Speech Topics

Archive for the ‘Informative Speech Topics’ Category

Watch, Read, and Listen to the Local News in Your Area to Find the Best Speech Topics

• Your local news media, including television, newspaper, and talk radio offer an abundance of speech topics that are sure not to bore an audience.The fact is, television stations, newspaper publishers, and radio stations must create enough daily appeal to keep their ratings – yet avoid stepping on advertising sponsors’ toes.

•  Therefore, only the ‘cream of the crop’ in the news makes it and much of choosing what is aired and printed has to do with how much the topic will resonate with the public.

•  Different news publishers have different demographics that describe their readership’s and listener’s ‘common threads’ such as: location, age, and education level are among the top descriptive categories of an audience.By having demographics fully understood, this also helps publishers and station managers weed out content that could be considered inappropriate for its audience.

Great Speeches and Speech Topics are Targeted to the Audience

•  Think about this: television anchors can do an entire ‘speech’ within a minute or two. Television news is a batch of “little speeches” that answer ‘who, what, why, how, and when’.

•  When formulating your speech, you need to address these questions as well in order to avoid leaving your audience confused and with more questions.

•  Look closely to how the news is delivered; are who, what, how, why, and when addressed? Of course it is because professional journalists know instinctively how to answer those questions—they same questions their audience would have.

•  This is why most journalists begin their news coverage with a statement such as, “On October 5, 2009, a young boy of the St. Martin area accidentally fired his father’s rifle, killing a prize horse,” for example.

The Best Speech Topics are Often Found in Questions

Using the above example of a boy accidentally shooting a prized horse, what questions come to mind? Brainstorm on paper as if you were doing an interview with the family. How did the boy get a hold of the rifle? Has the boy had mental problems or disobedience issues? Why wasn’t the rifle more securely stored?

1. Ask these questions and you will wind up with several potential speech topics such as:

2. Should parents be fined for unsecured weapons? Should minor children be banned from using weapons at family gatherings (e.g. target practice)?…and so forth.

3. Paying close attention to the local news (as well as international news) can lead to great speech topics from questions that still remain.

Many speech topics can exist right in the schoolyard.

• For example, dress codes make for great speech topics; what dress codes do you feel are unfair? Are students prohibited from wearing body art such as tattoos and piercings? Who made up the rules? Do school dress codes violate civil rights?

• Other speech topics that can found at school can be written around:

1. Cafeteria and snack foods: healthy or not? Is it cheaper and healthier to bring your lunch and snacks from home?

2. Is the playground safe?

3. Should your school be “locked down” during school hours?

• If you are asked to give a speech at work, usually these speeches are focused on motivation, leadership, and success but speech topics can also be focused on employer/employee issues.

• Persuasive speeches can serve as a catalyst for change and are gaining momentum as the ‘peaceful way’ to speak out on issues that frustrate workers and employers. However, the most effective speech topics cast a positive light on potential solutions after identifying the problem.

• Such speech topics often then lead to ‘water cooler’ chats about positive solutions instead of being focused simply on the existing problem.

• Motivational speeches can be effectively written around an impacting quote and then geared toward the issue. “Rome wasn’t built in a day” can lead to “Positive steps for ABC Company to Consider with Cost Reduction.”

• Speeches that are written entirely based from one’s own perspective are usually not well-accepted.

• You want your speech to speak to your audience and show facts and figures that substantiate your position on the topic. You also want to be sure to show the other side of an argument or issue and explain why those explanations are not the best solutions.

New! Speech Topics Coming Soon!

