the rule wrapped up in February, and the draft is under review. The Education Department will issue a formal proposal and open it to public comment before it can be finalized.

ABC7 Chicago and Associated Press writer Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, and Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.

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Maryland middle school students face hate crime charges for Nazi salutes, swastikas

Three middle schoolers in Maryland were charged with hate crimes after they displayed swastikas, acted out Nazi salutes, and made "offensive comments" about a classmate's religious beliefs, county prosecutors announced last week.

The students were charged as juveniles with harassment and violations of state hate crimes statutes, the Calvert County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a news release Friday. The behavior began last December and the students refused to stop despite "repeated requests," county prosecutors added.

According to charging documents, the students displayed swastikas, made Nazi salutes, and "directed offensive comments to a classmate because of the classmate’s religious beliefs" for several months. The victim ultimately reported the conduct to Maryland State Police officers, who investigated and filed the charges against the students, county prosecutors said.

The three middle schoolers were identified as 13-year-old students at Plum Point Middle School in Calvert County, about 50 miles southeast of Washington, D.C. Their names have not been publicly released because they are minors.

County prosecutors said the charges will be forwarded to the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.

"Maryland was founded on the principle of religious toleration. It is frankly astonishing that nearly 400 years later some people continue to persecute others based upon their religion," Calvert County State’s Attorney Robert Harvey said in a statement. "I call upon parents, educators, and community and faith leaders to make sure that our children know that religious persecution has no place in our society."

Calvert County Public Schools told USA TODAY on Monday that the school district is working with the county sheriff's office and is committed to "providing students and staff with an environment that is safe, welcoming, and free from all forms of discrimination."

"All complaints are investigated promptly," the school district said in an email. "Upon completion of an investigation, students and school personnel may be subject to disciplinary action or consequences for discriminatory behaviors."

Latest hate crime charges against middle school students

The charges against the three 13-year-olds came about over a week after six middle school students in Massachusetts were charged in Snapchat bullying incidents , officials said.

On March 14, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni announced that state authorities will be pursuing criminal charges against six minors from Southwick, Massachusetts, for "their alleged roles in facilitating and participating in a hateful, racist online chat that included heinous language, threats, and a mock slave auction."

The six students were each charged with threatening to commit a crime, according to Gulluni. Of the six, two were also charged with interference with civil rights, and one of the two was charged with witness interference.

The students were accused of creating a Snapchat group chat in February, where several students shared derogatory remarks. "The investigation revealed that several students expressed hateful and racist comments, including notions of violence toward people of color, racial slurs, derogatory pictures and videos, and a mock slave auction directed at two particular juveniles," Gulluni said.

Nex Benedict case: Oklahoma prosecutors will not file charges in fight involving teenager Nex Benedict

Increase of antisemitism across the U.S.

According to recent data, antisemitic incidents have surged across the United States in recent years. Each year, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) compiles a report on incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism, or assault in America.In 2022, the ADL tracked a 36% increase in antisemitic incidents from the previous year. The total stood at 3,697 — the highest number on record since the organization began tracking incidents in 1979.In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, advocacy organizations saw a rise in reports of hate crimes against both Jews and Muslims. According to the ADL's January report , there have been nearly 3,300 antisemitic incidents recorded between Oct. 7, 2023, and Jan. 7, 2024.

This represents a 361-percent increase compared to the same period one year prior, which saw 712 incidents," the ADL said in a January news release.

Contributing: Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY

The War at Stanford

I didn’t know that college would be a factory of unreason.

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ne of the section leaders for my computer-science class, Hamza El Boudali, believes that President Joe Biden should be killed. “I’m not calling for a civilian to do it, but I think a military should,” the 23-year-old Stanford University student told a small group of protesters last month. “I’d be happy if Biden was dead.” He thinks that Stanford is complicit in what he calls the genocide of Palestinians, and that Biden is not only complicit but responsible for it. “I’m not calling for a vigilante to do it,” he later clarified, “but I’m saying he is guilty of mass murder and should be treated in the same way that a terrorist with darker skin would be (and we all know terrorists with dark skin are typically bombed and drone striked by American planes).” El Boudali has also said that he believes that Hamas’s October 7 attack was a justifiable act of resistance, and that he would actually prefer Hamas rule America in place of its current government (though he clarified later that he “doesn’t mean Hamas is perfect”). When you ask him what his cause is, he answers: “Peace.”

I switched to a different computer-science section.

Israel is 7,500 miles away from Stanford’s campus, where I am a sophomore. But the Hamas invasion and the Israeli counterinvasion have fractured my university, a place typically less focused on geopolitics than on venture-capital funding for the latest dorm-based tech start-up. Few students would call for Biden’s head—I think—but many of the same young people who say they want peace in Gaza don’t seem to realize that they are in fact advocating for violence. Extremism has swept through classrooms and dorms, and it is becoming normal for students to be harassed and intimidated for their faith, heritage, or appearance—they have been called perpetrators of genocide for wearing kippahs, and accused of supporting terrorism for wearing keffiyehs. The extremism and anti-Semitism at Ivy League universities on the East Coast have attracted so much media and congressional attention that two Ivy presidents have lost their jobs. But few people seem to have noticed the culture war that has taken over our California campus.

For four months, two rival groups of protesters, separated by a narrow bike path, faced off on Stanford’s palm-covered grounds. The “Sit-In to Stop Genocide” encampment was erected by students in mid-October, even before Israeli troops had crossed into Gaza, to demand that the university divest from Israel and condemn its behavior. Posters were hung equating Hamas with Ukraine and Nelson Mandela. Across from the sit-in, a rival group of pro-Israel students eventually set up the “Blue and White Tent” to provide, as one activist put it, a “safe space” to “be a proud Jew on campus.” Soon it became the center of its own cluster of tents, with photos of Hamas’s victims sitting opposite the rubble-ridden images of Gaza and a long (and incomplete) list of the names of slain Palestinians displayed by the students at the sit-in.

Some days the dueling encampments would host only a few people each, but on a sunny weekday afternoon, there could be dozens. Most of the time, the groups tolerated each other. But not always. Students on both sides were reportedly spit on and yelled at, and had their belongings destroyed. (The perpetrators in many cases seemed to be adults who weren’t affiliated with Stanford, a security guard told me.) The university put in place round-the-clock security, but when something actually happened, no one quite knew what to do.

