Learn how to give an impressive persuasive speech and explore our comprehensive list of persuasive speech ideas
Learn what makes a persuasive speech with these topics
Updated October 2026
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Introduction
Are you having a hard time coming up with the right persuasive speech topic? One that isn’t boring or cliche? Are you looking for a persuasive speech topic that will both interest you and captivate your audience? It’s easier said than done, right?
Creating and delivering an interesting persuasive speech is a major endeavor. The last thing you want is to get stuck on the first step—selecting a persuasive speech topic. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. To help you identify the perfect persuasive speech topic for you, we’ve compiled a list of 110 compelling persuasive speech ideas. Every single one of these ideas has the potential to be an outstanding persuasive speech.
In addition, we’ll peel back the curtain to teach you what makes a good persuasive speech topic and give you expert tips on delivering a successful persuasive speech that will convince and astound your audience.
Want to know exactly what it takes to get into America's most selective colleges?
Get our free 110-page guide we use to help our students routinely get admitted to schools like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford: How to Get into America's Elite Colleges: The Ultimate Guide
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What makes a good persuasive speech topic?
There are three questions you can use to determine which persuasive speech topics will lead to enthusiastic applause and standing ovations.
Does the persuasive speech topic interest you?
A major part of writing a persuasive speech is doing ample research on the subject you choose. So one of the first things you should ask yourself when considering a potential persuasive speech topic is, “Would I enjoy learning about this subject extensively?” If you can’t answer that question with an emphatic, “Yes!” you might want to continue your topic search. You don’t want to spend hours diving into a subject you don’t enjoy.
Plus, an audience can easily pick up on boredom or lack of interest in a persuasive speech, and you clearly don’t want that. On the other hand, if you’re explaining a subject you’re passionate about, your audience will get caught up in your excitement—resulting in a much more compelling and persuasive speech.
Here’s another word of advice. Some people will tell you to pick a persuasive speech topic you’re already an expert in, and that’s certainly one way to go about it. While we won’t tell you being an expert in the subject should be your top deciding factor, this approach has its advantages—you’re already familiar with the lingo and the basics of the subject are. This helps you significantly speed up your research process. But if you have the time and willingness to tackle an entirely unfamiliar subject that utterly fascinates you, we say go for it!
Will the persuasive speech topic interest your audience?
So you’ve found a few persuasive speech topics that interest you. But what about your audience? Do they share your interest? Even if you argue your points with enthusiasm, will they be bored by your subject?
To answer these questions, you have to understand your audience well. Study them to learn what grabs their attention. What do they care about? What topics are relatable to their lives or their communities? What subjects will they be more likely to get emotionally invested in?
When you find persuasive speech topics that equally interest you and your audience, you’re setting yourself up for success.
Has the persuasive speech topic been covered too many times?
This is the last question you should ask yourself before committing to your persuasive speech topic. Has this topic been overdone? Even if your audience is invested in the subject, they’ll be quickly bored if they’ve listened to ten similar speeches prior to hearing yours. You won’t be persuasive if your listeners can predict each of your arguments before you give them.
Instead, search for persuasive speech topics that are unique and fresh—something your audience hasn’t heard a hundred times before. The one exception to this is if you can approach an overworked topic with a completely fresh and unusual perspective. For example, maybe you can approach the gun control debate as someone whose friend died from an accidental shooting, but your family still owns guns and enjoys hunting as a pastime.
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How to create and deliver a compelling persuasive speech
Once you’ve chosen your persuasive speech topic (our list of 110 riveting persuasive speech ideas is coming next!) and completed your research on the subject, you’ll begin the writing process. Use this step-by-step approach to produce an outstanding speech that easily persuades your audience to adopt your viewpoint.
Determine your thesis. What opinion or belief are you convincing your audience to embrace? Are you asking them to take a specific action after listening to your speech? Just as you do when writing a college essay, make sure your thesis or call-to-action is crystal clear before you start writing.
Organize your main arguments. Create an outline of the evidence or points you’ve collected to support your thesis. Make sure your ideas flow logically into each other and build your case.
Support your arguments with facts and examples. You’ll want to use multiple sources for your evidence, with a preference for well-known or reputable sources. (Please don’t cite Wikipedia!) You can also get personal by using anecdotes from your own life or the lives of someone close to you. This will increase your persuasive speech’s impact.
Add emotional connections with your audience. Make your argument more powerful by appealing to your audience’s sense of nostalgia and common beliefs. Another tactic (which marketers use all the time) is to appeal to your listeners’ fears and rely on their instincts for self-preservation.