Please be aware that this site is currently being overhauled and updated with new topics currently in process:

Speech Topics by Request:

1. How to Write a Persuasive Speech
2. The Anatomy of a Speech
3. How to Hold Your Audience’s Attention
4. Proper Formatting for High School Speeches
5. Speech Topics for Elementary School Children
6. “ for High School Kids
7. “ for College Students
8. “ for Business
9. Using PowerPoint and Other Visual Aids to Enhance Your Speech
10. Keeping Your Speech On Topic
11. Don’t READ Your Speech: Memorization Tips
12. The Best Speeches are on Topics You Know
13. Take a Course in Writing and Giving Speeches
14. Tips on Losing the Speech-Giving Jitters
15. Using Current Events for Speeches – HOT!
16. Practice Makes Perfect: Tips for Practicing Your Speech
17. Getting Feedback on Your Speech Before You Give It
18. Engaging the Audience When Giving a Speech or Presentation
19. Speeches vs. Presentations: What Are Their Differences?
20. Writing a Speech for Your Job
21. Writing a Speech for a Particular Audience
22. Writing Speeches that Take a Stand
23. Giving a Speech for Weddings and Other Special Occasions
24. How to Write a Good Acceptance Speech
25. The Best Way to Write a Speech for a PowerPoint Presentation
26. The Importance of Body Language in Speech-Giving
27. Tips for Writing Speeches that are Not Offensive
28. Why Speeches are Important in Leadership and Meetings
29. Impress Your Boss with a Speech on How to Improve Your Company
30. Creating Water-Cooler Speeches for  Work

Please check back often for the new articles and feel free to send in comments and feedback.

Also let us know if you need an article on a topic not listed and/or a request for one of the topics currently listed that you would like to read right away.

Thanks for your help and feedback!

All of you are helping to make this site the best speech website on the Internet today!

Shawna

Here is a useful list of informative speech topics that any age could use:

History Of Barbie

Alternative Fuels

Internet Crimes

Chemical Warfare

History Of Comic Books

The Reality Show Phenomenon

Parental Child Abduction

The Day The Music Died

Herbs As Medicine

The History Of Tobacco Use

Liposuction

DNA Evidence

Nanotechnology

Lasik Surgery

History of Transplants

First Woman Astronaut

The History Of Greyhound Dogs

History Of Makeup

The Origin Of Alphabets

Tsunamis

Human Cadavers – History Of, Uses Of (Great Informative Book On This Subject – Stiff)

Dolly The Sheep (Very First Clone Of A Mammal)

Increase In Childhood Obesity

Botox (Now Being Found To Be Useful In Pain Control)

Women In The Military

Childhood Obesity

Genetically Modified Crops

REM Sleep (Dreaming)

History Of Smoking In Movies

Medicinal Marijuana

Use your imagination to create more speech topics

As soon as you’ve chosen your informative speech topic, it’s time to prepare a presentation.

Writing a speech sounds terrible for a lot of people, but if you know how to do it right, the process is a simple.

Make your thoughts and words organized, and you’ll be just fine.

Here are a few steps to help you write an informative speech.

• Focus the subject. For any topic at hand, you must focus on the base points that need to be made in the speech. To create a good informative speech, you must be sure that you have summarized the key points before you start.
• Analyze your audience. The best way to write a public speech that is both effective and informative is to evaluate who the audience is and cater the speech to them specifically.
• Grab their attention. Ask people a provoking question, start with a joke or lead in with weird facts that will get people thinking about your topic. The beginning of the speech must get their attention or you will lose them.
• Give the info clearly. Do not use jabber or huge words that people may have a hard time hearing or understanding. Make certain you’re able to deliver the information in the most understandable way possible, and the best way to do this is to use plain English.
• Finish strongly. Summarize the main points of your presentation, and give people something to think of. The end of the presentation is even more important then the start, because you must give your audience something to remember.

[Via eHow]

Choosing a speech topic is always a problem for most people.

Here are a few informative speech topics ideas. All of them can be changed by your needs.

