a short persuasive speech

Persuasive Speech

Persuasive Speech Examples

16 Best Persuasive Speech Examples for Students

Good Persuasive Speech Examples

Picking an interesting and engaging topic for your persuasive speech is crucial. With the help of some good persuasive speech examples, you can easily get through the persuasive speech writing process.

Here are some good persuasive speech examples that will help you get inspired. Get help from these examples and save yourself time.

Famous Persuasive Speech Examples

Policy Persuasive Speech Examples

How to Start a Persuasive Speech Examples

After hours of writing and practicing, here comes a time for delivering the speech. As soon as you start your speech, you notice that people are talking to each other, checking their phones, changing seats, and doing everything but paying attention to you.

Why is that?

That might be because of your boring and mundane start to the speech. The beginning of your speech decides how long the audience will tune into your speech. If you don’t get them interested in your speech right from the start, there are few chances that they will pay attention to your message.

Here is an example speech that demonstrates how to begin your speech effectively:

How to Start a Speech Example

Apart from the technique used in this example, here are five effective ways to kick-start your speech:

Start With a Famous Quote

Opening with a famous and relevant quote helps you make a good impression on the audience’s mind. It helps you set the tone for the rest of your speech.

For example: “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” – Patrick Henry

Ask a Rhetorical Question

Asking a rhetorical question at the beginning of your speech arouses the audience's curiosity. It is an effective way of engaging and understanding your audience.

For example: “Do you want to be a failure for the rest of your life?”

Make a Shocking Statement

You can start with a shocking statement by keeping the audience guessing what you are about to say next. A shocking or interesting statement gets people immediately involved and listening to your every word.

For example: "Imagine a world where the air we breathe is more expensive than the food we eat."

Create a ‘what If’ Scenario

Asking a ‘what if’ question makes the audience follow your thought process. They immediately start thinking about what could be the answer to your ‘what if’ scenario.

For example: “What if we don’t wake up tomorrow? How different are we today?”

Use a Surprising Statistic

A surprising statistic that resonates with your audience helps you get your message across right away. Real, shocking statistics have the potential to trigger the audience’s emotional appeal.

For example: "Did you know that 7.5 million plastic bottles are discarded every hour in the United States?"

By following any of these tips, you can easily grab the audience’s attention every time.

How to Write a Persuasive Speech - Examples

Persuasive speech writing is an interesting task if you are familiar with the steps. This speech example demonstrates how to write a speech step by step. Use this example to write a successful persuasive speech that is both interesting and appealing to the audience.

How to Write a Persuasive Speech Example

Persuasive Speech Outline Examples

The standard persuasive speech outline consists of an introduction, body, and conclusion. Making a well-structured outline for your speech is the best way to ensure success.

Here is an outline example to help you structure your speech.

Persuasive Speech Outline Template PDF

Persuasive Speech Examples for High School Students

Speech writing and speech competition are common activities in schools. It helps students learn and enhance their public speaking skills and critical thinking.

Here are some persuasive speech examples for high school-level students.

Persuasive Speech Example for High School

Persuasive Speech Example for Highschool Students

Persuasive Speech Examples for College Students

If you are a college student looking for an example to help with your persuasive speech, look no further. Check out these examples below.

Persuasive Speech Examples College

Persuasive Speech Examples About Social Media

Short Persuasive Speech Examples for Students

In most cases, the speaker has limited time to deliver their speech. The following short persuasive examples show speeches that are written with specific time limits in mind. These will help you understand how long your speech should be for an allotted time.

3 Minute Persuasive Speech Example PDF

2 Minute Persuasive Speech Example

Short Persuasive Speech Examples About Life (PDF)

5 Minute Persuasive Speech Example

Funny Persuasive Speech Examples

Persuasive speeches often deal with serious topics. However, they can be for fun and entertainment as well! Here is an example of a funny, persuasive speech.

Funny Persuasive Speech Example

Motivational Persuasive Speech Examples

A motivational speech is a type of persuasive speech where the speaker intended to motivate the audience.

Below are some motivational persuasive speech examples.

Motivational Speech Example

Call to Action Persuasive Speech

Finally, here’s a persuasive speech example from real life. You can watch this persuasive TED talk that aims to convince the audience to quit social media:

Good Persuasive Speech Topics

Now that you’ve checked out some examples, you are ready to start writing your own persuasive speech. But what should you write about? Here are some amazing persuasive speech ideas for you.

The shift to sustainable transportation is long overdue.
Adopting a plant-based diet is the best way to ensure personal and environmental well-being.
Promoting financial literacy education is the key to economic empowerment.
Raising the minimum wage is a necessity for livable incomes.
Opt-out organ donation can save more lives.
Food deserts must be confronted to ensure equal access to healthy nutrition.
Individual responsibility plays a crucial role in fighting climate change.
Social media's negative impact on mental health is widespread.
Stricter gun control measures are vital for balancing Second Amendment rights with public safety.
Shifting to sustainable energy sources is an urgent matter.

Need more ideas? Check out 250+ persuasive speech topics to find the best topic for your speech.

To Conclude,

With the help of these examples, you can deliver a captivating address to persuade the audience listening to your speech.

However, remember that only having a great topic and structured outline is not enough. You should establish an emotional connection, maintain proper body language, and support your arguments with facts to make a successful speech.

Moreover, if you need help from experts, we’ve got you covered. Our fast essay writing service is experienced in providing perfect speeches within your deadline. Also, we craft unique persuasive speeches from scratch, according to your custom requirements.

So buy speech from professional writers today!

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

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Persuasive Speeches — Types, Topics, and Examples

What is a persuasive speech?

In a persuasive speech, the speaker aims to convince the audience to accept a particular perspective on a person, place, object, idea, etc. The speaker strives to cause the audience to accept the point of view presented in the speech.

The success of a persuasive speech often relies on the speaker’s use of ethos, pathos, and logos.

Ethos is the speaker’s credibility. Audiences are more likely to accept an argument if they find the speaker trustworthy. To establish credibility during a persuasive speech, speakers can do the following:

Use familiar language.

Select examples that connect to the specific audience.

Utilize credible and well-known sources.

Logically structure the speech in an audience-friendly way.

Use appropriate eye contact, volume, pacing, and inflection.

Pathos appeals to the audience’s emotions. Speakers who create an emotional bond with their audience are typically more convincing. Tapping into the audience’s emotions can be accomplished through the following:

Select evidence that can elicit an emotional response.

Use emotionally-charged words. (The city has a problem … vs. The city has a disease …)

Incorporate analogies and metaphors that connect to a specific emotion to draw a parallel between the reference and topic.

Utilize vivid imagery and sensory words, allowing the audience to visualize the information.

Employ an appropriate tone, inflection, and pace to reflect the emotion.

Logos appeals to the audience’s logic by offering supporting evidence. Speakers can improve their logical appeal in the following ways:

Use comprehensive evidence the audience can understand.

Confirm the evidence logically supports the argument’s claims and stems from credible sources.

Ensure that evidence is specific and avoid any vague or questionable information.

Types of persuasive speeches

The three main types of persuasive speeches are factual, value, and policy.

A factual persuasive speech focuses solely on factual information to prove the existence or absence of something through substantial proof. This is the only type of persuasive speech that exclusively uses objective information rather than subjective. As such, the argument does not rely on the speaker’s interpretation of the information. Essentially, a factual persuasive speech includes historical controversy, a question of current existence, or a prediction:

Historical controversy concerns whether an event happened or whether an object actually existed.

Questions of current existence involve the knowledge that something is currently happening.

Predictions incorporate the analysis of patterns to convince the audience that an event will happen again.

A value persuasive speech concerns the morality of a certain topic. Speakers incorporate facts within these speeches; however, the speaker’s interpretation of those facts creates the argument. These speeches are highly subjective, so the argument cannot be proven to be absolutely true or false.

A policy persuasive speech centers around the speaker’s support or rejection of a public policy, rule, or law. Much like a value speech, speakers provide evidence supporting their viewpoint; however, they provide subjective conclusions based on the facts they provide.

How to write a persuasive speech

Incorporate the following steps when writing a persuasive speech:

Step 1 – Identify the type of persuasive speech (factual, value, or policy) that will help accomplish the goal of the presentation.

Step 2 – Select a good persuasive speech topic to accomplish the goal and choose a position .

Step 3 – Locate credible and reliable sources and identify evidence in support of the topic/position. Revisit Step 2 if there is a lack of relevant resources.

Step 4 – Identify the audience and understand their baseline attitude about the topic.

Step 5 – When constructing an introduction , keep the following questions in mind:

What’s the topic of the speech?

What’s the occasion?

Who’s the audience?

What’s the purpose of the speech?

Step 6 – Utilize the evidence within the previously identified sources to construct the body of the speech. Keeping the audience in mind, determine which pieces of evidence can best help develop the argument. Discuss each point in detail, allowing the audience to understand how the facts support the perspective.

Step 7 – Addressing counterarguments can help speakers build their credibility, as it highlights their breadth of knowledge.

Step 8 – Conclude the speech with an overview of the central purpose and how the main ideas identified in the body support the overall argument.

Persuasive speech outline

One of the best ways to prepare a great persuasive speech is by using an outline. When structuring an outline, include an introduction, body, and conclusion:

Introduction

Attention Grabbers

Ask a question that allows the audience to respond in a non-verbal way; ask a rhetorical question that makes the audience think of the topic without requiring a response.

Incorporate a well-known quote that introduces the topic. Using the words of a celebrated individual gives credibility and authority to the information in the speech.

Offer a startling statement or information about the topic, typically done using data or statistics.

Provide a brief anecdote or story that relates to the topic.

Starting a speech with a humorous statement often makes the audience more comfortable with the speaker.

Provide information on how the selected topic may impact the audience .

Include any background information pertinent to the topic that the audience needs to know to understand the speech in its entirety.

Give the thesis statement in connection to the main topic and identify the main ideas that will help accomplish the central purpose.

Identify evidence

Summarize its meaning

Explain how it helps prove the support/main claim

Evidence 3 (Continue as needed)

Support 3 (Continue as needed)

Restate thesis

Review main supports

Concluding statement

Give the audience a call to action to do something specific.

Identify the overall importan ce of the topic and position.

Persuasive speech topics

The following table identifies some common or interesting persuasive speech topics for high school and college students:

Persuasive speech examples

The following list identifies some of history’s most famous persuasive speeches:

John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address: “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You”

Lyndon B. Johnson: “We Shall Overcome”

Marc Antony: “Friends, Romans, Countrymen…” in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

Ronald Reagan: “Tear Down this Wall”

Sojourner Truth: “Ain’t I a Woman?”

Persuasive Speech Examples: Taking A Stand In Speech

Persuasive speech examples - use words vs. social ills

Persuasive speeches have been used throughout history to shape public opinion and shape behavior, and examples abound. Persuasive speech examples include virtually any topic – voting, racism, school uniforms, safety, organ donation, recycling, and so on.

From a teenager asking his parents to go out with friends to an aspiring politician convincing voters to choose him, many people use a persuasive speech to convince their audience members to do something. A successful persuasive speech entails getting someone to take action and be swayed to the speaker’s side.

Table of Contents

What Is A Persuasive Speech?

While an informative speech aims to enlighten the audience about a particular subject, a persuasive speech aims to influence the audience — and convince them to accept a particular point of view.

The central idea is to persuade, whether discussing a persuasive essay or ‌public speaking. This form of communication is a call to action for people to believe in and take action upon something.

Throughout history, persuasive speech ideas and their communicators have played a vital role in driving change, whether on a personal, community, societal, national, or even global level.

We’ve seen leaders and important figures sway public opinions and spark movements. Persuasive speech has been there to raise awareness about a specific issue (e.g., labor rights, gender equality). People have been using such speeches to establish authority, negotiate, and, ultimately, urge the audience to join their side.

Persusaisve speech example as speaker passes enthusiasm to audience

What Are Some Examples Of A Persuasive Speech Topic?

There’s a wide range of good persuasive speech topics . To give you an idea, here’s a list of persuasive speech topics:

Social media is taking a toll on young people’s mental health
Cell phones and too much screen time are making people lazier
Violent video games make people more aggressive
Why authorities must ban fast food for children
Schools and workplaces should take more action to curb obesity rates
Why public schools are better than private ones
College athletes should undergo steroid tests
There’s more to high school and college students than their GPAs
Should award-giving bodies rely on the popular vote or the judges’ vote?
There’s a need to regulate the use of painkillers more heavily
Cloning must not be legalized
More government budget should be allocated to health care
Why businesses must invest in renewable energy
Should military units be allowed to use drones in warfare?
How freedom of religion is affecting society
Libraries are becoming obsolete: A step-by-step guide on keeping them alive
Should euthanasia be allowed in hospitals, clinical settings, and zoos?
Developing countries must increase their minimum wage
Global warming is getting more intense
The death penalty must be abolished

What Is An Example Of How Start Of A Persuasive Speech?

Persuasion is an art. And when you’re given the chance to make a persuasive speech, one of the first things you must do is to settle down with a thesis statement. Then, you must identify at least two main points, pre-empt counterarguments, and organize your thoughts with a ‌persuasive speech outline.

Remember that your opening (and closing) statements should be strong. Right at the start, you must captivate your audience’s attention. You can give an impactful factual statement or pose a question that challenges conventional views.

The success of a speech doesn’t only end with writing a persuasive one. You must also deliver it with impact. This means maintaining eye contact, keeping your posture open, and using a clear voice and an appropriate facial expression.

What Are The 3 Points To Persuasive Speech?

There are three pillars of a persuasive speech. First is ethos, which taps into the audience’s ethical beliefs. To convince them and establish your credibility, you must resonate with the morals they uphold.

The second one is pathos, which refers to the emotional appeal of your narrative. One approach is to share an anecdote that your audience can relate to. To effectively appeal to your audience’s emotions, you must also use language, tone, diction, and images to paint a better picture of your main point.

On other other hand, logos appeals to logic. This is why it’s important to pepper your speech with facts.

How Are Persuasive Speeches Used?

You may know persuasive speeches as those stirring speeches delivered by politicians and civil rights and business leaders. In reality, you yourself could be using it in everyday life.

There are different types of persuasive speeches. While some mobilize bigger movements, others only persuade a smaller audience or even just one person.

You can use it in a personal context . For example, you’re convincing your parent to extend your curfew or eat at a certain restaurant. In grander ways, you can also use it to advocate for social and political movements. If you’re in business, marketing, or sales, you can use persuasive speech to promote your brand and convince others to buy your product or service.

For example, a teen might try to persuade a parent to let them stay out beyond curfew, while a civil rights leader might use persuasion to encourage listeners to fight racism.

No matter the context of your speech, an effective persuasive speech can compel someone or a group of people to adopt a viewpoint, take a particular action, and change a behavior or belief.

Persuasive speech examples - persuade elderly parent

What Are Persuasive Speech Examples?

This AI-created speech about walking shows how a persuasive speech is laid out, using Monroe’s Motivated Sequence (i.e., attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and call to action) to convey the message that walking can overcome the risks of modern life

The introduction sets up the speech:

“Let’s be honest, we lead an easy life: automatic dishwashers, riding lawnmowers, T.V. remote controls, automatic garage door openers, power screwdrivers, bread machines, electric pencil sharpeners… We live in a time-saving, energy-saving, convenient society. It’s a wonderful life. Or is it?”

Unfortunately, lack of exercise leads to health problems. Walking can overcome the effects of lack of exercise, lethargy, and poor diet. The body of the speech delves into this concept in detail and then concludes with a call to the audience to walk more.

AI pick up the pattern that many living persons have perfected over the year.

Maya Angelou, an American poet and civil rights activist, delivered this compelling poem as a persuasive speech . The performance concludes with this inspiring message about overcoming hardship and discrimination: “Leaving behind nights of terror and fear, I rise/ Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear, I rise/ Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave/ I am the dream and the hope of the slave/ I rise, I rise, I rise.”

What Are Some Historical Examples Of Persuasive Speech?

Maya Angelou is just one of the important figures who have delivered powerful speeches etched in history. These individuals have risen and relayed impactful messages, championing advocacies that would resonate with people during their time — and beyond.

Below are more moving examples of a persuasive speech:

The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

Context: In November 1863, during the American Civil War, US President Abraham Lincoln delivered this speech in commemoration of the dedication of the Gettysburg National Ceremony (also known as the Soldiers’ National Ceremony).

Snippet: “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety, do.

“ But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow, this ground, The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.

“ It is rather for us, the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us that, from these honored dead, we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

The Finest Hour by Winston Churchill

Context: In his nearly 40-minute long speech in June 1940, over a month since Winston Churchill became the British Prime Minister, he sparked hope that they could win the impending Battle of Britain during the Second World War.

Snippet: “What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war.

If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free, and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us, therefore, brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”

I Have a Dream by Mary Wollstonecraft

Context: In her 1792 speech, the British writer and women’s rights advocate shared her dream — that a day will come when women will be treated as rational human beings.

Snippet: “These may be termed utopian dreams. – Thanks to that Being who impressed them on my soul, and gave me sufficient strength of mind to dare to exert my own reason, till, becoming dependent only on him for the support of my virtue, I view, with indignation, the mistaken notions that enslave my sex.

“ I love man as my fellow; but his scepter, real or usurped, extends not to me unless the reason of an individual demands my homage; and even then, the submission is to reason and not to man. In fact, the conduct of an accountable being must be regulated by the operations of its own reason; or on what foundation rests the throne of God?”

These snippets of their persuasive speech capture the very essence of this form of communication: to convince the audience through compelling and valid reasoning, evoking their feelings and moral principles, and motivating them to act and join a movement, big or small.

Persuasive Speech: How to Write an Effective Persuasive Speech

Persuasive Speech How to Write a Persuasive Speech

Most often, it actually causes the other person to want to play “Devil’s advocate” and argue with you. In this article, we are going to show you a simple way to win people to your way of thinking without raising resentment. If you use this technique, your audience will actually WANT to agree with you! The process starts with putting yourself in the shoes of your listener and looking at things from their point of view.

Background About How to Write a Persuasive Speech. Facts Aren’t Very Persuasive.

In a Persuasive Presentation Facts Aren't Very Persuasive

Most people think that a single fact is good, additional facts are better, and too many facts are just right. So, the more facts you can use to prove your point, the better chance you have of convincing the other person that you are right. The HUGE error in this logic, though, is that if you prove that you are right, you are also proving that the other person is wrong. People don’t like it when someone proves that they are wrong. So, we prove our point, the other person is likely to feel resentment. When resentment builds, it leads to anger. Once anger enters the equation, logic goes right out the window.

In addition, when people use a “fact” or “Statistic” to prove a point, the audience has a natural reaction to take a contrary side of the argument. For instance, if I started a statement with, “I can prove to you beyond a doubt that…” before I even finish the statement, there is a good chance that you are already trying to think of a single instance where the statement is NOT true. This is a natural response. As a result, the thing that we need to realize about being persuasive is that the best way to persuade another person is to make the person want to agree with us. We do this by showing the audience how they can get what they want if they do what we want.

You may also like How to Design and Deliver a Memorable Speech .

A Simple 3-Step Process to Create a Persuasive Presentation

Persuasion Comes from both Logic and Emotion

The process below is a good way to do both.

Step One: Start Your Persuasive Speech with an Example or Story

When you write an effective persuasive speech, stories are vital. Stories and examples have a powerful way to capture an audience’s attention and set them at ease. They get the audience interested in the presentation. Stories also help your audience see the concepts you are trying to explain in a visual way and make an emotional connection. The more details that you put into your story, the more vivid the images being created in the minds of your audience members.

This concept isn’t mystical or anything. It is science. When we communicate effectively with another person, the purpose is to help the listener picture a concept in his/her mind that is similar to the concept in the speaker’s mind. The old adage is that a “picture is worth 1000 words.” Well, an example or a story is a series of moving pictures. So, a well-told story is worth thousands of words (facts).

By the way, there are a few additional benefits of telling a story. Stories help you reduce nervousness, make better eye contact, and make for a strong opening. For additional details, see Storytelling in Speeches .

I’ll give you an example.

Factual Argument: Seatbelts Save Lives

53% of all motor vehicle fatalities from last years were people who weren’t wearing seatbelts.
People not wearing seatbelts are 30 times more likely to be ejected from the vehicle.
In a single year, crash deaths and injuries cost us over $70 billion dollars.

These are actual statistics. However, when you read each bullet point, you are likely to be a little skeptical. For instance, when you see the 53% statistic, you might have had the same reaction that I did. You might be thinking something like, “Isn’t that right at half? Doesn’t that mean that the other half WERE wearing seatbelts?” When you see the “30 times more likely” statistic, you might be thinking, “That sounds a little exaggerated. What are the actual numbers?” Looking at the last statistic, we’d likely want to know exactly how the reporter came to that conclusion.

As you can see, if you are a believer that seatbelts save lives, you will likely take the numbers at face value. If you don’t like seatbelts, you will likely nitpick the finer points of each statistic. The facts will not likely persuade you.

Example Argument: Seatbelts Save Lives

A Story or Example is More Persuasive Because It Offers Facts and Emotion

When I came to, I tried to open my door. The accident sealed it shut. The windshield was gone. So I took my seatbelt off and scrambled out the hole. The driver of the truck was a bloody mess. His leg was pinned under the steering wheel.

The firefighters came a few minutes later, and it took them over 30 minutes to cut the metal from around his body to free him.

A Sheriff’s Deputy saw a cut on my face and asked if I had been in the accident. I pointed to my truck. His eyes became like saucers. “You were in that vehicle?”

