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• 5 fun speech games

Public Speaking Activities

5 fun speech games to build skills and confidence.

By:  Susan Dugdale  | Last modified: 10-26-2023

There are five public speaking activities on this page, along with numerous spinoffs.

Their principal purpose is to develop speech fluency and confidence through fun!

You'll find they are easily adaptable to groups of all ages and skill levels: from newcomers to advanced.

I've used them all and know they work. People become so enjoyably engrossed in them, they forget to be fearful!

1. Interview Introductions

Interview Introductions are a great way to break the ice with a new group of people. The exercise has them finding out about each other and then introducing the person they interviewed to the whole group.

As it's a lot less threatening or scary to talk about someone else rather than yourself, you'll find people respond really positively as they're generally eager to represent the person they interviewed well.

Instructions

• Divide your group into pairs.
• Each person interviews the other in turn. The information gained forms the basis of a brief introduction speech they'll give to the whole group when the interviewing process is complete.
• Ask them to find out their partner's name, where they live/work, what hobbies they have, what their favorite book, film, song...is, what they're most proud of (an achievement perhaps), what they hope for from the class, something funny that happened in their childhood, where they go for holidays, what they think about the latest local issue ... Obviously they can't expect to cover all of that in detail inside the brief time they spend talking with each other. One or two interesting points is enough!
• Establish a time limit for the interviews. I've found 10 minutes works well. Keep track of the time and call change at the halfway point, 5 minutes, to ensure both people get an opportunity to be interviewed and to interview.  
• When the group comes back together the introductions begin: "This is Mary from Taupo. When she's not working for the Social Welfare Department as a community social worker she's collecting stamps. She says part of their charm is that they don't answer back and are quiet!"

2. Image Starters

Picture prompts or image starters are great for sparking  imaginative storytelling and conversations.

Either use my ready-made printable file of 40 picture prompts , (which you can find out more about by clicking the link), or gather up a collection of your own to use.

You'll need interesting images/photos from magazines or newspapers - enough for everybody to have one each and then a few spare.

Place them face down and have everybody pick one.

Using the image as a prompt, what can they share about it? 

Questions to get started are:

• Where is this photo/image from? (And the answer doesn't have to be true - merely plausible! Encourage imaginative creativity.)
• What's happening in this photo/picture?
• What feelings does the image evoke?
• Is there a season or time associated with it?
• What happened after or before the photo was taken?

5 activities using image starters

If you'd like specific instructions for five different activities based around images you'll find them here: picture prompts for impromptu speeches . 

They range from introductory 'show and tell', like the starter questions above, to more advanced. There are solo as well as group activities.

3. For and Against

'For and Against' encourages flexibility: the ability to see a topic from opposing sides.

A speaker has 30 seconds to talk 'for' a topic and then another 30 seconds to speak 'against' it.

Prepare and print out a selection of controversial speech topics. You'll need one per person.

Put the topics into a non-see through bag. Have each speaker select their topic when it's their turn to speak.

Ideally what's wanted is at least two or three good points supporting both sides: for and against.

Time the speech. Call start, the half way point and, stop.

Sample topics:

• money is the root of all evil
• a country gets the government it deserves
• ' green ' politics are just the current fashion
• pets in apartments should be banned
• marriage is essentially a business contract
• 'Religion is the opiate of the masses' : Karl Marx
• poverty is a state of mind
• euthanasia is unjustifiable
• global warming is media hype
• cloning animals should be banned
• animal testing is immoral

For variation split your group into pairs and extend the time limit to 1 - 2 minutes. One person takes the 'for' position, and other takes the 'against'.  

More 1 minute speech practice

For 150 1 minute speech topics with 3 example speech outlines following the PREP (Point, Reason, Example, Point) format, the full text of three speeches plus audio, visit:  1 minute speech topics .

Get instant organizers for impromptu speeches

For more on structuring impromptu speeches quickly and effectively go to impromptu speaking templates . You'll find 7 useful speech outline organizers explained (including PREP), alongside suggestions to banish impromptu speaking blues. 

4. The Object of my Affection

Gather up a collection of small objects, enough for one per speaker. For example: a vintage toy car, a can of sardines, a hair ribbon, an old black and white photographic portrait, a pair of baby shoes .... 

Put all of them into a non-see through bag.

Each speaker puts their hand into the bag and pulls out an object. Whatever they get forms the basis of their 1 - 2 minute speech.

Ideas to help the speakers get started:

• This ... { insert the name of whatever it is the speaker has in their hand } saved my life. It happened like this...
• Whenever I see a ...{ insert the name of whatever it is the speaker has in their hand } it reminds me of the time I...
• I collect ...{i nsert the name of whatever it is the speaker has in their hand } and this one is the prize of my collection. It used to belong to ...

5. Conducted Speech

This is a group public speaking activity. It is noisy, effective and outrageously good fun! 

Select a tongue twister from this page of  diction exercises  eg. " Sister Susie sat on the seashore sewing shirts for soldiers ".

Divide your class into groups of four. Three in each group will be the speakers and the fourth, the conductor.

The speakers repeat the tongue twister responding to the conductor's direction. He/she can make them go faster or slower, louder or quieter. The conductor could even decide to make it a round by staggering when each person begins! 

The goal of the exercise is to practice articulation coupled with vocal variety ie. speech rate and volume.

It also teaches cooperation and focus, or concentration. Let your mind wander, and it's game over! You've lost it, not only for yourself but your group as well.

Swap the conductor role around to give everybody a turn.

Once everybody is familiar with the activity, give the groups turns at demonstrating their prowess to the whole class. They'll love seeing and hearing each other perform. ☺

If you liked these speech activities ...

