How to choose a speech type for the occasion
Most topic trouble starts one step earlier. Before you can pick a good topic, you need to know what the speech is for: changing minds, explaining something, or marking a moment. Get that right and half of the possible topics fall away on their own.
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The three jobs a speech can do
Open public speaking textbooks sort speeches by general purpose. Stand Up, Speak Out, published by the University of Minnesota Libraries, names three: to inform, to persuade and to entertain, and it treats ceremonial moments such as toasts and eulogies as a kind of their own. In practice, almost every request you get fits one of three jobs.
| Occasion | Usual type | The room should leave |
|---|---|---|
| A class unit on argument | Persuasive | Agreeing with you, or at least doubting their old view |
| A class unit on research | Informative | Knowing something they did not know before |
| A wedding, birthday or retirement | Special occasion | Feeling closer to the person you are honoring |
| A team or club update | Informative | Clear on what changed and what happens next |
| A town hall, fundraiser or campaign | Persuasive | Ready to vote, give or sign up |
| A memorial or award night | Special occasion | Remembering why this person matters |
Three questions that settle it
- What should listeners do, know or feel at the end? Do points to persuasion, know points to information, feel points to a special occasion.
- Who asked you to speak, and why? A teacher's rubric usually names the type outright, so read it twice. A couple asking you for a toast is not asking for an argument.
- How long do you have? A two minute slot fits one claim or one story. A ten minute slot can carry a full explanation with examples.
If your answers point in two directions, trust the first question. The outcome you want is what the audience will judge you on.
Persuasive: pick a claim someone could reject
A persuasive topic needs a real other side. "Recycling is good" is hard to argue against, so it gives you nothing to win. "Our school should drop single use cups by next fall" gives listeners something to accept or refuse. Proof matters too: a 2015 meta-analysis in Health Communication found that statistics tend to shift beliefs and attitudes, while a story is better at moving people to act. Plan one of each if your time allows.
When none of the claims on our main list fits your class, a second batch of persuasive speech ideas gives you more to run through the three questions above.
Informative: explain without taking a side
An informative speech teaches. A quick test: if your outline needs the word "should", you have drifted into persuasion. "How a bill becomes a law in our state" informs; "Why the voting age should be sixteen" persuades. The best informative topics are things your listeners half know but could not explain to a friend.
If you want a starting point that stays on the neutral side, browse a set of informative speech ideas and put each one through the "should" test before you commit.
Special occasion: the topic is the person
At a wedding, a retirement party or a memorial, nobody wants a thesis. The topic is the person or the moment, and your job is to say one true thing about them that the room will recognize. Pick one or two short stories, leave inside jokes out, and end by raising a glass or saying a clear thank you.
Toasts follow their own rules, so if you have been asked to speak at a reception, read up on how to write a wedding speech before you start drafting stories.
From type to topic in four steps
- Name the general purpose in one word: persuade, inform or celebrate.
- Write a specific purpose sentence, the way Stand Up, Speak Out suggests: "To persuade my classmates that..." or "To inform the team about...".
- Check it against the clock. Read your outline aloud with a timer running; if a practice run goes past your limit, cut a point rather than speed up.
- Say the sentence out loud to someone. If they can repeat it back, the topic is narrow enough.
Common mismatches
- An informative speech that ends with a call to action. If your last line asks people to do something, cut it or admit you are persuading.
- A persuasive speech on something everyone already believes. Without an objection to answer, there is nothing to win.
- A toast that turns into a lecture or a roast. Warmth beats cleverness at a reception.
- A topic sized for an essay. Spoken, the same idea takes longer, so keep only the points you can say in your time.
Once the type and topic are set, say your purpose sentence out loud and hear whether it sounds like you mean it.
Sources
- Stand Up, Speak Out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking, University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, 2016.
- The differential impact of statistical and narrative evidence on beliefs, attitude, and intention: a meta-analysis, Health Communication, 2015, PMID 24836931.
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