I nodded. He rushed me to an ambulance. I had actually ruptured my colon, and I had to have surgery. I was down for a month or so, but I survived. In fact, I survived with very few long-term challenges from the accident.

The guy who hit me wasn’t so lucky. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. The initial impact of the accident was his head on the steering wheel and then the windshield. He had to have a number of facial surgeries. The only reason he remained in the truck was his pinned leg. For me, the accident was a temporary trauma. For him, it was a life-long tragedy.

The Emotional Difference is the Key

As you can see, there are major differences between the two techniques. The story gives lots of memorable details along with an emotion that captures the audience. If you read both examples, let me ask you a couple of questions. Without looking back up higher on the page, how long did it take the firefighters to cut the other driver from the car? How many CDs did I have? There is a good chance that these two pieces of data came to you really quickly. You likely remembered this data, even though, the data wasn’t exactly important to the story.

However, if I asked you how much money was lost last year as a result of traffic accidents, you might struggle to remember that statistic. The CDs and the firefighters were a part of a compelling story that made you pay attention. The money lost to accidents was just a statistic thrown at you to try to prove that a point was true.

The main benefit of using a story, though, is that when we give statistics (without a story to back them up,) the audience becomes argumentative. However, when we tell a story, the audience can’t argue with us. The audience can’t come to me after I told that story and say, “It didn’t take 30 minutes to cut the guy out of the car. He didn’t have to have a bunch of reconstructive surgeries. The Deputy didn’t say those things to you! The audience can’t argue with the details of the story, because they weren’t there.

Step 2: After the Story, Now, Give Your Advice

When most people write a persuasive presentation, they start with their opinion. Again, this makes the listener want to play Devil’s advocate. By starting with the example, we give the listener a simple way to agree with us. They can agree that the story that we told was true. So, now, finish the story with your point or your opinion. “So, in my opinion, if you wear a seatbelt, you’re more likely to avoid serious injury in a severe crash.”

By the way, this technique is not new. It has been around for thousands of years. Aesop was a Greek slave over 500 years before Christ. His stories were passed down verbally for hundreds of years before anyone ever wrote them down in a collection. Today, when you read an Aesop fable, you will get 30 seconds to two minutes of the story first. Then, at the conclusion, almost as a post-script, you will get the advice. Most often, this advice comes in the form of, “The moral of the story is…” You want to do the same in your persuasive presentations. Spend most of the time on the details of the story. Then, spend just a few seconds in the end with your morale.

Step 3: End with the Benefit to the Audience

3 Step Process to Write an Effective Persuasive Speech

So, the moral of the story is to wear your seatbelt. If you do that, you will avoid being cut out of your car and endless reconstructive surgeries .

Now, instead of leaving your audience wanting to argue with you, they are more likely to be thinking, “Man, I don’t want to be cut out of my car or have a bunch of facial surgeries.”

The process is very simple. However, it is also very powerful.

How to Write a Successful Persuasive Speech Using the “Breadcrumb” Approach

Once you understand the concept above, you can create very powerful persuasive speeches by linking a series of these persuasive stories together. I call this the breadcrumb strategy. Basically, you use each story as a way to move the audience closer to the ultimate conclusion that you want them to draw. Each story gains a little more agreement.

So, first, just give a simple story about an easy to agree with concept. You will gain agreement fairly easily and begin to also create an emotional appeal. Next, use an additional story to gain additional agreement. If you use this process three to five times, you are more likely to get the audience to agree with your final conclusion. If this is a formal presentation, just make your main points into the persuasive statements and use stories to reinforce the points.

Here are a few persuasive speech examples using this approach.

An Example of a Persuasive Public Speaking Using Breadcrumbs

Marijuana Legalization is Causing Huge Problems in Our Biggest Cities Homelessness is Out of Control in First States to Legalize Marijuana Last year, my family and I took a mini-vacation to Colorado Springs. I had spent a summer in Colorado when I was in college, so I wanted my family to experience the great time that I had had there as a youth. We were only there for four days, but we noticed something dramatic had happened. There were homeless people everywhere. Keep in mind, this wasn’t Denver, this was Colorado City. The picturesque landscape was clouded by ripped sleeping bags on street corners, and trash spread everywhere. We were downtown, and my wife and daughter wanted to do some shopping. My son and I found a comic book store across the street to browse in. As we came out, we almost bumped into a dirty man in torn close. He smiled at us, walked a few feet away from the door, and lit up a joint. He sat on the corner smoking it. As my son and I walked the 1/4 mile back to the store where we left my wife and daughter, we stepped over and walked around over a dozen homeless people camped out right in the middle of the town. This was not the Colorado that I remembered. From what I’ve heard, it has gotten even worse in the last year. So, if you don’t want to dramatically increase your homelessness population, don’t make marijuana legal in your state. DUI Instances and Traffic Accidents Have Increased in Marijuana States I was at the airport waiting for a flight last week, and the guy next to me offered me his newspaper. I haven’t read a newspaper in years, but he seemed so nice that I accepted. It was a copy of the USA Today, and it was open to an article about the rise in unintended consequences from legalizing marijuana. Safety officials and police in Colorado, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon, the first four state to legalize recreational marijuana, have reported a 6% increase in traffic accidents in the last few years. Although the increase (6%) doesn’t seem very dramatic, it was notable because the rate of accidents had been decreasing in each of the states for decades prior to the law change. Assuming that only one of the two parties involved in these new accidents was under the influence, that means that people who aren’t smoking marijuana are being negatively affected by the legalization. So, if you don’t want to increase your chances of being involved in a DUI incident, don’t legalize marijuana. (Notice how I just used an article as my evidence, but to make it more memorable, I told the story about how I came across the article. It is also easier to deliver this type of data because you are just relating what you remember about the data, not trying to be an expert on the data itself.) Marijuana is Still Largely Unregulated Just before my dad went into hospice care, he was in a lot of pain. He would take a prescription painkiller before bed to sleep. One night, my mom called frantically. Dad was in a catatonic state and wasn’t responsive. I rushed over. The hospital found that Dad had an unusually high amount of painkillers in his bloodstream. His regular doctor had been on vacation, and the fill-in doctor had prescribed a much higher dosage of the painkiller by accident. His original prescription was 2.5 mg, and the new prescription was 10 mg. Since dad was in a lot of pain most nights, he almost always took two tablets. He was also on dialysis, so his kidneys weren’t filtering out the excess narcotic each day. He had actually taken 20 MG (instead of 5 MG) on Friday night and another 20 mg on Saturday. Ordinarily, he would have had, at max, 15 mg of the narcotic in his system. Because of the mistake, though, he had 60 MGs. My point is that the narcotics that my dad was prescribed were highly regulated medicines under a doctor’s care, and a mistake was still made that almost killed him. With marijuana, there is really no way of knowing how much narcotic is in each dosage. So, mistakes like this are much more likely. So, in conclusion, legalizing marijuana can increase homelessness, increase the number of impaired drivers, and cause accidental overdoses.

If you use this breadcrumb approach, you are more likely to get at least some agreement. Even if the person disagrees with your conclusion, they are still likely to at least see your side. So, the person may say something like, I still disagree with you, but I totally see your point. That is still a step in the right direction.

For Real-World Practice in How to Design Persuasive Presentations Join Us for a Class

Our instructors are experts at helping presenters design persuasive speeches. We offer the Fearless Presentations ® classes in cities all over the world about every three to four months. In addition to helping you reduce nervousness, your instructor will also show you secrets to creating a great speech. For details about any of the classes, go to our Presentation Skills Class web page.

For additional details, see Persuasive Speech Outline Example .

Podcasts , presentation skills

How to Write a Persuasive Speech | Tips for Crafting an Effective One in 2023

Leah Nguyen • 04 Oct 2023 • 6 min read

A persuasive speech doesn’t make you talk till your throat’s dry.

In today’s discussion, we’ll break down the proven formula successful orators use to move minds and hearts.

Whether you’re running for office, pitching new product, or advocating for an important cause, let’s check out how to write a persuasive speech .

What is a persuasive speech, #1. research the subject, #2. cut down the fluff, #3. craft a persuasive speech structure, #4. tell a story, short persuasive speech examples, persuasive speech topics, bottom line, frequently asked questions, tips for audience engagement.

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Persuasive Speech Outline

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Have you ever been truly moved by a speaker who had you hanging on their every word? Who took you on such an inspiring journey that you left wanting to take action? Those are the hallmarks of a master persuader at work.

A persuasive speech is a type of public speaking designed to literally change minds and motivate behaviour. It’s part communication magic, part psychology hack – and with the right tools, anyone can learn to do it.

At its core, a persuasive speech aims to convince an audience of a specific idea or course of action by appealing to both logic and emotion. It lays out clear arguments while also tapping into passions and values.

A successful persuasive structure will introduce the topic, outline key points, address counterarguments, and conclude with a memorable call to action. Visual aids, stories, rhetorical devices and enthusiastic delivery all enhance the experience.

Although meant to be convincing, quality persuaders never resort to manipulation. Rather, they present solid facts with empathy and honour other perspectives along the journey.

From campaign speeches to PTA fundraisers , the ability to strategically rally support around a viewpoint through oration alone is a talent worth cultivating. So whether you aspire to inspire social change or simply motivate mindsets in your circle, adding persuasion to your public speaking playbook is sure to magnify your impact.

How to Write a Persuasive Speech

Crafting the perfect persuasive address requires thoughtful planning. But fear not, with the right framework you’ll be well on your way to masterfully motivating any audience.

They say knowing is half the battle. When you’re doing research on the topic, you’ll unconsciously remember every detail and information along the way. And because of that, smooth information will flow out of your mouth before you know it.

Get familiarised with reputational research papers, peer-reviewed journals and expert opinions to craft a concrete foundation for your speech. They also present different views and counterarguments so you can address them on the day.

You can map each point with a respective counterargument using a mind-mapping tool for a structured and more organised approach.

This is no time to flex your wealth of ultra-complicated technical words. The idea of a persuasive speech is to get your point across verbally.

Make it sound natural so that you have no trouble spewing it out loud and your tongue doesn’t linger trying to pronounce something like anthropomorphism.

Avoid lengthy constructions that cause you to stumble. Chop the sentences down to short and concise pieces of information.

See this example:

It could be said that in light of the presently existing circumstances which are currently surrounding us at this moment in time, there may potentially exist certain conditions that might feasibly be conducive toward potentially providing an optimum environment for potentially achieving desired outcomes.

Sounds unnecessarily long and complex, isn’t it? You can just bring this down to something like this:

The current circumstances could create conditions conducive to achieving desired outcomes.

The clearer version gets the same point across in a more direct and succinct way by removing extra words, simplifying the phrasing and structure, and using more active rather than passive construction.

The general outline for a speech needs to be clear and logical. Here are some tips on how to craft one:

Start with a compelling hook. Capture attention instantly with a surprising stat, intriguing anecdote or open question. Pique curiosity about the issue.
Clearly state your thesis up front. Distil your central argument and goal into a concise, memorable statement. Paint the picture of what you aim to achieve.
Support your thesis with well-chosen facts. Cite respected sources and data-driven evidence to rationally reinforce key talking points. Appeal to logic as well as emotion.
Anticipate objections and address counterarguments respectfully. Show you understand opposing viewpoints yet position why yours is most sound.
Weave in illustrative stories and examples. Relate concepts to people’s lives through a compelling narrative. Paint a vivid mental image they’ll never forget.
Close powerfully with a call to action. Inspire audiences to take a specific next step that furthers your cause. Motivate minds and spark an enduring commitment to your vision.

While logic and facts are important, truly moving an audience to act requires connecting on a deeper human level through emotion.

Persuasive speeches that only present dry statistics and reasoning, no matter how sound, will fail to inspire.

To craft a speech that sways hearts as well as minds, strategically incorporate stories, anecdotes and value-based language tailored to your listeners.

Describe how the issue personally impacts real people in a way the audience can relate to and feel empathetic towards. Share a short, engaging narrative that puts a vivid face to the topic.

Appeal to your crowd’s core beliefs and priorities by framing your argument in terms of principles they cherish such as justice, empathy or progress.

Tap into emotions like pride, hope or outrage to energise their conviction to support your solution. With targeted emotional insights paired with rational appeals, you’ll guide your audience along a far more persuasive journey of the heart and soul.

Here are examples of short persuasive speeches. A convincing one should have a specific purpose, as well as central arguments built on it.

Persuasive Speech Example 1: Title: Why Recycling Should Be Mandatory Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that recycling should be required by law in all communities. Central Idea: Recycling helps the environment, conserves natural resources and saves money; therefore, all communities should pass laws to mandate recycling programs.

Persuasive Speech Example 2: Title: Why Social Media Is Detrimental to Teen Mental Health Specific Purpose: To persuade parents to monitor and limit their teen’s social media usage. Central Idea: Excessive social media use has been linked to increased anxiety, depression and loneliness in teens by promoting social comparison and FOMO. Implementing reasonable limits can help protect mental well-being.

Persuasive Speech Example 3: Title: Why School Lunches Need Improvement Specific Purpose: To persuade the PTA to lobby for healthier cafeteria food options. Central Idea: The current lunch offerings at our school are often overly processed and lack nutrients, leading to obesity risks. Upgrading to fresher, whole foods will boost student health and focus.

Practising a chosen speech topic can increase your persuasion skills tremendously. Here are some topics to kickstart:

Year-round schooling, later start times, homework policies, funding for arts/sports, dress codes
Immigration reform, gun control laws, LGBTQ+ rights, abortion, marijuana legalisation
Sugar/food taxes, banning plastic straws, GMO labelling, smoking bans, green energy initiatives
Social media regulations, driverless cars, surveillance laws, video game restrictions
Minimum wage increases, universal basic income, trade policies, taxes
Prison/sentencing reform, police use of force, drug decriminalisation, private prisons
Foreign aid, refugees/asylum, trade agreements, military budget
Gender roles, body positivity, social media/TV influence, work-life balance
Free will vs. determinism, ethical consumption, technology’s impact, social justice
Ratings systems, content restrictions, media bias, streaming vs. cable

In closing, an effective persuasive speech has the power to inspire change and bring people together behind important causes. If you understand audience psychology and craft your message strategically with passion and precision, you too can sway minds on issues you care about.

How do I start a persuasive speech?

Start your persuasive speech with a startling statistic, fact or emotional story to hook the audience instantly.

What makes a good persuasive speech?

A good persuasive speech often comprises logic, emotion and credibility. Satisfying all three criteria will enhance your argument.

Leah Nguyen

Words that convert, stories that stick. I turn complex ideas into engaging narratives - helping audiences learn, remember, and take action.

Easy persuasive speech topics: examples

309 good persuasive topics + resources for writing persuasive speeches

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

Let's be right up front about this.

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

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

What's on this page

309 potentially easy persuasive speech topics.

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

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

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

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

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

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

* astounded, overwhelmed.

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What a successful persuasive speech usually takes

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

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

Those things include:

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

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

However, there is a way through.

How a persuasive speech topic becomes easy

You'll be glad to know there are exceptions.

A persuasive topic becomes 'easy' if:

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

Difficulties miraculously melt away when you are totally engrossed!

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

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

21 food themed persuasive speech topics

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

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

69 persuasive speech topics on education

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

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

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

135 persuasive speech topics about health

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

46 mental health persuasive speech topics

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

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

For 50 more mental health persuasive speech topics

24 persuasive ideas: the psychology of motivation

Why do people behave the way they do?

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

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

The answers are found in motivation.

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

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

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

10 persuasive speech topics about autism

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

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

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

19 persuasive speech topics on natural medicine

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

Other synonyms are:

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

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

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

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

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

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

22 current medical issues speech topics

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

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

Have fun with these!

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

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

53 topics: ethics, morals and values

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

Diagram showing the overlap of values, morals and ethics.

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

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

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

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

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

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

28 topics based on morals and ethics

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

25 persuasive speech topic ideas on values

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

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

20 persuasive speech topics about the economy

Diagram of the interrelationship of economics

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

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

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

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

I sought a definition for clarity and found this:

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

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

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

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

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

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More persuasive speech resources

Persuasive speech topics.

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

For assistance with planning and writing

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

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6 Tips for Writing a Persuasive Speech (On Any Topic)

B y far, the best way to learn how to write speeches is to read the great ones, from Pericles’ Funeral Oration, to Dr. King’s Mountaintop speech, to Faulkner’s Nobel acceptance address. But if you’re looking for some quick tips, here are a few things to bear in mind next time you’re asked to give a speech:

1. Write like you talk. There is no First Law of Speechwriting, but if there were, it would probably be something like this: a speech is meant to be spoken, not read. That simple (and obvious) fact has a few important (and less obvious) implications. Use short words. Write short sentences. Avoid awkward constructions that might cause a speaker to stumble. Tip: Read the speech aloud as you’re writing. If you do it enough, you’ll start hearing the words when you type them.

2. Tell a story . I once wrote speeches for a governor whose aide told me: speechwriting is about slinging soundbites together. That approach is a recipe for writing neither good speeches nor good soundbites. Whenever we sat down to discuss a speech for the first time, President Obama would ask us: What’s the story we’re trying to tell? Like any good story, a speech has its own narrative arc. For the President, it’s usually a slow warm-up, a substantive middle, and an inspirational end. That’s his style. Tell your story in whatever way feels natural. Tip: A good story can be a lot more powerful than the most compelling facts and statistics.

3. Structure matters . It’s usually harder to figure out the right structure for a speech – the order of the points to make – than the words themselves. The order of those points matters because an argument that’s clear and logical is more likely to be persuasive. There is a reason that some of America’s greatest speechwriters – from Lincoln to JFK’s speechwriter Ted Sorensen to President Obama himself – studied the law, a profession that values the ability to make a logical argument. Tip: Lists (like this one) are one way to impose a structure on a speech.

4. Be concise. It is said that Woodrow Wilson once gave the following reply to a speaking request: “If you’d like me to speak for five minutes, I’ll need a month to prepare. If you’d like me to speak for 20 minutes, I’ll need two weeks. But if you’d like me to speak for an hour, I’m ready right now.” As Wilson knew, it’s harder to be concise than verbose. But the best way to make a point is concisely, as Churchill did when he announced during a wartime address: “The news from France is very bad.” Next time you think you can’t afford to cut that paragraph you love, remember: the Gettysburg Address, perhaps the greatest speech in American history, is fewer than 300 words. Tip: Challenge yourself to cut as many words as possible from each sentence without losing the line’s meaning.

5. Be authentic. If you’ve ever given a speech, you’ve probably been told, “Just speak from the heart.” It’s not very helpful writing advice, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Once, when we were writing President Obama’s 2008 Democratic Convention address, we got stuck on a certain section of the speech. The President advised us: Think about the moment we’re in, think about what the country is going through, and write something that feels true. It was a helpful reminder to stop focusing on polls and soundbites and simply say something we believed in as simply as we could. Tip: Sharing a personal story can help you find your voice and build a connection with the audience.

6. Don’t just speak – say something. When Michelangelo was tasked with painting the Sistine Chapel, he considered it a thankless job. He would have much rather spent his time sculpting than painting. But he used the occasion to paint perhaps the most revered fresco in history. So, the next time you’re asked to speak, don’t just write a speech, write a great one. A speech’s greatness has as much to do with its values as anything else. No one remembers the speeches of segregationists, though there were no doubt eloquent preachers spewing hate in the days of Jim Crow. No one remembers Hitler’s speeches, though few would dispute his oratorical prowess. Of course, Hitler, like the segregationists, lost. But it’s also because hope will always be more compelling than hate. It’s no accident that the best-known, best-loved speech in history – the Sermon on the Mount – is an articulation of humanity’s highest ideals. Tip: Before sitting down to write, get inspired by reading great speeches from collections like William Safire’s “Lend Me Your Ears.”

Adam Frankel is VP, External Affairs at Andela . Previously, he was Special Assistant and Senior Speechwriter to President Barack Obama.

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How to write a persuasive speech

By BBC Maestro Writing Lifestyle Business Last updated: 13 October 2023

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Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream”. William Churchill’s “We will fight on the beaches”. Malala Yousafzai's "I am here to stand up for their rights, to raise their voice". These are three of the most famous speeches ever – and their long-lasting impact is down to how persuasive they are.

If you want to follow in their footsteps, here’s everything you need to know about how to write a persuasive speech.

What makes a persuasive speech?

The very notion of public speaking is enough to strike fear into the heart of most people. But it doesn’t need to be scary – and dispelling that thought is the first step to writing a persuasive speech. After all, no one was ever convinced by someone who wasn’t confident about their subject.

Don’t believe it? Take it from Richard Greene, who’s dedicated his career to helping people overcome their fear of public speaking. It’s easier to deliver a speech, he says, if you remember that it’s not about you.

As he explains in his BBC Maestro course, Public Speaking and Communication, “the real reason for public speaking is to provide value to the people standing or sitting in front of you.”

Once you remember that, it’s easier to deliver a speech that’s less nerve-wracking and more impactful.

But what exactly, makes someone a persuasive speaker? Think again about those famous speeches from Martin Luther King Jr, William Churchill and Malala Yousafzai. What makes them so persuasive?

Some of the common threads that run through each of them include:

Personalisation: each speaker made the audience feel like they were talking directly to them
Use of strong imagery and visual language
Use of commanding yet simple-to-understand language
Authenticity: none of these speakers were putting on an act, and it went a long way to making their speeches more powerful

Let’s take a look at these in a little more detail, to help you write a speech that’s powerful, passionate and persuasive.

Know your topic

It might sound obvious – after all, why would you try to deliver a speech on something you don’t know much about? But it happens more often than you might think.