You'll love my ebook!

28  public speaking games  (with many more variations and extensions), full instructions, PLUS printable topic, tongue twister, poem and image sheets.

A complete  one-stop-select-print-go  public speaking resource for busy people.

Find out more >>

For more freebie public speaking activities:

• 10 activities for public speaking - a collection of tried and tested speech class activities for middle school upwards
• Another 7 fun-filled public speaking games for groups
• Improv games - a collection of 5 excellent drama games for groups
• Public speaking exercises - these focus on the individual speaker- how to breathe well, stand, use eye contact effectively...

What's the difference between these freebie activities and your ebook?

My ebook contains the best of all the games from these pages and then some more strictly Susan specials, PLUS detailed instructions on how to use them.

You'll find out how to select games for a class, introduce them for maximum effect, integrate them into your lesson plans, and so on.

It also has all the topics, tongue twisters, images etc you need to play available as printables.

It's a one-stop, time saving resource that you'll return to time, and time again. Why not check it out?

Your students will thank you for it!

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Assignments

Brave space lesson.

Persuasive Speech Assignment

An assignment that helps students artfully convince an audience. Students will be given the opportunity to persuade audience members that a policy should be started, changed, or stopped, and/or urge cooperation by asking them to performs specific tasks.

Self-Introduction Speech Assignment

Select an object that represents a significant aspect of your cultural background, personality, values, ambitions, etc. Using the chosen object as a point of departure, develop a speech that explains how it relates to your life. The purpose of this speech is not to explain the object in detail, but […]

Peer Feedback Assignment

A simple form to give students so that they can evaluate and comment on their classmates’ presentations. For use in an in-person or synchronous class. Download a Word doc of the Peer Feedback form here.  

Informative Speech Assignment

An assignment by Prof. Williams that discusses and analyzes preparation for the Informative Speech.

Global Competencies Exercises

Various ice-breaker activities compiled by Prof. Williams. For use in in-person or online classes.

African Burial Ground Assignment

This is an assignment that helps students practice using different types of organizational styles when outlining their speeches. Students are asked to write an outline using two different organizational styles. Download a Word doc of Prof. Williams’ African Burial Ground assignment here.

Occasional Speech Assignment

Occasional Speech Assginment. The occasion may take place in the past, present, or future. You’ll need a specific person, place, or thing that you are praising, celebrating, reflecting on, honoring, or saying goodbye to.

  Prof. Tulloch’s Informative Speech Assignment requires students to select a subject area that provides a genuine contribution of knowledge to the class (i.e. something they do not already know).ce.

Assignment Compilation

A compilation of assignments by Professor Brianne Waychoff.  Click to find everything from Informative Speech assignments to Persuasive Speech assignments to Midterm Exam questions.

Welcome to the BMCC OpenLab!

BMCC’s OpenLab is an online platform where the College’s students, faculty and staff can come together to learn, work, play and share ideas.

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Faculty Resources

Assignments.

There are several assignments for Principles of Public Speaking. If you import this course into your learning management system (Blackboard, Canvas, etc.), the assignments will automatically be loaded into the assignment tool. They can be used as is, modified, or removed. You can preview them below:

• Assignment: Syllabus Review
• Assignment: Speech of Self-Introduction
• Assignment: Speech to Introduce a Classmate
• Assignment: Impromptu Speech
• Discussion: Speech Analysis
• Assignment: Demonstration Speech Topic Selection
• Assignment: Demonstration Speech Outline
• Discussion: Demonstration Speech Handouts and Presentations
• Assignment: Peer Evaluation of Demonstration Speech
• Assignment: Audience Analysis of an Advertisement Speech
• Assignment: Inspirational Speech
• Assignment: Persuasive Speech
• Assignment: Subject Exploration, Development, and Understanding
• Assignment: Audience Analysis for Persuasive Essay
• Assignment: Rebuttal
• Assignment: Reflection
• Assignment: Persuasive Speech Topic Outline
• Discussion: Persuasive Speech Handouts and References
• Assignment: Self-Evaluation of Demonstration Speech
• Assignment: Peer Evaluation of Persuasive Speech
• Assignment: Planning for Final Speech

Optional Extra Credit Assignments

You can assign these extra credit opportunities to your students:

Attending a Speech Outside of Class

Analyze the speech for invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery.

Further, look for logos, pathos, and ethos.

Write about your overall impression.

Giving a Speech Outside of Class

You can earn credit for giving a speech outside of class.

You must talk to me ahead of time to work out the details.

If you are giving the speech, I prefer that you have someone record you.  Another option is to have someone from class attend and fill out a review (and you will both get credit).

Again, get prior approval.  Let me know your plans.

• Assignments. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Optional Extra Credit Assignments. Authored by : Christie Fierro and Brent Adrian. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : http://lumenlearning.com/ . Project : Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Pencil Cup. Authored by : IconfactoryTeam. Provided by : Noun Project. Located at : https://thenounproject.com/term/pencil-cup/628840/ . License : CC BY: Attribution

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EnthuZiastic

13 Most Effective Games and Activities for Public Speaking

If you believe that public speaking comes naturally , then you are mistaken ! It is a communication skill that can be studied and honed.

The best public speakers have dedicated time to perfecting their art . That involves proper communication skills, body language, and polished public speaking activities . They could put in many hours of practice, engage with a tutor, or enroll in speaking classes.

The best part is that you will develop your public speaking abilities and talk more persuasively in time. Public speaking activities can significantly enhance your success. Here, we’ll go through the 13 most effective games and activities for public speaking that may teach you how to talk passionately.