• On this day in history
• Tourism and marketing
• The Darwin Awards
• Color blindness
• Why free speech matters
• Who says that crime doesn’t pay?
• The first moon landing
• When will man get to Mars?
• My Pop Idol
• My favorite dream
• Well known films
• The Spanish civil war
• The telegraph, the ‘internet’ of the 19th Century
• The rise of Nazism
• Is an owl really wise?
• Why dolphins jump out of the water
• Cats and lions – how do they compare?
• What is inside your tap water?
• Easy ways to pass exams
• How to get good grades
• U.S. territories
• Computer viruses
• The United Nations
• Ballroom dancing
• The history of your hometown
• How to drive a stick-shift
• Foreign TV shows
• Types of poetry
• How to plan a wedding
• Conspiracy theories
• All-terrain vehicles

Related:

Top Persuasive Speech Topics

How To Write A Speech

One of the most crucial components of giving a speech is the sound of your voice.

Your voice will influence the affect of your message and potentially make or break the success of your presentation.

For a lot of people, good voice quality can be learned.

Steps:

1. Breathe from your diaphragm. Exercise deep and controlled breaths. As you speak, use breath to emphasize your point. E.g., Breathe at the end of each phrase whether you need to or not. Use that chance to pause and let the audience absorb what you say.

2. Control your volume. Determine whenever you speak too loudly or too quietly. When you start speaking, ask people how your volume is (each situation is unlike). And try to stay at the suitable volume till the end of your speech.

3. Control your pace. This one relates to breathe as well. If you speak too rapidly, people can not follow. Whenever you speak too slowly, people will lose concern. Record your presentation to check if you need to alter your pace. Get feedback from other people.

4. Try using pitch. More bass pitches commonly are more comfortable to hear. Even so, regulating your pitch for accent will keep the audience involved. Formulate your pitch by exercising humming.

5. Articulate. Try amplifying your lip motion to reduce mumbling. Exercise articulating tongue crullers and extending and amplifying vowels. Turn into an expert at articulating tongue crullers as speedily and sharply as possible. Focus on the ones you find hard.

When Giving a Speech

1. Stick to the directions above on improving your voice.

2. Exercise your presentation in advance and decide where you prefer to pause for a breath. For more accent, pause for more than 1 breath. Tag your breathing points in your draft.

3. Relax before you start. Look side to side. Roll your head in circles and roll your shoulders back. Shift your rib cage from side to side. Stretch. Touch your toes while entirely loosening your upper body, then slowly arise, one vertebra at one time, raising your head last. Repeat as required.

4. Let go of tension in your face. Blow by your lips. Move your face by several expressions. Stick out your tongue. Stretch your jaw.

5. Detect your breathing before you start. Make certain it’s even and lifelike.

6. Hum before you start.

7. Drink quite a little of water. Have H2O or herb tea accessible during your presentation. Accent your message by pausing for a drink of water at important points. Keep off milk or coffee drinks when making a presentation.

8. Stand up straight and tall to allow full lung capacity and air flow.

Tips & Warnings

• Record your articulation using different ways of talking. Decide which one is most satisfying.
• Exercise once you leave voice messages.
• Read aloud from the paper day-after-day to naturalize the correct sound and comfort of speaking. Try reading letters to the editor and then alternate with giving your own opinion.
• Exercise speaking to yourself in complete phrase. Talk back to the TV or the radio. Turn down the volume for a moment and carry out your opinion.
• Directing a couple of key flaws in your voice can make a vast difference in the impression you make.
• Call for feedback from friends and relatives.
• Consider employing a communication coach.
• Start up a practice group or take a class.
• Follow your response to others voices. Educate the features you find effective.
• Smile suitably when talking. It will gain your voice sound finer.
• Avoid external words and sounds like “hm” and “really.”
• Exercise breath control. Take a deep breath, and while you exhale, count to ten (or recount the months or days of the week). Try step by step rising your loudness when you count, practicing your abdominal muscles, not buy your throat, for loudness. Do not allow your larynx tense.

Related:

How To Write A Speech

Informative Speech Topics

How to Mentally Prepare for a Presentation

The best informative speech topics are normally related to current events and how the world around us affects us in our individual lives.