But if you don’t know your subject well, you’re more likely to be nervous about fluffing it. And if your audience knows that you’re nervous – and they will – then it’s unlikely to be a persuasive speech.

As Richard Greene says, one of the keys to a successful speech is that “you believe that there is value in the information that you are sharing.”

So, first things first – make sure that your knowledge of a topic is top-notch before even attempting to write your speech. It’ll go a long way to making it more effective and persuasive.

Speak directly to the audience

One of the things that all the famous orators we mentioned earlier did so well was speaking directly to their audience. When writing a persuasive speech, you want to make it seem like you’re speaking directly to each and every audience member.

As Richard Greene explains, “I want to get every single person to feel that they’re having a direct connection and direct communication with me.”

Asking questions is a great way to get your audience engaged – another great tip from Richard Greene. He suggests that you “turn the tables and ask them questions [because] questions engage the audience, questions take the pressure off the speaker.”

You could also help the audience connect to you by telling them a personal story, relating an anecdote, or simply spelling out what you’re going to tell them – and why it’s important to them.

However you do it, connecting with your audience is key. It is, as Richard puts it, “where the transfer of energy, the transfer of enthusiasm, the transfer of information happens.”

Communicate clearly

One big mistake that many people make when writing speeches is to make them overly verbose, or to fill them with jargon. But if an audience doesn’t understand what you’re saying, they’ll immediately switch off – meaning that you’ll never persuade them. One good rule of thumb is to write like you talk – and then to practice reading your speech out loud. You’ll soon spot anything that sounds odd, out of place, or difficult to understand.

Tell a story

Stories are powerful, and they’re a fantastic technique to use within speeches to get your point across. Richard Greene is a big fan of stories, saying that: “The six most powerful words a speaker can ever say to an audience is let…me…tell…you…a…story.” He goes on to explain that “stories reach into our primal self as human beings, stories have been the primary form of communication amongst human beings for all time.” A story is made even better when they’re filled with imagery that the audience can use to help them understand it. Think back to Martin Luther King Jr, Churchill and Malala Yousafzai – they all use powerful, visual language to tell their story and leave a lasting impression.

Use your body as well as your words

Body language is useful in helping you to tell your story. Whether it’s through hand gestures, eye contact, or simply the way you hold yourself, your body is an effective tool for reinforcing your message and sincerity. But remember that your body language should make your message clearer – not more complicated. If your body language is at odds with the words you’re speaking, your audience is going to leave feeling less persuaded and more confused. So, avoid crossing your arms or slouching which could give off the impression that you’re bored or uninterested in the subject, and instead practice standing tall and proud, and using open gestures to reiterate your points.

Be yourself

Audiences are smart, and they’re unlikely to be fooled by someone selling trying to sell them a false narrative, or an inauthentic version of themselves. Being yourself is one of the best shots you have at creating a real rapport with your audience. As Richard Green says, “your authenticity in the moment is what will drive your connection to the audience.” So, once you’ve learned your subject, written your speech, and practiced it – tear it up, take a deep breath, and go out on stage as your authentic self. These tips will help you to write a persuasive speech – but there’s lots more to learn about the art of public speaking and getting your point across, as you’ll learn in Richard Greene’s BBC Maestro course, Public Speaking and Communication . You’ll learn everything about conquering your fear of public speaking and connecting with your audience.

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75 Persuasive Speech Topics and Ideas

October 4, 2018 - Gini Beqiri

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

What is persuasive speech?

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

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

How to choose a topic for your speech

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

Familiarity

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

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

The audience’s interest

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

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

Not overdone

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

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

Emotional topics

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

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

Desired outcome

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

Persuasive speech topics

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

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

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

Arts/Culture

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

Business and economy

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

Law and politics

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

Science and the environment

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

World peace

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

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

After choosing your topic

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

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

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

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

Choose Your Test

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

General Education

Are you struggling to find good persuasive speech topics? It can be hard to find a topic that interests both you and your audience, but in this guide we've done the hard work and created a list of 105 great persuasive speech ideas. They're organized into ten categories and cover a variety of topics, so you're sure to find one that interests you.

In addition to our list, we also go over which factors make good persuasive speech topics and three tips you should follow when researching and writing your persuasive speech.

What Makes a Good Persuasive Speech Topic?

What makes certain persuasive speech topics better than others? There are numerous reasons, but in this section we discuss three of the most important factors of great topics for a persuasive speech.

It's Something You Know About or Are Interested in Learning About

The most important factor in choosing and creating a great persuasive speech is picking a topic you care about and are interested in. You'll need to do a lot of research on this topic, and if it's something you like learning about, that'll make the process much easier and more enjoyable. It'll also help you sound passionate and informed when you talk, both important factors in giving an excellent persuasive speech.

It's a Topic People Care About

In fourth grade, after being told I could give a persuasive speech on any topic I wanted to , I chose to discuss why the Saguaro cactus should be the United State's national plant. Even though I gave an impassioned talk and drew a life-size Saguaro cactus on butcher paper to hang behind me, I doubt anyone enjoyed the speech much.

I'd recently returned from a family vacation to Arizona where I'd seen Saguaro cacti for the first time and decided they were the coolest thing ever. However, most people don't care that much about Saguaro cacti, and most people don't care what our national plant is or if we even have one (for the record, the US has a national flower, and it's the rose).

Spare yourself the smattering of bored applause my nine-old self got at the end of my speech and choose something you think people will be interested in hearing about. This also ties into knowing your audience, which we discuss more in the final section.

It Isn't Overdone

When I was in high school, nearly every persuasive speech my classmates and I were assigned was the exact same topic: should the drinking age be lowered to 18? I got this prompt in English class, on standardized tests, in speech and debate class, etc. I've written and presented about it so often I could probably still rattle off all the main points of my old speeches word-for-word.

You can imagine that everyone's eyes glazed over whenever classmates gave their speeches on this topic. We'd heard about it so many times that, even if it was a topic we cared about, speeches on it just didn't interest us anymore.

The are many potential topics for a persuasive speech. Be wary of choosing one that's cliche or overdone. Even if you give a great speech, it'll be harder to keep your audience interested if they feel like they already know what you're going to say.

An exception to this rule is that if you feel you have a new viewpoint or facts about the topic that currently aren't common knowledge. Including them can make an overdone topic interesting. If you do this, be sure to make it clear early on in your speech that you have unique info or opinions on the topic so your audience knows to expect something new.

105 Topics for a Persuasive Speech

Here's our list of 105 great persuasive speech ideas. We made sure to choose topics that aren't overdone, yet that many people will have an interest in, and we also made a point of choosing topics with multiple viewpoints rather than simplistic topics that have a more obvious right answer (i.e. Is bullying bad?). The topics are organized into ten categories.

Arts/Culture

Should art and music therapy be covered by health insurance?
Should all students be required to learn an instrument in school?
Should all national museums be free to citizens?
Should graffiti be considered art?
Should offensive language be removed from works of classic literature?
Are paper books better than e-books?
Should all interns be paid for their work?
Should employees receive bonuses for walking or biking to work?
Will Brexit hurt or help the UK's economy?
Should all people over the age of 65 be able to ride the bus for free?
Should the federal minimum wage be increased?
Should tipping in restaurants be mandatory?
Should Black Friday sales be allowed to start on Thanksgiving?
Should students who bully others be expelled?
Should all schools require students wear uniforms?
Should boys and girls be taught in separate classrooms?
Should students be allowed to listen to music during study hall?
Should all elementary schools be required to teach a foreign language?
Should schools include meditation or relaxation breaks during the day?
Should grades in gym class affect students' GPAs?
Should teachers get a bonus when their students score well on standardized tests?
Should children of undocumented immigrants be allowed to attend public schools?
Should students get paid for getting a certain GPA?
Should students be allowed to have their cell phones with them during school?
Should high school students be allowed to leave school during lunch breaks?
Should Greek life at colleges be abolished?
Should high school students be required to volunteer a certain number of hours before they can graduate?
Should schools still teach cursive handwriting?
What are the best ways for schools to stop bullying?
Should prostitution be legalized?
Should people with more than one DUI lose their driver's license?
Should people be required to shovel snow from the sidewalks in front of their house?
Should minors be able to drink alcohol in their home if they have their parent's consent?
Should guns be allowed on college campuses?
Should flag burning as a form of protest be illegal?
Should welfare recipients be required to pass a drug test?
Should white supremacist groups be allowed to hold rallies in public places?
Should assault weapons be illegal?
Should the death penalty be abolished?
Should beauty pageants for children be banned?
Is it OK to refuse to serve same-sex couples based on religious beliefs?
Should transgender people be allowed to serve in the military?
Is it better to live together before marriage or to wait?
Should affirmative action be allowed?
Should prisoners be allowed to vote?
Should Columbus Day be replaced with Indigenous Peoples' Day?

Government/Politics

Should the government spend more money on developing high-speed rail lines and less on building new roads?
Should the government be allowed to censor internet content deemed inappropriate?
Should Puerto Rico become the 51st state?
Should Scotland declare independence from the United Kingdom?
Whose face should be on the next new currency printed by the US?
Should people convicted of drug possession be sent to recovery programs instead of jail?
Should voting be made compulsory?
Who was the best American president?
Should the military budget be reduced?
Should the President be allowed to serve more than two terms?
Should a border fence be built between the United States and Mexico?
Should countries pay ransom to terrorist groups in order to free hostages?
Should minors be able to purchase birth control without their parent's consent?
Should hiding or lying about your HIV status with someone you're sleeping with be illegal?
Should governments tax soda and other sugary drinks and use the revenue for public health?
Should high schools provide free condoms to students?
Should the US switch to single-payer health care?
Should healthy people be required to regularly donate blood?
Should assisted suicide be legal?
Should religious organizations be required to pay taxes?
Should priests be allowed to get married?
Should the religious slaughter of animals be banned?
Should the Church of Scientology be exempt from paying taxes?
Should women be allowed to be priests?
Should countries be allowed to only accept refugees with certain religious beliefs?
Should public prayer be allowed in schools?

Science/Environment

Should human cloning be allowed?
Should people be allowed to own exotic animals like tigers and monkeys?
Should "animal selfies" in tourist locations with well-known animal species (like koalas and tigers) be allowed?
Should genetically modified foods be sold in grocery stores?
Should people be allowed to own pit bulls?
Should parents be allowed to choose the sex of their unborn children?
Should vaccinations be required for students to attend public school?
What is the best type of renewable energy?
Should plastic bags be banned in grocery stores?
Should the United States rejoin the Paris Agreement?
Should puppy mills be banned?
Should fracking be legal?
Should animal testing be illegal?
Should offshore drilling be allowed in protected marine areas?
Should the US government increase NASA's budget?
Should Pluto still be considered a planet?
Should college athletes be paid for being on a sports team?
Should all athletes be required to pass regular drug tests?
Should professional female athletes be paid the same as male athletes in the same sport?
Are there any cases when athletes should be allowed to use steroids?
Should college sports teams receive less funding?
Should boxing be illegal?
Should schools be required to teach all students how to swim?
Should cheerleading be considered a sport?
Should parents let their children play tackle football?
Will robots reduce or increase human employment opportunities?
What age should children be allowed to have a cell phone?
Should libraries be replaced with unlimited access to e-books?
Overall, has technology helped connect people or isolate them?
Should self-driving cars be legal?
Should all new buildings be energy efficient?
Is Net Neutrality a good thing or a bad thing?
Do violent video games encourage players to become violent in real life?

3 Bonus Tips for Crafting Your Persuasive Speech

Of course, giving a great persuasive speech requires more than just choosing a good topic. Follow the three tips below to create an outstanding speech that'll interest and impress your audience.

Do Your Research

For a persuasive speech, there's nothing worse than getting an audience question that shows you misunderstood the issue or left an important piece out. It makes your entire speech look weak and unconvincing.

Before you start writing a single word of your speech, be sure to do lots of research on all sides of the topic. Look at different sources and points of view to be sure you're getting the full picture, and if you know any experts on the topic, be sure to ask their opinion too.

Consider All the Angles

Persuasive speech topics are rarely black and white, which means there will be multiple sides and viewpoints on the topic. For example, for the topic "Should people be allowed to own pit bulls?" there are two obvious viewpoints: everyone should be allowed to own a pit bull if they want to, and no one should be allowed to own a pit bull. But there are other options you should also consider: people should only own a pit bull if they pass a dog training class, people should be able to own pit bulls, but only if it's the only dog they own, people should be able to own pi tbulls but only if they live a certain distance from schools, people should be able to own pit bulls only if the dog passes an obedience class, etc.

Thinking about all these angles and including them in your speech will make you seem well-informed on the topic, and it'll increase the quality of your speech by looking at difference nuances of the issue.

Know Your Audience

Whenever you give a speech, it's important to consider your audience, and this is especially true for persuasive speeches when you're trying to convince people to believe a certain viewpoint. When writing your speech, think about what your audience likely already knows about the topic, what they probably need explained, and what aspects of the topic they care about most. Also consider what the audience will be most concerned about for a certain topic, and be sure to address those concerns.

For example, if you're giving a speech to a Catholic organization on why you think priests should be allowed to marry, you don't need to go over the history of Catholicism or its core beliefs (which they probably already know), but you should mention any research or prominent opinions that support your view (which they likely don't know about). They may be concerned that priests who marry won't be as committed to God or their congregations, so be sure to address those concerns and why they shouldn't worry about them as much as they may think. Discussing your topic with people (ideally those with viewpoints similar to those of your future audience) before you give your speech is a good way to get a better understanding of how your audience thinks.

Need more help with this topic? Check out Tutorbase!

Our vetted tutor database includes a range of experienced educators who can help you polish an essay for English or explain how derivatives work for Calculus. You can use dozens of filters and search criteria to find the perfect person for your needs.

More Resources for Writing Persuasive Speeches

If you need more guidance or just want to check out some examples of great persuasive writing, consider checking out the following books:

Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History by William Safire—This collection of great speeches throughout history will help you decide how to style your own argument.
The Essentials of Persuasive Public Speaking by Sims Wyeth—For quick direct tips on public speaking, try this all-purpose guide.
Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds by Carmine Gallo—This popular book breaks down what makes TED talks work and how you can employ those skills in your own presentations.
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman—These two recent speeches by contemporary writers offer stellar examples of how to craft a compelling (and engaging) argument.

Conclusion: Persuasive Speech Ideas

Good persuasive speech topics can be difficult to think of, but in this guide we've compiled a list of 105 interesting persuasive speech topics for you to look through.

The best persuasive speech ideas will be on a topic you're interested in, aren't overdone, and will be about something your audience cares about.

After you've chosen your topic, keep these three tips in mind when writing your persuasive speech:

Do your research
Consider all the angles
Know your audience

What's Next?

Now that you have persuasive speech topics, it's time to hone your persuasive speech techniques. Find out what ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos are and how to use them here .

Looking to take your persuasive technique from speech to sheets (of paper)? Get our three key tips on how to write an argumentative essay , or learn by reading through our thorough breakdown of how to build an essay, step by step .

Want a great GPA? Check out our step-by-step guide to getting good grades in high school so you can have a stellar transcript.

Interested in learning about other great extracurricular opportunities? Learn more about job shadowing , community service , and volunteer abroad programs.

Still trying to figure out your courses? Check out our expert guide on which classes you should take in high school.

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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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.
The 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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112 Persuasive Speech Topics That Are Actually Engaging

What’s covered:, how to pick an awesome persuasive speech topic, 112 engaging persuasive speech topics, tips for preparing your persuasive speech.

Writing a stellar persuasive speech requires a carefully crafted argument that will resonate with your audience to sway them to your side. This feat can be challenging to accomplish, but an engaging, thought-provoking speech topic is an excellent place to start.

When it comes time to select a topic for your persuasive speech, you may feel overwhelmed by all the options to choose from—or your brain may be drawing a completely blank slate. If you’re having trouble thinking of the perfect topic, don’t worry. We’re here to help!

In this post, we’re sharing how to choose the perfect persuasive speech topic and tips to prepare for your speech. Plus, you’ll find 112 persuasive speech topics that you can take directly from us or use as creative inspiration for your own ideas!

Choose Something You’re Passionate About

It’s much easier to write, research, and deliver a speech about a cause you care about. Even if it’s challenging to find a topic that completely sparks your interest, try to choose a topic that aligns with your passions.

However, keep in mind that not everyone has the same interests as you. Try to choose a general topic to grab the attention of the majority of your audience, but one that’s specific enough to keep them engaged.

For example, suppose you’re giving a persuasive speech about book censorship. In that case, it’s probably too niche to talk about why “To Kill a Mockingbird” shouldn’t be censored (even if it’s your favorite book), and it’s too broad to talk about media censorship in general.

Steer Clear of Cliches

Have you already heard a persuasive speech topic presented dozens of times? If so, it’s probably not an excellent choice for your speech—even if it’s an issue you’re incredibly passionate about.

Although polarizing topics like abortion and climate control are important to discuss, they aren’t great persuasive speech topics. Most people have already formed an opinion on these topics, which will either cause them to tune out or have a negative impression of your speech.

Instead, choose topics that are fresh, unique, and new. If your audience has never heard your idea presented before, they will be more open to your argument and engaged in your speech.

Have a Clear Side of Opposition

For a persuasive speech to be engaging, there must be a clear side of opposition. To help determine the arguability of your topic, ask yourself: “If I presented my viewpoint on this topic to a group of peers, would someone disagree with me?” If the answer is yes, then you’ve chosen a great topic!

Now that we’ve laid the groundwork for what it takes to choose a great persuasive speech topic, here are over one hundred options for you to choose from.

Should high school athletes get tested for steroids?
Should schools be required to have physical education courses?
Should sports grades in school depend on things like athletic ability?
What sport should be added to or removed from the Olympics?
Should college athletes be able to make money off of their merchandise?
Should sports teams be able to recruit young athletes without a college degree?
Should we consider video gamers as professional athletes?
Is cheerleading considered a sport?
Should parents allow their kids to play contact sports?
Should professional female athletes be paid the same as professional male athletes?
Should college be free at the undergraduate level?
Is the traditional college experience obsolete?
Should you choose a major based on your interests or your potential salary?
Should high school students have to meet a required number of service hours before graduating?
Should teachers earn more or less based on how their students perform on standardized tests?
Are private high schools more effective than public high schools?
Should there be a minimum number of attendance days required to graduate?
Are GPAs harmful or helpful?
Should schools be required to teach about standardized testing?
Should Greek Life be banned in the United States?
Should schools offer science classes explicitly about mental health?
Should students be able to bring their cell phones to school?
Should all public restrooms be all-gender?
Should undocumented immigrants have the same employment and education opportunities as citizens?
Should everyone be paid a living wage regardless of their employment status?
Should supremacist groups be able to hold public events?
Should guns be allowed in public places?
Should the national drinking age be lowered?
Should prisoners be allowed to vote?
Should the government raise or lower the retirement age?
Should the government be able to control the population?
Is the death penalty ethical?

Environment

Should stores charge customers for plastic bags?
Should breeding animals (dogs, cats, etc.) be illegal?
Is it okay to have exotic animals as pets?
Should people be fined for not recycling?
Should compost bins become mandatory for restaurants?
Should electric vehicles have their own transportation infrastructure?
Would heavier fining policies reduce corporations’ emissions?
Should hunting be encouraged or illegal?
Should reusable diapers replace disposable diapers?

Science & Technology

Is paper media more reliable than digital news sources?
Should automated/self-driving cars be legalized?
Should schools be required to provide laptops to all students?
Should software companies be able to have pre-downloaded programs and applications on devices?
Should drones be allowed in military warfare?
Should scientists invest more or less money into cancer research?
Should cloning be illegal?
Should societies colonize other planets?
Should there be legal oversight over the development of technology?

Social Media

Should there be an age limit on social media?
Should cyberbullying have the same repercussions as in-person bullying?
Are online relationships as valuable as in-person relationships?
Does “cancel culture” have a positive or negative impact on societies?
Are social media platforms reliable information or news sources?
Should social media be censored?
Does social media create an unrealistic standard of beauty?
Is regular social media usage damaging to real-life interactions?
Is social media distorting democracy?
How many branches of government should there be?
Who is the best/worst president of all time?
How long should judges serve in the U.S. Supreme Court?
Should a more significant portion of the U.S. budget be contributed towards education?
Should the government invest in rapid transcontinental transportation infrastructure?
Should airport screening be more or less stringent?
Should the electoral college be dismantled?
Should the U.S. have open borders?
Should the government spend more or less money on space exploration?
Should students sing Christmas carols, say the pledge of allegiance, or perform other tangentially religious activities?
Should nuns and priests become genderless roles?
Should schools and other public buildings have prayer rooms?
Should animal sacrifice be legal if it occurs in a religious context?
Should countries be allowed to impose a national religion on their citizens?
Should the church be separated from the state?
Does freedom of religion positively or negatively affect societies?

Parenting & Family

Is it better to have children at a younger or older age?
Is it better for children to go to daycare or stay home with their parents?
Does birth order affect personality?
Should parents or the school system teach their kids about sex?
Are family traditions important?
Should parents smoke or drink around young children?
Should “spanking” children be illegal?
Should parents use swear words in front of their children?
Should parents allow their children to play violent video games?

Entertainment

Should all actors be paid the same regardless of gender or ethnicity?
Should all award shows be based on popular vote?
Who should be responsible for paying taxes on prize money, the game show staff or the contestants?
Should movies and television shows have ethnicity and gender quotas?
Should newspapers and magazines move to a completely online format?
Should streaming services like Netflix and Hulu be free for students?
Is the movie rating system still effective?
Should celebrities have more privacy rights?