1. Talk Pointlessly

A great oration is, as per a study , 38% your tone, 55% nonverbal cues, and only 7% your material . Therefore, this activity for public speaking will help you improve your presentation since it matters more than the content.

The best way to do this is to pick a passage in an unfamiliar dialect over the internet. You can also jot down a nonsense paragraph and practice reading it loudly as if you were addressing an audience.

Notice how you are utilizing the ring of your voice to arouse interest amongst your audience. Pay close attention to your pitch, mannerisms, and overall delivery. You can also do this public speaking activity in front of the whole class.

2. Study the Experts

Try looking up talks regarded as extraordinary in the public eye available on the internet. The most well-known TED Talks ever are a fantastic starting point .

Choose a speech that interests you, and then observe it critically. Examine the speaker’s use of storytelling . The use of graphics plays a vital role in making a presentation successful. Also, note the other elements that help their speech stand out.

3. Thirty Seconds Without Fillers

Filler words are brief, empty phrases or sounds that we employ in conversation to fill up short gaps as we consider what to speak next. At times, we unwittingly speak our ‘umms,’ ‘uhs,’ and ‘ers,’ which interrupt the flow of our talks.

They not only create difficulties in following you when you speak but also give the impression that you lack confidence and authority.

To do this particular activity for public speaking:

• Record yourself speaking for thirty seconds on any subject.
• Make sure you leave out the filler words.
• When an ‘um’ comes up, restart and give it another go—ten times through, without any fillers.

4. Extempore

To do this activity for public speaking, capture yourself speaking spontaneously about any subject you find interesting. The only restriction is that you cannot arrange the topic and the speech beforehand . You can use your device’s stopwatch to start a one-minute countdown .

This exercise is meant to help you feel relaxed when speaking spontaneously. It will also help lessen the stress associated with worrying that you will run out of words to convey your idea. Try carrying out this public speaking activity in front of the class. Familiar faces always help!

5. Storytelling Using Pictures

Storytelling is essential to keep your listeners interested and assist them in remembering the particulars you’re delivering.

Please talk about the characters’ backgrounds, personalities, goals, driving forces, and everything else that will help write a fascinating tale about them.

6. Construct a Meaning

Whatever the subject of your speech, you must always come across as an expert on the subject.

To carry out this activity, select a term you are unfamiliar with . Then record yourself trying to give meaning to that unfamiliar word. Pay attention to how you can use your tone of voice to project a stronger sense of authority and influence.

Find Out More About Public Speaking as a Skill

Read Is Public Speaking a Skill to find out.

7. Questions for a Professional

To do this activity for public speaking, you’ll require a friend .

Pick a profession or subject that you are unfamiliar with. Invite a pal to ask you about it, and when they do, respond to their inquiries as if you were an experienced authority. This is a great exercise that will improve your confidence and presentation .

8. Prattle on about a Subject You Dislike

Excitement spreads easily. You must be EnthuZiastic about your issue for your listeners to be as well.

Pick anything you don’t care about, like a household tool, and practice talking excitedly about it. Use your tone, intensity, and gestures to convey the impression that it is the most exciting item in the world.

9. Write an advertisement

Since speeches are all about promoting a topic, develop the craft of marketing. In this way, you will be able to convince anyone and everyone.

Film yourself describing the object’s unique qualities, how it may help society, and why each person requires it in their possession.

10. The Origin Story

One activity for public speaking that will improve your storytelling abilities on stage.

Choose a household object, such as a stapler, and share a story of its name’s origins. Create your own story if you like. The goal here is to create the practice of locating and creating compelling narratives out of anything, not to be historically correct.

11. A Different Conclusion

OTT platforms have brought countless sitcoms and movies to our fingertips. We are glued to a show if it has a good plot and a cliffhanger. But, the ending of a show is what we take home. Now imagine your favorite show having two parallel finishes!

To do this activity for public speaking, you must start by choosing a popular television program or film. And you give it a different finish . Let your creativity run its entire course!

12. One Lie and Two Truths

This one is often relatively simple to beat and has tremendous excitement. And you’ll discover that while some people are good at it, it’s highly entertaining to see others stumble whenever they attempt to lie.

Call up all your close friends to partake this activity for public speaking. Now, o ne of your friends will stand up and say three facts about themselves . The catch here is that only two of them can be genuine . The third must be a fake .

The group must then decide which of the three was false before determining whether they were right. This one is, therefore, relatively short and incredibly simple, and you are not required to go into considerable length about it, but it is delightful.

You will win this game if you keep an eye on your friends’ behavioral cues. According to scientists , nonverbal communication helps us to understand a person’s personality. Also, it is an important aspect that will help you in your professional, as well as, your personal life.

Take note of things like eye contact, expressions, posture, hand movements, and voice tone since there are many different ways that people convey information.

13. A False Vacation

This activity for public speaking is mostly made up of one photo or a collection of similar photographs. It can be a farmhouse where you see pictures of animals, the barn, or anything amusing.

You must provide one, two, or three phrases for every picture before moving to the following one. The following image must then be used to carry on the narrative. As a result, you have to keep on making up stories to carry on the narrative.

How can public speaking skill be improved?

The best way to develop the skills for public speaking is to start small and keep practicing. Study the great public speakers, especially their mannerisms and tone.

How do you teach public speaking skills?

As a teacher, you need to understand your students. Please help them be the best version of themselves by providing feedback after every session. Do not forget to be patient with them.

What makes an excellent public speaker?