Conor Friedersdorf: How October 7 changed America’s free speech culture

Stanford has a policy barring overnight camping, but for months didn’t enforce it, “out of a desire to support the peaceful expression of free speech in the ways that students choose to exercise that expression”—and, the administration told alumni, because the university feared that confronting the students would only make the conflict worse. When the school finally said the tents had to go last month, enormous protests against the university administration, and against Israel, followed.

“We don’t want no two states! We want all of ’48!” students chanted, a slogan advocating that Israel be dismantled and replaced by a single Arab nation. Palestinian flags flew alongside bright “Welcome!” banners left over from new-student orientation. A young woman gave a speech that seemed to capture the sense of urgency and power that so many students here feel. “We are Stanford University!” she shouted. “We control things!”

“W e’ve had protests in the past,” Richard Saller, the university’s interim president, told me in November—about the environment, and apartheid, and Vietnam. But they didn’t pit “students against each other” the way that this conflict has.

I’ve spoken with Saller, a scholar of Roman history, a few times over the past six months in my capacity as a student journalist. We first met in September, a few weeks into his tenure. His predecessor, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, had resigned as president after my reporting for The Stanford Daily exposed misconduct in his academic research. (Tessier-Lavigne had failed to retract papers with faked data over the course of 20 years. In his resignation statement , he denied allegations of fraud and misconduct; a Stanford investigation determined that he had not personally manipulated data or ordered any manipulation but that he had repeatedly “failed to decisively and forthrightly correct mistakes” from his lab.)

In that first conversation, Saller told me that everyone was “eager to move on” from the Tessier-Lavigne scandal. He was cheerful and upbeat. He knew he wasn’t staying in the job long; he hadn’t even bothered to move into the recently vacated presidential manor. In any case, campus, at that time, was serene. Then, a week later, came October 7.

The attack was as clear a litmus test as one could imagine for the Middle East conflict. Hamas insurgents raided homes and a music festival with the goal of slaughtering as many civilians as possible. Some victims were raped and mutilated, several independent investigations found. Hundreds of hostages were taken into Gaza and many have been tortured.

This, of course, was bad. Saying this was bad does not negate or marginalize the abuses and suffering Palestinians have experienced in Gaza and elsewhere. Everyone, of every ideology, should be able to say that this was bad. But much of this campus failed that simple test.

Two days after the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Stanford released milquetoast statements marking the “moment of intense emotion” and declaring “deep concern” over “the crisis in Israel and Palestine.” The official statements did not use the words Hamas or violence .

The absence of a clear institutional response led some teachers to take matters into their own hands. During a mandatory freshman seminar on October 10, a lecturer named Ameer Loggins tossed out his lesson plan to tell students that the actions of the Palestinian “military force” had been justified, that Israelis were colonizers, and that the Holocaust had been overemphasized, according to interviews I conducted with students in the class. Loggins then asked the Jewish students to identify themselves. He instructed one of them to “stand up, face the window, and he kind of kicked away his chair,” a witness told me. Loggins described this as an effort to demonstrate Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. (Loggins did not reply to a request for comment; a spokesperson for Stanford said that there were “different recollections of the details regarding what happened” in the class.)

“We’re only in our third week of college, and we’re afraid to be here,” three students in the class wrote in an email that night to administrators. “This isn’t what Stanford was supposed to be.” The class Loggins taught is called COLLEGE, short for “Civic, Liberal, and Global Education,” and it is billed as an effort to develop “the skills that empower and enable us to live together.”

Loggins was suspended from teaching duties and an investigation was opened; this angered pro-Palestine activists, who organized a petition that garnered more than 1,700 signatures contesting the suspension. A pamphlet from the petitioners argued that Loggins’s behavior had not been out of bounds.

The day after the class, Stanford put out a statement written by Saller and Jenny Martinez, the university provost, more forcefully condemning the Hamas attack. Immediately, this new statement generated backlash.

Pro-Palestine activists complained about it during an event held the same day, the first of several “teach-ins” about the conflict. Students gathered in one of Stanford’s dorms to “bear witness to the struggles of decolonization.” The grievances and pain shared by Palestinian students were real. They told of discrimination and violence, of frightened family members subjected to harsh conditions. But the most raucous reaction from the crowd was in response to a young woman who said, “You ask us, do we condemn Hamas? Fuck you!” She added that she was “so proud of my resistance.”

David Palumbo-Liu, a professor of comparative literature with a focus on postcolonial studies, also spoke at the teach-in, explaining to the crowd that “European settlers” had come to “replace” Palestine’s “native population.”

Palumbo-Liu is known as an intelligent and supportive professor, and is popular among students, who call him by his initials, DPL. I wanted to ask him about his involvement in the teach-in, so we met one day in a café a few hundred feet away from the tents. I asked if he could elaborate on what he’d said at the event about Palestine’s native population. He was happy to expand: This was “one of those discussions that could go on forever. Like, who is actually native? At what point does nativism lapse, right? Well, you haven’t been native for X number of years, so …” In the end, he said, “you have two people who both feel they have a claim to the land,” and “they have to live together. Both sides have to cede something.”

The struggle at Stanford, he told me, “is to find a way in which open discussions can be had that allow people to disagree.” It’s true that Stanford has utterly failed in its efforts to encourage productive dialogue. But I still found it hard to reconcile DPL’s words with his public statements on Israel, which he’d recently said on Facebook should be “the most hated nation in the world.” He also wrote: “When Zionists say they don’t feel ‘safe’ on campus, I’ve come to see that as they no longer feel immune to criticism of Israel.” He continued: “Well as the saying goes, get used to it.”

Z ionists, and indeed Jewish students of all political beliefs, have been given good reason to fear for their safety. They’ve been followed, harassed, and called derogatory racial epithets. At least one was told he was a “dirty Jew.” At least twice, mezuzahs have been ripped from students’ doors, and swastikas have been drawn in dorms. Arab and Muslim students also face alarming threats. The computer-science section leader, El Boudali, a pro-Palestine activist, told me he felt “safe personally,” but knew others who did not: “Some people have reported feeling like they’re followed, especially women who wear the hijab.”