Arts & Humanities

Are libraries becoming obsolete?
Should all schools have mandatory art or music courses in their curriculum?
Should offensive language be censored from classic literary works?
Is it ethical for museums to keep indigenous artifacts?
Should digital designs be considered an art form?
Should abstract art be considered an art form?
Is music therapy effective?
Should tattoos be regarded as “professional dress” for work?
Should schools place greater emphasis on the arts programs?
Should euthanasia be allowed in hospitals and other clinical settings?
Should the government support and implement universal healthcare?
Would obesity rates lower if the government intervened to make healthy foods more affordable?
Should teenagers be given access to birth control pills without parental consent?
Should food allergies be considered a disease?
Should health insurance cover homeopathic medicine?
Is using painkillers healthy?
Should genetically modified foods be banned?
Should there be a tax on unhealthy foods?
Should tobacco products be banned from the country?
Should the birth control pill be free for everyone?

If you need more help brainstorming topics, especially those that are personalized to your interests, you can use CollegeVine’s free AI tutor, Ivy . Ivy can help you come up with original persuasive speech ideas, and she can also help with the rest of your homework, from math to languages.

Do Your Research

A great persuasive speech is supported with plenty of well-researched facts and evidence. So before you begin the writing process, research both sides of the topic you’re presenting in-depth to gain a well-rounded perspective of the topic.

Understand Your Audience

It’s critical to understand your audience to deliver a great persuasive speech. After all, you are trying to convince them that your viewpoint is correct. Before writing your speech, consider the facts and information that your audience may already know, and think about the beliefs and concerns they may have about your topic. Then, address these concerns in your speech, and be mindful to include fresh, new information.

Have Someone Read Your Speech

Once you have finished writing your speech, have someone read it to check for areas of strength and improvement. You can use CollegeVine’s free essay review tool to get feedback on your speech from a peer!

Practice Makes Perfect

After completing your final draft, the key to success is to practice. Present your speech out loud in front of a mirror, your family, friends, and basically, anyone who will listen. Not only will the feedback of others help you to make your speech better, but you’ll become more confident in your presentation skills and may even be able to commit your speech to memory.

Hopefully, these ideas have inspired you to write a powerful, unique persuasive speech. With the perfect topic, plenty of practice, and a boost of self-confidence, we know you’ll impress your audience with a remarkable speech!

How to Write an Introduction for a Persuasive Speech

Last Updated: October 2, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Gale McCreary and by wikiHow staff writer, Kyle Hall . Gale McCreary is the Founder and Chief Coordinator of SpeechStory, a nonprofit organization focused on improving communication skills in youth. She was previously a Silicon Valley CEO and President of a Toastmasters International chapter. She has been recognized as Santa Barbara Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year and received Congressional recognition for providing a Family-Friendly work environment. She has a BS in Biology from Stanford University. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 149,932 times.

A persuasive speech is meant to convince an audience to agree with your point of view or argument relating to a specific topic. While the body of your persuasive speech is where the bulk of your argument will go, it’s important that you don’t overlook the introduction. A good introduction will capture your audience’s attention, which is crucial if you want to persuade them. Fortunately, there are some simple rules you can follow that will make the introduction to your persuasive essay more engaging and memorable.

Organizing Your Introduction

Step 1 Start off with a hook to grab the audience’s attention.

For example, if your speech is about sleep deprivation in the workplace, you could start with something like “Workplace accidents and mistakes related to sleep deprivation cost companies $31 billion every single year.”
Or, if your speech is about animal rights, you could open with a quote like “The English philosopher Jeremy Bentham once said, ‘The question is not, Can they reason? Nor, Can they talk? But, Can they suffer?’”
For a speech about unpaid internships, you could start with a relevant anecdote like “In 2018, Tiffany Green got her dream internship, unpaid, working for a rental company. Unfortunately, a few months later Tiffany returned home from work to find an eviction notice on the door of her apartment, owned by that same rental company, because she was unable to pay her rent.

For example, your thesis statement could look something like “Today, I’m going to talk to you about why medical marijuana should be legalized in all 50 states, and I’ll explain why that would improve the lives of average Americans and boost the economy.”

Step 3 Demonstrate to the audience that your argument is credible.

For example, if you’re a marine biologist who’s writing a persuasive speech about ocean acidification, you could write something like “I’ve studied the effects of ocean acidification on local marine ecosystems for over a decade now, and what I’ve found is staggering.”
Or, if you’re not an expert on your topic, you could include something like “Earlier this year, renowned marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson published a decade-long study on the acidification of our oceans, and what she found is deeply concerning.”

Step 4 Conclude your introduction by briefly previewing the main points you’ll cover.

For example, you could sum up your conclusion by writing something like, “To show you that a shorter work week would benefit not only employees but also their employers, first I will touch on the history of the modern average work week. Then, I’ll discuss the mental and physical toll that a long work week can take on a person. Finally, I’ll wrap up by going over fairer, better systems that we as a society could implement.”

Step 5 Limit your introduction to 10-15% of the total length of your speech.

For example, if you time yourself giving your speech (introduction included) and it takes you 5 minutes, your introduction should only take up about 45 seconds of your speech.
However, if you were giving a speech that’s 20 minutes long, your introduction should be around 3 minutes.
On average, you’ll want about 150 words for every 1 minute you need to speak for. For example, if your introduction should be 2 minutes, you’d want to write around 300 words.

Tip: If you know how long your speech is going to be before you write it, make the first draft of your introduction the right length so you don’t have to add or delete a lot later.

Polishing Your Writing

To make your writing more conversational, try to use brief sentences, and avoid including jargon unless you need it to make your point.
Using contractions, like “I’ll” instead of “I will,” “wouldn’t” instead of “would not,” and “they’re” instead of “they are,” can help make your writing sound more conversational.

Step 2 Be concise when you’re writing your introduction.

Tip: An easy way to make your writing more concise is to start your sentences with the subject. Also, try to limit the number of adverbs and adjectives you use.

Step 3 Tailor your writing to your audience.

For example, if your audience will be made up of the other students in your college class, including a pop culture reference in your introduction might be an effective way to grab their attention and help them relate to your topic. However, if you’re giving your speech in a more formal setting, a pop culture reference might fall flat.

For example, you could write something like, “I know a lot of you may strongly disagree with me on this. However, I think if you give me a chance and hear me out, we might end up finding some common ground.”
Or, you could include a question like “How many of you here tonight have ever come across plastic that's washed up on the beach?” Then, you can have audience members raise their hands.

Step 5 Practice reading your introduction out loud.

You can even record yourself reading your introduction to get a sense of how you'll look delivering the opening of your speech.

Example Introduction for a Persuasive Speech

Community Q&A

↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/11-2-persuasive-speaking/
↑ https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/public-speaking-practice-and-ethics/s12-introductions-matter-how-to-be.html
↑ https://www.middlesex.mass.edu/ace/downloads/tipsheets/persvsargu.pdf
↑ https://www.speechanddebate.org/wp-content/uploads/Tips-for-Writing-a-Persuasive-Speech.pdf
↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/chapter/14-1-four-methods-of-delivery/
↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/essay_writing/argumentative_essays.html
↑ https://www.gvsu.edu/speechlab/connecting-with-the-audience-26.htm
↑ https://www.gvsu.edu/speechlab/practicing-presentations-33.htm

About This Article

To write an introduction for a persuasive speech, start with a hook that will grab your audience's attention, like a surprising statistic or meaningful quote. Then, introduce your thesis statement, which should explain what you are arguing for and why. From here, you'll need to demonstrate the credibility of your argument if you want your audience to believe what you're saying. Depending on if you are an expert or not, you should either share your personal credentials or reference papers and studies by experts in the field that legitimize your argument. Finally, conclude with a brief preview of the main points you'll cover in your speech, so your audience knows what to expect and can follow along more easily. For more tips from our co-author, including how to polish your introduction, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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40 famous persuasive speeches you need to hear.

Written by Kai Xin Koh

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Across eras of calamity and peace in our world’s history, a great many leaders, writers, politicians, theorists, scientists, activists and other revolutionaries have unveiled powerful rousing speeches in their bids for change. In reviewing the plethora of orators across tides of social, political and economic change, we found some truly rousing speeches that brought the world to their feet or to a startling, necessary halt. We’ve chosen 40 of the most impactful speeches we managed to find from agents of change all over the world – a diversity of political campaigns, genders, positionalities and periods of history. You’re sure to find at least a few speeches in this list which will capture you with the sheer power of their words and meaning!

1. I have a dream by MLK

“I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification – one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father’s died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!”

Unsurprisingly, Martin Luther King’s speech comes up top as the most inspiring speech of all time, especially given the harrowing conditions of African Americans in America at the time. In the post-abolition era when slavery was outlawed constitutionally, African Americans experienced an intense period of backlash from white supremacists who supported slavery where various institutional means were sought to subordinate African American people to positions similar to that of the slavery era. This later came to be known as the times of Jim Crow and segregation, which Martin Luther King powerfully voiced his vision for a day when racial discrimination would be a mere figment, where equality would reign.

2. Tilbury Speech by Queen Elizabeth I

“My loving people, We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear. I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you on a word of a prince, they shall be duly paid. In the mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over these enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.”

While at war with Spain, Queen Elizabeth I was most renowned for her noble speech rallying the English troops against their comparatively formidable opponent. Using brilliant rhetorical devices like metonymy, meronymy, and other potent metaphors, she voiced her deeply-held commitment as a leader to the battle against the Spanish Armada – convincing the English army to keep holding their ground and upholding the sacrifice of war for the good of their people. Eventually against all odds, she led England to victory despite their underdog status in the conflict with her confident and masterful oratory.

3. Woodrow Wilson, address to Congress (April 2, 1917)

“The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of nations can make them. Just because we fight without rancor and without selfish object, seeking nothing for ourselves but what we shall wish to share with all free peoples, we shall, I feel confident, conduct our operations as belligerents without passion and ourselves observe with proud punctilio the principles of right and of fair play we profess to be fighting for. … It will be all the easier for us to conduct ourselves as belligerents in a high spirit of right and fairness because we act without animus, not in enmity toward a people or with the desire to bring any injury or disadvantage upon them, but only in armed opposition to an irresponsible government which has thrown aside all considerations of humanity and of right and is running amuck. We are, let me say again, the sincere friends of the German people, and shall desire nothing so much as the early reestablishment of intimate relations of mutual advantage between us—however hard it may be for them, for the time being, to believe that this is spoken from our hearts. We have borne with their present government through all these bitter months because of that friendship—exercising a patience and forbearance which would otherwise have been impossible. We shall, happily, still have an opportunity to prove that friendship in our daily attitude and actions toward the millions of men and women of German birth and native sympathy who live among us and share our life, and we shall be proud to prove it toward all who are in fact loyal to their neighbors and to the government in the hour of test. They are, most of them, as true and loyal Americans as if they had never known any other fealty or allegiance. They will be prompt to stand with us in rebuking and restraining the few who may be of a different mind and purpose. If there should be disloyalty, it will be dealt with with a firm hand of stern repression; but, if it lifts its head at all, it will lift it only here and there and without countenance except from a lawless and malignant few. It is a distressing and oppressive duty, gentlemen of the Congress, which I have performed in thus addressing you. There are, it may be, many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts—for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free. To such a task we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured. God helping her, she can do no other.”

On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson of the USA delivered his address to Congress, calling for declaration of war against what was at the time, a belligerent and aggressive Germany in WWI. Despite his isolationism and anti-war position earlier in his tenure as president, he convinced Congress that America had a moral duty to the world to step out of their neutral observer status into an active role of world leadership and stewardship in order to liberate attacked nations from their German aggressors. The idealistic values he preached in his speech left an indelible imprint upon the American spirit and self-conception, forming the moral basis for the country’s people and aspirational visions to this very day.

4. Ain’t I A Woman by Sojourner Truth

“That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman? … If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.”

Hailing from a background of slavery and oppression, Sojourner Truth was one of the most revolutionary advocates for women’s human rights in the 1800s. In spite of the New York Anti-Slavery Law of 1827, her slavemaster refused to free her. As such, she fled, became an itinerant preacher and leading figure in the anti-slavery movement. By the 1850s, she became involved in the women’s rights movement as well. At the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention held in Akron, Ohio, she delivered her illuminating, forceful speech against discrimination of women and African Americans in the post-Civil War era, entrenching her status as one of the most revolutionary abolitionists and women’s rights activists across history.

5. The Gettsyburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

“Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

President Abraham Lincoln had left the most lasting legacy upon American history for good reason, as one of the presidents with the moral courage to denounce slavery for the national atrocity it was. However, more difficult than standing up for the anti-slavery cause was the task of unifying the country post-abolition despite the looming shadows of a time when white Americans could own and subjugate slaves with impunity over the thousands of Americans who stood for liberation of African Americans from discrimination. He urged Americans to remember their common roots, heritage and the importance of “charity for all”, to ensure a “just and lasting peace” among within the country despite throes of racial division and self-determination.

6. Woman’s Rights to the Suffrage by Susan B Anthony

“For any State to make sex a qualification that must ever result in the disfranchisement of one entire half of the people is to pass a bill of attainder, or an ex post facto law, and is therefore a violation of the supreme law of the land. By it the blessings of liberty are for ever withheld from women and their female posterity. To them this government has no just powers derived from the consent of the governed. To them this government is not a democracy. It is not a republic. It is an odious aristocracy; a hateful oligarchy of sex; the most hateful aristocracy ever established on the face of the globe; an oligarchy of wealth, where the right govern the poor. An oligarchy of learning, where the educated govern the ignorant, or even an oligarchy of race, where the Saxon rules the African, might be endured; but this oligarchy of sex, which makes father, brothers, husband, sons, the oligarchs over the mother and sisters, the wife and daughters of every household–which ordains all men sovereigns, all women subjects, carries dissension, discord and rebellion into every home of the nation. Webster, Worcester and Bouvier all define a citizen to be a person in the United States, entitled to vote and hold office. The only question left to be settled now is: Are women persons? And I hardly believe any of our opponents will have the hardihood to say they are not. Being persons, then, women are citizens; and no State has a right to make any law, or to enforce any old law, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities. Hence, every discrimination against women in the constitutions and laws of the several States is today null and void, precisely as in every one against Negroes.”

Susan B. Anthony was a pivotal leader in the women’s suffrage movement who helped to found the National Woman Suffrage Association with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and fight for the constitutional right for women to vote. She courageously and relentlessly advocated for women’s rights, giving speeches all over the USA to convince people of women’s human rights to choice and the ballot. She is most well known for her act of righteous rebellion in 1872 when she voted in the presidential election illegally, for which she was arrested and tried unsuccessfully. She refused to pay the $100 fine in a bid to reject the demands of the American system she denounced as a ‘hateful oligarchy of sex’, sparking change with her righteous oratory and inspiring many others in the women’s suffrage movement within and beyond America.

7. Vladimir Lenin’s Speech at an International Meeting in Berne, February 8, 1916

“It may sound incredible, especially to Swiss comrades, but it is nevertheless true that in Russia, also, not only bloody tsarism, not only the capitalists, but also a section of the so-called or ex-Socialists say that Russia is fighting a “war of defence,” that Russia is only fighting against German invasion. The whole world knows, however, that for decades tsarism has been oppressing more than a hundred million people belonging to other nationalities in Russia; that for decades Russia has been pursuing a predatory policy towards China, Persia, Armenia and Galicia. Neither Russia, nor Germany, nor any other Great Power has the right to claim that it is waging a “war of defence”; all the Great Powers are waging an imperialist, capitalist war, a predatory war, a war for the oppression of small and foreign nations, a war for the sake of the profits of the capitalists, who are coining golden profits amounting to billions out of the appalling sufferings of the masses, out of the blood of the proletariat. … This again shows you, comrades, that in all countries of the world real preparations are being made to rally the forces of the working class. The horrors of war and the sufferings of the people are incredible. But we must not, and we have no reason whatever, to view the future with despair. The millions of victims who will fall in the war, and as a consequence of the war, will not fall in vain. The millions who are starving, the millions who are sacrificing their lives in the trenches, are not only suffering, they are also gathering strength, are pondering over the real cause of the war, are becoming more determined and are acquiring a clearer revolutionary understanding. Rising discontent of the masses, growing ferment, strikes, demonstrations, protests against the war—all this is taking place in all countries of the world. And this is the guarantee that the European War will be followed by the proletarian revolution against capitalism”

Vladimir Lenin remains to this day one of the most lauded communist revolutionaries in the world who brought the dangers of imperialism and capitalism to light with his rousing speeches condemning capitalist structures of power which inevitably enslave people to lives of misery and class stratification. In his genuine passion for the rights of the working class, he urged fellow comrades to turn the “imperialist war” into a “civil” or class war of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie. He encouraged the development of new revolutionary socialist organisations, solidarity across places in society so people could unite against their capitalist overlords, and criticised nationalism for its divisive effect on the socialist movement. In this speech especially, he lambasts “bloody Tsarism” for its oppression of millions of people of other nationalities in Russia, calling for the working class people to revolt against the Tsarist authority for the proletariat revolution to succeed and liberate them from class oppression.

8. I Have A Dream Speech by Mary Wollstonecraft

“If, I say, for I would not impress by declamation when Reason offers her sober light, if they be really capable of acting like rational creatures, let them not be treated like slaves; or, like the brutes who are dependent on the reason of man, when they associate with him; but cultivate their minds, give them the salutary, sublime curb of principle, and let them attain conscious dignity by feeling themselves only dependent on God. Teach them, in common with man, to submit to necessity, instead of giving, to render them more pleasing, a sex to morals. Further, should experience prove that they cannot attain the same degree of strength of mind, perseverance, and fortitude, let their virtues be the same in kind, though they may vainly struggle for the same degree; and the superiority of man will be equally clear, if not clearer; and truth, as it is a simple principle, which admits of no modification, would be common to both. Nay, the order of society as it is at present regulated would not be inverted, for woman would then only have the rank that reason assigned her, and arts could not be practised to bring the balance even, much less to turn it.”

In her vindication of the rights of women, Mary Wollstonecraft was one of the pioneers of the feminist movement back in 1792 who not only theorised and advocated revolutionarily, but gave speeches that voiced these challenges against a dominantly sexist society intent on classifying women as irrational less-than-human creatures to be enslaved as they were. In this landmark speech, she pronounces her ‘dream’ of a day when women would be treated as the rational, deserving humans they are, who are equal to man in strength and capability. With this speech setting an effective precedent for her call to equalize women before the law, she also went on to champion the provision of equal educational opportunities to women and girls, and persuasively argued against the patriarchal gender norms which prevented women from finding their own lot in life through their being locked into traditional institutions of marriage and motherhood against their will.

9. First Inaugural Speech by Franklin D Roosevelt

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days. … More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act and act quickly. … I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken Nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption. But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis — broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.”

Roosevelt’s famous inaugural speech was delivered in the midst of a period of immense tension and strain under the Great Depression, where he highlighted the need for ‘quick action’ by Congress to prepare for government expansion in his pursuit of reforms to lift the American people out of devastating poverty. In a landslide victory, he certainly consolidated the hopes and will of the American people through this compelling speech.

10. The Hypocrisy of American Slavery by Frederick Douglass

“What to the American slave is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mock; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy – a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation of the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour. Go search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.”

On 4 July 1852, Frederick Douglass gave this speech in Rochester, New York, highlighting the hypocrisy of celebrating freedom while slavery continues. He exposed the ‘revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy’ of slavery which had gone unabolished amidst the comparatively obscene celebration of independence and liberty with his potent speech and passion for the anti-abolition cause. After escaping from slavery, he went on to become a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York with his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. To this day, his fierce activism and devotion to exposing virulent racism for what it was has left a lasting legacy upon pro-Black social movements and the overall sociopolitical landscape of America.

11. Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries? Does my haughtiness offend you? Don’t you take it awful hard ’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines Diggin’ in my own backyard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I’ve got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise.”

With her iconic poem Still I Rise , Maya Angelou is well-known for uplifting fellow African American women through her empowering novels and poetry and her work as a civil rights activist. Every bit as lyrical on the page, her recitation of Still I Rise continues to give poetry audiences shivers all over the world, inspiring women of colour everywhere to keep the good faith in striving for equality and peace, while radically believing in and empowering themselves to be agents of change. A dramatic reading of the poem will easily showcase the self-belief, strength and punch that it packs in the last stanza on the power of resisting marginalization.

12. Their Finest Hour by Winston Churchill

“What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.””

In the darkest shadows cast by war, few leaders have been able to step up to the mantle and effectively unify millions of citizens for truly sacrificial causes. Winston Churchill was the extraordinary exception – lifting 1940 Britain out of the darkness with his hopeful, convicted rhetoric to galvanise the English amidst bleak, dreary days of war and loss. Through Britain’s standalone position in WWII against the Nazis, he left his legacy by unifying the nation under shared sacrifices of the army and commemorating their courage.

13. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

“Life for both sexes – and I looked at them (through a restaurant window while waiting for my lunch to be served), shouldering their way along the pavement – is arduous, difficult, a perpetual struggle. It calls for gigantic courage and strength. More than anything, perhaps, creatures of illusion as we are, it calls for confidence in oneself. Without self-confidence we are babes in the cradle. And how can we generate this imponderable quality, which is yet so invaluable, most quickly? By thinking that other people are inferior to oneself. By feeling that one has some innate superiority – it may be wealth, or rank, a straight nose, or the portrait of a grandfather by Romney – for there is no end to the pathetic devices of the human imagination – over other people. Hence the enormous importance to a patriarch who has to conquer, who has to rule, of feeling that great numbers of people, half the human race indeed, are by nature inferior to himself. It must indeed be one of the great sources of his power….Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size. Without that power probably the earth would still be swamp and jungle. The glories of all our wars would be on the remains of mutton bones and bartering flints for sheepskins or whatever simple ornament took our unsophisticated taste. Supermen and Fingers of Destiny would never have existed. The Czar and the Kaiser would never have worn their crowns or lost them. Whatever may be their use in civilised societies, mirrors are essential to all violent and heroic action. That is why Napoleon and Mussolini both insist so emphatically upon the inferiority of women, for if they were not inferior, they would cease to enlarge. That serves to explain in part the necessity that women so often are to men. And it serves to explain how restless they are under her criticism; how impossible it is for her to say to them this book is bad, this picture is feeble, or whatever it may be, without giving far more pain and rousing far more anger than a man would do who gave the same criticism. For if she begins to tell the truth, the figure in the looking-glass shrinks; his fitness in life is diminished. How is he to go on giving judgment, civilising natives, making laws, writing books, dressing up and speechifying at banquets, unless he can see himself at breakfast and at dinner at least twice the size he really is?”

In this transformational speech , Virginia Woolf pronounces her vision that ‘a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction’. She calls out the years in which women have been deprived of their own space for individual development through being chained to traditional arrangements or men’s prescriptions – demanding ‘gigantic courage’ and ‘confidence in oneself’ to brave through the onerous struggle of creating change for women’s rights. With her steadfast, stolid rhetoric and radical theorization, she paved the way for many women’s rights activists and writers to forge their own paths against patriarchal authority.

14. Inaugural Address by John F Kennedy

“In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility–I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it–and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”

For what is probably the most historically groundbreaking use of parallelism in speech across American history, President JFK placed the weighty task of ‘asking what one can do for their country’ onto the shoulders of each American citizen. Using an air of firmness in his rhetoric by declaring his commitment to his countrymen, he urges each American to do the same for the broader, noble ideal of freedom for all. With his crucial interrogation of a citizen’s moral duty to his nation, President JFK truly made history.

15. Atoms for Peace Speech by Dwight Eisenhower

“To pause there would be to confirm the hopeless finality of a belief that two atomic colossi are doomed malevolently to eye each other indefinitely across a trembling world. To stop there would be to accept helplessly the probability of civilization destroyed, the annihilation of the irreplaceable heritage of mankind handed down to us from generation to generation, and the condemnation of mankind to begin all over again the age-old struggle upward from savagery towards decency, and right, and justice. Surely no sane member of the human race could discover victory in such desolation. Could anyone wish his name to be coupled by history with such human degradation and destruction?Occasional pages of history do record the faces of the “great destroyers”, but the whole book of history reveals mankind’s never-ending quest for peace and mankind’s God-given capacity to build. It is with the book of history, and not with isolated pages, that the United States will ever wish to be identified. My country wants to be constructive,not destructive. It wants agreements, not wars, among nations. It wants itself to live in freedom and in the confidence that the peoples of every other nation enjoy equally the right of choosing their own way of life. So my country’s purpose is to help us to move out of the dark chamber of horrors into the light, to find a way by which the minds of men, the hopes of men, the souls of men everywhere, can move forward towards peace and happiness and well-being.”

On a possibility as frightful and tense as nuclear war, President Eisenhower managed to convey the gravity of the world’s plight in his measured and persuasive speech centred on the greater good of mankind. Using rhetorical devices such as the three-part paratactical syntax which most world leaders are fond of for ingraining their words in the minds of their audience, he centers the discourse of the atomic bomb on those affected by such a world-changing decision in ‘the minds, hopes and souls of men everywhere’ – effectively putting the vivid image of millions of people’s fates at stake in the minds of his audience. Being able to make a topic as heavy and fraught with moral conflict as this as eloquent as he did, Eisenhower definitely ranks among some of the most skilled orators to date.

16. The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action by Audre Lorde

“I was going to die, if not sooner then later, whether or not I had ever spoken myself. My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I had ever made to speak those truths for which I am still seeking, I had made contact with other women while we examined the words to fit a world in which we all believed, bridging our differences. What are the words you do not have yet? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day and attempt to make your own, until you will sicken and die of them, still in silence? Perhaps for some of you here today, I am the face of one of your fears. Because I am a woman, because I am black, because I am myself, a black woman warrior poet doing my work, come to ask you, are you doing yours?”

Revolutionary writer, feminist and civil rights activist Audre Lorde first delivered this phenomenal speech at Lesbian and Literature panel of the Modern Language Association’s December 28, 1977 meeting, which went on to feature permanently in her writings for its sheer wisdom and truth. Her powerful writing and speech about living on the margins of society has enlightened millions of people discriminated across various intersections, confronting them with the reality that they must speak – since their ‘silence will not protect’ them from further marginalization. Through her illuminating words and oratory, she has reminded marginalized persons of the importance of their selfhood and the radical capacity for change they have in a world blighted by prejudice and division.

17. 1965 Cambridge Union Hall Speech by James Baldwin

“What is dangerous here is the turning away from – the turning away from – anything any white American says. The reason for the political hesitation, in spite of the Johnson landslide is that one has been betrayed by American politicians for so long. And I am a grown man and perhaps I can be reasoned with. I certainly hope I can be. But I don’t know, and neither does Martin Luther King, none of us know how to deal with those other people whom the white world has so long ignored, who don’t believe anything the white world says and don’t entirely believe anything I or Martin is saying. And one can’t blame them. You watch what has happened to them in less than twenty years.”

Baldwin’s invitation to the Cambridge Union Hall is best remembered for foregrounding the unflinching differences in white and African Americans’ ‘system of reality’ in everyday life. Raising uncomfortable truths about the insidious nature of racism post-civil war, he provides several nuggets of thought-provoking wisdom on the state of relations between the oppressed and their oppressors, and what is necessary to mediate such relations and destroy the exploitative thread of racist hatred. With great frankness, he admits to not having all the answers but provides hard-hitting wisdom on engagement to guide activists through confounding times nonetheless.

18. I Am Prepared to Die by Nelson Mandela

“Above all, My Lord, we want equal political rights, because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country, because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy. But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all. It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. Political division, based on colour, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one colour group by another. The ANC has spent half a century fighting against racialism. When it triumphs as it certainly must, it will not change that policy. This then is what the ANC is fighting. Our struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by our own suffering and our own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live. During my lifetime I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realised. But, My Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Apartheid is still considered one of these most devastating events of world history, and it would not have ended without the crucial effort and words of Nelson Mandela during his courageous political leadership. In this heartbreaking speech , he voices his utter devotion to the fight against institutionalised racism in African society – an ideal for which he was ‘prepared to die for’. Mandela continues to remind us today of his moral conviction in leading, wherein the world would likely to be a better place if all politicians had the same resolve and genuine commitment to human rights and the abolition of oppression as he did.

19. Critique on British Imperialism by General Aung San

“Do they form their observations by seeing the attendances at not very many cinemas and theatres of Rangoon? Do they judge this question of money circulation by paying a stray visit to a local bazaar? Do they know that cinemas and theatres are not true indicators, at least in Burma, of the people’s conditions? Do they know that there are many in this country who cannot think of going to these places by having to struggle for their bare existence from day to day? Do they know that those who nowadays patronise or frequent cinemas and theatres which exist only in Rangoon and a few big towns, belong generally to middle and upper classes and the very few of the many poor who can attend at all are doing so as a desperate form of relaxation just to make them forget their unsupportable existences for the while whatever may be the tomorrow that awaits them?”

Under British colonial rule, one of the most legendary nationalist leaders emerged from the ranks of the thousands of Burmese to boldly lead them towards independence, out of the exploitation and control under the British. General Aung San’s speech criticising British social, political and economic control of Burma continues to be scathing, articulate, and relevant – especially given his necessary goal of uniting the Burmese natives against their common oppressor. He successfully galvanised his people against the British, taking endless risks through nationalist speeches and demonstrations which gradually bore fruit in Burma’s independence.

20. Nobel Lecture by Mother Teresa

“I believe that we are not real social workers. We may be doing social work in the eyes of the people, but we are really contemplatives in the heart of the world. For we are touching the Body Of Christ 24 hours. We have 24 hours in this presence, and so you and I. You too try to bring that presence of God in your family, for the family that prays together stays together. And I think that we in our family don’t need bombs and guns, to destroy to bring peace–just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that strength of presence of each other in the home. And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world. There is so much suffering, so much hatred, so much misery, and we with our prayer, with our sacrifice are beginning at home. Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the action that we do. It is to God Almighty–how much we do it does not matter, because He is infinite, but how much love we put in that action. How much we do to Him in the person that we are serving.”

In contemporary culture, most people understand Mother Teresa to be the epitome of compassion and kindness. However, if one were to look closer at her speeches from the past, one would discover not merely her altruistic contributions, but her keen heart for social justice and the downtrodden. She wisely and gracefully remarks that ‘love begins at home’ from the individual actions of each person within their private lives, which accumulate into a life of goodness and charity. For this, her speeches served not just consolatory value or momentary relevance, as they still inform the present on how we can live lives worth living.

21. June 9 Speech to Martial Law Units by Deng Xiaoping

“This army still maintains the traditions of our old Red Army. What they crossed this time was in the true sense of the expression a political barrier, a threshold of life and death. This was not easy. This shows that the People’s Army is truly a great wall of iron and steel of the party and state. This shows that no matter how heavy our losses, the army, under the leadership of the party, will always remain the defender of the country, the defender of socialism, and the defender of the public interest. They are a most lovable people. At the same time, we should never forget how cruel our enemies are. We should have not one bit of forgiveness for them. The fact that this incident broke out as it did is very worthy of our pondering. It prompts us cool-headedly to consider the past and the future. Perhaps this bad thing will enable us to go ahead with reform and the open policy at a steadier and better — even a faster — pace, more speedily correct our mistakes, and better develop our strong points.”

Mere days before the 4 June 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising, Chinese Communist Party leader Deng Xiaoping sat with six party elders (senior officials) and the three remaining members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the paramount decision-making body in China’s government. The meeting was organised to discuss the best course of action for restoring social and political order to China, given the sweeping economic reforms that had taken place in the past decade that inevitably resulted in some social resistance from the populace. Deng then gave this astute and well-regarded speech, outlining the political complexities in shutting down student protests given the context of reforms encouraging economic liberalization already taking place, as aligned with the students’ desires. It may not be the most rousing or inflammatory of speeches, but it was certainly persuasive in voicing the importance of taking a strong stand for the economic reforms Deng was implementing to benefit Chinese citizens in the long run. Today, China is an economic superpower, far from its war-torn developing country status before Deng’s leadership – thanks to his foresight in ensuring political stability would allow China to enjoy the fruits of the massive changes they adapted to.

22. Freedom or Death by Emmeline Pankhurst

“You won your freedom in America when you had the revolution, by bloodshed, by sacrificing human life. You won the civil war by the sacrifice of human life when you decided to emancipate the negro. You have left it to women in your land, the men of all civilised countries have left it to women, to work out their own salvation. That is the way in which we women of England are doing. Human life for us is sacred, but we say if any life is to be sacrificed it shall be ours; we won’t do it ourselves, but we will put the enemy in the position where they will have to choose between giving us freedom or giving us death. Now whether you approve of us or whether you do not, you must see that we have brought the question of women’s suffrage into a position where it is of first rate importance, where it can be ignored no longer. Even the most hardened politician will hesitate to take upon himself directly the responsibility of sacrificing the lives of women of undoubted honour, of undoubted earnestness of purpose. That is the political situation as I lay it before you today.”

In 1913 after Suffragette Emily Davison stepped in front of King George V’s horse at the Epsom Derby and suffered fatal injuries, Emmeline Pankhurst delivered her speech to Connecticut as a call to action for people to support the suffragette movement. Her fortitude in delivering such a sobering speech on the state of women’s rights is worth remembering for its invaluable impact and contributions to the rights we enjoy in today’s world.

23. Quit India by Mahatma Gandhi

“We shall either free India or die in the attempt; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery. Every true Congressman or woman will join the struggle with an inflexible determination not to remain alive to see the country in bondage and slavery. Let that be your pledge. Keep jails out of your consideration. If the Government keep me free, I will not put on the Government the strain of maintaining a large number of prisoners at a time, when it is in trouble. Let every man and woman live every moment of his or her life hereafter in the consciousness that he or she eats or lives for achieving freedom and will die, if need be, to attain that goal. Take a pledge, with God and your own conscience as witness, that you will no longer rest till freedom is achieved and will be prepared to lay down your lives in the attempt to achieve it. He who loses his life will gain it; he who will seek to save it shall lose it. Freedom is not for the coward or the faint-hearted.”

Naturally, the revolutionary activist Gandhi had to appear in this list for his impassioned anti-colonial speeches which rallied Indians towards independence. Famous for leading non-violent demonstrations, his speeches were a key element in gathering Indians of all backgrounds together for the common cause of eliminating their colonial masters. His speeches were resolute, eloquent, and courageous, inspiring the hope and admiration of many not just within India, but around the world.

24. 1974 National Book Award Speech by Adrienne Rich, Alice Walker, Audre Lorde

“The statement I am going to read was prepared by three of the women nominated for the National Book Award for poetry, with the agreement that it would be read by whichever of us, if any, was chosen.We, Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, and Alice Walker, together accept this award in the name of all the women whose voices have gone and still go unheard in a patriarchal world, and in the name of those who, like us, have been tolerated as token women in this culture, often at great cost and in great pain. We believe that we can enrich ourselves more in supporting and giving to each other than by competing against each other; and that poetry—if it is poetry—exists in a realm beyond ranking and comparison. We symbolically join together here in refusing the terms of patriarchal competition and declaring that we will share this prize among us, to be used as best we can for women. We appreciate the good faith of the judges for this award, but none of us could accept this money for herself, nor could she let go unquestioned the terms on which poets are given or denied honor and livelihood in this world, especially when they are women. We dedicate this occasion to the struggle for self-determination of all women, of every color, identification, or derived class: the poet, the housewife, the lesbian, the mathematician, the mother, the dishwasher, the pregnant teen-ager, the teacher, the grandmother, the prostitute, the philosopher, the waitress, the women who will understand what we are doing here and those who will not understand yet; the silent women whose voices have been denied us, the articulate women who have given us strength to do our work.”

Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, and Alice Walker wrote this joint speech to be delivered by Adrienne Rich at the 1974 National Book Awards, based on their suspicions that the first few African American lesbian women to be nominated for the awards would be snubbed in favour of a white woman nominee. Their suspicions were confirmed, and Adrienne Rich delivered this socially significant speech in solidarity with her fellow nominees, upholding the voices of the ‘silent women whose voices have been denied’.

25. Speech to 20th Congress of the CPSU by Nikita Khruschev

“Considering the question of the cult of an individual, we must first of all show everyone what harm this caused to the interests of our Party. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin had always stressed the Party’s role and significance in the direction of the socialist government of workers and peasants; he saw in this the chief precondition for a successful building of socialism in our country. Pointing to the great responsibility of the Bolshevik Party, as ruling Party of the Soviet state, Lenin called for the most meticulous observance of all norms of Party life; he called for the realization of the principles of collegiality in the direction of the Party and the state. Collegiality of leadership flows from the very nature of our Party, a Party built on the principles of democratic centralism. “This means,” said Lenin, “that all Party matters are accomplished by all Party members – directly or through representatives – who, without any exceptions, are subject to the same rules; in addition, all administrative members, all directing collegia, all holders of Party positions are elective, they must account for their activities and are recallable.””

This speech is possibly the most famed Russian speech for its status as a ‘secret’ speech delivered only to the CPSU at the time, which was eventually revealed to the public. Given the unchallenged political legacy and cult of personality which Stalin left in the Soviet Union, Nikita Khruschev’s speech condemning the authoritarian means Stalin had resorted to to consolidate power as un-socialist was an important mark in Russian history.

26. The Struggle for Human Rights by Eleanor Roosevelt

“It is my belief, and I am sure it is also yours, that the struggle for democracy and freedom is a critical struggle, for their preservation is essential to the great objective of the United Nations to maintain international peace and security. Among free men the end cannot justify the means. We know the patterns of totalitarianism — the single political party, the control of schools, press, radio, the arts, the sciences, and the church to support autocratic authority; these are the age-old patterns against which men have struggled for three thousand years. These are the signs of reaction, retreat, and retrogression. The United Nations must hold fast to the heritage of freedom won by the struggle of its people; it must help us to pass it on to generations to come. The development of the ideal of freedom and its translation into the everyday life of the people in great areas of the earth is the product of the efforts of many peoples. It is the fruit of a long tradition of vigorous thinking and courageous action. No one race and on one people can claim to have done all the work to achieve greater dignity for human beings and great freedom to develop human personality. In each generation and in each country there must be a continuation of the struggle and new steps forward must be taken since this is preeminently a field in which to stand still is to retreat.”

Eleanor Roosevelt has been among the most well-loved First Ladies for good reason – her eloquence and gravitas in delivering every speech convinced everyone of her suitability for the oval office. In this determined and articulate speech , she outlines the fundamental values that form the bedrock of democracy, urging the rest of the world to uphold human rights regardless of national ideology and interests.

27. The Ballot or The Bullet by Malcolm X

“And in this manner, the organizations will increase in number and in quantity and in quality, and by August, it is then our intention to have a black nationalist convention which will consist of delegates from all over the country who are interested in the political, economic and social philosophy of black nationalism. After these delegates convene, we will hold a seminar; we will hold discussions; we will listen to everyone. We want to hear new ideas and new solutions and new answers. And at that time, if we see fit then to form a black nationalist party, we’ll form a black nationalist party. If it’s necessary to form a black nationalist army, we’ll form a black nationalist army. It’ll be the ballot or the bullet. It’ll be liberty or it’ll be death.”

Inarguably, the revolutionary impact Malcolm X’s fearless oratory had was substantial in his time as a radical anti-racist civil rights activist. His speeches’ emancipatory potential put forth his ‘theory of rhetorical action’ where he urges Black Americans to employ both the ballot and the bullet, strategically without being dependent on the other should the conditions of oppression change. A crucial leader in the fight for civil rights, he opened the eyes of thousands of Black Americans, politicising and convincing them of the necessity of fighting for their democratic rights against white supremacists.

28. Living the Revolution by Gloria Steinem

“The challenge to all of us, and to you men and women who are graduating today, is to live a revolution, not to die for one. There has been too much killing, and the weapons are now far too terrible. This revolution has to change consciousness, to upset the injustice of our current hierarchy by refusing to honor it, and to live a life that enforces a new social justice. Because the truth is none of us can be liberated if other groups are not.”

In an unexpected commencement speech delivered at Vassar College in 1970, Gloria Steinem boldly makes a call to action on behalf of marginalized groups in need of liberation to newly graduated students. She proclaimed it the year of Women’s Liberation and forcefully highlighted the need for a social revolution to ‘upset the injustice of the current hierarchy’ in favour of human rights – echoing the hard-hitting motto on social justice, ‘until all of us are free, none of us are free’.

29. The Last Words of Harvey Milk by Harvey Milk

“I cannot prevent some people from feeling angry and frustrated and mad in response to my death, but I hope they will take the frustration and madness and instead of demonstrating or anything of that type, I would hope that they would take the power and I would hope that five, ten, one hundred, a thousand would rise. I would like to see every gay lawyer, every gay architect come out, stand up and let the world know. That would do more to end prejudice overnight than anybody could imagine. I urge them to do that, urge them to come out. Only that way will we start to achieve our rights. … All I ask is for the movement to continue, and if a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door…”

As the first openly gay elected official in the history of California, Harvey Milk’s entire political candidature was in itself a radical statement against the homophobic status quo at the time. Given the dangerous times he was in as an openly gay man, he anticipated that he would be assassinated eventually in his political career. As such, these are some of his last words which show the utter devotion he had to campaigning against homophobia while representing the American people, voicing his heartbreaking wish for the bullet that would eventually kill him to ‘destroy every closet door’.

30. Black Power Address at UC Berkeley by Stokely Carmichael

“Now we are now engaged in a psychological struggle in this country, and that is whether or not black people will have the right to use the words they want to use without white people giving their sanction to it; and that we maintain, whether they like it or not, we gonna use the word “Black Power” — and let them address themselves to that; but that we are not going to wait for white people to sanction Black Power. We’re tired waiting; every time black people move in this country, they’re forced to defend their position before they move. It’s time that the people who are supposed to be defending their position do that. That’s white people. They ought to start defending themselves as to why they have oppressed and exploited us.”

A forceful and impressive orator, Stokely Carmichael was among those at the forefront of the civil rights movement, who was a vigorous socialist organizer as well. He led the Black Power movement wherein he gave this urgent, influential speech that propelled Black Americans forward in their fight for constitutional rights in the 1960s.

31. Speech on Vietnam by Lyndon Johnson

“The true peace-keepers are those men who stand out there on the DMZ at this very hour, taking the worst that the enemy can give. The true peace-keepers are the soldiers who are breaking the terrorist’s grip around the villages of Vietnam—the civilians who are bringing medical care and food and education to people who have already suffered a generation of war. And so I report to you that we are going to continue to press forward. Two things we must do. Two things we shall do. First, we must not mislead the enemy. Let him not think that debate and dissent will produce wavering and withdrawal. For I can assure you they won’t. Let him not think that protests will produce surrender. Because they won’t. Let him not think that he will wait us out. For he won’t. Second, we will provide all that our brave men require to do the job that must be done. And that job is going to be done. These gallant men have our prayers-have our thanks—have our heart-felt praise—and our deepest gratitude. Let the world know that the keepers of peace will endure through every trial—and that with the full backing of their countrymen, they are going to prevail.”

