interesting topics for your speech

Interesting speech topics - finding a good subject to talk about

I know when you're trying find the most interesting speech topics it's really easy to get completely either over, or underwhelmed, with choices. You have my sympathy! (And my help! Keep reading ...

https://www.write-out-loud.com/interesting-speech-topics.html

Make yourself a short list of at least three possibilities and thinking about your audience, the main purpose of your speech and your personal interest or enthusiasm for each of them, whittle your list down to the best one.

Points you'll want to consider as part of your decision making are:

• the time you have to prepare your speech
• how much you know about the topic already. Do you need to do lots of research, or some? Is the research easy to do?
• the angle you intend to use - is it persuasive, informative, humorous, unconventional, potentially shocking or upsetting, quirky? How does that fit with your audience's needs and if your speech is for a classroom assignment, the guidelines you have been given?

START PRACTISING WITH A VERY SIMPLE EXERCISE:

To train, you can practise with this exercise first

• Note down a few key words about the topic you intend to talk about
• Then, start speaking about each idea / key word find a partner or record yourself)

After that, you can start your research to develop with more information and organize your presentation   

Interesting historical speech topics

• What Grandma/Grandpa did for fun and recreation 50 years ago
• What Grandma/Grandpa did to earn a living when they finished their schooling
• At the same age as I am now my parents were doing XXX and my grandparents were doing XXX (compare and contrast across 3 generations)
• Our town's history - why it was built where it is, who lived there, how it's changed
• Headline stories from our local area 20/50/100+ years ago
• How festivals and important events (birthdays, weddings, Christmas, Easter...) were celebrated in my family many years ago
• Food fads or food fashions - how have they changed over the years?
• The history of my first name/surname - where it came from, what it means and how it's changed over the years
• A walk through a typical 1950s/1960s/1970s school day. Were they really "the best days of our lives"? 
• Word fashion (the current slang) - what's in, what's out. Examples from bygone eras and present day.
• The origin of place names - how they began, why they stick or change
• An overview of jobs that soon will be, or are already, no longer required because modern technology has replaced the need for people with automated processes
• What was the latest music 20/50/100 years ago?
• This day in history - a slice of major events from around the world for the date you are giving your speech

Weird speech topics

• The weirdest invention - when and why it was invented, and who by
• The strangest sports - where they are played, who by and how
• Quirky fashions - the oddest clothing fashions from history and today
• Fact or fiction? Collect 3 or 5 interesting true stories to retell that superficially appear unbelievable.
• Trivia = little bits of often useless information. Why does it fascinate?
• Research and present 3 little known gob-smackingly, awe inspiring facts about the functioning of our bodies
• Urban myths - what are they, examples, how are they spread and why are they believed?
• Animals, birds or insects - what are the weirdest, where do they live, what do they eat?
• Weird beliefs - research and present a selection of the oddest (to you) beliefs. See if you can explain how and why these beliefs became established. 
• Why do records like the largest man in the world, the longest fingernails, or the greatest number of pies eaten in an hour fascinate people?
• How many other people share your name? Where are they in the world and what do they do?
• Weird coincidences - Is it fate, the super-natural at work, or is it really a series of freak coincidences? Examples!
  
   

From another perspective speech topics 

• In XXX {insert the name of a country eg Japan, Samoa, Chile} in XXX {insert the year or century eg the 19th century} a day in the life of a person my age would be ...
• A day in my Mother's/Father's life at the same age I am now. Where did your parents live? Town or country? In a house or an apartment? How did they get to school? 
• Retell an historical event as if you were there and part of it. Choose an event you find interesting eg. the fall of the Berlin Wall, granting women the right to vote, the death of Martin Luther King ...
• Tell how a major invention or medical break-through changed lives as if you were there. Eg. the development of the smart phone, bionic prosthesis, laser surgery ...  
• If I was {insert a word of your choice - eg. homeless, physically challenged in some way - blind, deaf, reliant on a mobility scooter ...} my experience of the world would be changed. How? What issues would you face? How would you meet them?

Topics exploring origins

• Christmas celebrations or any aspect of them eg. cards, carols, gift giving, special food ...
• Easter celebrations (or any other widely observed customary celebration)
• Table manners or eating etiquette. How do "good" table manners vary from culture to culture? Why were they developed in the first place? 
• Common sayings eg. "to be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth" or "the salt of the earth"
• types of music eg. rock and roll, jazz, hip hop ...
• postal stamps or money
• softball, grid iron or any other sport
• the current governmental system
• zodiac signs
• Beauty Queen pageants
• modern warfare
• education - schooling in your country or your area
• card games or chess
• advertizing
• television soaps. What's the story behind  those long running TV serials?
• print - books, newspapers
• journalism

SPEAKING        evaluation  criteria        2^nde

GAP FILLERS : Giving yourself the time to think 

Well,...
Hum,...
So,...
..., er, ...
You know,... / ..., you see, ... I mean,...

You know what I mean,...
What I mean is...
Do you see what I mean ?
... if you see what I mean... Well, what I'm trying to say is...

How can I say this,...
I've got it on the tip on my tongue,...
Now, to get back to what I was saying...
Let's see,...
Let me think,... / Er, let me see...
Give me a second, ....
... just a moment
HowshallIputit?
..., now, what's the word... ?
Anyway, the point is... (de toute façon, en tout cas)
Mind you, I'd also like to say... (voyez-vous, remarquez...)

Here is some advice /  some suggestions to get ready for your talk, pick and choose!

• Once you have settled on a fine topic, try to think about the way you want to handle it: 

from which angle are you going to deal with it? This is important because it will determine the contents of your work and the interest of your listeners will depend on it. 

=> try to find an interesting angle, one which will prove personal / *enlightening  / different    from the usual   *hum drum

*enlighten :  give sb information so that they understand sth better

*hum drum : boring and always the same

• Do your best to organize your speech : intro ➤ development ➤conclusion 

prepare your 10 words on a note in case you should need a reminder of some sorts (order of your ideas for example or difficult words etc. you choose what is the most helpful for you)

• On the day you have your talk :

To feel relax and calm, breathe deeply before starting

Write the title on the board + a few difficult words if necessary (you will be able to point at them later on)

Introduce your subject and explain why you have chosen it so as to make your audience share your interest... 

Make eye-contact with everybody all the time, not only to check there are following what you are saying but also to make them feel you are talking to them directly as in a dialogue...

Do not hesitate to move around 

Do not hesitate to use a "false question" so as to raise some expectancy for the answer (make them active in some way, because they will be tempted to try to answer inwardly.

You can also use a question tag, can't you?  For the same purpose: get their full attention.

😆The ultimate win occurs when you manage to present an idea with a sense of humour or when you manage to crack a joke or some witty remark after an idea.

They say that we only remember 10% ...

You can be sure that they will remember 10 % + the joke  + the feeling that they had a good time! 

If I can think of other pieces of advice, I will update this post...