Great Informative Speech Topics

Informative speaking topic ideas for your public speaking class

Mar 2, 2007

Need some ideas for an informative speech topic for your college or high school public speaking class? Here are some ideas to get you started.

Are you looking for an informative speech topic to use in your public speaking class? Here are some tips about how to think of an effective informative speech topic. And if you need some more help, here's a list of more specific ideas to use to find an informative speaking topic.

Informative Speech Idea #1: The Place Speech. Most people like to travel and will enjoy hearing an informative speech about a place they've never been. Give a speech about your summer trip to Iceland, or talk about a nearby tourist destination that your fellow students might enjoy. A speech about your hometown might be interesting as well. When you give a place speech, be sure to discuss activities and details you think your fellow students will enjoy. They might not care about the great new senior center in your hometown, but they might be interested in the night life and hiking trails.

Informative Speech Idea #2: The College Speech. Your fellow students and you all have one thing in common: you are students at the same school! Therefore, if you give a speech about your school, you won't have to work hard to make the speech relevant to everybody. Research something interesting that most people don't know about your school. Talk about some famous alumni or some interesting historical trivia. Or talk about an office or service on campus that might be helpful to students, like the Career Center.

Informative Speech Idea #3: The Current Event Speech. Students often wish they had more time to keep up with current events, so many will find this kind of speech useful. Discuss the historical background of a conflict. Explain a new government policy. Introduce students to a political candidate. Remember, keep your opinions out, because this is not a persuasive speech.

Informative Speech Idea #4: The Local Current Event Speech. Inform your fellow students about what's going on in your community or what's going on around campus. If there's a local election, provide some information about the candidates. If there's some local legislation that affects students, your speech on the issue will be very relevant.

Informative Speech Idea #5: The Celebrity Speech. Who doesn't secretly love to dish about celebrities? Give an informative speech about a celebrity you find particularly interesting. Just be sure to provide some information everyone doesn't already know.

Informative Speech Idea #6: The Band Speech. Talk about the history of a popular band or about some of your local bands. Or discuss a new musical trend. Be sure to play some music as part of your speech.

Informative Speech Idea #7: The Career Speech. Yes, this sounds like a Civics Class cliche. Nonetheless, students are genuinely concerned about their futures, and a speech about a career they might consider can be very useful.

Informative Speech #8: The Medical Condition Speech. No, don't give a graphic speech about those huge warts on the bottom of your feet. But if you have a medical condition and feel comfortable sharing this with the class, this can be a great speech topic. I've had students give speeches about their diabetes, food allergies, and macular degeneration (a form of emerging blindness), and students were fascinated to hear these personal accounts. You might also talk about a loved one's medical struggles.

Informative Speech #9: The Food Speech. An especially good idea if your speech class is right before lunch! Talk about a type of cuisine, or about ways to make healthy food.

Informative Speech Idea #10: The Sports Speech. Discuss the history of a local team or a popular sport. If the Olympics are coming up, give an informative preview of some of the events. Just remember: not everyone is as knowledgeable as sports as you might be, so be sure to explain unfamiliar terms so you don't lose part of your audience.