English Speech Topics for Students

Writing an exciting and thoughtful speech requires one to select a good topic, research it thoroughly and formation of individual opinions to express the same. School students are usually asked to speak on a contemporary topic to help them become good public speakers as well as learn the art of expressing oneself in front of an audience. While many speech competitions often allot topics beforehand, you might also have heard of extempore where topics are given on the spot for speech. This blog brings you a list of common English speech topics as well as some helpful tips and tricks that can assist you in effectively expressing your thoughts and opinions in front of an audience.

Quick Read: English Speaking Books

List of Best English Speech Topics

Speeches are all about one’s thoughts. It should not be copied from somewhere. It is all about what the speaker thinks of any given topic. Take a look at the following list of English Speech Topics on different contemporary issues as well as concepts.

1-minute Speech Topics

1. The Best Day of My Life
2. Social Media: Bane or Boon?
3. Pros and Cons of Online Learning
4. Benefits of Yoga
5. If I had a Superpower
6. I wish I were ______
7. Environment Conservation
8. Women Should Rule the World!
9. The Best Lesson I have Learned
10. Paperbacks vs E-books
11. How to Tackle a Bad Habit
12. My Favorite Pastime/Hobby
13. Why should every citizen vote?
14. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): Is it real or not?
15. Importance of Reading
16. Importance of Books in Our Life
17. My Favorite Fictional Character
18. Introverts vs Extroverts
19. Lessons to Learn from Sports
20. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

2-Minute Speech Topics

1. Importance of Kindness
2. Is there Value in Homework?
3. Things I learned in Lockdown
4. How can food be recycled?
5. Should Art be a part of the school curriculum?
6. Should schools teach sign language?
7. Women make better presidents/prime ministers
8. Why books are better than their movies?
9. Life was better when technology was more simple.
10. Impact of technology on our health
11. Should children’s reality shows be banned?
12. Learning in the Wake of Covid-19
13. Hard Work vs Smart Work
14. What Makes Learning Fun?
15. The Coolest Inventions You’ve Seen
16. Men should wear pink
17. Importance of AI in Education
18. Importance of Extracurricular Activities
19. Should exams be banned?
20. How to tackle Bullying in Schools?

Easy Speech Topics in English

1. Importance of Education
2. Is it beneficial to learn a Second Language?
3. Music has healing power.
4. Fake news
5. Love is more powerful than hate
6. Social Impact of Covid-19
7. How can Online Learning be Fun?
8. Make Public Transport Free?
9. Should violent video games be banned?
10. Learning about all world religions in schools is important

Exploring English Speech Topics? You must also take a look at Extempore Topics!

English Speech Topics on Environment

1. Climate Change
2. Depletion of the Ozone Layer
3. Reducing Water Levels
4. Deforestation
5. Global Warming
6. Waste Management
7. Water-Saving Techniques
8. Reducing the Green Cover of Earth
9. Endangered species need protection
10. Importance of fishing regulations
11. Importance of investing in alternative fuels
12. Impact of ocean acidification on marine organisms
13. The misuse of the term “sustainable development” by environmentalists
14. Microbial benefits
15. E-Waste Management
16. Natural disasters and their impact on economic growth
17. Energy alternatives – Only solution to the environmental damage
18. Extinction of rare species
19. World Environment Day
20. Disaster Management
21. Over and Improper Use of Natural Resources
22. Air, Water and Soil Pollution
23. Efficiency of Recycling

English Speech Topics on Social Issues

1. Women Empowerment
2. Equality
3. Feminism
4. Capitalism
5. Communism
6. Education of Girl Child
7. Unemployment
8. Corruption
9. Casteism 
10. Racism
11. Reservation
12. Importance of Maintaining Hygiene
13. Child Labour
14. Social Distancing
15. Organ Donation
16. Importance of the Right to Education
17. Child Trafficking
18. Multiculturalism
19. Struggles of Immigrants
20. Impact of Globalisation
21. Adult education

Quick Read: TOEFL Speaking Topics

English Speech Topics on Important Days & Events

1. Independence Day
2. Labour Day
3. Mother’s Day
4. World Population Day
5. World Health Day
6. Ambedkar Jayanti
7. Gandhi Jayanti
8. Human Rights Day
9. Zero Discrimination Day
10. Women’s Day
11. Anti Terrorism Day
12. Hindi Diwas 

Check out this list of all the important national and international days in 2021!

English Speech Topics on Greatest Leaders in India & Around the World

1. Mahatma Gandhi
2. Jawaharlal Nehru
3. Raja Rammohan Roy
4. George Washington
5. Albert Einstein
6. CV Raman
7. Ratan Tata
8. APJ Abdul Kalam
9. Nelson Mandela
10. Kailash Satyarthi

To know what to mention in such speech topics, explore the Great Personalities in the World!