Speaking confidently in front of an audience is seen as more specific, correct, informed, clever, and likable than speaking less assuredly. Feeling anxious is normal, but if you want to succeed in public speaking, you must overcome your anxiety.

How to gain confidence in public speaking?

Maintaining eye contact with your listeners, using hand gestures to highlight points, and moving around the stage will help you appear confident on stage.

Being an excellent public speaker involves delivering engaging stories. You will become a more effective public speaker if you train yourself on how you can come up with innovative ideas for storytelling in the moment.

To educate yourself on being an excellent public speaker, you should frequently practice and make it enjoyable. It is similar to learning to ride a bike. In no time at all, you will develop the necessary skills.

If you had fun practicing these fun games and activities for public speaking, let us know in the comments.

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44 Persuasive Speaking: Activities and Resources

Discussion and activities.

Watch this clip from The King’s Speech where the new king makes his first wartime radio broadcast of Britians’ s declaration of war on Germany in 1939. This movie is a dramatic interpretation of the true story of the future King George VI who worked to overcome a stammer.  (Make note of how he has marked the manuscript that he reads from at 1:17-1:21).

Corporate Story Telling Activity

Watch the Charity Water Story before class and discuss these questions in class.

• Do you think this model of corporate storytelling is more effective than the traditional model of listing mission and vision on the website?
• Ethos. How does he build personal credibility? How about credibility for the organization?
• Pathos. List some of the emotional appeals? Were they effective, why or why not? Were they ethical, why or why not?
• Logos. List the ways he used logic (facts, data, charts). Which was the most effective for you?
• Were you persuaded? If so at what point did you become persuaded?
• How does he tie the opening and the closing?
• How does he “ask for the sale”? Write out some of his phrases.
• What are some of the ways, that he reengages the audience to make them see they are part of the speech?
• How does he use inoculation (help people overcome objections that people may be thinking)?
• When my husband watched this, he said, “I could feel myself being persuaded and could tell where they were headed with it, so I had to stop watching it.” When do you physically or mentally “stop watching”? How can a speaker keep their audience?
• What organizational pattern does this fit? Map it out.
• Is this an example of public speaking? Explain your answer.

Persuasive Speaking on Gun Control

Days after a gunman entered her school and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Emma Gonzalez, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, addressed a gun control rally on Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

• What does she say to connect to her audience? Who is her target audience? Who is the secondary audience, how can you tell?
• Logos: How does she break down numbers so the audience can relate?
• Pathos: Clearly, this is an emotional speech, how does that emotion affect you–persuasive or too much?
• Ethos: How does she build her credibility?
• Find where she repeats the same phrase over and over, is this effective, why or why not?

Charron Heston is a longtime NRA Advocate. One type of persuasive speech is not to change the minds of an audience but to “rally the troops” to make them support their cause even more.

• How does he connect to his audience?
• Colorful Language: He uses a lot of alliterations (repeat the same letter), make a list of all the alliterations. Do you think they were effective for this type of speech? Why or why not.
• Colorful language: How does he use personification (giving inanimate objects life like characteristics like that of a person.) Do you think they were effective for this type of speech? Why or why not.
• Colorful language: He has several examples of antithesis (pairing or opposites in parallel phrases –one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind). Make a list of them and discuss their effectiveness.
• What do you think about his choice of prop and the timing of the prop?
• In the end, he uses the line, “From my cold dead hands.” Look up the history of the phrase and how it was used after this speech. What is your opinion of this as a final persuasive statement?

Halberg, S. (2015). Reversing Type 2 diabetes starts with ignoring the guidelines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da1vvigy5tQ

Freedom in Thought (2018). The three methods of persuasion: Rhetoric-Aristotle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5z3zWJIthI&t=1s

Langston, C. (2016). How to use rhetoric to get what you want. https://www.ted.com/talks/camille_langston_how_to_use_rhetoric_to_get_what_you_want

Ulmer, K. (2016). The three persuasive appeal: Logos, ethos, pathos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oUfOh_CgHQ

Schoder, W. (2017). Mr. Rogers and the power of persuasion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DGdDQrXv5U .

About three and a half years ago, I made a discovery.   And this discovery profoundly changed my view on how I thought the world worked,   and it even profoundly changed the way in which I operate in it.   As it turns out, there’s a pattern.   As it turns out, all the great inspiring leaders and organizations in the world,   whether it’s Apple or Martin Luther King or the Wright brothers,   they all think, act and communicate the exact same way.   And it’s the complete opposite to everyone else.   All I did was codify it,   and it’s probably the world’s simplest idea.   I call it the golden circle.

Sinek, S. (2009). How great leaders inspire action. https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en Standard YouTube License.

For information on Values to consider different types of purchasers…

Strategic Business Insights. The US Vals Survey. http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/presurvey.shtml

Stick to your strong arguments,   because your arguments don’t add up in the minds of the receiver,   they average out. The most robust psychological explanation for this is one of averaging.   In this model, we take in information,   and those information are afforded a weighted score.   And our minds do not add those pieces of information,   but rather average those pieces of information.   So when you introduce irrelevant or even weak arguments,   those weak arguments, if you will,   reduce the weight of your overall argument. Niro Sivanathan

Sivanathan, N. (2019). The counterintuitive way to be more persuasive. https://www.ted.com/talks/niro_sivanathan_the_counterintuitive_way_to_be_more_persuasive. Standard YouTube License.