During some of the most harrowing periods of human history, the Vietnam War, American soldiers were getting soundly defeated by the Vietnamese in guerrilla warfare. President Lyndon Johnson then issued this dignified, consolatory speech to encourage patriotism and support for the soldiers putting their lives on the line for the nation.

32. A Whisper of AIDS by Mary Fisher

“We may take refuge in our stereotypes, but we cannot hide there long, because HIV asks only one thing of those it attacks. Are you human? And this is the right question. Are you human? Because people with HIV have not entered some alien state of being. They are human. They have not earned cruelty, and they do not deserve meanness. They don’t benefit from being isolated or treated as outcasts. Each of them is exactly what God made: a person; not evil, deserving of our judgment; not victims, longing for our pity people, ready for support and worthy of compassion. We must be consistent if we are to be believed. We cannot love justice and ignore prejudice, love our children and fear to teach them. Whatever our role as parent or policymaker, we must act as eloquently as we speak else we have no integrity. My call to the nation is a plea for awareness. If you believe you are safe, you are in danger. Because I was not hemophiliac, I was not at risk. Because I was not gay, I was not at risk. Because I did not inject drugs, I was not at risk. The lesson history teaches is this: If you believe you are safe, you are at risk. If you do not see this killer stalking your children, look again. There is no family or community, no race or religion, no place left in America that is safe. Until we genuinely embrace this message, we are a nation at risk.”

Back when AIDS research was still undeveloped, the stigma of contracting HIV was even more immense than it is today. A celebrated artist, author and speaker, Mary Fisher became an outspoken activist for those with HIV/AIDS, persuading people to extend compassion to the population with HIV instead of stigmatizing them – as injustice has a way of coming around to people eventually. Her bold act of speaking out for the community regardless of the way they contracted the disease, their sexual orientation or social group, was an influential move in advancing the human rights of those with HIV and spreading awareness on the discrimination they face.

33. Freedom from Fear by Aung San Suu Kyi

“The quintessential revolution is that of the spirit, born of an intellectual conviction of the need for change in those mental attitudes and values which shape the course of a nation’s development. A revolution which aims merely at changing official policies and institutions with a view to an improvement in material conditions has little chance of genuine success. Without a revolution of the spirit, the forces which produced the iniquities of the old order would continue to be operative, posing a constant threat to the process of reform and regeneration. It is not enough merely to call for freedom, democracy and human rights. There has to be a united determination to persevere in the struggle, to make sacrifices in the name of enduring truths, to resist the corrupting influences of desire, ill will, ignorance and fear. Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying. So free men are the oppressed who go on trying and who in the process make themselves fit to bear the responsibilities and to uphold the disciplines which will maintain a free society. Among the basic freedoms to which men aspire that their lives might be full and uncramped, freedom from fear stands out as both a means and an end. A people who would build a nation in which strong, democratic institutions are firmly established as a guarantee against state-induced power must first learn to liberate their own minds from apathy and fear.”

Famous for her resoluteness and fortitude in campaigning for democracy in Burma despite being put under house arrest by the military government, Aung San Suu Kyi’s speeches have been widely touted as inspirational. In this renowned speech of hers, she delivers a potent message to Burmese to ‘liberate their minds from apathy and fear’ in the struggle for freedom and human rights in the country. To this day, she continues to tirelessly champion the welfare and freedom of Burmese in a state still overcome by vestiges of authoritarian rule.

34. This Is Water by David Foster Wallace

“Our own present culture has harnessed these forces in ways that have yielded extraordinary wealth and comfort and personal freedom. The freedom all to be lords of our tiny skull-sized kingdoms, alone at the centre of all creation. This kind of freedom has much to recommend it. But of course there are all different kinds of freedom, and the kind that is most precious you will not hear much talk about much in the great outside world of wanting and achieving…. The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day. That is real freedom. That is being educated, and understanding how to think. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing.”

Esteemed writer David Foster Wallace gave a remarkably casual yet wise commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005 on the importance of learning to think beyond attaining a formal education. He encouraged hundreds of students to develop freedom of thought, a heart of sacrificial care for those in need of justice, and a consciousness that would serve them in discerning the right choices to make within a status quo that is easy to fall in line with. His captivating speech on what it meant to truly be ‘educated’ tugged at the hearts of many young and critical minds striving to achieve their dreams and change the world.

35. Questioning the Universe by Stephen Hawking

“This brings me to the last of the big questions: the future of the human race. If we are the only intelligent beings in the galaxy, we should make sure we survive and continue. But we are entering an increasingly dangerous period of our history. Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill. But our genetic code still carries the selfish and aggressive instincts that were of survival advantage in the past. It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand or million. Our only chance of long-term survival is not to remain inward-looking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space. The answers to these big questions show that we have made remarkable progress in the last hundred years. But if we want to continue beyond the next hundred years, our future is in space. That is why I am in favor of manned — or should I say, personned — space flight.”

Extraordinary theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author Stephen Hawking was a considerable influence upon modern physics and scientific research at large, inspiring people regardless of physical ability to aspire towards expanding knowledge in the world. In his speech on Questioning the Universe, he speaks of the emerging currents and issues in the scientific world like that of outer space, raising and answering big questions that have stumped great thinkers for years.

36. 2008 Democratic National Convention Speech by Michelle Obama

“I stand here today at the crosscurrents of that history — knowing that my piece of the American dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me. All of them driven by the same conviction that drove my dad to get up an hour early each day to painstakingly dress himself for work. The same conviction that drives the men and women I’ve met all across this country: People who work the day shift, kiss their kids goodnight, and head out for the night shift — without disappointment, without regret — that goodnight kiss a reminder of everything they’re working for. The military families who say grace each night with an empty seat at the table. The servicemen and women who love this country so much, they leave those they love most to defend it. The young people across America serving our communities — teaching children, cleaning up neighborhoods, caring for the least among us each and every day. People like Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters — and sons — can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher. People like Joe Biden, who’s never forgotten where he came from and never stopped fighting for folks who work long hours and face long odds and need someone on their side again. All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won’t do — that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be. That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack’s journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope. That is why I love this country.”

Ever the favourite modern First Lady of America, Michelle Obama has delivered an abundance of iconic speeches in her political capacity, never forgetting to foreground the indomitable human spirit embodied in American citizens’ everyday lives and efforts towards a better world. The Obamas might just have been the most articulate couple of rhetoricians of their time, making waves as the first African American president and First Lady while introducing important policies in their period of governance.

37. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

“I’m not talking about blind optimism here — the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don’t think about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker’s son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope — Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.”

Now published into a book, Barack Obama’s heart-capturing personal story of transformational hope was first delivered as a speech on the merits of patriotic optimism and determination put to the mission of concrete change. He has come to be known as one of the most favoured and inspiring presidents in American history, and arguably the most skilled orators ever.

38. “Be Your Own Story” by Toni Morrison

“But I’m not going to talk anymore about the future because I’m hesitant to describe or predict because I’m not even certain that it exists. That is to say, I’m not certain that somehow, perhaps, a burgeoning ménage a trois of political interests, corporate interests and military interests will not prevail and literally annihilate an inhabitable, humane future. Because I don’t think we can any longer rely on separation of powers, free speech, religious tolerance or unchallengeable civil liberties as a matter of course. That is, not while finite humans in the flux of time make decisions of infinite damage. Not while finite humans make infinite claims of virtue and unassailable power that are beyond their competence, if not their reach. So, no happy talk about the future. … Because the past is already in debt to the mismanaged present. And besides, contrary to what you may have heard or learned, the past is not done and it is not over, it’s still in process, which is another way of saying that when it’s critiqued, analyzed, it yields new information about itself. The past is already changing as it is being reexamined, as it is being listened to for deeper resonances. Actually it can be more liberating than any imagined future if you are willing to identify its evasions, its distortions, its lies, and are willing to unleash its secrets.”

Venerated author and professor Toni Morrison delivered an impressively articulate speech at Wellesley College in 2004 to new graduates, bucking the trend by discussing the importance of the past in informing current and future ways of living. With her brilliance and eloquence, she blew the crowd away and renewed in them the capacity for reflection upon using the past as a talisman to guide oneself along the journey of life.

39. Nobel Speech by Malala Yousafzai

“Dear brothers and sisters, the so-called world of adults may understand it, but we children don’t. Why is it that countries which we call “strong” are so powerful in creating wars but so weak in bringing peace? Why is it that giving guns is so easy but giving books is so hard? Why is it that making tanks is so easy, but building schools is so difficult? As we are living in the modern age, the 21st century and we all believe that nothing is impossible. We can reach the moon and maybe soon will land on Mars. Then, in this, the 21st century, we must be determined that our dream of quality education for all will also come true. So let us bring equality, justice and peace for all. Not just the politicians and the world leaders, we all need to contribute. Me. You. It is our duty. So we must work … and not wait. I call upon my fellow children to stand up around the world. Dear sisters and brothers, let us become the first generation to decide to be the last. The empty classrooms, the lost childhoods, wasted potential-let these things end with us.”

At a mere 16 years of age, Malala Yousafzai gave a speech on the severity of the state of human rights across the world, and wowed the world with her passion for justice at her tender age. She displayed tenacity and fearlessness speaking about her survival of an assassination attempt for her activism for gender equality in the field of education. A model of courage to us all, her speech remains an essential one in the fight for human rights in the 21st century.

40. Final Commencement Speech by Michelle Obama

“If you are a person of faith, know that religious diversity is a great American tradition, too. In fact, that’s why people first came to this country — to worship freely. And whether you are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh — these religions are teaching our young people about justice, and compassion, and honesty. So I want our young people to continue to learn and practice those values with pride. You see, our glorious diversity — our diversities of faiths and colors and creeds — that is not a threat to who we are, it makes us who we are. So the young people here and the young people out there: Do not ever let anyone make you feel like you don’t matter, or like you don’t have a place in our American story — because you do. And you have a right to be exactly who you are. But I also want to be very clear: This right isn’t just handed to you. No, this right has to be earned every single day. You cannot take your freedoms for granted. Just like generations who have come before you, you have to do your part to preserve and protect those freedoms. … It is our fundamental belief in the power of hope that has allowed us to rise above the voices of doubt and division, of anger and fear that we have faced in our own lives and in the life of this country. Our hope that if we work hard enough and believe in ourselves, then we can be whatever we dream, regardless of the limitations that others may place on us. The hope that when people see us for who we truly are, maybe, just maybe they, too, will be inspired to rise to their best possible selves.”

Finally, we have yet another speech by Michelle Obama given in her final remarks as First Lady – a tear-inducing event for many Americans and even people around the world. In this emotional end to her political tenure, she gives an empowering, hopeful, expressive speech to young Americans, exhorting them to take hold of its future in all their diversity and work hard at being their best possible selves.

Amidst the bleak era of our current time with Trump as president of the USA, not only Michelle Obama, but all 40 of these amazing speeches can serve as sources of inspiration and hope to everyone – regardless of their identity or ambitions. After hearing these speeches, which one’s your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

Article Written By: Kai Xin Koh

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Famous Persuasive Speeches

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:

Martin Luther King Jr. – “I Have a Dream”

Barack obama – “against going to war with iraq”, winston churchill – “we shall fight on the beaches”, abraham lincoln – “the gettysburg address”, hillary clinton – “women’s rights are human rights”.

A speech about ending racism and segregation, and coming together as one society, in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed over 250,000 people in front of the Lincoln Memorial. King’s speech would later become one of the most famous persuasive orations ever given. Known for his charismatic and passionate style of communication, King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is frequently epitomized as the ideal example of expressing one’s values and convictions. King’s use of vivid language and imagery immediately captured the audience’s attention making this historical speech a memorable one.

Throughout history, war has been a common topic of persuasive speeches. Likewise, today in an age where wars and conflict continue to be rampant, war is the perennial topic for public addresses. One of the most famous present day declamations is president Barack Obama’s speech, “Against Going to War With Iraq.” In this 2002 speech, Obama expresses his views on the war with Iraq using both logistical arguments and engaging rhetorical devices.

At a time when the world was entering into a crisis, Churchill speech was not only about persuading mankind to fight, but about instilling hope and strength. At a point when all seem bleak, Churchill delivered an impassioned speech to the people, offering them a much needed sense of guidance and confidence. Delivered in 1940, Churchill would subsequently give several other well known persuasive speeches during World War II including, “This Was Their Finest Hour.”

Although given in a somewhat unconventional style, Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Adress” is one of the most well known persuasive speeches in American history. Spoken rather hastily, totaling just under three minutes, Lincoln nevertheless convincingly imparted his love and dedication to the freedom and the American country.

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Women’s rights issues have frequently been the focus of many rhetorical declarations. As women have fought to earn equality and matching human rights, persuasive speeches have played a vital role. Although the process has not been without setbacks, impassioned speeches such as Clinton’s “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights” help instill in society the need for change and social action.

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15 Short Memorized Speech Examples

Giving a speech feels hard and that feeling is so common that a majority of people would rather die than speak publicly. But when it is inevitable, maybe as the best man, mother of the bride, or a speech assignment for class, we turn to memorization.

Why? Because we assume that if we know and remember what to say, we won’t embarrass ourselves. Slightly effective, but it comes with its own limitations.

Here, I will show you how to memorize a speech with 15 examples worth referencing.

But first, let’s go over how to write a speech, because it doesn’t matter how well you memorize one if the content is bad.

How to Write a Speech

The anxiety that fuels the need to memorize a speech comes from either not knowing what to say or how to say it. A sure fire way to overcome that is by writing the speech.

And contrary to what you might think, it is not hard to write a good speech. If you know how to have a meaningful conversation, moving from point A to point B, you can write a speech. You just need to follow these tips.

Set the stage with an introduction

How exactly you start depends on the context of your speech. For instance, you may need to introduce yourself if your audience isn’t familiar with you. This is unnecessary if you’ve been introduced or you’re speaking among your peers.

But the main point here is about how you start your speech. The goal is to explain the what and why in a way that captures the audience’s attention.

It could be a famous quote, a shocking statement, or a rhetorical question. As long as it gets ears to perk up and eyes to focus on you.

Create and follow a structure

Now that you have their attention, it is time to hold it. As the speaker, the audience expects a path and destination from you. They want to know where the gist leads and why the point matters.

Ergo, structure.

Each paragraph in your speech must have a central point and connect with the next. Don’t try and stuff everything you know about the subject in the paragraphs. Focus on the key issues and maintain clear, logical transitions from idea to idea.

That is why it is crucial to understand the purpose of the speech. Are you trying to entertain, argue a point, inspire, or educate? The answer will inform the structure and overall tone of the speech.

Use Anecdotes to illustrate key points

When you write a speech, tailor your language and ideas to your audience. The way you speak in a school seminar is different from how you will talk at your best friend’s wedding, and there is no place where this matters more than in your anecdotes.

Countless studies have shown that our brains remember stories pretty well. That means if you want your speech to be memorable, you have to sprinkle some of them in there to illustrate your points.

That way, even if the facts and figures fly over their heads, the story will stick. And the good thing about anecdotes is, you don’t have to memorize them.

Use Transitions

No matter how great every line in your speech is, there will be moments when the audience drifts off. Use transitions to recall their attention. It signals to them that the oncoming part is worth paying attention to.

There are different ways to deploy this. It could be a rhetorical question like “Why does this matter?” followed by a pause, just long enough to create anticipation.

Other examples include “So here’s the lesson” or “In a similar fashion.”

Summarize with a call to action

Your audience won’t remember everything you say, but they are more likely to remember the last thing you said to them. That means, alongside the introduction, this is an integral part of your speech.

Summarize the speech using sentences that drive home the main point. You can do this by repeating a few key takeaways or sharing an anecdote that illustrates the point.

How to Memorize a Speech

Image by Rodnae Productions ( Pexels )

Hopefully, after reading that section, you are starting to get the idea. Once you know what to say and how to say it, you’ve cracked the first step to memorizing a speech.

The next thing is to observe a few steps, and you are well on your way to delivering a captivating speech from memory.

Rehearse the Speech

After writing the speech, try reading it out loud. The goal here is to figure out how it sounds to fix what doesn’t work.

You can add, delete, or reorder parts of the speech until it sounds compelling and natural during this phase. Like something you wouldn’t mind sitting through yourself.

This process could take a few times, so feel free to pause and come back with fresh eyes and ears. You could also try reading it to someone for a different perspective.

Memorize the main ideas

The best way to memorize a speech is to learn the main points. This is where you benefit from writing the speech. Once you understand the subject matter and the goal of the speech, your mind has a framework to follow.

Instead of trying to capture the entire speech word-for-word, you have memorized the main ideas. Enough to talk about it to an audience as if you are having a regular conversation.

There are two main benefits to this. One, it gives a natural feel to your speech. Regurgitating a speech word-for-word makes you seem like a robot. There is no warmth, and it makes your content less engaging.

Two, it makes you immune to a slip-up. When you forget a word or sentence, it has little to zero impact because you know what you are trying to say and how to say it. You have maximum flexibility.

A practical way to memorize each idea is by quizzing yourself over each paragraph. “What is it about?” “What problem is it describing?” “Why does this matter?”

Practice your delivery

Finally, a speech is only as good as its delivery. Think about the most remarkable speeches you’ve heard or seen. What made them stand out?

One thing that is for sure is it isn’t because they remembered every single word. Not that you would know. But instead how the speaker spoke, entertainingly and informatively.

It is possible to memorize this by rehearsing over and over again.

Since you are more concerned about the meaning than the syntax of your sentence, you start to get a feel of when it’s okay to make a joke, change the timing or intonation.

That is how to memorize a speech, and it all starts with focusing on the content. Now, let’s see some good examples of these tips being put to use in different scenarios.

Short Memorized Speech Examples

Short memorized speech for a college paper.

This example might not align with your definition of “short,” but it gets a whole lot right when it comes to speeches.

First, it starts with a question that piques attention, then immediately establishes what and why they are talking about it. The sentence structure is also conversational, and the author doesn’t have to memorize each word.

The rest of the speech maintains that tone, and the thought flows logically. From explaining what dreaming big is to its downsides and negative impact, all told through anecdotal lenses.

Not only is this speech easier to memorize because it is their story, but it makes it more engaging. More than what a rollout of psychological facts would have been.

Finally, the speaker ties it up in a compelling conclusion that summarizes the key point with a call to action.

Short speech for a company event

This is a much shorter speech than the previous example, but it still follows the same principles. In the introduction, the author uses the scale of time to capture the audience’s attention. With a few sentences, it transports their mind to the past and the future. Engaging!

That thought continues its logical progression in the body. The CEO (presumably) zeroes in on the implications and impact of that journey in time on members of the organization. Relatable!

Finally, they tie up the speech with a nice bow with a call back to the beginning.

Not only does this speech have the perfect length for the occasion, but it is also stirring enough to leave a lasting impression.

Short wedding speech

If you have ever attended a wedding, you are probably familiar with speeches like this. What makes them so common yet effective is how much it understands its audience.

A wedding reception is a relaxed atmosphere, which means the audience experts jokes and laughter. The author doesn’t waste time and delivers right from the beginning. Humor makes us attractive, and with that, the audience is interested in what the writer has to say.

Another thing that makes this speech good and easy to memorize is a total familiarity with the subject matter. In this case, that’s Josh. Because of that, the author can craft a structural narrative that establishes Josh’s personality and character and its relevance to the current event.

Short memorized speech for a presentation

Here is a nice example of a proper introduction if you ever have to give a speech to your peers at school, work, or any other setting. They already know who you are, which means your primary focus is to give them something to listen to.

Next, dive into the what and why it matters. Here, the writer offers both at the end of the first paragraph and in the next. In two paragraphs, the audience knows why she’s talking about her future and why it matters to the speaker and them.

The next logical question is how the speaker plans to achieve that, and they answer in the final paragraph.

Short introductory speech for a college seminar

What if you had to come up with an introductory speech for an event? Well, you still follow the same beats as other types of speeches. Establish the what and the why.

For What, this college seminar speech covers the relevance of the seminar by mentioning the dignitaries that have supported it. Without explicitly stating that it is an important event, the roster of those in attendance and the organizing team conveys that to the audience.

To answer Why, the principal plainly states the value of the seminar. The audience understands they are part of a long history, and the content is valuable enough for commercial publication.

Short Personal Introductory Speech

When you have to introduce yourself, you have a limited time to establish who you are and why you should be listened to.

Thankfully there is not much to learn in this scenario because you are the subject, and no one knows you better than you. Start with your name and your experience like this example to prove your credibility.

Since it is a personal introduction, the body of your content should be something that humanizes you. That way, you go from a name and title to a person, and in this example, a relatable one.

The good thing about this type of speech is it is fun to memorize, and you can rehearse and shape it by giving it to as many people as possible.

Short persuasive speech to students

In the game of attention that is speech writing and delivery, there are multiple paths to victory. This example deploys the rhetorical question method to command the attention of its audience.

By asking questions audience members have most likely asked themselves, the speaker has positioned himself as someone with answers. After all, if you know about these questions, then they have probably figured it out.

Furthermore, each point builds on the one before it, in the direction of a typical day. Because it follows the logical progression of their regular day, the audience has permission to insert themselves into the narrative, making them more receptive to the advice and suggestion.