In a remarkably short period of time, aggression and abuse have become commonplace, an accepted part of campus activism. In January, Jewish students organized an event dedicated to ameliorating anti-Semitism. It marked one of Saller’s first public appearances in the new year. Its topic seemed uncontroversial, and I thought it would generate little backlash.

Protests began before the panel discussion even started, with activists lining the stairs leading to the auditorium. During the event they drowned out the panelists, one of whom was Israel’s special envoy for combatting anti-Semitism, by demanding a cease-fire. After participants began cycling out into the dark, things got ugly.

Activists, their faces covered by keffiyehs or medical masks, confronted attendees. “Go back to Brooklyn!” a young woman shouted at Jewish students. One protester, who emerged as the leader of the group, said that she and her compatriots would “take all of your places and ensure Israel falls.” She told attendees to get “off our fucking campus” and launched into conspiracy theories about Jews being involved in “child trafficking.” As a rabbi tried to leave the event, protesters pursued him, chanting, “There is only one solution! Intifada revolution!”

At one point, some members of the group turned on a few Stanford employees, including another rabbi, an imam, and a chaplain, telling them, “We know your names and we know where you work.” The ringleader added: “And we’ll soon find out where you live.” The religious leaders formed a protective barrier in front of the Jewish students. The rabbi and the imam appeared to be crying.

S aller avoided the protest by leaving through another door. Early that morning, his private residence had been vandalized. Protesters frequently tell him he “can’t hide” and shout him down. “We charge you with genocide!” they chant, demanding that Stanford divest from Israel. (When asked whether Stanford actually invested in Israel, a spokesperson replied that, beyond small exposures from passive funds that track indexes such as the S&P 500, the university’s endowment “has no direct holdings in Israeli companies, or direct holdings in defense contractors.”)

When the university finally said the protest tents had to be removed, students responded by accusing Saller of suppressing their right to free speech. This is probably the last charge he expected to face. Saller once served as provost at the University of Chicago, which is known for holding itself to a position of strict institutional neutrality so that its students can freely explore ideas for themselves. Saller has a lifelong belief in First Amendment rights. But that conviction in impartial college governance does not align with Stanford’s behavior in recent years. Despite the fact that many students seemed largely uninterested in the headlines before this year, Stanford’s administrative leadership has often taken positions on political issues and events, such as the Paris climate conference and the murder of George Floyd. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Stanford’s Hoover Tower was lit up in blue and yellow, and the school released a statement in solidarity.

Thomas Chatterton Williams: Let the activists have their loathsome rallies

When we first met, a week before October 7, I asked Saller about this. Did Stanford have a moral duty to denounce the war in Ukraine, for example, or the ethnic cleansing of Uyghur Muslims in China? “On international political issues, no,” he said. “That’s not a responsibility for the university as a whole, as an institution.”

But when Saller tried to apply his convictions on neutrality for the first time as president, dozens of faculty members condemned the response, many pro-Israel alumni were outraged, donors had private discussions about pulling funding, and an Israeli university sent an open letter to Saller and Martinez saying, “Stanford’s administration has failed us.” The initial statement had tried to make clear that the school’s policy was not Israel-specific: It noted that the university would not take a position on the turmoil in Nagorno-Karabakh (where Armenians are undergoing ethnic cleansing) either. But the message didn’t get through.

Saller had to beat an awkward retreat or risk the exact sort of public humiliation that he, as caretaker president, had presumably been hired to avoid. He came up with a compromise that landed somewhere in the middle: an unequivocal condemnation of Hamas’s “intolerable atrocities” paired with a statement making clear that Stanford would commit to institutional neutrality going forward.

“The events in Israel and Gaza this week have affected and engaged large numbers of students on our campus in ways that many other events have not,” the statement read. “This is why we feel compelled to both address the impact of these events on our campus and to explain why our general policy of not issuing statements about news events not directly connected to campus has limited the breadth of our comments thus far, and why you should not expect frequent commentary from us in the future.”

I asked Saller why he had changed tack on Israel and not on Nagorno-Karabakh. “We don’t feel as if we should be making statements on every war crime and atrocity,” he told me. This felt like a statement in and of itself.

In making such decisions, Saller works closely with Martinez, Stanford’s provost. I happened to interview her, too, a few days before October 7, not long after she’d been appointed. When I asked about her hopes for the job, she said that a “priority is ensuring an environment in which free speech and academic freedom are preserved.”

We talked about the so-called Leonard Law—a provision unique to California that requires private universities to be governed by the same First Amendment protections as public ones. This restricts what Stanford can do in terms of penalizing speech, putting it in a stricter bind than Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, or any of the other elite private institutions that have more latitude to set the standards for their campus (whether or not they have done so).

So I was surprised when, in December, the university announced that abstract calls for genocide “clearly violate Stanford’s Fundamental Standard, the code of conduct for all students at the university.” The statement was a response to the outrage following the congressional testimony of three university presidents—outrage that eventually led to the resignation of two of them, Harvard’s Claudine Gay and Penn’s Liz Magill. Gay and Magill, who had both previously held positions at Stanford, did not commit to punishing calls for the genocide of Jews.

Experts told me that Stanford’s policy is impossible to enforce—and Saller himself acknowledged as much in our March interview.

“Liz Magill is a good friend,” Saller told me, adding, “Having watched what happened at Harvard and Penn, it seemed prudent” to publicly state that Stanford rejected calls for genocide. But saying that those calls violate the code of conduct “is not the same thing as to say that we could actually punish it.”

Stanford’s leaders seem to be trying their best while adapting to the situation in real time. But the muddled messaging has created a policy of neutrality that does not feel neutral at all.

When we met back in November, I tried to get Saller to open up about his experience running an institution in turmoil. What’s it like to know that so many students seem to believe that he—a mild-mannered 71-year-old classicist who swing-dances with his anthropologist wife—is a warmonger? Saller was more candid than I expected—perhaps more candid than any prominent university president has been yet. We sat in the same conference room as we had in September. The weather hadn’t really changed. Yet I felt like I was sitting in front of a different person. He was hunched over and looked exhausted, and his voice broke when he talked about the loss of life in Gaza and Israel and “the fact that we’re caught up in it.” A capable administrator with decades of experience, Saller seemed almost at a loss. “It’s been a kind of roller coaster, to be honest.”