Address counterarguments. Rather than waiting for your audience to think up objections to the points you make, do it yourself. Then dispute those objections with additional facts, examples, and anecdotes.
Wrap up your persuasive speech with a strong conclusion. In your closing, restate your thesis, tug on your audience’s heartstrings one last time with an emotional connection, and deliver your decisive call to action.
Now that you have a strongly written persuasive speech, your final task is this: practice, practice, and practice some more! We guarantee your delivery won’t be perfect on your first attempt. But on your tenth or fifteenth, it just might be.
Record yourself delivering your persuasive speech so you can play it back and analyze your areas needing improvement. Are your pauses too long or not long enough? Did you sufficiently emphasize your emotional points? Are your anecdotes coming out naturally? How is your body language? What about your hand movements and eye contact?
When you’re feeling more comfortable, deliver your speech to a friend or family member and ask for feedback. This will put your public speaking skills to the test. Ensure they understood your main points, connected emotionally, and had all their objections answered. Once you’ve fine tuned your persuasive speech based on your warm-up audience’s feedback, you’ll be ready for the real thing.
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110 interesting persuasive speech topics
Now for the fun part! We’ve compiled a list of 110 persuasive speech topics—broken down by category—for you to choose from or use as inspiration. Use the set of three questions we shared above to determine which of these interesting persuasive speech topics is right for you.
Art, Media, and Culture
Should tattoos still be considered "unprofessional" in the workplace?
Should AI-generated art, music, and writing be eligible for awards and copyright protection?
Should actors' and musicians' voices and likenesses be protected from AI replication without their consent?
Should offensive language be removed from classic literature, or should it be taught with historical context?
Do romantic movies and books create unrealistic expectations about love?
Do true-crime podcasts and documentaries exploit victims and their families?
How should TV shows and films portray mental health struggles responsibly?
Should art and music therapy be covered by insurance the same way talk therapy is?
Has streaming made it harder for musicians and artists to earn a living?
Should museums return artifacts to their countries of origin?
College and Career
Should legacy preferences in college admissions be banned?
Should selective colleges require standardized test scores?
Should students be allowed to use AI tools when writing their college application essays?
Should early decision be eliminated because it favors applicants who don't need financial aid?
Now that colleges can share revenue with athletes, should college athletes be classified as employees?
Should community college (or all college) be tuition-free?
Should high schools promote trade schools and apprenticeships as strongly as four-year colleges?
What are the benefits of taking a gap year before starting college?
Has the traditional four-year college model become outdated in the age of online learning and AI?
Should you pursue a career based on your passions or on earning potential?
Economy and Work
Should the federal minimum wage be increased?
Should companies that automate jobs with AI be required to help retrain displaced workers?
Would a four-day workweek increase productivity?
Should remote or hybrid work be the default for jobs that can be done from home?
Should all workers receive paid family leave?
Should the U.S. adopt a universal basic income?
Do tariffs help or hurt American workers and consumers?
Should tipping be replaced with higher base wages for service workers?
Should teens be allowed to work more hours during the school year?
Education
Should cell phones be banned during the entire school day?
Should students be allowed to use AI chatbots for homework?
Should classes about mental health and wellness be required in schools?
Should financial literacy be a high school graduation requirement?
Should school funding be equal across districts rather than tied to local property taxes?
Should public funding follow students to private schools through vouchers or education savings accounts?
Who should decide which books are available in school libraries?
Are grades an accurate representation of learning?
Should public schools switch to a four-day week?
Should cursive handwriting still be taught in schools?
Environment and Conservation
Should sales of new gas-powered cars be phased out?
Should nuclear power play a bigger role in the transition to clean energy?
Should AI data centers be required to run on renewable energy?
Should fast fashion brands be taxed or regulated for their environmental impact?
Should single-use plastics be banned?
Should it be legal to own exotic animals as pets?
Should zoos and marine parks be phased out?
Should scientists try to bring extinct species back through de-extinction technology?
What is the biggest current threat to the environment, and how should we address it?
Family and Religion
Should parents be allowed to track their teen's location and read their messages?
Should parents post photos and videos of their children online?
Is it better for a young child to attend daycare or stay home with a parent?
"It takes a village to raise a child." How important is community in raising children?
Should children be told to believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy?
Nature vs. nurture: which has more influence on a person's character?
Should parents require their children to attend religious services, or let them decide for themselves?
What are the benefits or drawbacks of belonging to a religious community?
Are consumer DNA and ancestry tests worth the privacy risks?
Government and International Relations
Should Supreme Court justices have term limits?
Should Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. become states?
Should the U.S. require a year of national service, military or civilian, for young adults?
