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Topics for Persuasive Speeches
Arguing Either Side of an Issue
- Doctor-assisted suicide should (or should not) be legal.
- Spammers—people who bombard Internet users with unsolicited e-mail—should (or should not) be allowed to send their junk mail.
- Every automobile driver should (or should not) be required to take a new driver's test every three years.
- Electroshock treatment is (or is not) a humane form of therapy.
- Every student should (or should not) be required to learn a foreign language.
- Solar power is (or is not) a viable alternate energy source.
- Drug addicts should (or should not) be put in hospitals for medical treatment instead of in prisons for punishment.
- American workers should (or should not) be guaranteed a three-day weekend by law.
- All health professionals should (or should not) be tested annually for HIV infection and AIDS.
- Self-proclaimed "militias" should (or should not) be closely monitored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- Assault weapons should (or should not) be outlawed.
- All owners of firearms should (or should not) be required to register their weapons with the police.
- A two-week waiting period should (or should not) be required for anyone attempting to purchase a firearm.
- The death penalty for murderers should (or should not) be abolished.
- The death penalty should (or should not) be imposed on juveniles.
- Drug dealers convicted of distributing large quantities of drugs should (or should not) receive the death penalty.
- The U.S. military should (or should not) be used to curb drug smuggling into the U.S.
- The U.S. should (or should not) cut off all foreign aid to dictatorships.
- Smoking should (or should not) be banned in public areas such as restaurants and airport terminals.
- State and local governments should (or should not) operate lotteries and gambling casinos.
- The U.S. should (or should not) remain in the United Nations.
- Immigration into the U.S. should (or should not) be restricted.
- Churches should (or should not) be required to pay taxes.
- Federal funding for the arts should (or should not) be provided.
- The present-day tax system is (or is not) unfair to middle-class and lower-income Americans.
- College athletes should (or should not) be required to meet the academic requirements of their schools.
- Sex education should (or should not) be a required course in all schools as early as sixth grade.
- Everyone should (or should not) be required to pass a competency exam before being allowed to graduate from high school.
- Chronic mental patients should (or should not) be housed in "halfway houses" or residences in the community, rather than in remote mental hospitals.
- The President should (or should not) be limited to a single six-year term.
- Billboards should (or should not) be outlawed on interstate highways.
- Businesses should (or should not) be permitted to make unsolicited telephone calls to citizens.
- IQ tests are (or are not) valid measures of human intelligence.
- Psychologists and psychiatrists should (or should not) testify in court on behalf of the not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity plea.
- Regardless of income, all Americans should (or should not) be guaranteed basic medical care under a national health insurance program.
- Heredity is (or is not) a more powerful influence on personality development than environment.
- ESP (extrasensory perception) is (or is not) a demonstrable scientific fact.
- Scientific experimentation on animals should (or should not) be outlawed.
- Heroin should (or should not) be legal as a pain reliever for terminally ill patients.
- Acupuncture is (or is not) a valid medical technique.
- Beauty pageants do (or do not) debase women.
- The minimum wage should (or should not) be waived for adolescent and young adult workers.
- Despite their legal tax deductions and loopholes, all millionaires should (or should not) be required to pay federal income tax.
- Police should (or should not) be allowed to set up roadblocks to isolate and arrest impaired drivers.
- Athletes should (or should not) be allowed to use steroids.
Urging Action
- Students need to be more vigilant and observant to avoid becoming victims of campus crime.
- Citizens should resist efforts being made to shut down zoos and aquariums.
- Steps must be taken to reduce contaminants in the nation's water supplies.
- Children and teenagers need to be educated on the dangers of huffing (sniffing solvents and aerosols).
- Lawmakers need to pass tougher legislation to discourage the growing number of stalkers.
- Every person should stipulate that in the event of death, he or she is willing to donate organs.
- People of all races and ethnic groups should be aware that overexposure to the sun can cause skin cancer, regardless of a person's skin color.
- Dog and cat owners should have their pets spayed or neutered.
- Citizens with cellular phones can help thwart crimes and assist in the capture of criminals.
- People wanting cosmetic surgery should investigate the risks before submitting to surgery.
- Riders of bicycles and motorcycles should be required by law to always wear helmets.
- Every person who dines at a restaurant needs to know when and how much to tip.
- Hotels and motels should increase security to counteract the rising number of crimes against guests.
- Taxpayers should subsidize therapy sessions for victims of violent crimes.
- Sellers of used automobiles should be required by law to tell prospective buyers if a car is a rebuilt vehicle that had been wrecked.
- Child care authorities should carefully screen prospective foster parents to prevent child molesters from becoming foster parents.
- Everyone should take classes in CPR and first aid techniques.
- Consumers who routinely run up credit card bills that they can't pay should seek guidance from credit counselors.