He said he hadn’t anticipated the deluge of the emails “blaming me for lack of moral courage.” Anything the university says seems bound to be wrong: “If I say that our position is that we grieve over the loss of innocent lives, that in itself will draw some hostile reactions.”

“I find that really difficult to navigate,” he said with a sigh.

By March, it seemed that his views had solidified. He said he knew he was “a target,” but he was not going to be pushed into issuing any more statements. The continuing crisis seems to have granted him new insight. “I am certain that whatever I say will not have any material effect on the war in Gaza.” It’s hard to argue with that.

P eople tend to blame the campus wars on two villains: dithering administrators and radical student activists. But colleges have always had dithering administrators and radical student activists. To my mind, it’s the average students who have changed.

Elite universities attract a certain kind of student: the overachieving striver who has won all the right accolades for all the right activities. Is it such a surprise that the kids who are trained in the constant pursuit of perfect scores think they have to look at the world like a series of multiple-choice questions, with clearly right or wrong answers? Or that they think they can gamify a political cause in the same way they ace a standardized test?

Everyone knows that the only reliable way to get into a school like Stanford is to be really good at looking really good. Now that they’re here, students know that one easy way to keep looking good is to side with the majority of protesters, and condemn Israel.

It’s not that there isn’t real anger and anxiety over what is happening in Gaza—there is, and justifiably so. I know that among the protesters are many people who are deeply connected to this issue. But they are not the majority. What really activates the crowds now seems less a principled devotion to Palestine or to pacifism than a desire for collective action, to fit in by embracing the fashionable cause of the moment—as if a centuries-old conflict in which both sides have stolen and killed could ever be a simple matter of right and wrong. In their haste to exhibit moral righteousness, many of the least informed protesters end up being the loudest and most uncompromising.

Today’s students grew up in the Trump era, in which violent rhetoric has become a normal part of political discourse and activism is as easy as reposting an infographic. Many young people have come to feel that being angry is enough to foment change. Furious at the world’s injustices and desperate for a simple way to express that fury, they don’t seem interested in any form of engagement more nuanced than backing a pure protagonist and denouncing an evil enemy. They don’t, always, seem that concerned with the truth.

At the protest last month to prevent the removal of the sit-in, an activist in a pink Women’s March “pussy hat” shouted that no rape was committed by Hamas on October 7. “There hasn’t been proof of these rape accusations,” a student told me in a separate conversation, criticizing the Blue and White Tent for spreading what he considered to be misinformation about sexual violence. (In March, a United Nations report found “reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence,” including “rape and gang rape,” occurred in multiple locations on October 7, as well as “clear and convincing information” on the “rape and sexualized torture” of hostages.) “The level of propaganda” surrounding Hamas, he told me, “is just unbelievable.”

The real story at Stanford is not about the malicious actors who endorse sexual assault and murder as forms of resistance, but about those who passively enable them because they believe their side can do no wrong. You don’t have to understand what you’re arguing for in order to argue for it. You don’t have to be able to name the river or the sea under discussion to chant “From the river to the sea.” This kind of obliviousness explains how one of my friends, a gay activist, can justify Hamas’s actions, even though it would have the two of us—an outspoken queer person and a Jewish reporter—killed in a heartbeat. A similar mentality can exist on the other side: I have heard students insist on the absolute righteousness of Israel yet seem uninterested in learning anything about what life is like in Gaza.

I’m familiar with the pull of achievement culture—after all, I’m a product of the same system. I fell in love with Stanford as a 7-year-old, lying on the floor of an East Coast library and picturing all the cool technology those West Coast geniuses were dreaming up. I cried when I was accepted; I spent the next few months scrolling through the course catalog, giddy with anticipation. I wanted to learn everything.

I learned more than I expected. Within my first week here, someone asked me: “Why are all Jews so rich?” In 2016, when Stanford’s undergraduate senate had debated a resolution against anti-Semitism, one of its members argued that the idea of “Jews controlling the media, economy, government, and other societal institutions” represented “a very valid discussion.” (He apologized, and the resolution passed.) In my dorm last year, a student discussed being Jewish and awoke the next day to swastikas and a portrait of Hitler affixed to his door.

David Frum: There is no right to bully and harass

I grew up secularly, with no strong affiliation to Jewish culture. When I found out as a teenager that some of my ancestors had hidden their identity from their children and that dozens of my relatives had died in the Holocaust (something no living member of my family had known), I felt the barest tremor of identity. After I saw so many people I know cheering after October 7, I felt something stronger stir. I know others have experienced something similar. Even a professor texted me to say that she felt Jewish in a way she never had before.

But my frustration with the conflict on campus has little to do with my own identity. Across the many conversations and hours of formal interviews I conducted for this article, I’ve encountered a persistent anti-intellectual streak. I’ve watched many of my classmates treat death so cavalierly that they can protest as a pregame to a party. Indeed, two parties at Stanford were reported to the university this fall for allegedly making people say “Fuck Israel” or “Free Palestine” to get in the door. A spokesperson for the university said it was “unable to confirm the facts of what occurred,” but that it had “met with students involved in both parties to make clear that Stanford’s nondiscrimination policy applies to parties.” As a friend emailed me not long ago: “A place that was supposed to be a sanctuary from such unreason has become a factory for it.”

Readers may be tempted to discount the conduct displayed at Stanford. After all, the thinking goes, these are privileged kids doing what they always do: embracing faux-radicalism in college before taking jobs in fintech or consulting. These students, some might say, aren’t representative of America.

And yet they are representative of something: of the conduct many of the most accomplished students in my generation have accepted as tolerable, and what that means for the future of our country. I admire activism. We need people willing to protest what they see as wrong and take on entrenched systems of repression. But we also need to read, learn, discuss, accept the existence of nuance, embrace diversity of thought, and hold our own allies to high standards. More than ever, we need universities to teach young people how to do all of this.