Here is a list of speech topics sure to cause discussion—and be remembered:

1. Speeches about money: the best ways to save it, spend it, and earn it.

2. Why is NASA going to cut more trips to outer space? Also, consider writing a speech on the most important advances made in NASA such as the Hubble.

3. Why has there been an increase in law-breaking? Which crimes are on the rise and why?

4. On this day in history, what remarkable things were happening during different years?

5. What does social responsibility mean to you? Consider writing a speech about how you contribute to your community and why it’s important for each person to assume responsibility.
6. Write a speech about what you think people’s greatest fears are and why. Along the same lines, where do phobias come from?

7. Write a speech about how television commercials slant viewpoints (such as “being the best) or why sometimes television news is slanted. Who owns the station and why do they allow slanted or biased views to air?

8. Write a speech about how you would overcome poverty and why poverty is still a problem in major countries such as the United States, Australia, Great Britain, and Canada. How did the poverty begin?

9. Write a speech about why the strawberry is considered a part of the rose family or why tomatoes are considered fruit.

10. Which is worse: life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty? Write a speech about your views on each or both and explain the impact on society.

11. Write a speech about how women are different from men.

12. What experience have you had that has made the biggest impact on your life?

13. Write a speech about how to start a charitable event, what charity you would choose, and why.

14. Write a speech about how outsourcing jobs has affected your country.

15. Do you think global warming is true? Write a speech about what each person can do to help curb global warming.

16. What is your favorite book of all time? If it was/is a best-seller, why do you think so many other people like the same book you do?

17. Write a speech about why people should know another language (be bi-lingual). Why would this be so important?

18. What does it take to be a great leader? Write your speech around confidence, knowledge, communication skills, and other qualities that make people leaders.

19. Write a speech about gun control: do you believe in it or oppose more restrictions on personal ownership of weapons.

20. Is the “doomsday” date of December 21, 2012 just another Y2K? Write a speech about why you think it is or isn’t due to differences.

21. Do you think immigration laws should be tougher or more lenient? Consider writing a speech about an ancestor who immigrated to the country you reside in and what the ‘rules’ were then.

22. Write a speech about why certain prejudices still exist and why people should be treated equally.

23. Write a speech about your experience writing your speech! How did you find your topic, how did you begin writing it, and if memorization and/or ‘props’ such as a PowerPoint presentation or handout enhances or detracts from a speech.

24. Do you think there should be more restrictions on imports from third-world countries? For example, there have been issues with tainted wheat imported into the United States from China.

25. Write a speech about the widespread obesity problem in children, along with the rise in their getting diabetes. What makes a person obese; not reading food labels, not having regular balanced meals, etc.

26. Is purchasing goods and services over the internet better than buying products or hiring people locally? Write a speech about the differences.

27. Write a speech about advances in medical research. You can choose one area, such as cancer, or sum up several other areas.

28. Write a speech about the differences between pharmaceutical drugs versus home remedies.

29. Write a speech about your country’s biggest asset and its history (such as oil, for example).

30. Are polar bears and penguins endangered? Write a speech as to how this has occurred.

Tips:

Keep your speech to the point.

Limit your speech to 10 minutes.

Practice your speech in front of a mirror.

Make sure you’ve researched your speech topic.

Let others read or listen to your speech and ask for their critiques.

Writing a speech is in a lot of ways like writing a paper, except that there’s no punishment for spelling and punctuation mistakes.  Some slang is even acceptable as long as it’s not offensive to your listeners.

Avoid using words you are not well-off pronouncing or do not know the meaning of because it can lead to a less fluently presented speech. Here are a few steps to help you:

Steps:

1. Keep in mind that all great speeches and even some not so great, require shape.

The old saying is hard to beat: “Tell them what you will tell them then tell them what you told them.”

2. “Shake hands with the audience.” You have something worth saying. One great speaker always began like this:

“Before I begin this speech, I have something to say.”

This passage was composed in a style that enabled him to reclaim a mighty tone for the informative portion of his remarks. Smile, calm down, and then get to work. You might want to start with a breaking one-liner or an anecdote.