English Speech Topics on Proverbs

1. Honesty is the best policy
2. When there’s a will, there is a way
3. Actions speak louder than words
4. Knowledge is Power
5. Ignorance is Bliss
6. Don’t judge a book by its cover
7. Actions speak louder than words
8. Knowledge is Power
9. Ignorance is Bliss
10. Hard work is the key to success

Explore these proverbs & their meanings through this blog on Difficult Phrases!

English Speech Topics on Education

1. Importance of teacher in your life
2. SAT scores for college application
3. Student bullies should be expelled
4. Consequences of cheating in exams
5. Homeschooling is better than normal schooling
6. Importance of value education
7. Importance of sports and physical exercises
8. Schools vs colleges
9. What is the difference between a school, college and university in the USA?

Check Out: Synonyms List

Miscellaneous Speech Topics

1. Article 370
2. Elections
3. Women rights
4. The Constitution of India
5. Youth of India
6. Culture of India
7. Importance of Unity
8. Yoga 
9. Generation Gap
10. Importance of Value Education
11. Old Age Homes
12. Family Values
13. Leadership skills
14. Rise of Smart Classes
15. Grading System
16. Importance of Practical Education
17. Benefits of Co-Education
18. Importance of Co-Curricular Activities
19. The uselessness of Power-Point Presentations
20. Rise of Technology
21. Excessive usage of the Internet
22. Speech on Fear
23. Speech on Dependence on Technology
24. Importance of Social Media
25. Speech on Save Water
26. Speech on India of My Dreams
27. Speech on Indian Education System
28. Speech on My India

Types of Persuasive Speech Topics

While exploring persuasive English speech topics, you must make sure that they are stimulating, engaging, concise and clear. There are three main types of Persuasive Speech topics which are:

1. Factual Persuasive Speech: These topics include facts, figures and statistics to thoroughly analyse the given topic and assess whether it’s true or false.

2. Policy Persuasive Speech: Discussing policies, laws and reforms, these speech topics critically examine the advantages and disadvantages of the given policy or law and suggest the improvements that can be made.

3. Value Persuasive Speech: Mainly focusing on social or political issues, these speech topics present the critique and argument of whether certain actions are morally right or not.

Tips for Writing and Speaking a Speech

While speaking on a particular topic, there are certain things which you must keep in mind to make your speech expressive and effective. Before providing you with a comprehensive list of English speech topics, let’s take a look at some useful topics that help you in acing any topic you are speaking on.

1. Always research the topic. If you are participating in an extempore, then make sure to go through the common and popular topics as well as the unconventional ones which you might get. Preparation is the key to delivering an impressive speech.
2. Show your interest in the topic. Whether you are given a topic on the spot or you are prepared for the speech, it is always pivotal that you seem interested in speaking about it. Relate the given issues to your own life and this will help you in giving it your twist.
3. Pay extra attention to your body language and enunciation. While a gesticulative approach will make you seem outward, having timid body language can cause a wrong impression. Further, if you find it difficult to enunciate complicated words, use simpler ones and even if you fumble, don’t spend too much time hovering over them during your speech.
4. Ensure that the choice of words you are using is simpler and corresponds to the level of the vocabulary of your audience. If you include a longer word that is lesser known, try explaining its meaning. Further, make sure to adhere to the tone of the environment you are speaking in. Schools, colleges and professional spaces require you to adhere to a formal tone while giving a speech in an informal environment would demand a different use of vocabulary.
5. Ponder upon the different viewpoints on a topic. Try to present a holistic view of the given topic but don’t forget to present your opinion on it as well. Along with this, don’t try to take sides unless the topic demands you to.
6. Involve your audience, if possible. This way, you will be able to interact with the people and it will also be useful in fighting the fear of public speaking.
7. Don’t mug up a speech. It becomes evident when someone just speaks on a topic continuously and the audience might realise that you have memorized it or you might forget a certain part which will let the whole speech fade away from your brain. Instead, make notes about the topic in your mind, remember certain keywords and try to maintain a particular flow in your speech.
8. Incorporate humour in your speech in a way that you do not offend anyone or overdo it but get a positive reaction from the audience. Humour is a great way of lightening the mood as well as ensuring the whole speech is interactive and engaging.

While preparing for English Speech topics, you must also check out IELTS Speaking Topics!

FAQs

Thus, we hope that this list helps you in preparing for different English speech topics. Gearing up for IELTS? Sign up for an online demo session with our experts at Leverage Edu and we will assist you in preparing for its different sections as well as improving your reading, listening, speaking and writing skills to ensure that you ace the exam with flying colours!