In an article by Steve Booth-Butterfield, entitled Inoculation Theory. Ouch! But It’s Food for you  or the Best Defense is Bad Offense, he gave this example:

You might recall the infamous “woman” problem of President Bill Clinton (1992-2000).  What you may not remember is that this problem popped up during the Presidential primaries held over the winter of 1991-92.  A former amorous partner, Gennifer Flowers, scheduled a press conference declaring her adulterous relationship with the then Governor of Arkansas.  The Clinton campaign got wind of this planned press conference by Ms. Flowers and on the Sunday night before that following Monday afternoon event, Bill and Hillary Clinton appeared on an episode of the popular TV news magazine show, “60 Minutes.”  In it, the reporter directly asked about the “woman” problem and the Clintons, especially, Mrs. Clinton responded in a way that seemed to acknowledge past marital problems, but that these problems were way in the past, and that they were together in marriage as husband and wife.

This is an excellent practical application of inoculation.  Before the “real” attack from Gennifer Flowers could occur, Mr. Clinton managed to produce a weak attack on voter attitudes about fidelity, marital privacy, and politics.  The appearance on “60 Minutes” was their first large scale national appearance in the media, so many viewers were getting their first look at the Clintons.  And, that first looking included a weak presentation of the “woman” problem and how the Clintons handled it.

When Gennifer Flowers came along the next day, not only was her press conference “old news” it was also inoculated news.  People had already been attacked on their attitudes about Mr. Clinton’s character and alleged defects and they had already defended their attitudes on that issue.  When Ms. Flowers came along, many people could easily defend their attitudes and beliefs about Mr. Clinton and just as easily discount Ms. Flowers’ claims as a tawdry and transparent attempt to gain her “fifteen minutes” of fame.

Booth-Butterfield, S. (n.d). Inoculation Theory. Ouch! But It’s Good For You or The Best Defense Is A Bad Offense. http://healthyinfluence.com/wordpress/steves-primer-of-practical-persuasion-3-0/feeling/inoculation/

“Not everybody believes in the possibility of political persuasion. Many people see political positions as expressions of innate personality traits – hard-wired into us either by our genes or by an irreversible process of socialization. Why should we waste time trying to be persuasive when people never really change their minds? This is a reasonable concern.

The idea that persuasion doesn’t work comes from a bad application of good science. A substantial body of research suggests that our political beliefs are shaped by more or less fixed psychological characteristics … Research like this, however, tells us about the difficulty of conversion, not persuasion. These are not the same things. We too often misrepresent the task of political persuasion by thinking of the most strident partisan we have ever encountered and imagined what it would take to turn that person into an equally strident partisan for the other side. This sort of Paul-on-the-Road-to-Damascus conversion rarely happens in politics. Most people don’t change their fundamental values, and if we expect them to, we are going to be very disappointed.

But we usually don’t need people to change their fundamental values in order to convince them to adopt a particular position. The fact that people have fundamental values makes it possible to persuade them by appealing to those values. But we have to find values that we really share.” ―  Michael Austin,  We Must Not Be Enemies: Restoring America’s Civic Tradition

Austin, M. (2019). We must not be enemies: Restoring America’s civic tradition . Rowman & Littlefield.

Since this is an advanced class, we are working on refining our skills. You should have learned the structure of an argument in basic communication already but I am providing a video refresher.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=syGLJy7jjsk%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26rel%3D0

Jenkinson, P. (2019). Toulmin Model. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syGLJy7jjsk Standard YouTube License.

Advanced Public Speaking Copyright © 2021 by Lynn Meade is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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15 Fun Public Speaking Activities for College Students

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Toastmasters

Public speaking activities for college students offer invaluable opportunities to develop essential communication skills, boost confidence, and prepare for future academic and professional endeavors. These activities go beyond the traditional classroom setting, providing engaging and interactive platforms for students to refine their public speaking prowess. Whether it’s through exercises that focus on vocal modulation and storytelling or games that encourage friendly competition, these activities empower college students to become more effective and articulate communicators. In this guide, we will explore a variety of public speaking activities and their benefits, offering college students a roadmap to becoming more confident and proficient speakers.

What is Public Speaking?

“Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you. Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you.”  – Anonymous

Greetings, fellow wordsmiths and speech enthusiasts! If you’ve ever felt your heart race at the thought of addressing a crowd, or if you’ve found yourself tongue-tied when all eyes are on you, fear not! We’re diving headfirst into the exhilarating world of public speaking, where words wield power, charisma is your secret weapon, and confidence is your trusty sidekick. 

In this captivating blog, we’ll unravel the art of public speaking, demystify stage fright, and equip you with the skills to command any room, from a cozy gathering of friends to a roaring auditorium filled with strangers. Get ready to discover the hidden orator within you and embark on a journey that promises not just personal growth but also oodles of fun.

So, whether you’re preparing to ace that next presentation, dazzle at a social event, or simply want to boost your communication prowess, join us on this electrifying adventure. As we explore the ins and outs of public speaking, we’ll throw in some tricks, share tales of triumphs and fumbles, and sprinkle in a dash of humor to make the journey as enlightening as possible.

Can Public Speaking be learned?

Contrary to popular belief, not all great speakers were born with a silver tongue. The majority of captivating orators you admire today started as mere mortals who stumbled over their words and faced their fair share of stage fright. Let’s dive into the fascinating world of public speaking and explore how this skill is cultivated.

The Natural Born Orator: Myth or Reality?

While some individuals possess an innate knack for public speaking from a young age, they are the exception, not the rule. These “natural born orators” are like unicorns in the speaking world, rare and enchanting. They effortlessly command attention, spin mesmerizing tales, and leave audiences hanging on their every word. But here’s the kicker: there are a few of them around!