3. Rise to the occasion.

To put it differently, feel passionately about your subject.

Remember old Uncle Bob’s tear jerking toast at the wedding? Even average folks can deliver great moments if they rise to the occasion. Make the audience feel how important the topic is to you, so that they begin to think about why they should care.

4. Focus.

A “great “speech doesn’t need to begin great and stay great to the end. It engages the listeners. It makes allowances for a dip in interest in the middle. Then, it gathers anticipation for its key moment.

John Stuart Mill, the political economist, defined the orator’s art this way: “Everything important to his purpose was said at the exact moment when he had brought the minds of his audience into the state most fitted to receive it.”

5. Build clear and sensible sequences from one thought to another.

The biggest mistake writers make is to assume people will follow their leaps of logic.

Spell out to the audience when you’re taking a turn in your thoughts with phrases like: “This brings us to the bigger problem of,” and so forth.

6. Add purpose.

A speech should be made for a reason. To inspire, to instruct, to rally, and to lead are solid purposes. To sound off, to flatter, or to bound are not.

7. Know your topic.

Whenever you can’t answer “what are you going to say?” in a single sentence, do yourself and the audience a favor: decline the presentation.

8. Write with one particular person in mind, someone you actually know.

This helps you to keep the message real and personable. This helps you anticipate reactions and keep your language down to earth.

9. Deliver the goods.

Delivery is the essence of eloquence. It requires exercise, discipline, drill, and timing.

You can be your own trainer. As you develop self-confidence, you put the audience at ease, or make them sit up.

Your eye is in contact with the people, not the page. If looking at people directly makes you nervous, try looking between them, at something on the back wall or somewhere else – as long as it looks you are establishing eye-contact. Your professional passion is contagious so use gestures to emphasize points, and make sure your tone of voice and facial expressions are appropriate for the topic.

10. Give your audience a sense of completion.

Bring them back to the beginning, but with a louder spirit.

This better be done by beginning the last paragraph with a calm, declaratory sentence; it should form in a series of semicolons; it should use the puissance of parallelism.

It had better reach to the farthest rafter and bounce with the action and heat of our time, and, forgetting everything else, it had better associate with grabbing each listener by his or her lapels and shout to their hearts and souls to say, “This is the end of the best speech you will ever have the good fortune to experience!”

11. Start writing as if you are creating an essay or informative article.

Read your draft aloud to check the flow. Listen to a recording. The style should be different than a typical essay or article. You can’t have paragraphs that go on and on.

*Rather than pack your talk with boring facts and figures, give them a handout (AFTER your talk). It’s OK to repeat or revisit important points for emphasis.

12. A speech can be a great promotion for your business.

Make communicating with your audience a breeze, with a well-written, well-rehearsed speech notes.

Tips:

• You may feel instant, sustained clapping punctuated by the occasional “Well done” and the present initiate punk who crinkles his brow and wonders out loud, “But what was really said?”
• Each person in the audience experiences your speech as an individual. Speak to them as individuals, by using words like “you” and “your” instead of “all of you” or “everybody here”; it is more direct and compelling, and will engage each member of your audience, whether it be five or five thousand.
• Focus your attention on one individual at a time, just as you would in normal, everyday conversation. This will help to relax you, and mitigate the fear of speaking to very large crowds. Shift your focus around the room, to different sections of your audience. By including every area, even when you might not be able see them individually, each person will feel as if you are speaking directly to them, not at them.
• Most speakers deal with the eye contact issue by twisting their body from side to side. They look from side to side as if watching a tennis match. Don’t make this mistake. Make eye contact using comfortable, natural body and head motions with meaningful glances at different areas.
• Smile from time to time but refrain from grinning like an idiot.
• Consider your audience’s frame of reference. A simple way to do it is to think about: Who’s in the audience? Why are they here? And after hearing your speech what’s the first thing you would like them to do or say to someone else perhaps?
• Don’t read your speech. Speak it from memory. You may miss a couple minor points (and even a major one), but if you can’t remember it long enough to say it, why would anyone else remember long enough to act on it?
• If you are not a seasoned speaker, it is fine to read your speech as long as your delivery isn’t stilted and amateurish like a kid reading from a textbook. You may not have time for memorization. If not, don’t be embarrassed to read your speech. Getting your message out counts the most. Look up and smile from time to time to let the audience know you haven’t forgotten them.
• Nearly everyone can recall an early experience when they were obsessed with memorization and all of a sudden drew a blank. It can derail a presentation. Be comfortable with your subject and have the bullet points on a few 3×5 cards. Calm down and do not be afraid about flawless delivery; your audience probably will not hold it against you.
• Try using an impressive pause to underline a crucial point. Stop talking for a second and look as if you are pondering your next words.
• Vary the speed of delivery and the loudness of your voice. Talk faster and louder when moving on to a new thought. Speak slowly and lower your voice for emphasis.
• You might want to play if you lived for this presentation your entire life and give it everything you got.
• You are able to drive back a fear of gibing a speech buy learning your topic. Having a commanding knowledge of your topic will show in you, just like not knowing your topic will show-even more so.
• Practice your speech with someone else if possible, and ask him/her for input.
• People say “Thank you” to signal that, yes, the speech is over. It is a very weak ending to a speech. You really shouldn’t thank the audience, any more than they should thank you. You’ve given the people a significant experience and they’ve given you their enthusiastic attention. Call it even.
• End your speech with the final forceful sentence. Signal the end simply by smiling and stepping away from the lectern or podium. If you didn’t use a lectern (always a good idea), smile and wave, take a bow, or move to shake hands with someone to signal the end of your dazzling performance. The speech itself might have been a snore fest but at least you’ll have a polished exit.
• If the speech is followed by questions/answers, it’s OK to come BACK to the podium or front of the room when the applause dies down. You don’t have to stay up there.
• Whenever you’re delivering solemn speech, chuck the smile. Make your voice and facial expression sincere and serious at all times. Just emulate a newscaster when they are bringing sad news.
• A legendary actor used this formula to give him confidence in front of people: Imagine a ray of energy emanating from deep in the earth and radiating up through your heels, up your spine, and then throughout your body. Keep this image in the back of your mind as you deliver your lines (er, speech).
• If you have a lot of time to practice, you might want to try some gestures. It’s better than stuffing your hands in your pockets or folded with the fingers laced. However, if your gestures are awkward and distracting, keep your hands in your pockets.
• Watch President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech. JFK made up stabbing your closed hand forward while touching your thumb with your bend forefinger. A lot of major public figures now use that trick.
• You better think before including flip charts into your presentation. Eventually you will find yourself paying too much attention to your flip chart and not the audience. People will be distracted by your scribbling or watching you blunder with your demonstrations. Speakers like stage props because they can help taking away the focus. Use whatever best suits you.
• Who better to write your introduction than you? Before your speech, contact the person who will be introducing you and give them your introduction. Unless they are a total idiot, they will be thankful that you saved them the chore of drafting your introduction.
• Be conscious of ummms and ahhhs. Speakers use these as filler for pauses, to let people know they haven’t finished their thought. They make you sound hesitant and unsure, however. Too many ummms and ahhhs get to be annoying. It’s OK to let silence intrude on your sentence.
• You better avoid the mannerism called “uppertalk” It’s the ending words with a question. Not only is it annoying? It makes you sound inexperienced and very uncertain of yourself. No one will be able to stand to listen to you?

Warnings

• Don’t be a windbag. Time your speech in a few practice runs. If it goes more than five minutes you had better be a spellbinding speaker. The typical amateur speaker will have the audience checking their watches in about two minutes. Keep in mind, Lincoln only needed a few minutes for the Gettysburg Address!

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Write a Speech. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.