The Best Persuasive Speech Topics for 2024 - The Ultimate Student Guide (2024)

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Giving speeches can be incredibly intimidating, no matter if it’s for school, a job, a conference…it’s scary!

What’s even a little more intimidating is giving a persuasive speech. I remember when I took a class where we had to learn the “art of persuasion,” as they call it, and it was unnerving knowing that I had to try to get a group of people in my class to agree with me on something they may have entirely different opinions about.

While I had to take an entire class to sort of understand how a persuasive speech works, I did all of that so you don’t have to.

This is a one-stop-shop to persuasive speeches, from learning what they are, what makes them up, tips on how to write and present, and even 140 persuasive speech topics that you can either use yourself or use as a jumping-off point to find something you like even more!

In this post:

- What is a Persuasive Speech?
- Components of a Persuasive Speech
- Tips to Write a Good Persuasive Speech Topic
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on Health
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on Religion
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on the Arts
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on Sports
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on Economics
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on Entertainment
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on Academics
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on Ethics
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on the Environment
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on Fashion
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on Motivation
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on Travel
- Top Persuasive Speech Topics on Technology

What is a Persuasive Speech?

A persuasive speech has one very clear goal – for the speaker to convince (or persuade) the audience into believing or at least accepting the speaker’s specific viewpoint.

Mastering persuasive speeches can be super helpful in a bunch of different fields. Whether you’re in an actual debate, trying to land a sales pitch, in a law office, or even just in a classroom, persuasive speaking is incredibly common in our everyday lives.

Even though we use persuasive speeches or language throughout our day-to-day lives, persuasive speeches can be traced all the way back to Aristotle! He came up with the components of logical reason (logos), human character (ethos), and emotion (pathos) – but we’ll get more into those in a second.

Persuasive speeches are important to master because understanding how to craft and eventually present them means you are picking up incredibly vital tools.

Learning how to capture the attention of an audience, organize information in a logical and clear manner, and connect with an audience so that they trust you enough to believe what you’re saying will not only make for a great speech, but will set you up with tools that you can carry into different situations.

So, now that you know a little bit about what a persuasive speech is and what its goals are, let’s get into the…

Components of a Persuasive Speech

When I was a junior in college, I took an entire class about the art of persuasion.

Now, I took a whole course on it, so obviously there is a lot to creating a strong persuasive speech, but here are the main components to keep in mind for when you start building one.

Ethos: this is the part of a persuasive speech that builds trust and establishes credibility.

Ethos can be used throughout, but you mainly want to use it at the beginning of your speech, in the introduction. It’s a way of getting the audience to trust you.

One way to create a strong ethos is by sharing a personal story of how you connect to the topic of your speech.

Another way is to tell the audience what authority you have in giving the speech – i.e., if you’re a doctor presenting about economics, the audience might not think you have as strong of credibility, whereas if you were a doctor presenting about the importance of a healthy diet, it would be easier to trust the information.

Source

Pathos: now, this is all about emotion.

My professor would always advise us on the importance of a strong emotional appeal when giving a persuasive speech.

While at first, I didn’t necessarily get what she meant, when I wrote my speech about the importance of birth control coverage, I learned that my argument was stronger when I told the audience why I was passionate about the subject.

Related: 15 Websites to Download Free College Textbooks Online

Tips to Write a Good Persuasive Speech Topic

So, you’ve finally made it to the part where you must craft your speech. What’s important to remember while writing a persuasive speech is that you want to sound like yourself!

While these tips can help guide you in making sure your speech is well structured, always keep in mind that a speech won’t be very good if it’s fake.

While these tips can lead you in the right direction, just make sure that you add some of your personality – if you’re goofier, incorporate some jokes. Take these tips and make them your own! That’s how your speech is really going to shine.

Without further ado:

Grab their attention from the very beginning. Whether it’s sharing a personal anecdote, shocking people with a wild statistic, or telling a joke, the best way to make sure people are engaged from start to finish is by drawing them in with something exciting.
Make sure you find something in common with the audience. In a speech class I took, my professor talked about the importance of common ground. To really be persuasive, you must show your audience that they have a reason to trust you. Whether it’s talking about a personal experience that a lot of people can relate to, or certain beliefs you know your audience may hold, finding a reason to make the audience trust you will help them to be persuaded.
Provide the audience with a roadmap. Right before you get into the nitty-gritty, it might be a good idea to let your audience know what to expect.
Remember the power of repetition. This doesn’t mean saying the same sentence over and over again in the exact same way, but always come back to the same ideas or keywords to really help the audience remember what the point is.
Don’t freak if you mess up. Everyone gets nervous, and letting your nerves take over when trying to persuade someone will probably do you more harm than good in the long run. Either gloss over a mistake or even just say “you know what, I’m talking a bit too fast and stumbling over my words, I just get so excited talking about __________. Let me take a breath and calm down.”
Color code your written speech! This is not only helpful to do so that you can make sure you have elements of ethos, pathos, and logos (by color-coding them different colors), it also makes it easier to memorize. I’ve used this trick countless times, and it’s so much easier to glance down at a sheet of paper when you get a little lost speaking and have your eyes know exactly where to go.

Here are also just a few quick tips to carry with you throughout the writing and speaking process:

Write as you talk.
Be concise in your points.
Make eye contact when you speak.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
Don’t speak too quickly!

Now that you have an idea of what you’re doing, the next step is picking a topic. This part can be very intimidating, but don’t worry – I’ve got you covered with a bunch of different persuasive speech topics in different categories!