Barnett’s Persuasive Speech Ideas
Review the list of speech topics and ideas below. Make a personal short list by selecting three persuasive speech
topics you perhaps could use. For now just make a rough inventory. Tickle your imagination, associate and be
creative.
# Which of the speech topics are you interested in?
# Do you know something about?
# Would you like to research and persuades your audience about?
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Should students be allowed to have cell phones in elementary and high schools?
Should students have to wear uniforms?
Should college athletes be paid for playing?
Should state colleges be free to attend for in-state residents?
Should all American citizens have to complete a year of community service?
Should students be required to take a foreign language course?
Should marijuana be legal for medicinal purposes?
Should the voting age be lowered to thirteen?
Should the driving age be raised to twenty-one?
Should students be paid for having good grades?
Should illegal immigrants be allowed to get drivers licenses?
Should students’ textbooks be replaced by notebook computers?
Should students have to pass a basic skills test to graduate high school?
Should schools raise money by selling candy and sugary soft drinks to students?
Should schools serve french-fries and fried potato products to students at lunch?
Should students’ grades in gym affect their grade point averages?
Should girls be allowed to play on boy’s sports teams?
Should teens be able to buy violent video games?
Should boys and girls be in separate classes?
Should teenage girls be allowed to get birth control without the permission of their parents?
Should our country have a universal health care program?
Should immigration laws be reformed?
Should the federal government recognize civil unions (i.e. gay marriages)?
Should people who download music and movies illegally be punished?
Should school athletes have to be on the honor roll to play in games?
Should music with curse words be allowed at school dances?
Should go-go bands be allowed to play at PG County school dances?
Should students be able to listen to MP3 players on headphones during class?
Should schools offer fast food options like McDonalds or Taco Bell?
Should cities offer free public Wi-Fi?
Should the government place a tax on junk food and fatty snacks?
Should people travelling in airplanes have to undergo intensive security screenings?
Should teachers have to pass a basic skills test every ten years to renew their certification?
Should people be allowed to keep exotic animals like chimpanzees or tigers?
Should people be allowed to keep pit-bull dogs?
Should the city offer a bike-sharing program?
Should there be an ordinance citing people who fail to recycle $50?
Should there be an ordinance citing people who play music too loudly $50?
Should celebrities who break the law face stricter penalties?
Should larger passengers have to pay for two plane or movie theater tickets?
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Should people have to get a license to become parents?
Should there be tougher federal restrictions for content on the Internet?
Should people be allowed to curse on daytime television?
Should sexual education be taught in public schools?
Should students be able to get free condoms at school?
Should students who commit cyber bullying be suspended from school?
Should corporations be allowed to advertise in schools?
Should students be allowed to eat during class?
Should more be done to protect and preserve endangered animals?
Is it appropriate for students and teachers to be friends on Facebook?
Should students have open campus lunch periods?
Should abortions be legal?
Should abortions be legal in cases of rape and incest?
Should the death penalty be used to punish violent criminals?
Should students learn about world religions in public schools?
Should schools start later in the morning?
Should the USA end overseas military operations?
Should politicians be allowed to accept campaign contributions from corporate lobbyists?
Should people with terminal illnesses have the right to doctor assisted suicides?
Should stem cell researchers be able to use the stem cells from aborted babies to cure diseases?
Should school athletes have to take drug tests?
Should professional athletes have to take drug tests?
Should high school students have to complete community service hours to graduate?
Should teens over 13 years be allowed into R rated movies?
Should state tests be given in other languages for ESL students?
Should scientists be allowed to test products intended for human use on animals?
Should unhealthy fast food products be sold with a warning label?
Should there be a tariff or tax on products manufactured outside of the country?
Should students or teachers receive money for scoring well on standardized tests?
Should everyone under the age of 17 have a 9:00 PM curfew?
Should schools with low scores on standardized tests be closed?
Should minors be allowed to drink alcoholic beverages in their homes with their parents’ consent?
Should students be allowed to drop out before they turn 18 years old?
Should alcohol manufacturers be allowed to advertise on television?
Should students as young as fourteen be allowed to hold jobs?
Should people who are caught driving drunk lose their licenses for a year?
Should students who fail their classes be retained and have to repeat the grade?
Should large businesses and corporations be required to employee a number of minorities proportionate
to the population?
Should children in temporary living situations with 3.0 GPAs earn free college tuition?
Should gambling and sports betting be illegal or should the government regulate it?
Should children who commit violent crimes be tried as adults?
Should the government be allowed to detain suspected terrorists without trial?
Should the government censor internet content deemed inappropriate?
Should teachers have to wear uniforms or have a dress code?
Should teachers be allowed to have cell phones in the classroom?
Should the state execute dogs that have bitten someone?
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The government should be persuaded to pay for all healthcare. By the way you can fill in other verbs and
nouns in most of the free persuasive speech topics in this list. Just tweak.
Teachers are not safe in schools.
We are better off today than we were eight years ago.
We are killing the rainforest.
Children in ... fill in the nation of your choice ... are living better.
Continue the war on drugs by attacking the ingredients needed.
DNA databases jeopardize our privacy.
Vanity is not a valid reason for cosmetic plastic surgery.
The rich pay, don't pay enough taxes.
Return extra taxes collected to those who paid.
All MP3 music belongs in the free public domain.
Needle exchange programs help to prevent.