The Majority: Made, Not Born

The truth is, most of the world’s renowned speakers, from Winston Churchill to Oprah Winfrey, Malcolm X to J.K. Rowling, didn’t emerge from the womb delivering flawless speeches. They developed their skills through dedication, practice, and a willingness to learn from their mistakes.

Consider this: according to studies, around 75% of people suffer from glossophobia , which is the fear of public speaking. This statistic alone should reassure you that you’re not alone in your struggles. Even some of the greatest public speakers initially grappled with stage fright and stumbled through their early speeches.

The Power of Learning and Practice

So, how do these once-timid souls transform into magnetic orators? They embrace the art of public speaking as a craft that can be cultivated by immersing themselves in the intricacies of effective communication, learning about body language, voice modulation, and the art of storytelling. They attend workshops, take public speaking courses, and practice their skills relentlessly.

Moreover, they aren’t afraid to learn from their missteps. Every “um” and “uh,” every moment of nervousness, is seen as an opportunity for improvement. They analyze their performances, seek feedback, and refine their technique. The bottom line is this: public speaking is a skill, not a genetic trait. With the right mindset, determination, and a bit of guidance, anyone can become a masterful speaker.

Best Public Speaking Activities for college students:

A) public speaking games for college students.

Public speaking games are interactive and engaging activities designed to improve public speaking skills, boost confidence, and enhance communication abilities. Games are interactive and often competitive, making learning more engaging and enjoyable. Here are some examples of public speaking games:

• 30 Second Speech 
• Just A Minute Speech  
• Debate Duels
• Storytelling Relay
• Public Speaking Bingo
• Speech Speed Dating
• Public Speaking Charades
• Speech Olympics
• Role Reversal

1. 30-second speech

What is the 30-second speech activity? Performing a 30-second speech in a classroom setting is a concise yet impactful way to communicate your ideas or present information. This activity typically involves standing in front of your classmates or audience and speaking for exactly 30 seconds on a chosen topic. The goal is to effectively convey your message within this short time frame while engaging your audience and leaving a lasting impression.

• Introduction (5-7 seconds): Begin with an engaging opener, stating your topic’s relevance.
• Main Message (15-18 seconds): Convey your core point concisely with supporting evidence.
• Conclusion (5-7 seconds): Summarize or issue a call to action to reinforce your message.

Rules and Tips:

• Manage time closely.
• Speak clearly and at a steady pace.
• Engage the audience with questions or prompts.
• Use confident body language.
• Utilize visual aids if allowed.
• Stay calm by practicing and taking deep breaths.

By adhering to these steps and guidelines, you can confidently deliver a compelling 30-second speech in class.

2. Just A Minute speech (JAM)

What is the Just A Minute speech activity? The “Just A Minute” ( JAM ) speech activity challenges participants to speak on a given topic for one minute without hesitation, repetition, or deviation. It fosters improvisational speaking skills and quick thinking.

Preparation:

• Topic Familiarization: Stay informed about various topics.
• Practice: Hone spontaneous speaking abilities on diverse subjects.

How to Do It:

• Selection: Participants are chosen randomly or in order.
• Topic Assignment: A moderator provides a topic, and the speaker has one minute to discuss it.
• Rules: Avoid hesitation, repetition, or deviation from the topic.
• Scoring: Judges evaluate adherence to rules, fluency, and content quality.
• The JAM speech activity is an enjoyable and educational exercise for enhancing public speaking and improvisation skills.

3. Debate Duels:

Activity: Debate duels involve organizing structured debates between two students or teams who argue opposing sides of a chosen topic. Participants present arguments, offer rebuttals, and conclude their case. The goal is to foster well-researched arguments and promote respectful discourse.

• Topic Selection: Choose a relevant and debatable topic.
• Research: Participants should research their respective positions thoroughly.
• Format: Decide on debate format (e.g., timed speeches, cross-examination).
• Roles: Assign roles such as debaters, moderators, and timekeepers.
• Opening Statements: Each side presents its arguments.
• Rebuttals: Teams respond to opponents’ arguments.
• Cross-examination (if included): Teams question each other.
• Conclusions: Summarize key points and restate positions.
• Maintain respect and civility.
• Use evidence and logic to support arguments.
• Stick to time limits for speeches.
• Follow the predetermined format.

Debate duels provide a platform for students to develop research, critical thinking, and communication skills through structured, respectful debate.

4. Storytelling Relay:

Activity: In a storytelling relay, teams of 3-4 students collaborate to create a narrative. It starts with one student providing an opening sentence, and each subsequent student adds one sentence to continue the story. The aim is to build a cohesive narrative with seamless transitions.

• Team Formation: Divide students into teams of 3-4 members.
• Topic or Theme: Decide if there’s a specific topic or theme for the stories.
• Order: Determine the order in which students will contribute to the story.
• Time Limit: Set a time limit for each sentence contribution, e.g., 10 seconds.
• Opening Sentence: The first student in each team provides an opening sentence to begin the story.
• Sentence Contributions: Each student takes turns adding one sentence to continue the narrative.
• Transitions: Students must ensure their sentences connect smoothly with the previous ones.
• Cohesion: Teams collaborate to maintain consistency and coherence in the story.
• Maintain the predetermined order for sentence contributions.
• Keep sentences concise and on-topic.
• Ensure sentences flow logically from one another.
• Encourage creativity and adaptability.

Storytelling relay is a creative and collaborative activity that fosters teamwork, creativity, and improvisation skills as students work together to build a compelling story.

5. Public Speaking Bingo:

Activity: In Public Speaking Bingo, bingo cards with different public speaking challenges in each square are created (e.g., “Use a compelling statistic,” “Maintain eye contact,” “No filler words”). During speeches, students mark off squares as they complete the challenges, aiming to achieve a bingo.

