It goes without saying that the success of your persuasive speech depends hugely on the topic you opt for. This is the first thing that will either catch the attention of your audience or will doom you to miserable failure. Therefore, you shouldn’t treat this initial stage of your preparation light-heartedly and fix upon some random topic. To ensure that your persuasive speech produces a favourable impression, it is recommended to follow some basic guidelines while choosing its topic.
Firstly, you can look for a topic by brainstorming the things you are passionate about. You have to be interested in the topic if you want to persuade your audience to feel in a particular way. For instance, you can focus on your hobbies, like music or sports. The next step would be to think of a controversial topic related to your area of interest. In case you are a fan of video games, you could give a speech on whether it makes teenagers more aggressive. However, research the opposite point of view, because your speech has to be argumentative and consider different opinions. Alternatively, you might concentrate on local events or hot issues at your campus, as those will really grasp the attention of your audience. At the same time try to avoid the topics that might hurt your listeners’ feelings, such as racist, anti-gay or other sensitive subjects. Moreover, it is not advisable to choose something that is too general or has already been discussed by students lots of times. Instead, be creative and narrow down the topic, or bring up its up-to-date aspect.
All in all, do not be afraid to experiment and try new approaches. Originality has always been held in high esteem, so take advantage of it!