Mothers should be persuaded to avoid fighting in military combat front lines.
Free speech don't include, include hate speech.
Spam e-mails should be, should not be outlawed.
We need a single food safety agency. Remember, replace the nouns and you can write easily other free
persuasive speech topics.
Downloading copyrighted MP3s is not, is wrong.
Gay couples should be, should not be allowed to marry.
Higher energy prices are a sacrifice we have to make for cleaner fuels.
Home schooling provides a better education, is worse for your child.
Honesty, integrity and a persuasive mentality are the most important qualities of an elected official. Or vary
on the qualities and create your own free persuasive speech topics on government, state or local politicians.
Zero tolerance is a useful instrument to prevent violence.
Babysitters younger than 16 years should be forbidden.
Human cloning is bad, is good.
Restrict every household to 60 gallon can on trash a week.
Gay marriage should be an issue for the states
Flag burning should be prohibited.
Military service should be based on conduct, not sexual orientation.
Education, housing, and hiring must be equal for all.
The Ten Commandments are inherent values in schools.
The Patriot Act violates civil liberties.
The 1st Amendment is not a shield for hate groups.
Support affirmative action in governmental organizations.
Limiting immigration is limiting opportunities.
The police always should investigate all complaints of wife assault.
The amount of spam you see in your mailbox is just the tip of the iceberg.
Ban same-sex marriages.
Academic dishonesty should always be sanctioned by termination of student status for a specified term.
Wildcat strikes should be legalized.
What you need to know to prevent serious complications with body piercings.
Only buy energy efficient household appliances.
Outsourcing is a good solution for small business owners.
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Every citizen should commit to 2,000 hours of voluntary national service in lifetime.
No-fly lists of airliners do have a lack of accuracy.
Mankind is responsible for the large loss of biodiversity.
We need an international forestry agency.
Water is a hot issue in the Middle East.
An international certification system for diamond exploration prevents conflict-diamonds trade.
Never negotiate with terrorists.
Water saving methods work in several regions of Africa.
Russia is a growing threat.
Jerusalem must remain an undivided city.
America should stop being the world's policeman.
We need a Marshall Plan for Afghanistan.
The civil rights movement is a success.
Keep talking to the North Koreans.
Abortion
Abuse Of The Elderly
Abused Women
Academic Dishonesty
Academic Freedom
Acid Rain
Addiction
Adoption
Affirmative Action
Afghanistan
Africa
Age Discrimination
Aging Population
Agricultural Policy
AIDS/HIV
Air Pollution
Airline Safety
Alcohol Abuse
Aliens and UFO's
Alternative
imprisonment
Alternative Medicine
American Education
Reform
Amnesty
Animal
Experimentation
Animal Rights
Animal Welfare
Anorexia Nervosa
Anti-Semitism
Arab-Israeli Conflict
Armed Conflicts
Arms Control
Arms Trade
Asylum
Atomic Energy
Ballot Initiatives
Battered Women
Beginning of Life Issues
Bermuda Triangle
Bigamy
Bilingual Education
Biodiversity
Biological and Chemical
Weapons
Bird Flu
Birth Control
Body Piercings
Breast Feeding in Public
Bulimia
Cameras in Courtrooms
Campaign Finance
Reform
Capital Punishment
Censor Hate Speech
Censorship
Chain Gangs
Child Labor
Church State Issues
City Curfews Civil Rights
Climate Change Policy
Condoms In Schools
Creationism vs.
Evolution
Cuba
Dating Campus Issues
Death Penalty
Depression
Dieting
Disabilities Act
Domestic Violence Drug
Policy
Drunk Driving
Endangered Oceans
Endangered Species
Espionage and
Intelligence Gathering
Ethnic Violence
Euthanasia
Family Violence
Fat Tax On Food
Feminism
Foreign Oil Dependence
Foreign Policy
Foster Care
Fraud
Gambling
Gangs
Gay Marriage
Gay Rights
Genetic Engineering
Genetically Engineered
Foods
Genocide
Global Resources
Global Warming
Government Fraud and
Waste
Gun Control
Hate Crime
Health Care Policy
Home Schooling
Homeland Security
Homeless in America
Human Cloning
Immigration
Infectious Diseases
Inner City Poverty
Internet Chatrooms
Iraq
Islamic
Fundamentalism
Juvenile Crime
Language Policy
Legal System
Littering
Marriage and Divorce
Media Violence
Medical Ethics
Medicinal Marijuana
Medicine Abuse
Minimum Wage
Missile Defense System
National Tobacco
Settlement
Nonproliferation
Nuclear Technology
Organ Donation
Organized Crime
Peace
Physician-Assisted
Suicide
Polygamy
Pornography
Poverty
Prison regime
Race Relations
Racial Profiling
Rain Forests
Recycling
Religious Right
Reproductive
Technologies
Russia
School Uniforms
School Violence
Sex Education
Single Parent Families
Smoking
Social Security Reform
Social Welfare
Space Exploration
Stadium Taxes
Stem Cell Research
Tax Reform
Teen Pregnancy
Term Limits
Terrorism
Tobacco Industry
Trade with China
Transportation
US Budget
US War on Drugs
Urban Terrorism
Vaccinations
Violent Video Games
Voluntary National
Testing
War Crimes
War On Drugs
Water Resources
Weapons Disarmament
Welfare Reform
Women in the Military
Women's Rights
Working Women
World Trade