Should the U.S. intervene when other governments commit human rights violations against their own people?
Should the U.S. be able to ban foreign-owned apps it considers a national security risk?
Should the Electoral College be replaced by a national popular vote?
Should the U.S. increase or decrease foreign aid?
To reduce the national debt, should the government focus on raising revenue or cutting spending?
Should there be an international ban on fully autonomous weapons?
Health and Medicine
Should the U.S. adopt universal health care?
Should insurance cover GLP-1 weight-loss medications?
Should ultra-processed foods carry warning labels?
Should artificial food dyes be banned?
Should flavored vaping products be banned?
Is a plant-based diet better than a meat-based diet?
Should addiction treatment be fully covered by health insurance?
Should AI be allowed to diagnose patients without a doctor's review?
Should high schools start later to protect teens' sleep?
Politics and Society
Should voting be mandatory?
Should the voting age be lowered to 16?
Should people in prison keep the right to vote?
Should members of Congress face age limits or term limits?
Are private, for-profit prisons a threat to prisoners' rights?
Should ranked-choice voting be adopted nationwide?
Should it be illegal for politicians to receive donations from large corporations?
Should sports betting be legal?
How can the U.S. immigration system be improved?
Science and Technology
Should the government regulate the development of advanced AI?
Should creating deepfakes of real people without their consent be illegal?
Should parents be allowed to genetically modify their children?
Should self-driving cars be allowed on public roads without a human backup driver?
Should animal testing be banned?
Should organ donation be opt-out instead of opt-in?
Should it be illegal for companies to sell their customers' data?
Should the U.S. prioritize sending humans to Mars?
Should high-speed internet be treated as a public utility?
Social Media
Should social media be banned for children under 16, as some countries have done?
At what age should kids get their first smartphone?
Should schools be responsible for teaching digital and social media literacy?
Should platforms be legally liable when their algorithms harm teens?
What should the consequences be for cyberbullying?
Are friendships with AI chatbots healthy for teens?
Are social media influencers beneficial or harmful to society?
Is cancel culture a form of accountability or mob justice?
Should platforms be required to label AI-generated content?
What are the most reliable sources for news and information?
School and Teen Life
Should high school students be allowed to leave campus for lunch?
Should playing a high school sport count toward PE credit?
Should students have a say in evaluating their teachers?
Should community service be required to graduate from high school?
Should homework be eliminated in elementary and middle school?
Should school dress codes be eliminated?
Should mental health days count as excused absences?
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Q&A on persuasive speech topics
Why did we write this guide?
We help students tell compelling stories in their college applications. Several of the skills that make a great persuasive speech are the same ones that make a great college essay: a clear thesis, well-chosen evidence, and an emotional connection with your audience. Many students we work with also compete in speech and debate, and extracurriculars such as this are a key component of college applications. We wanted to give you and any other student facing a speech assignment a practical resource for the hardest first step: choosing a topic worth arguing.
Does speech and debate help with selective college admissions?
It can, but not simply because it's on your activities list. Admissions officers at highly selective schools look for depth, growth, and impact over time. Speech and debate can showcase these qualities through measurable progression, such as advancing through tournament rounds, qualifying for state or national championships, or earning leadership roles. It also signals skills colleges value directly: research, critical thinking, poise under pressure, and intellectual engagement with contested issues.
What makes a speech and debate extracurricular stand out?
The strongest extracurriculars go beyond competing, including coaching younger teammates, founding a debate program at an underserved middle school, or turning a researched argument into real-world advocacy. It also helps when the topics you argue connect to a larger theme in your application, such as debating healthcare reform as a future premed. The most memorable cases are ones where you can write authentically about how learning to argue changed how you think.
How should I present speech and debate on my application?
You only have 150 characters for each Common App activity description, so focus on specific achievements, your role, and your impact rather than generic descriptions. A debate experience may also be rich material for the Common App essay or one of the supplemental essays. Examples include being assigned to argue a position you disagreed with or a loss that provided you a significant shift in perspective (for full essay examples, click here).
How can Shemmassian Academic Consulting help?
Our advisors can help you identify the extracurriculars that best fit your strengths and build them into a coherent application narrative. We can help you present achievements like speech and debate in ways that resonate with admissions committees and write essays that stand out at the most selective schools. Schedule a free consultation to learn more about how our college admissions advisors can help you get into America’s top colleges.
Want to know exactly what it takes to get into America's most selective colleges?
Get our free 110-page guide we use to help our students routinely get admitted to schools like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford: How to Get into America's Elite Colleges: The Ultimate Guide
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