Persuasive for a diverse audience

What if you are trying to write and memorize a speech for a diverse audience? First, you need to find something that unites you all. In this short excerpt from a speech, the speaker has chosen their identity as residents of Thailand.

It would be difficult for the speaker to memorize every single word in this speech. However, by crafting points around how the central purpose of the speech benefits everyone, they don’t have to.

All that needs memorizing are the broader supporting points. To provide jobs, improve the local economy. Each point is bolstered with verifiable facts, which makes it more convincing.

Short speech for an argumentative speech

If you ever find yourself having a debate, the trick to making a convincing argument is to display a complete understanding of the topic interspersed with your opinions and verifiable facts.

This example does two of those things excellently. It starts by recognizing the conflict. Phones are helpful, and they serve an essential role in modern society, but it has its downsides. Then there’s the referenced medical fact that adds credibility to the conflict.

These points are connected by transitional phrases and words like “On the other hand” and “Worryingly” that make it easy for the audience to follow the speaker’s train of thought.

Short Memorizable speech for a proposal

Found the perfect partner and want to propose? Besides the content, writing and delivering your proposal speech is no different from any other kind of speech. It is all about connecting with your audience.

That means, like this example, you need to speak in the first person a lot, i.e., lots of Is. Your key points, as shown here, should focus on how your partner makes you feel and what their presence in your life means to you.

Memorizing the main points of your proposal is especially important in this context because your speech should come from the heart. Or at least feel like it did.

Memorized acceptance speech

Suppose you’ve received an award or recorded an accomplishment that requires a speech. In that case, the majority of your content should focus on showing appreciation.

First, start by thanking the people giving you the award, then move on to thank everyone else, specifically those who contributed to the achievement.

Feel free to introduce humor into your speech, but it should be appropriate for the event and place.

As always, when you memorize this kind of speech, you should focus more on each section than on the exact words. For instance, you could thank the awarding body first, then move to your peers, then family last.

That way, even after rehearsing multiple times in front of a mirror, it still feels natural and spontaneous.

Short acceptance speech with commentary

There are occasions when you want to do more than simply thank you in your acceptance speech. In scenarios like that, find a way to connect your appreciation with your commentary, as seen in this example.

Start by appreciating the organization or people responsible for the award or accomplishment. Then use transitional phrases or a topic sentence to segue into your commentary.

The example above used “…all the effort of my entire team…” to segue into an inspiring comment. It also used an anecdote to illustrate the point further.

Finally, end with a note of thanks to close the circle.

When crafted this way, you only need to memorize the broad strokes of your speech and perhaps the connective phrase if you came up with the perfect line in your draft.

Short Goodwill speech

Above is an excerpt of the famous Ich bin ein Berliner speech by President John F. Kennedy in 1963. You can watch and read the whole thing here .

The popular name appears at the very end of the speech, but it would have made zero sense or had little impact if it wasn’t the conclusion of logically progressive thought.

Goodwill speeches should be informative and persuasive, and this example does that brilliantly from the first paragraph. It starts by showing great respect to the city and sticks to the theme by highlighting the shared values and beliefs.

If you ever have to deliver one, focus your memorization efforts on what you have in common with your hosts and build out from there.

Short memorized speech for a funeral

Many of us will have to deliver a speech at a funeral someday. When that time comes, it is better to memorize the order of your thoughts than the exact words.

A good order starts with introducing yourself and your relationship with the deceased. Then spend the following paragraphs talking about their life and personality. This includes speaking about their accomplishments, major life events. Each talking point should connect back to the impact on you.

Finally, summarize with a final takeaway from the theme, how you want others to remember the individual, and a thank you to attendees.

Short Farewell Speech after leaving a place or position

Your farewell speech is your last time to leave an impression on your audience. This could be your colleagues, boss, or students. Whoever they are, they will determine the exact tone and style you choose in your speech.

Depending on your experience and emotional attachment to the organization, your speech could be a simple thank you. It could also be exciting stories that highlight your history and journey there.

Whatever you decide, make sure it is personal. The second half of the first paragraph and the second paragraph above is an excellent example of this.

Wrapping it Up

That makes it 15, and depending on the scenario, each one is a useful reference when crafting your speech. Remember, the first step to memorizing a speech is to write one.

It gives you a chance to organize your thoughts, deepen your understanding of the topic, and familiarize yourself with the audience. In turn, you get the confidence to deliver in a way that is both engaging and convincing.

By following these tips and examples, you too will be able to deliver a speech that makes you proud.

Tom loves to write on technology, e-commerce & internet marketing. I started my first e-commerce company in college, designing and selling t-shirts for my campus bar crawl using print-on-demand. Having successfully established multiple 6 & 7-figure e-commerce businesses (in women’s fashion and hiking gear), I think I can share a tip or 2 to help you succeed.

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How to Become More Persuasive at Work

If you’re a leader, you need to know how to influence people.

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If you’re a leader, you need to know how to influence people. Maybe you’re trying to get clients to buy into your idea, trust your expertise, or sign on with your company. Or perhaps you want to convince colleagues to start a new initiative or kill one you think is doomed to fail.

In this episode, Vanessa Bohns , a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University, and Raven Hoffman , who works in a construction role that involves recruiting new clients to her firm, break down how to build influence at work.

They discuss which persuasion tactics are most effective and how to tell if someone is being swayed by your reasoning. And if you’ve failed to persuade someone but still believe in the cause, they offer smart tactics for trying again.

Key episode topics include: leadership, persuasion, power and influence, business communication, industrial sector, construction and engineering, education institutions.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Listen to the original Women at Work episode: The Essentials: Persuading People (2022)
Find more episodes of Women at Work .
Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org .

HANNAH BATES: Welcome to HBR On Leadership , case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, hand-selected to help you unlock the best in those around you. We all need to be persuasive. Maybe you’re trying to get clients to buy into your idea, trust your expertise, or sign on with your company. Or perhaps you want to convince colleagues to start a new initiative, or kill one you think is doomed to fail. Today we bring you a conversation about how to build influence at work – with the help of Vanessa Bohns, a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University and the author of the book You Have More Influence Than You Think: How We Underestimate Our Power of Persuasion, and Why It Matters, and Raven Hoffman, who works in a construction role that involves recruiting new clients to her firm. In this episode, you’ll learn which persuasion tactics are the most effective and how to tell if someone is being swayed by your reasoning. And if you’ve failed to persuade someone but still believe in the cause, you’ll learn some smart tactics for trying again. This episode originally aired on Women at Work in April 2022, as part of a special series called “The Essentials.” Here it is.

AMY GALLO: You’re listening to Women at Work from Harvard Business Review. I’m Amy Gallo. Raven Hoffman, like a lot of us, is trying to figure out how to better persuade others. She works in the construction industry as a senior estimator at a tile and stone contractor.

RAVEN HOFFMAN: I spend my entire day looking at blueprints pricing things out, convincing guys I know what I’m talking about, telling the guys what to do so that they do it right when they get to the job. Not much time at my desk, I get up and I’m out in the warehouse looking for stuff, I’m on the phone calling people. Most of my day is putting out fires.

AMY GALLO: Construction is one of the most male-dominated industries in the world. Raven has been in it for twenty years thriving and with no plans to leave. Lately, though, she’s been struggling with a new important part of her job, selling people she hasn’t met before on doing business with her and her company. Conversations and meetings she’s initiated haven’t consistently forged the sorts of trusting relationships that lead to contracts. xBut Raven’s determined to become more persuasive with prospective and existing clients, as well as with long time colleagues. So, she was excited, as was I, to talk to and learn from a woman who studied and mastered this skill. Vanessa Bohns is a social psychologist. She teaches at Cornell and is the author of the book, You Have More Influence Than You Think: How We Underestimate Our Power of Persuasion and Why it Matters , and she’s here with advice for pitching ideas, preempting people from doubting your expertise and getting coworkers to start or stop doing something. Raven, Vanessa, thank you so much for joining us on the show today.

RAVEN HOFFMAN: Thank you for the invitation.

VANESSA BOHNS: Yeah. Thanks so much for having me.

AMY GALLO: So, Raven, I want to start with you and understand a little bit more about your work and where exactly you feel like you have influence and where you think you currently lack influence.

RAVEN HOFFMAN: So, I am fortunate. The company I work for, the current ownership came on when their grandmother was running the company; they believe in hiring strong women. They believe in letting us do what we do best. So, I feel they listen within the company. So often externally, my knowledge seems to be under question.

AMY GALLO: Is that with customers, with subcontractors?

RAVEN HOFFMAN: Customers. So often I will call with an issue on a project to say, “I foresee this as an upcoming problem,” and the response I will get is, “Hey, is your boss there? Can I talk to him about it?” Usually I transfer them over to him and he laughs at them and says, “You need to talk to Raven. She knows what’s going on more than I do,” and sends them back. But I think they’ve already disengaged from me as an authority who knows what she’s talking about.

AMY GALLO: Okay. So, Vanessa, in your research, you explore people’s perception of their influence and how that compares with reality. Your book is called You Have More Influence Than You Think. What did you hear in Raven’s answer there that speaks to the common perceptions or misperceptions that women tend to have about their power to be persuasive?

VANESSA BOHNS: So, I definitely hear some elements of the difference between the way we use stereotypes to understand people we don’t know well. If I go into an interaction with someone and I don’t know how to behave with this person, I don’t know what I think of this person, stereotypes guide us in a sort of way of thinking about this person and how this interaction is going to go, and unfortunately, still in many places in the world, seeing a woman brings to mind the stereotype that they don’t have as much expertise as me, particularly if it’s in a field that it tends to be a male dominated field. On the other hand, describing these people who really do know you, who know that you have this expertise or you have these established relationships, now they don’t need to rely on a stereotype, right? They actually know you they’ve gotten to know you. So, this is very sort of classic way of coding people that we don’t know. One of the things that women tend to get sort of dinged on, in terms of the stereotypes, is this idea that we aren’t authorities on something. Again, particularly if it’s in a sort of male dominated field.

AMY GALLO: Like construction, right?

VANESSA BOHNS: Exactly. Right. So, one thing that we know from the influence literature is that we listen to people who we think are authorities. If someone we think knows what they’re talking about, tells us that we should do something, not surprisingly, we assume that we should do it more so than if we think, oh, this person doesn’t know what they’re talking about. But women often face this sort of double whammy. So, there’s this coding of like, Okay, this person is not as much of an authority as maybe their male counterpart. But women also often struggle to profess their own authority. I was part of something called the op-ed project, where we learn how to write op-eds to get more female and underrepresented minorities into public discourse, and one of the activities they had us do was to establish our authority. Why am I the one to write this op-ed? So, we would go around the room and we would say, “Here’s who I am. I went to this school, I have this background…” and women with these extraordinary backgrounds would play them down. Women who had done amazing things were like, “yeah, I know how to do this little thing,” when in fact they had studied it for, like, ten years and were masters at it. So, one thing women can struggle to do at times is to make up for that authority gap that we’re missing by actually professing our authority by saying, “Hi, I’m so and so. Here’s my long list of expertise and this is why I’m talking to you.” Right? To say, “Okay, you may have had a stereotype about me. We’re going to get rid of that right here and now, and I’m going to tell you exactly why I have the authority to be talking to you.” At the same time, women tend to hesitate to do that. So, in this case, the fact that they’re just saying, “you should talk to Raven,” without giving you that buildup… I think it’s kind of putting you at a disadvantage.

AMY GALLO: Raven, how do you introduce yourself when you’re working with new clients? Have you tried what Vanessa’s describing?

RAVEN HOFFMAN: I have not, and I’m really intrigued about what that would end up looking like in a conversation – to not come across as arrogant and, “Hey, I know you’re new. So let me pile on you how many years I’ve been doing this and how much I know,” and then try to build the relationship, is how I perceive something like that. So, I’m wondering how you would work that into the conversation and have that dialogue without coming across as arrogant.

VANESSA BOHNS: That’s exactly why the women in my group hesitated to talk about all their accolades was because they were worried they were going to come across as bragging and arrogant. Really what people often talk about when we’re judged by other people, we’re judged on two main things: warmth and competence, and women tend to be judged even more on warmth. So, if we overplay our competence, people think we’re cold and that’s where we come across as arrogant, et cetera. So, the best way, unfortunately, to sort of counteract that is to couple your expressions of competence with something warm. So, it could be something like, “I am so excited to work with you because I have worked with so many other clients, I have worked with these big clients,” or whatever it is that sounds really good. “I have been working in this field for fifteen years or twenty years because I just love it, and so I can’t wait to work with you.” So, something that says, “look at all this experience I have,” but in this warm, friendly, cooperative sort of way.

AMY GALLO: How does that land with you, Raven?

RAVEN HOFFMAN: I like that. I can do that.

AMY GALLO: Yeah. I mean, I can even imagine something simple – and Vanessa, tell me if this would work – but even saying, “I’ve been assigned to this project because I’ve done 4,000 just like it. I’m really excited to collaborate with you to get your project done on time and under budget,” or whatever metrics matter to your clients. What do you think of that?

VANESSA BOHNS: Yeah, I think that would be great. As you said, you want to know the metrics that matter to them – like what would establish to them that you’re an expert and you put that out there and you just add something that says, “and I’m telling you this so that we can have a great relationship, and so I can be helpful,” and I think that gets that across for sure.

AMY GALLO: Raven, I can imagine that you do a lot of influencing already. Can you tell me about a time where you needed to persuade people at work to either do something or to stop doing something and it was successful?

RAVEN HOFFMAN: Most recently there was a product line that I wanted to bring back on that we had carried for a while and did not. I went in, presented the facts of what products they had that were good that filled gaps. I stuck to the facts. I knew what I needed to present, and we brought the line back on. It has worked very well for us.

AMY GALLO: And can you give us an example of a time where it didn’t go so well?

RAVEN HOFFMAN: Yes – with my coworkers and emails and “do not reply all.” I have requested quite a few times that we don’t all need to be on these back and forth conversations between two people. If you’re having this conversation… I get a hundred plus emails a day easily. Nno one listens, and unfortunately, I’ve had a few meltdowns over it, which I’m sure did not help the persuasion. I was hoping that it was just going to be one of those things where, Raven’s had a meltdown. We don’t want another one. Let’s quit doing this. That didn’t work either work.

AMY GALLO: So, what do you hear in those two examples, Vanessa, about what worked and why, and what didn’t work and why?

VANESSA BOHNS: Yeah. It’s interesting because they are pretty different influence topics, right? One is about facts, and I imagine you sort of outlined, “here’s this thing I think we should do” to a group of people who probably were pretty expert in what you were talking about. Right? They probably knew quite a bit about it already. There’s work on the difference between when we try to influence someone on something that they know really well and care about quite a bit, and when you’re trying to do that, you really want to stick to the facts like you said, and come up with arguments because they’re going to get it. They know the counterarguments, they know their facts, they know how to interpret the facts you’re giving them and they care enough. Then there are other kinds of things we try to influence people about where they’re less expert or less invested is a big part. Right? They just don’t care that much, and so often in those cases, the facts are not going to get them to go along with you. It’s all these other sort of peripheral aspects. It’s just, are other people going along with what you said? I’m not going to pay that much attention to all your arguments for why I should do this. But as long as I know that, like, Bob is doing it, I’ll do it.

AMY GALLO: Well what about the reply all situation? Why do you think Raven was less successful there?

VANESSA BOHNS: That one I actually fascinated by because that just sparks my curiosity. Why don’t they stop doing it? Is it because they actually aren’t persuaded that they should? Is this a question of persuasion or is it something else? Is it a question of motivation or just the ease? Are they forgetting? Do you have any insight into why they haven’t stopped doing it?

RAVEN HOFFMAN: It’s easier to just hit reply all than to reply just to one person.

VANESSA BOHNS: Interesting,

AMY GALLO: In that case, what would be persuasive? And it’s funny. I know this example is, I think some might say silly, but I actually think this is something people deal with all the time. As someone who talks about conflict and difficult coworkers, I hear about the reply all messages all the time. So, I do think this is quite relevant. So, what would be persuasive?

VANESSA BOHNS: As I said, it sparks my curiosity because I can’t imagine that the reason is that they feel strongly about being able to reply all. It must be sort of an automatic behavior that they’re not even thinking about it in the moment, and so those are the kinds of things where you want to be able to change either just the default response, the norm of everybody, so that when you’re about to hit that, you’re like, “oh wait, I don’t want to be that person who hits reply all because there’s this norm that’s not a good thing to do.” Or, it could just be one of these things where it really is, they need a reminder, they forget, right? So, putting something in a signature line or putting something on people’s computers like a sticky note, something that just… It sounds like it could just be a habit that they don’t care enough to break. So, I think the ways to break habits are either to make them more automatic, right? The opposite habit, more automatic. So, you kind of get rid of just that default click, or you make it so counter normative to do that thing, that people actually do care enough to stop before they hit that button. Right? I know that enough people make fun of you here if you hit reply all, that no one wants to do that, and so many times I have actually triple-checked to make sure I didn’t accidentally hit reply all, but that’s because of a norm that’s been set. So, you could do something where you start teasing people who don’t know how to not hit reply at all, or just get some people to stop doing it, and then eventually other people stop doing it.

AMY GALLO: Yeah. Vanessa, can you tell us about an experience you’ve had recently where you’ve had to persuade someone or a group and how you used your own research to be effective at it?

VANESSA BOHNS: I was thinking actually about this person I used to work with when I first came to the job I have now, who is an incredible persuader. He just could get any group to sort of see his version, and when I first came to the job I have now, we would get together as a group and decide on a candidate to hire – that was a common thing, or a graduate student to admit… those kinds of decisions. My expectation was, we’re all going to go into this meeting and we’re all going to lay out our ideas and who we think should be the candidate, and then we’re going to make a decision right then. But I quickly learned that so much of what happened in that meeting was predetermined by all the leg work that person would do before the meeting, and it really made me realize that so much of influence is these informal conversations that you have to get people on your side, this coalition-building and setting the stage for arguments that are going to be made, and less about that sort of formal presentation. I had in my head that, like, almost movie version of someone stands up in the front of the room, gives this big presentation, and everybody’s like, “That’s the one,” and clapping. It’s this kind of formal persuasive attempt, but so much was about garnering support before you went in so that once you got into that meeting, you knew who was on your side already and you could kind of point to them. So, you could say like, “So-and-so, and I really think this person’s the best.” Right? Now, all of a sudden you’ve got a little team that’s started the momentum in that meeting. You also have done your reconnaissance so you know what people’s objections are going to be. So, you know that so-and-so cares about this and they’re probably going to say that, and so-and-so cares about this and they’re probably going to say that. So, you kind of are already lined up to be able to have a counter argument. Then you also know who’s not going to care. As long as the rest of the group is going in this direction, this person’s just going to go in that direction as well. So, now I realize that almost all of, say maybe 90%, of the attempt to persuade in a meeting happens before that meeting.

AMY GALLO: Raven, is that a tactic you’ve used? Sort of, the meetings before the meeting.

RAVEN HOFFMAN: Absolutely. Generally, if I know I’m going to be meeting with a group of people, especially if there’s somebody new in there, I kind of get a feel for who they are from people that know them. So, I know what to talk to and how to present. Some people are going to want more facts, more detail, some are going to want it as short as possible so they can get on with the rest of their day, and some are going to be entirely focused on building a relationship and not care about any of the facts. So, it’s really determining what your audience needs before you get into that meeting.

VANESSA BOHNS: So, this is kind of how I think about it, and I’m curious if this works with customers as well: pre-selling before you get into that meeting. I feel like in many cases, people feel cornered if you just give them all the information. They didn’t have anything before and you expect them to kind of make a decision there, and that’s really hard to get people to actually commit in that moment. But if you kind of pre-sell it and you’re like, “this is what I’m going to present to you,” and they’ve kind of got their mind halfway made up already. It’s so much easier in that moment to sort of close and get them the rest of the way. Would you agree with that too? Or…

RAVEN HOFFMAN: Absolutely, and I usually don’t anticipate leaving a meeting with an answer. I anticipate leaving the information with the clients and probably getting another week’s worth of questions after it.

AMY GALLO: Raven, other than the reply all situation, are there other things that you’d like your team or company to start doing or stop doing that you haven’t yet pushed for?

RAVEN HOFFMAN: I have been saying for years that we need to be more proactive about getting in with the trade schools and the high school trade programs to recruit staff, and for a lot of times I’ve just been shut down on it. It’s kind of a perception of not being quality people in those programs. Having come from an alternative school background, I highly disagree.

AMY GALLO: Yeah. Where do most employees come from now, Raven, if they’re not from these trade schools or high schools?

RAVEN HOFFMAN: At the moment, nowhere. We’re not getting applications, we’re not having any luck. We’re trying all sorts of things we have not in the past. It used to be entirely word of mouth and reference.

AMY GALLO: Right. Vanessa, any advice for Raven on how she might push this issue?

