A good college life isn’t just about attending lectures and munching snacks at the canteen. School and college days are meant for taking challenges and improving your personality. Every school or college organises various extra-curricular activities to hone the abilities of students and give them a platform for showcasing their talents. Speech competitions or assignment presentations are a part of such endeavours. Preparing an informational speech is interesting and tricky at the same time. Unlike essays, speech has to be drafted keeping in mind active listeners. The topic should be exciting, connectable and unique and the content should be innovative and easily understandable. We have compiled an exhaustive list of speech topics for students in this blog. Also find valuable insights on structure of speech, essential elements and secret tips for presentation.
An informative speech aims to educate the audience on a certain topic. It can include the speaker's personal opinions as well. The motto is to impart knowledge on a subject in an engaging and effective way. Since there is no option to reread a sentence like essays, a speech should be such that it can be absorbed by the audience at one go. Using short sentences is key to making your speech easily comprehensible. Another important part is to maintain the attention of the audience throughout your speech. Employing active voice, surprising facts and figures, voice modulation, humour (if possible) and posing questions are some of the strategies you can apply to hold your audience with you. Speech on current topics pique interest as they are less heard about and have an air of curiosity.
Structure-wise, an informative speech follows the same pattern as essays. It begins with an introduction of the topic, then proceeds to the main details and arguments and finally ends with a conclusion that leaves an impression on the listeners.
Begin with an intriguing hook to activate your audience. A question or quote are the most used hooks in speeches but feel free to explore other types of hooks too. See our guide about generating striking hooks to get an idea of hook statements. Next provide some background on your topic and present your thesis sentence.
Proceed to give details on your subject. Breakdown and organise your points successively with smooth transitions. Provide a good deal of facts and figures to substantiate your claims. Don’t go astray from the main ideas just to give extra knowledge. Use a combination of long and short sentences and vary your sound pitch to keep the audience attached.
Emphasise on the significance of your topic, summarise the central points and end with a memorable sentence or trail that leaves an imprint on the minds of the listeners.
Following are the guidelines for selecting topics of speech:
Scroll through the list of best topics for speech including educational speech topics, short speech topics and current speech topics. Shortlist the ideas that spark your curiosity, brainstorm on each and select the one you are most passionate about:
Coming up with topics about speech can be taxing. Choose a topic you are enthusiastic about and only then you will be able to transfer the excitement in the audience. The above list comprises the latest topics of speech and involves currently trending themes that your audience will like to hear about.
Public speaking imbibes self confidence, improves presentation and communication skills and grooms you for bright career prospects. Make sure to study about your audience and accordingly prepare a well researched speech replete with relevant facts.Take ideas for new speech topics from the list above and select the one you love to know about. Use conversational tone and sprinkle wow elements here and there to keep the audience hooked. Follow the appropriate structure and have an impact-full introduction and conclusion. Finally, devote ample time for practice. The more you rehearse the more confident you will be while speaking. So the next time you are given an opportunity to give a speech grab it and enjoy popping eyes and pats on the back!