Persuasive Speech Topics

After years of speaking to crowds both large and small, and watching my colleagues do the same, I have reached some conclusions about which topics and approaches are the most persuasive and compelling.

If you are open to speaking about a wide variety of topics, there are certain subjects that will always draw a big crowd.

Here are just some of them, and they are huge...

Make money

Find love

Improve your health and fitness

Achieve your personal dreams

These are life’s enduring topics, and will always find and please an audience from almost any background. These are the things most of us are interested in, at a very deep and personal level.

So if you are free to choose any topic for your speech, look for something in one of these areas.

Second, how to make your speech more persuasive...

I’ve given this one away in the subhead. The secret here is to tell people HOW.

How to make money

How to find love

How to improve your health and fitness

How to achieve your personal dreams

This “how to” principle will also make other, more narrow topics infinitely more appealing.

It doesn’t matter whether you are speaking about fly fishing, gardening, investing, boat building, car buying, starting a small business, writing, photography or anything else.

What audiences want to know is HOW to do something, or how to do it better.

When you are picking a persuasive speech topic, whatever the subject matter, be aware of what really compels and drives people at a personal level.

Also, dig deep into your subject matter and think of ways in which you can provide new and exciting information on how people can succeed and achieve remarkable results for themselves.

How to prepare yourself to give the speech of a lifetime

Most of us feel some performance anxiety when we get up to speak. In fact, public speaking is a source of fear and anxiety for the majority of people asked to give talks and presentations.

However, if you want to be truly persuasive, you also need to come over as being very confident.

One way to overcome that anxiety and prepare yourself is with a self-hypnosis CD program I have used myself, ”Overcoming Performance Anxiety”.

It’s a great program and, unlike some companies, the people behind this program don’t promise the impossible:

“We can't promise that this will make you into a great public speaker, concert-quality musician, or group dynamics wizard.

Those claims are absurd.

What we are saying is that our program can help you maximize your ability to perform in front of groups. You will learn how to become less nervous so you can focus on the task at hand.

Performances and public speeches are much more effective when you are enjoying the moment. However, if you want to be GREAT – YOU STILL HAVE TO PRACTICE.”

This is an inexpensive program and I always recommend it to friends and colleagues who feel a little nervous about their next speech or presentation.

You can find out more about Overcoming Performance Anxiety here...

Finally, if you would like to get a step ahead by reading through some already-written persuasive speeches on a whole range of topics, try the Speech Writers site.

Some excellent books on writing and delivering persuasive speeches...