F or so long , Stanford’s physical standoff seemed intractable. Then, in early February, a storm swept in, and the natural world dictated its own conclusion.

Heavy rains flooded campus. For hours, the students battled to save their tents. The sit-in activists used sandbags and anything else they could find to hold back the water—at one point, David Palumbo-Liu, the professor, told me he stood in the lashing downpour to anchor one of the sit-in’s tents with his own body. When the storm hit, many of the Jewish activists had been attending a discussion on anti-Semitism. They raced back and struggled to salvage the Blue and White Tent, but it was too late—the wind had ripped it out of the ground.

The next day, the weary Jewish protesters returned to discover that their space had been taken.

A new collection of tents had been set up by El Boudali, the pro-Palestine activist, and a dozen friends. He said they were there to protest Islamophobia and to teach about Islam and jihad, and that they were a separate entity from the Sit-In to Stop Genocide, though I observed students cycling between the tents. Palestinian flags now flew from the bookstore to the quad.

Administrators told me they’d quickly informed El Boudali and his allies that the space had been reserved by the Jewish advocates, and offered to help move them to a different location. But the protesters told me they had no intention of going. (El Boudali later said that they did not take over the entire space, and would have been “happy to exist side by side, but they wanted to kick us off entirely from that lawn.”)

When it was clear that the area where they’d set up their tents would not be ceded back to the pro-Israel group willingly, Stanford changed course and decided to clear everyone out in one fell swoop. On February 8, school officials ordered all students to vacate the plaza overnight. The university was finally going to enforce its rule prohibiting people from sleeping outside on campus and requiring the removal of belongings from the plaza between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. The order cited the danger posed by the storm as a justification for changing course and, probably hoping to avoid allegations of bias, described the decision as “viewpoint-neutral.”

That didn’t work.

About a week of protests, led by the sit-in organizers, followed. Chants were chanted. More demands for a “river to the sea” solution to the Israel problem were made. A friend boasted to me about her willingness to be arrested. Stanford sent a handful of staff members, who stood near balloons left over from an event earlier in the day. They were there, one of them told me, to “make students feel supported and safe.”

In the end, Saller and Martinez agreed to talk with the leaders of the sit-in about their demands to divest the university and condemn Israel, under the proviso that the activists comply with Stanford’s anti-camping guidelines “regardless of the outcome of discussions.” Eight days after they were first instructed to leave, 120 days after setting up camp, the sit-in protesters slept in their own beds. In defiance of the university’s instructions, they left behind their tents. But sometime in the very early hours of the morning, law-enforcement officers confiscated the structures. The area was cordoned off without any violence and the plaza filled once more with electric skateboards and farmers’ markets.

The conflict continues in its own way. Saller was just shouted down by protesters chanting “No peace on stolen land” at a Family Weekend event, and protesters later displayed an effigy of him covered in blood. Students still feel tense; Saller still seems worried. He told me that the university is planning to change all manner of things—residential-assistant training, new-student orientation, even the acceptance letters that students receive—in hopes of fostering a culture of greater tolerance. But no campus edict or panel discussion can address a problem that is so much bigger than our university.

At one rally last fall, a speaker expressed disillusionment about the power of “peaceful resistance” on college campuses. “What is there left to do but to take up arms?” The crowd cheered as he said Israel must be destroyed. But what would happen to its citizens? I’d prefer to believe that most protesters chanting “Palestine is Arab” and shouting that we must “smash the Zionist settler state” don’t actually think Jews should be killed en masse. But can one truly be so ignorant as to advocate widespread violence in the name of peace?

When the world is rendered in black-and-white—portrayed as a simple fight between colonizer and colonized—the answer is yes. Solutions, by this logic, are absolute: Israel or Palestine, nothing in between. Either you support liberation of the oppressed or you support genocide. Either Stanford is all good or all bad; all in favor of free speech or all authoritarian; all anti-Semitic or all Islamophobic.

At January’s anti-anti-Semitism event, I watched an exchange between a Jewish attendee and a protester from a few feet away. “Are you pro-Palestine?” the protester asked.

“Yes,” the attendee responded, and he went on to describe his disgust with the human-rights abuses Palestinians have faced for years.

“But are you a Zionist?”

“Then we are enemies.”

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The Eclipse Chaser

As millions of americans prepare to see a total solar eclipse, a retired astrophysicist known as “mr. eclipse,” discusses the celestial phenomenon..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

Can you hear — Fred, can you hear me?

[DISTORTED SPEECH]:

The internet is a little wonky.

OK. Well, [DISTORTED SPEECH]: Arizona. So the internet speed here isn’t really fast.

I think we’re going to call — yeah, I think we’re going to call you back on a — for the first time in a really long time — a landline.

[PHONE RINGING]

Hey, Fred, it’s Michael Barbaro.

You can hear me OK?

I can hear you.

Perfect. So, Fred, where exactly am I reaching you?

I’m in Portal, Arizona, in a little community called Arizona Sky Village. And it’s a very rural community. So our internet and phone lines are not very good. And the nearest grocery store is 60 miles away.

Wow. And why would you choose to live in such a remote place with such bad internet?

Because the sky is dark. It’s like the sky was a hundred years ago before cities encroached on all of the country. I guess you’d call it an astronomy development. Mainly, amateur astronomers who have built homes here far from city lights for the express purpose of studying the sky.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

So it’s literally a community where once the sun goes down, it’s pitch black. And some, perhaps all of you, are stargazing?

Yes, exactly.

Well, I think I’m beginning to understand why you might have the nickname that you do. Can you just tell our listeners what that nickname is?

My nickname is Mr. Eclipse.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.” Today’s total solar eclipse will be watched by millions of people across North America, none of them as closely as Fred Espenak, a longtime NASA scientist who’s devoted his entire life to studying, chasing, and popularizing the wonder that is an eclipse.

It’s Monday, April 8.

Fred, help me understand how you become Mr. Eclipse, how you go from being Fred to this seemingly very hard-earned nickname of Mr. Eclipse.

Well, I was visiting my grandparents at their summer home. And it was a partial eclipse of the sun back in the early 1960s. And I was a 10 - or 12-year-old kid. I got my parents to get me a small telescope. And I watched some of the partial phases. And it was really interesting.