• Bingo Cards: Create bingo cards with various public speaking challenges randomly placed in each square.
• Topics: Prepare speech topics or allow students to choose their own.
• Markers or Chips: Provide markers or chips for students to use when they complete a challenge.
• Prizes (optional): Consider offering small prizes for students who achieve bingo.
• Card Distribution: Distribute the bingo cards to students before the speeches begin.
• Speeches: As students give their speeches, they mark off squares when they complete the challenges listed.
• Winning: The first student to complete a row, column, or diagonal with marked squares shouts “Bingo!” and wins the game.
• Challenges must be completed during the speech.
• Challenges should be marked off honestly.
• The winner should declare “Bingo” immediately upon completing a line of challenges.

Public Speaking Bingo is a fun and interactive activity that encourages students to focus on specific public speaking skills and techniques while delivering speeches, making the learning experience engaging and enjoyable.

6. Speech Speed Dating:

Activity: Speech Speed Dating involves pairing students and giving them 3-5 minutes each to introduce themselves or present a mini-topic. After each “date,” students switch partners. This exercise helps improve speaking under time constraints and fosters active listening skills.

• Pairing: Arrange students in pairs.
• Topics (optional): Prepare mini-topics or allow students to choose what they’ll speak about.
• Timer: Set a timer for each speaking session.
• Space: Ensure there’s enough space for students to move between partners.
• Introduction: Students introduce themselves or present their mini-topic to their partner within the time limit.
• Switch Partners: After the allotted time, students rotate to a new partner and repeat the process.
• Repeat: Continue this cycle for multiple rounds, allowing students to interact with different partners.
• Stick to the time limit for each speaking session.
• Encourage active listening and engagement during each “date.”
• Ensure students switch partners as instructed to maximize interaction.

Speech Speed Dating is a dynamic activity that enhances students’ ability to convey information succinctly and promotes effective listening and engagement in a fast-paced speaking environment.

7. Public Speaking Charades:

Activity: Public Speaking Charades involves creating cards with different public speaking scenarios or gestures (e.g., “Giving a TED Talk,” “Delivering bad news”). Students act out these scenarios without speaking, and the audience guesses what they’re portraying. This exercise enhances nonverbal communication skills.

• Scenario Cards: Prepare cards with various public speaking scenarios or gestures.
• Audience: Arrange for an audience or divide students into small groups to take turns acting and guessing.
• Timer: Set a timer for each acting session.
• Card Draw: One student draws a scenario card and acts it out without speaking.
• Guessing: The audience or other students guess what public speaking scenario is being portrayed.
• Rotation: After a set time or when the correct guess is made, a new student takes a turn.
• No speaking or verbal cues are allowed during the charades.
• Encourage creative and expressive gestures to convey the scenario.
• Keep the game moving by setting time limits for each turn.

Public Speaking Charades is a lively activity that sharpens nonverbal communication skills and creativity while making public speaking scenarios more engaging and memorable.

8. Speech Olympics:

Activity: Speech Olympics is a structured competition where students participate in a series of public speaking challenges, which can include tongue twisters, impromptu storytelling, persuasive pitches, and more. Participants earn medals or points based on their performance. This activity provides a fun and lighthearted way to develop various speaking skills.

• Challenge Selection: Choose a variety of speaking challenges that suit the skill levels of the participants.
• Scoring System: Determine how participants will earn points or medals (e.g., judging panels or audience voting).
• Materials: Prepare any necessary materials or props for specific challenges.
• Medals or Prizes: Optional – acquire medals or prizes for winners.
• Introduction: Explain the rules and challenges to the participants.
• Challenge Rotation: Participants move through a series of challenges, competing against each other.
• Scoring: Use the predetermined scoring system to assess performance and award medals or points.
• Winners: Announce the winners and celebrate their achievements.
• Participants must adhere to the specific rules of each challenge.
• Judges or the audience score performances based on predefined criteria.
• Encourage sportsmanship and respectful competition.

Speech Olympics is a dynamic activity that allows students to practice a range of speaking skills competitively and engagingly, making it an enjoyable learning experience.

9. Role Reversal:

Activity: In Role Reversal, students play both the role of the speaker and the audience. After delivering a speech, they switch roles, with the audience members providing constructive feedback to the speaker. This exercise helps students gain insight into the audience’s perspective and fosters effective feedback skills.

• Speech Topics: Assign or allow students to choose their speech topics.
• Feedback Guidelines: Prepare guidelines for constructive feedback.
• Peer Evaluation Forms: Create forms or worksheets for audience members to provide feedback.
• Speaker’s Turn: A student delivers a speech on their chosen topic.
• Role Reversal: After the speech, the roles switch, and the audience becomes the feedback provider.
• Feedback Session: The audience offers constructive feedback, focusing on strengths and areas for improvement.
• Discussion: Encourage a brief discussion where the speaker can ask clarifying questions or provide context for their choices.
• Feedback should be respectful and constructive, focusing on the speech’s content and delivery.
• Encourage active listening and thoughtful feedback from the audience.
• The speaker should be receptive to feedback and open to improvement suggestions.

Role Reversal is an interactive exercise that enhances students’ understanding of both the speaker and audience perspectives, promoting effective communication skills and constructive feedback within a learning environment.