VANESSA BOHNS: Sure, and first I’ll say that it’s great that she wants to keep pushing it. Because I do think that a lot of people here know or don’t get an enthusiastic enough sort of response and assume that no is forever or there’s no way they’re going to change this person’s mind, when that’s really rarely the case. So, I think it’s great that you do want to keep pushing forward once you do have the time. I think one piece of advice that we give in negotiations a lot, if you’re kind of at a stalemate, is to ask the other party for advice – something that Zoe Chance calls “the magic question,” which is basically saying to someone, “What would it take for you to actually consider people from trade schools? What would it take for you to agree with this thing that I’m coming to you with?” What that does is that brings the other party to your side, right? So, now it’s not like a confrontation. I’m trying to convince, you’re pushing back. Right? Now, we’re both going to look at this problem from the same side and you might get some insight into the hesitations and they might even be more willing to reflect on their hesitations than you would otherwise get. Right? When you’re playing a guessing game of, I say this, and then I see if that resonates with you or not. Right? It may be that they come them back and say, “Well, if I saw this kind of data, maybe I would consider it. If I saw competitors using people from trade schools, maybe I would consider it. If you could get so-and-so on board, maybe I would consider it,” and maybe you wouldn’t have thought of one of those things. It also kind of gets them thinking a little further down. Right? So, there is a way I might consider it and it sets up an expectation. If they say, “If you could show me this, I would consider it.” Okay. Find that, and now they’ve already kind of pre-committed. So, now you have, sort of, already gotten them a little closer towards your position.

RAVEN HOFFMAN: Awesome. I can definitely do that. Vanessa, I have a question for you. I’m largely an introvert and I’m not good with soft skills. So, I’m not always good at picking up on the nonverbal cues. So, anything that can help me know what I need to be looking for other than the really blatantly obvious arms crossed, leaned away, fidgeting – what are some smaller cues out there that might indicate that I’m not being as persuasive as I would like to be?

VANESSA BOHNS: Ultimately, it’s actually really hard for people to say no, and to kind of come out and tell you, “I don’t like what you’re selling me. I don’t agree with the things that you’re saying.” Often people will sort of hem and haw instead of actually coming out and saying, “forget about it,” because people are polite at the end of the day. People want to be agreeable. They don’t want to be disagreeable. So, I do think you kind of have to look in many cases for these non-verbals – these kind of hesitations and try to lock in some enthusiasm for something. Get them talking about some real problem that they have or something they really don’t about their current situation. Something that gets them out of this sort of defensive, “I don’t want to say no, but I also don’t want to say yes,” kind of thing, and gets them opening up a little bit and maybe sharing a little bit of the problems they have, and the ways in which you could then jump in and talk about your solutions.

RAVEN HOFFMAN: Yeah.

AMY GALLO: Are there questions that people who don’t feel confident reading non-verbal cues – are there questions that you can ask to take temperature along the way to see how is this going? Again, if you’re not confident reading someone’s body language, can you be a little more explicit?

VANESSA BOHNS: I think you can be explicit, and there’s research showing actually that we hesitate to ask people questions because we think they’re going to be hesitant to answer them. But in fact, the best way to get insight into how someone’s feeling is to ask them. There’s other research showing that if you tell people, try to figure out what’s going on in this person’s mind. We think that we know what’s going on. We think we can read body language, but we’re actually pretty bad at it, and our guesses are often wrong. But if you just tell people, “ask this person what they think, ask what’s on this person’s mind,” of course, all of a sudden they’re so much more accurate because the person is quite willing to open up and say “Well, actually I wasn’t so sure about this thing that you were saying,” or, “Here’s my hesitations,” or, “Here’s the person I would have to convince.” Right? Now you kind of know what you’re dealing with. So, I definitely would say, if you can ask an open-ended question that’s like, “how do you see this potentially applying to your situation? Are you hearing things that you like in this or things that you’re not so sure about,” is a great way to take their temperature.

AMY GALLO: If this is something you’re working on and you want to be more persuasive at work, you’re going to be looking for opportunities to do this and it can feel like you’re pushing, pushing, pushing. Can you talk about, Vanessa, how pulling back on an effort or even letting an issue go all together is actually part of the skill or part of the tactic that can be effective.

VANESSA BOHNS: Yeah, it’s funny. We really have this sort of need for closure and to feel effective when we’re trying to persuade someone., and so we kind of want to know right away that we’ve made some progress at least, or that we’ve gotten somewhere and often people aren’t ready to show that, and we have to give them space to digest. But we also want to keep what we’re trying to persuade them of top-of-mind. So, gentle check-ins can be helpful. This is another sort of skill that comes from Zoe Chance – saying, “Can I follow up with you in a few days?” Or, “Can I follow up with you next week?” That says, I’m going to give you space and time to think about this, to digest what I’ve said. You’ve given me permission to follow up so I’m not just annoying you by following up. Then you can keep it top-of-mind and give them a little space. The research shows that if we’re given the chance to try to persuade someone who is completely against what we want to persuade them to believe, or someone who’s actually kind of close to what we want to persuade them to, we want to persuade the person who’s totally on the opposite side. We want to feel that satisfaction of like, I flipped that person, right? We just want that satisfaction. But in fact, it’s so much easier to persuade the person who’s closer and you’re more likely to be successful, but we tend to not derive the same kind of satisfaction. I think it’s a similar thing. It’s like, I want that “yes” right now. Right? But sometimes we just need to relax and take the small wins and take the tiny steps that are getting someone a little bit closer to where you want to close them, and be okay with patience and space.

AMY GALLO: One of the pieces of advice I’ve heard given often in sort of negotiation context, that is if you want to persuade someone, you need to demonstrate that you yourself are persuadable. Is that advice that you agree with Vanessa? And if so, how do you show that you’re willing to change your mind?

VANESSA BOHNS: Yeah, I do think that’s a really helpful sort of tactic, because one of the fundamental aspects of human behavior is reciprocity. So, I give a little, you give a little. Right? Once I give, you feel this kind of urge or this need to give a little back. No one wants to be the jerk who like… you just made this major concession and now I’m just going to stand my ground. Right? It also, I think, makes the other person feel listened to, right? If you can give something, it shows that, actually, you’re not just in it for yourself. That makes it a more cooperative integrative kind of discussion, which I think we tend to forget when we’re trying to persuade someone. We think we’re on two sides, and I’m just trying to push and you’re pulling or whatever. But when you give a little, it says, “I see your side, I am willing to consider this integratively. I’m willing to give up a little bit myself. Now, what are you willing to do?” It becomes more of a cooperative discussion.

RAVEN HOFFMAN: One of our company owners says that quite often with customers, I go from their salesperson Raven, to, by the end of the project, I’m their friend Raven. Well, if I’m their friend, they’re going to be more likely to refer me. So, it is getting to that point where they realize I do actually care. You cannot fake wanting someone to have a successful project, and they feel that.

VANESSA BOHNS: Yeah.

AMY GALLO: Yeah.

VANESSA BOHNS: So many people are uncomfortable with things like negotiation. So many people are uncomfortable with sales, and I think part of it is that discomfort makes us think of one-shot interactions. I’m just going to get in there. I’m going to do it. I’m going to make the sale. I’m going to convince someone. I’m going to get it done. When in fact, the best kinds of sales and negotiations are long term relationships, right? They’re not one-shot interactions, and as soon as you start thinking of it like that – the next time I have to sell to this person, the next time we negotiate – it changes the way you approach the one that you’re in right now, I think, for the better.

AMY GALLO: Vanessa, let’s say you have tried to persuade your boss or your team to do something and it hasn’t gone well. You’ve failed. Maybe we even talk about the reply all situation here… but you still believe it’s a cause worth pursuing or pushing. What should you do before you try again before you sort of get back in there? What do you do in your mind, or in terms of preparing yourself, to be more effective the next time around?

VANESSA BOHNS: I definitely think that this is a case where I would try to generate as much curiosity as possible because especially if I think it’s an important enough issue that I’m willing to go back and push for it, but other people don’t seem to see my side, I’d be really curious. What’s happening? What’s keeping people from doing this. How are they seeing things so differently for me? I would definitely get into question-asking mode. I would probably take a step out of my initial, I’m going to change things, I’m going to persuade kind of mode and get into, okay, I’m going to understand, I’m going to ask questions. I’m going to go and say, “I’m curious, why do you hit reply all? What is it that happens in that moment?” I think that’s where you really learn what it is that are the actual barriers to getting them to see your side, and you might actually learn that there is an advantage. They’re getting something out of doing this their way that I didn’t see, and I didn’t understand, maybe, and I find a way for them to still get that thing and still get what I need, as well. So, I think a lot of what you do next is dependent on the answers you get from those follow-up interviews after you’ve failed to persuade.

AMY GALLO: Before we wrap up, Raven, what are you taking away from this conversation? What do you feel like you might do differently?

RAVEN HOFFMAN: I’m definitely going to work on building allies when I’m going into conversations and meetings with new people. I’m going to keep in the front of my mind becoming that authority, and ways to do it gently as opposed to with a sledgehammer so that I can build those relationships because everything in life is about those continued relationships. So, if I do something incorrectly in the beginning, it can cause damage moving forward, and I want to use the correct persuasion tactics, and I’ve gotten a lot of wonderful tools to be able to do that. Thank you.

AMY GALLO: That’s great. Well, Raven, Vanessa, thank you both so much. This has been a really useful conversation for me. I’ve learned a lot, and Raven, I appreciate you sharing your experience around all-things persuasion.

RAVEN HOFFMAN: Yes. Thank you for having me, and thank you, Vanessa, for your insights. They’ve been valuable.

VANESSA BOHNS: Thank you. It’s been really, really, really interesting listening to you. Thank you, as well. Thanks for sharing.

HANNAH BATES: That was Cornell professor Vanessa Bohns and Raven Hoffman, a senior estimator for a tile and stone contractor – in conversation with Amy Gallo on Women at Work . We’ll be back next Wednesday with another hand-picked conversation about leadership from the Harvard Business Review. If you found this episode helpful, share it with your friends and colleagues, and follow our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re there, be sure to leave us a review. We’re a production of the Harvard Business Review. If you want more podcasts, articles, case studies, books, and videos like this, find it all at HBR dot org. This episode was produced by Amanda Kersey, Anne Saini, and me, Hannah Bates. Ian Fox is our editor. Music by Coma Media. Special thanks to Rob Eckhardt, Tina Tobey Mack, Erica Truxler, Maureen Hoch, Adi Ignatius, Karen Player, Ramsey Khabbaz, Nicole Smith, Anne Bartholomew, and you – our listener. See you next week.

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Student Opinion

Do You Use, Like, Too Many Filler Words?

A Times columnist writes about the ubiquity of the word “like” in everyday speech. Is it an annoying verbal tic that we should try to avoid? Or does it actually improve our communication?

By Jeremy Engle

Do you use words like “like,” “um” and “you know” often? Do your friends?

Do you think these filler words get in the way of communication? Or, do they help?

In “ Where Did Our Strange Use of ‘Like’ Come From? ” John McWhorter writes about the history and evolution of the popular four-letter filler word:

Some months ago, one of my readers sent me an invaluable cache of recordings of family members during therapy sessions in the 1960s. They are ordinary, seemingly educated, white Northeasterners ranging from their late 20s to late middle age speaking casually. And what stands out today, 60 years later, is how often they pause briefly when they talk. Their speech sounds almost herky-jerky to the modern ear. The reason their speech sounds somewhat odd in that way is that today people like those on the recording would fill many of those pauses with “like.” It’s not, as sometimes assumed, that people used to talk formally or like books any more than they do now. Casual speech, always and everywhere in any language, is all about short sentences, often unfinished, often with occasional hesitations. But only in the late 1970s did “like” take its confident perch in American English. The question is why. The answer is not the Frank Zappa’s cute 1982 ditty “Valley Girl,” featuring his teenage daughter, Moon. For one thing, a single song doesn’t change the way people talk every day. For another, that song only leads to the question of why Moon was using “like” that way, given that it wasn’t just her quirk; she was part of what we now call a thing. Some people think this usage of “like” reflects some kind of epidemic of uncertainty among young people. But the casual “like” has now been entrenched long enough that many of its users are graying at the temples and then some. How unconfident are these near-sexagenarians?

Mr. McWhorter continues:

English is also oddly explicit about, of all things, restraint. We speak with a tacit impulse to keep the drama level moderate, to avoid stridency. One way of doing this is to use the hesitations I referred to in that 1960s recording: You pause before saying something that raises the temperature a bit, reflects an opinion that might arouse, pushes the envelope. But one might also spell out the hesitation more overtly, and this is where the casual “like” comes in. It quietly implies that what’s coming up is like itself rather than just itself, which lowers the temperature, keeps the burner on medium rather than high. “Like”— as well as “sort of,” which has become a “like” for more formal settings, with “kind of” often filling in as a variant of both — is a subtle thing. To learn to use it idiomatically as a foreigner is as tricky as learning how those variations of the English future tense really work. There is even a masterly academic book on the subject. But most of the ways the casual “like” is used are ultimately variations on that quest for lowering the temperature. Here, for example, is a word-for-word transcription of an American undergraduate speaking casually in the 2020s, recorded for nonlinguistic purposes. In writing, it looks shaggy, but in real life, the person sounded perfectly fluent and even intelligent: In terms of, like, figuring out how to do that exactly, like, what to, like, um, look for specifically, especially because, like, they’re, you know, like, in the workplace setting, like, your job is to follow the guidelines so, like, you know, kind of figuring out how to learn, like, what, how the conflicts are playing out. The “likes” in that quote occur not just anywhere but before something new, something with a bit of impact: the task of figuring something out, the issue that this is a workplace setting rather than your house, the challenge of following new rules, the drama of conflicts. One could certainly express all of this without the use of “like” and “you know” and “kind of,” but the result would be a little crisp for casual conversation, perhaps a tad Boy Scout or Leslie Knope-ish .

Students, read the entire essay and then tell us:

Do you use filler words when speaking? If so, tell us which words, phrases or sounds — and how and when you employ them? Do you think you could ever cut them out?

What purpose do fillers serve? Do you think they help to improve communication or do they get in the way of it?

What’s your reaction to Mr. McWhorter’s essay? Are you surprised by the history and evolution of the word “like”? Mr. McWhorter rejects the idea that the prevalence of the word “like” reflects “some kind of epidemic of uncertainty among young people,” and instead argues that it’s “actually a symptom of something more general about how languages change over time.” How persuasive is his argument?

Does reading the essay make you more curious about the history and development of language? What words, or aspects of human communication in general, would you like to learn more about?

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Jeremy Engle joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2018 after spending more than 20 years as a classroom humanities and documentary-making teacher, professional developer and curriculum designer working with students and teachers across the country. More about Jeremy Engle

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Persuasive Speech
Persuasive speech
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PERSUASIVE SPEECH did i persuade u?
Persuasive Speech

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7 Best Short Persuasive Speech Examples to Drive Change
Short persuasive speech examples. #1. Title: Go Meatless on Mondays. Good afternoon everyone. I'm asking you to join me in adopting a simple change that can positively impact both our health and the planet - going meatless one day a week. On Mondays, commit to leaving meat off your plate and choosing vegetarian options instead.
110 Interesting Persuasive Speech Topics to Impress Your Audience
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.
15+ Persuasive Speech Examples to Learn From
The following short persuasive examples show speeches that are written with specific time limits in mind. These will help you understand how long your speech should be for an allotted time. 3 Minute Persuasive Speech Example PDF. 2 Minute Persuasive Speech Example.
Persuasive Speech Outline, with Examples
Persuasive Speech Outline, with Examples. A persuasive speech is a speech that is given with the intention of convincing the audience to believe or do something. This could be virtually anything - voting, organ donation, recycling, and so on. A successful persuasive speech effectively convinces the audience to your point of view, providing ...
Persuasive Speeches
Step 1 - Identify the type of persuasive speech (factual, value, or policy) that will help accomplish the goal of the presentation. Step 2 - Select a good persuasive speech topic to accomplish the goal and choose a position. How to write a persuasive speech. Step 3 - Locate credible and reliable sources and identify evidence in support of ...
How to Write and Structure a Persuasive Speech
The purpose of a persuasive speech is to convince your audience to agree with an idea or opinion that you present. First, you'll need to choose a side on a controversial topic, then you will write a speech to explain your position, and convince the audience to agree with you. You can produce an effective persuasive speech if you structure your ...
Persuasive Speech Examples: Taking A Stand In Speech
Persuasive speeches have been used throughout history to shape public opinion and shape behavior, and examples abound. Persuasive speech examples include virtually any topic - voting, racism, school uniforms, safety, organ donation, recycling, and so on. From a teenager asking his parents to go out with friends to an aspiring politician ...
How to Write a Persuasive Speech [with Examples]
Step 2: After the Story, Now, Give Your Advice. When most people write a persuasive presentation, they start with their opinion. Again, this makes the listener want to play Devil's advocate. By starting with the example, we give the listener a simple way to agree with us.
PDF Tips for Writing a Persuasive Speech
following outlines the basic format of a persuasive speech, but speeches may take alternative forms. INTRODUCTION There are four key components to an introduction: the attention getting device (AGD), common ground, thesis, and ... Start your speech off with a quotation, a short narrative, a mind blowing statistic—anything to wow your audience ...
How to Write a Persuasive Speech
You can map each point with a respective counterargument using a mind-mapping tool for a structured and more organised approach. #2. Cut down the fluff. How to write a persuasive speech. This is no time to flex your wealth of ultra-complicated technical words. The idea of a persuasive speech is to get your point across verbally.
'Easy' persuasive speech topics: 309 examples
309 potentially easy persuasive speech topics. Below are 309 good persuasive topics chosen for their broad appeal, and because they are subjects people generally feel strongly about. 69 topics based on education. 135 based on aspects of health: mental health, the psychology of motivation, autism, natural medicine, the dangers of alternative ...
How to Write a Persuasive Speech: 13 Steps (with Pictures)
1. Practice your speech. When it comes to making your speech work in real life, the most important thing you can do is practice, as much as you can. Try practicing in front of a mirror, so that you can see how you are delivering the speech. This can help you notice your facial expressions and body language.
40 Persuasive Writing Examples (Essays, Speeches, and More)
Harvey Milk's "The Hope" Speech. Sample lines: "Some people are satisfied. And some people are not. You see there is a major difference—and it remains a vital difference—between a friend and a gay person, a friend in office and a gay person in office. Gay people have been slandered nationwide.
6 Tips for Writing a Persuasive Speech (On Any Topic)
Use short words. Write short sentences. Avoid awkward constructions that might cause a speaker to stumble. Tip: Read the speech aloud as you're writing. If you do it enough, you'll start ...
How to write a persuasive speech
As Richard Greene says, one of the keys to a successful speech is that "you believe that there is value in the information that you are sharing.". So, first things first - make sure that your knowledge of a topic is top-notch before even attempting to write your speech. It'll go a long way to making it more effective and persuasive.
75 Persuasive Speech Topics and Ideas
The aim of a persuasive speech is to inform, educate and convince or motivate an audience to do something. You are essentially trying to sway the audience to adopt your own viewpoint. The best persuasive speech topics are thought-provoking, daring and have a clear opinion. You should speak about something you are knowledgeable about and can ...
105 Interesting Persuasive Speech Topics for Any Project
105 Topics for a Persuasive Speech. Here's our list of 105 great persuasive speech ideas. We made sure to choose topics that aren't overdone, yet that many people will have an interest in, and we also made a point of choosing topics with multiple viewpoints rather than simplistic topics that have a more obvious right answer (i.e.
100 Persuasive Speech Topics for Students
100 Persuasive Speech Topics for Students. ThoughtCo. 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 ...
112 Persuasive Speech Topics That Are Actually Engaging
112 Engaging Persuasive Speech Topics. Tips for Preparing Your Persuasive Speech. Writing a stellar persuasive speech requires a carefully crafted argument that will resonate with your audience to sway them to your side. This feat can be challenging to accomplish, but an engaging, thought-provoking speech topic is an excellent place to start.
How to Write an Introduction for a Persuasive Speech
3. Tailor your writing to your audience. Being aware of your audience while you're writing will help you craft a more persuasive message. As you're writing the introduction to your speech, think about who will be listening when you deliver it, and use that to help you decide what information and strategy you'll use.
40 Most Famous Speeches In History
40 Famous Persuasive Speeches You Need to Hear. Written by Kai Xin Koh. Across eras of calamity and peace in our world's history, a great many leaders, writers, politicians, theorists, scientists, activists and other revolutionaries have unveiled powerful rousing speeches in their bids for change. In reviewing the plethora of orators across ...
Famous Persuasive Speeches • My Speech Class
A speech about ending racism and segregation, and coming together as one society, in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed over 250,000 people in front of the Lincoln Memorial. King's speech would later become one of the most famous persuasive orations ever given.
15 Short Memorized Speech Examples
Short speech for a company event. This is a much shorter speech than the previous example, but it still follows the same principles. In the introduction, the author uses the scale of time to capture the audience's attention. ... Short persuasive speech to students. In the game of attention that is speech writing and delivery, there are ...
How to Become More Persuasive at Work
March 13, 2024. If you're a leader, you need to know how to influence people. Maybe you're trying to get clients to buy into your idea, trust your expertise, or sign on with your company.
Do You Use, Like, Too Many Filler Words?
Casual speech, always and everywhere in any language, is all about short sentences, often unfinished, often with occasional hesitations. But only in the late 1970s did "like" take its ...

16 Best Persuasive Speech Examples for Students

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How to Write a Persuasive Speech - Examples

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Persuasive Speeches — Types, Topics, and Examples

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The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln

The Finest Hour by Winston Churchill

I Have a Dream by Mary Wollstonecraft

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How to Write a Persuasive Speech

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Easy persuasive speech topics: examples

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What a successful persuasive speech usually takes

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69 persuasive speech topics on education

135 persuasive speech topics about health

46 mental health persuasive speech topics

24 persuasive ideas: the psychology of motivation

10 persuasive speech topics about autism

19 persuasive speech topics on natural medicine

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

22 current medical issues speech topics

53 topics: ethics, morals and values

28 topics based on morals and ethics

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20 persuasive speech topics about the economy

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