And I started reading about eclipses. And I found out that as interesting as a partial eclipse is, a total eclipse is far more interesting. The moon is only 1/400 the diameter of the sun. It’s tiny compared to the sun. But it’s 400 times closer to the Earth. So it’s just this incredible coincidence that the moon and sun appear to be the same size in the sky. And once in a while, the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun. And you’re plunged into this very strange midday twilight.

But they’re limited to a very small geographic areas to see a total eclipse. And this little book I was studying had a map of the world, showing upcoming paths of total solar eclipses. And I realized that one was passing through North America about 600 miles from where I lived. And that eclipse was in 1970.

And I was reading about this in 1963, 1964. And I made a promise to myself that I was going to get to that eclipse in 1970 to see it because I thought it was a one chance in a lifetime to see a total eclipse of the sun.

So just to be very clear, you see a partial eclipse, and you immediately think to yourself, that was fine. But I need the real thing. I need a full eclipse. And you happen to find out, around this time, that a real eclipse is coming but in seven years.

Right. I mean, there were other eclipses between that time and seven years in the future. But they were in other parts of the world. And I couldn’t buy an airplane ticket and fly to Europe or Australia.

And by 1970, I’d been waiting for this. And by this point, I had just gotten a driver’s license. And I convinced my parents to let me drive the car 600 miles to get down into the path of totality to see this great event.

Wow. Wait, from where to where?

From Staten Island, New York, down to a little town in North Carolina.

How did you convince your parents to let you do that? I mean, that’s —

Well, I had seven years to work on it.

[LAUGHS]: Right.

And I was just a nerdy kid. I didn’t get into trouble. I was interested in science. I was out in the woods, studying frogs and wildlife and stuff. So this was just a natural progression of the type of things I would normally do.

Right. OK. So I wonder if you can describe this journey you end up taking from Staten Island. How does the trip unfold as you’re headed on this 600 mile?

So, I think, on March 6, 1970, it was a Friday. My friend and I left to drive to the eclipse path. We probably got on the road probably at 5:00 AM because it was going to be a very long day.

And we’ve got a detailed map in the car, which I’ve plotted the eclipse path on. And we’re just trying to get far enough south to get into the path of the eclipse, which for us is easternmost Virginia or Eastern North Carolina. And I drive and drive and drive all day long. Very long day.

We get down to North Carolina right about maybe 6:00 PM. And we just see this little town in North Carolina that we’re driving through. And it happens to have a convenient motel right in the center of the path. And that was good enough. Got a room available. And we check in. And that’s where we’re going to watch the eclipse from.

And the next morning was eclipse day. It was a bright, crisp, sunny morning. There weren’t any clouds at all in the sky. And I was amazed that outside the back of the motel, in this grassy field, there were dozens and dozens of people with telescopes out there, specifically there for the eclipse that morning.

We were really excited about this. We set up our — my telescope. And we had another camera set up to watch it. And we walked around and marveled at some of the other people and their telescopes and discussed the eclipse with them. And the eclipse started probably around noon or 1:00 in the afternoon.

Describe the actual event itself, the eclipse. How did it begin?

Well, all solar eclipses begin as a partial eclipse. And the sun is gradually covered by the moon as the moon takes larger and larger pieces out of the sun, as it slowly crawls across the sun’s surface. And you don’t really notice much going on with a naked eye.

It’s really only in the last 10 minutes or so that you start to notice changes in the environment because now enough of the sun has been covered, upwards of maybe 90 percent of the sun. And you start to notice the temperature falling. There’s a chill in the air.

Also, since so much of the sun is covered, the daylight starts to take on an anemic quality. It’s weak. The sun is still too bright to look at. But the surroundings, the environment is not as bright as it was a half hour earlier.

You start to notice animals reacting to the dwindling sunlight. They start acting like it’s sunset. And they start performing some of their evening rituals, like birds roosting, perhaps calling their evening songs. And plants start closing up and the dropping sunlight. And then the dropping temperatures.

And there’s an acceleration now of all these effects. The temperature drop, the drop in the sunlight, it starts happening faster and faster and getting darker and darker. And maybe about a minute before the total eclipse began, we noticed strange patterns on the ground beneath us, on the grassy field that we were on — these ripples racing across the field. And these are something called shadow bands.

They look a lot like the rippling patterns that you would see on the bottom of a swimming pool, bands of light and dark, and moving very quickly across the ground. The sky is — it’s a dark blue. And it’s getting darker rapidly in this dwindling sunlight. And you go from daylight to twilight in just 10 or 20 seconds. It’s almost like someone has the hand on the rheostat and turns the house lights down in the theater.

You just see the light just go right down.

And the sky gets dark enough that the corona, the outer atmosphere of the sun, starts emerging from the background sky. This ring or halo of gas that surrounds the sun, and it’s visible around the moon, which is in silhouette against the sun. And along one edge of the moon is this bright bead of sunlight because that’s the last remaining piece of the sun before it becomes total.

And this is the diamond ring effect because you’ve got the ring of the corona and this dazzling jewel along one edge of it. You only get to see this for 10 or 15 seconds — it’s very fleeting — before the moon completely covers the sun’s disk. And totality begins. Suddenly, you’re in this twilight of the moon’s shadow.

And you look around the horizon. And you’re seeing the colors of sunrise or sunset 360 degrees around the horizon because you’re looking out the edge of the moon’s shadow. And looking back up into the sky, the sun is gone now. And you see this black disk of the moon in silhouette surrounded by the sun’s corona.

Maybe this says more about my nature than anything else, but what you’re describing, a little bit, feels like the end of the world.

Well, I think, when you see this all transpire, you can easily understand how people thought this was the end of the world because it seems far outside of the realms of nature. It seems supernatural. So you can see how people panicked that didn’t understand what was going on.

That was not your reaction?

No. I think it’s a sense of belonging — belonging to this incredible universe, both belonging and a humbleness that how minuscule we are. And yet we’re a part of this fantastic cosmic wheel of motion in the solar system. You almost get a three-dimensional sense of the motions of the Earth and the moon around the sun when you see this clockwork displayed right in front of you, this mechanics of the eclipse taking place.

It almost lifts you up off the planet, and you can look back down at the solar system and see how it’s all put together. And you’ve only got to, in that case — in that particular eclipse, it was only 2 and 1/2 minutes to look at this.

Wow. It’s kind of a clock in your head, saying, you don’t have much of this.

You don’t have much of it. And it almost seems like time stops.

And at the same time, all of a sudden, the eclipse is over. Those 2 minutes just raced by. And it’s over. All of a sudden, the diamond ring forms again on the opposite side of the moon, as the sun starts to become uncovered at the end of totality. And the diamond ring appears. It grows incredibly bright in just a few seconds. And you can’t look at it anymore. It’s too bright. You’ve got to put your filters back on and cover your telescope with a solar filter so it doesn’t get damaged. And you’re trembling because of this event.

Everybody was cheering and shouting and yelling. I mean, you would have thought you were at a sports game, and the home team just scored a touchdown. Just everybody screaming at the top of their lungs. And I immediately started thinking that this can’t be a once in a lifetime experience. I’ve got to see this again.

We’ll be right back.

OK. So, Fred, it’s the early 1970s. And you are not Mr. Eclipse yet. You’re just a kid who felt something very big when you watched an eclipse. So how did you end up becoming the premier authority that you now are on eclipses?

Well, after that 1970 eclipse, I started looking into upcoming solar eclipses so I could get a chance to see the sun’s corona again. And the next total eclipse was in Eastern Canada in July of 1972. And I started thinking about that eclipse. And by then, I was going to be in college.

And I started planning because that one was still something I could drive to. It was 1,200 miles instead of 600 miles.

So the summer of 1972 rolls around. And I drove up to the eclipse in Quebec to see totality and was unfortunately clouded out of the eclipse. I saw some of the partial phases. But clouds moved in and obscured the sun for that view of the sun’s corona.

You were robbed.

I was robbed. And I realized, well, I’ve got to expand my outlook on what’s an acceptable distance to travel to see a total eclipse because the next total eclipse then, in 1973, was through the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa. So I traveled to the Sahara desert for the eclipse, where we had decent weather, not perfect but decent weather. And we got to see totality there.

You saw totality in the desert?

In the desert. In the Sahara Desert. After that, it was just trying to get to every total eclipse I possibly could get to.

At this point, you’re clearly starting to become an eclipse chaser. And I don’t even know if such a thing existed at that moment.

Yeah. I don’t know if it was called that then, but certainly, yeah.

And if you’ll permit me a question that might seem maybe dopey to someone in your field, after you’ve seen one or two or three of these, do they start to blend in together and become a little bit the same?

Not at all. Each one is distinctly different. The sun itself is dramatically different. The sun’s corona is different at each eclipse because the corona is a product of the sun’s magnetic field. And that magnetic field is changing every day. So the details, the fine structure in the sun’s corona is always different. So every eclipse is dramatically different. The appearance of the sun’s corona.

Right. If you look at one Renoir, it’s not the same as the next one. You’re describing the corona of each eclipse as its own work of art, basically.

Exactly. Yeah.

So as you’re chasing these eclipses around the world, what is the place of an eclipse in your day-to-day academic studies and, soon enough, your professional work?

So I went to grad school at University of Toledo and did some work at Kitt Peak National Observatory, learning the ins and outs of photometric photometry — that is, measuring the brightness of stars. And eventually, this led to a job opening at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

And I got interested in the idea of predicting eclipses and started studying the mathematics of how to do this. And I took it over unofficially and started publishing these technical maps and details. And we published about a dozen books through NASA on upcoming eclipses. People would just write me a letter and say they wanted a copy of the eclipse bulletin for such and such an eclipse. And I would stuff it in an envelope and mail it to them.

So you take it upon yourself to make sure that everyone is going to know when the next eclipse is coming?

And no doubt, during this period, you keep going to each and every eclipse. And I wonder which of them stand out to you.

Well, I’ve seen total eclipses from Australia, from Africa, from the Altiplanos in Bolivia, from the ice sheet on the coast of Antarctica, and even from Northern China, on the edge of the Gobi Desert. But one of the most notable eclipses for me was I traveled to India to see a 41-second eclipse, which was very short. And besides seeing a great eclipse in India, I also met my future wife there. She was on the same trip.

I have to hear that story.

Well, she had been trying to see a total eclipse for about 25 years.

She tried to see the 1970 eclipse. But her friends who were going to drive down from Pennsylvania down to North Carolina talked her out of it at the 11th hour.

They talked her out of seeing the same eclipse that was your first total eclipse that was so important to you?

Yes. And they talked her out of it because from Pennsylvania, they were going to have maybe a 90 percent eclipse. They didn’t know any better. They thought that was good enough. And she regretted that decision.

So then she said, OK, well, I’ve got to get to the next total eclipse, which was in Quebec in 1972, the same one that was my second eclipse. And we were probably within five miles of each other in Quebec. And we were both clouded out. Then she was married. She was raising kids. She got busy with domestic life for 20 years. She became a widow.

So now, 1995, there’s this 41-second eclipse in India that is very difficult to get to. It’s halfway around the world. But she’s still itching to see a total eclipse. And we joined the same expedition, a travel group, of 30 eclipse chasers and end up in India for the eclipse. And we have fantastic weather. It’s perfect.

She was in tears after totality. She had been waiting so long to see it. And we struck up a friendship on that trip. By the time the 1998 eclipse was taking place in the Caribbean, at that point, we were together. That was our first eclipse to observe as a couple. I think our wedding cake had a big eclipse on the top of the cake.

[LAUGHS]: Perfect.

We made a music CD for the wedding that we played during the reception. And of course, all the music on the CD had sun and moon themes to it.

Nothing I can say, a total eclipse of the heart

Of course, we had “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” It was a must-have.

Had to. Had to.

It strikes me, Fred, that eclipses are such an organizing principle in your life. Your life seems to literally orbit around them. When you were a kid, you started planning for them years in advance. This work becomes central to your career. It’s how you meet your wife.

And you said, when I asked you, about each eclipse that they’re all different. And obviously, you’re different at each eclipse because time has passed. Your life has changed. And it just feels like your life is being lived in a kind of ongoing conversation with this phenomenon of the sun and the moon overlapping.

Well, the eclipses are like benchmarks that I can use to figure out what else was going on in my life during these times, because I remember the dates of every single eclipse I’ve been to. And if I see a photograph of the solar corona shot during any particular eclipse, I know what eclipse that was. I can recognize the pattern of the corona like a fingerprint.

That’s amazing.

And I the year of the eclipse. It reminds me of when Pat and I got married and between which eclipse we were getting married and had to plan our wedding so it didn’t interfere with any kind of eclipse trips.

And they just serve as benchmarks or markers for the rest of my life of when various eclipses take place. So they’re easy for marking the passage of time.

So we are, of course, talking to you a few days before this year’s eclipse, which I cannot fathom you missing. So where are you planning to watch this total eclipse?

Pat and I are leaving for Mazatlán, Mexico, actually tomorrow. And we’ve got about 80 people joining us down in Mazatlán for this eclipse in our tour group.

And for you, of course, this year’s eclipse is just the latest in a very long line of eclipses. But I think, for the rest of us — and here, I’m thinking about myself — this is really going to be my first total eclipse, at least that I can remember. And for my two little kids, it’s absolutely going to be their first.

And given the hard-earned wisdom that you’ve accumulated in all your decades of chasing eclipses around the world, I wonder if you can give us just a little bit of advice for how to best live inside this very brief window of a total solar eclipse, to make sure, not to be cliche, but that we make it count.

Well, I think one mistake that people tend to make is getting preoccupied with recording everything in their lives, what they had for lunch, what they had for dinner. And seeing the eclipse is something that you want to witness firsthand. Try to be present in seeing the eclipse in the moment of it. So don’t get preoccupied with recording every instant of it.

Sit back and try to take in the entire experience because those several minutes pass by so rapidly. But you’ll replay them in your mind over and over and over again. And you don’t want technology getting between you and that experience. And remember to take your eclipse glasses off when totality begins. Note how dark it gets during totality.

Take the glasses off because?

Well, the glasses protect your eyes from the sun’s bright disk. But when totality begins, the sun’s bright disk is gone. So if you use your solar eclipse glasses to try to look at the corona, you won’t see anything. You’ll just see blackness. You’ve got to remove the eclipse glasses in order to see the corona. And it’s completely safe.

And it’s an incredible sight to behold. But during totality, you just want to look around without the glasses on. And take in the sights. Take in the horizon, 360 degrees, surrounding you with these twilight colors and sunset colors.

You’ll easily be able to see Jupiter and Venus shining on either side of the sun during totality. And look at the details in the sun’s corona, fine, wispy textures, and any possible red prominences hugging against the moon’s disk during totality.

And let’s say it’s now the moment of totality, and you, Mr. Eclipse, can whisper one thing into someone’s ear as they’re watching. What would you say to them?

Enjoy. Just take it all in.

Well, Fred, thank you very much. We really appreciate it.

No, thank you. I hope everybody has some clear sky.

After today, the next total solar eclipse to be visible from the continental United States will occur 20 years from now, in 2044. In other words, you might as well watch today’s.

Here’s what else you need to know today. Israel has fired two officers in connection with the deadly airstrike on aid workers from the World Central Kitchen who were killed last week while delivering food to civilians in Gaza. In a report released on Friday, Israel blamed their deaths on a string of errors made by the military. The airstrike, Israel said, was based on insufficient and incorrect evidence that a passenger traveling with the workers was armed.

Meanwhile, Israel said it withdrew a division of ground troops from Southern Gaza on Sunday, leaving no soldiers actively patrolling the area. The move raises questions about Israel’s strategy as the war drags into its sixth month. In particular, it casts doubt on Israel’s plans to invade Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, an invasion that the United States has asked Israel not to carry out for fear of large-scale civilian casualties.

Today’s episode was produced by Alex Stern and Sydney Harper, with help from Will Reid and Jessica Cheung. It was edited by Devon Taylor; fact-checked by Susan Lee; contains original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Corey Schreppel; and sound design by Elisheba Ittoop and Dan Powell. It was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Anthony Wallace.

[THEME MUSIC]

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

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• April 3, 2024   •   27:42 The Accidental Tax Cutter in Chief
• April 2, 2024   •   29:32 Kids Are Missing School at an Alarming Rate
• April 1, 2024   •   36:14 Ronna McDaniel, TV News and the Trump Problem
• March 29, 2024   •   48:42 Hamas Took Her, and Still Has Her Husband
• March 28, 2024   •   33:40 The Newest Tech Start-Up Billionaire? Donald Trump.
• March 27, 2024   •   28:06 Democrats’ Plan to Save the Republican House Speaker
• March 26, 2024   •   29:13 The United States vs. the iPhone

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Produced by Sydney Harper and Alex Stern

With Will Reid and Jessica Cheung

Edited by Devon Taylor

Original music by Dan Powell ,  Marion Lozano ,  Elisheba Ittoop and Corey Schreppel

Sound Design by Elisheba Ittoop and Dan Powell

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

Today, millions of Americans will have the opportunity to see a rare total solar eclipse.

Fred Espenak, a retired astrophysicist known as Mr. Eclipse, was so blown away by an eclipse he saw as a teenager that he dedicated his life to traveling the world and seeing as many as he could.

Mr. Espenak discusses the eclipses that have punctuated and defined the most important moments in his life, and explains why these celestial phenomena are such a wonder to experience.

On today’s episode

Fred Espenak, a.k.a. “Mr. Eclipse,” a former NASA astrophysicist and lifelong eclipse chaser.

Background reading

A total solar eclipse is coming. Here’s what you need to know.

Millions of people making plans to be in the path of the solar eclipse on Monday are expecting an awe-inspiring. What is that feeling?

The eclipse that ended a war and shook the gods forever.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

Fact-checking by Susan Lee .

Special thanks to Anthony Wallace.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Corey Schreppel leads the technical team that supports all Times audio shows, including “The Daily,” “Hard Fork,” “The Run-Up,” and “Modern Love.” More about Corey Schreppel

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