B) Public Speaking Exercises for college students: 

Public speaking exercises are structured activities and practices aimed at improving public speaking skills. Exercises are structured activities that often focus on specific aspects of public speaking, such as breath control, diction, or body language. Each exercise typically targets a specific aspect of public speaking or communication. Here are some common public speaking exercises:

• Breathing Exercises
• Tongue Twisters
• Mirror Practice
• Storytelling Practice
• Impromptu Practice
• Emotional Vocal Modulation

1. Breathing Exercises

Diaphragmatic breathing is a technique that involves using your diaphragm, a muscle located below your ribcage, to control your breath. It is a fundamental exercise for improving vocal projection and managing anxiety during speaking or public speaking situations.

How to Do It: To perform diaphragmatic breathing, sit or stand comfortably with proper posture. Inhale deeply through your nose for a slow count of four, allowing your diaphragm to expand and your lower lungs to fill. Hold your breath for four counts without tensing your chest or neck. Then, exhale slowly and steadily through your mouth for another count of four. Repeat this breathing pattern regularly to strengthen your diaphragm, enhance vocal projection, and reduce anxiety associated with speaking engagements.

2. Tongue Twisters:

Tongue twisters are word or phrase sequences designed to be challenging to articulate due to their repetitive or tricky sounds. This exercise is used to improve pronunciation, diction, and speech clarity.

How to Do It: To perform tongue twisters, start with simple ones and gradually advance to more complex ones as your proficiency grows. Pronounce each word or phrase, emphasizing correct articulation, and gradually increase your speed. The goal is to challenge your tongue and mouth muscles, enhancing your ability to enunciate words clearly and improving your overall speech clarity.

• She sells seashells by the seashore.
• Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear; Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy, was he?
• How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
• Unique New York, you know you need a unique New York.
• Red leather, yellow leather.
• Six slippery snails slid slowly seaward.
• Betty Botter bought some butter but the butter was bitter, so Betty bought some better butter to make the bitter butter better.
• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?
• Irish wristwatch, Swiss wristwatch.

3. Mirror Practice:

Mirror practice is a technique used to enhance your public speaking skills. It involves standing in front of a full-length mirror while delivering a speech or presentation. The aim is to closely observe and improve your body language, facial expressions, and gestures as you speak.

How to Do It: To perform mirror practice, position yourself in front of a full-length mirror, ensuring you have a clear view of yourself. Deliver your speech or presentation as you normally would, paying keen attention to your reflection. Focus on your posture, hand movements, facial expressions, and any other nonverbal cues you use while speaking. By actively observing yourself in the mirror, you can identify areas for improvement in your delivery and work on refining your public speaking skills over time.

4. Storytelling Practice:

Storytelling practice involves sharing personal anecdotes or stories with friends or peers while incorporating storytelling techniques such as creating suspense, infusing humor, and using vivid descriptions. This practice is aimed at refining your storytelling skills and making your narratives more engaging.

How to Do It: To perform storytelling practice, select a personal anecdote or story you’d like to share. As you share it with friends or peers, focus on the storytelling elements. Create suspense by building anticipation and keeping your audience curious about what happens next. Infuse humor by adding funny anecdotes or witty remarks where appropriate. Use vivid descriptions to paint a clear picture and evoke emotions. By practicing storytelling in this way, you can develop your ability to captivate your audience and make your narratives more compelling.

5. Impromptu Topics:

Impromptu topics practice involves regularly engaging in impromptu speaking by selecting random topics or prompts and delivering short, on-the-spot speeches about them. This exercise is designed to sharpen your ability to think quickly and articulate ideas effectively without prior preparation.

How to Do It: To perform impromptu topic practice, have a selection of random topics or prompts ready. These topics can be related to various subjects, such as current events, personal experiences, or hypothetical scenarios. Choose a topic at random and challenge yourself to deliver a brief speech or response to it without any prior planning or research. This exercise will help you become more comfortable with spontaneous speaking, improve your ability to organize your thoughts quickly and enhance your overall communication skills.

6. Emotional Vocal Modulation:

Emotional vocal modulation is a technique used to enhance the expressiveness of your speeches. It involves practicing the variation of your tone, pitch, and inflection to convey different emotions effectively. By modulating your voice, you can captivate your audience and convey a range of feelings and sentiments in your presentations.

How to Do It: To perform emotional vocal modulation, start by selecting a piece of text or speech. As you practice, deliberately vary your tone, pitch, and inflection to match the emotions or sentiments you want to convey. Experiment with different vocal techniques, such as using a higher pitch for excitement, a lower pitch for seriousness, or fluctuating tone for emphasis and engagement. Regular practice of emotional vocal modulation will help you become a more dynamic and compelling speaker, capable of engaging your audience on an emotional level.

Where to start Public Speaking?

Starting on the path of public speaking as a college student is a wise decision that can have a significant impact on your academic and professional life. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:

1. College Public Speaking Courses:

College public speaking courses are an excellent starting point for students eager to develop their speaking skills. These courses typically provide a structured and comprehensive approach to public speaking. You’ll learn about speech organization, effective delivery techniques, and strategies to engage your audience. Instructors are often experienced public speakers who can offer valuable insights and feedback. 

Additionally, these courses offer a supportive environment for practicing your speaking skills. You’ll have the opportunity to present speeches in front of your peers, receive constructive criticism, and refine your abilities. As a bonus, college courses often provide resources like textbooks and access to speech labs to help you master the art of public speaking.

    “The best way to conquer stage fright is to know what you’re talking about.” — Michael H. Mescon

2. Join Public Speaking Clubs:

 Toastmasters and similar public speaking clubs are renowned for their ability to transform nervous speakers into confident orators. These clubs provide a supportive community of individuals who share a common goal: improving their public speaking skills. They offer a structured framework where you can gradually work your way up from short impromptu speeches to longer prepared presentations.

   What makes these clubs invaluable is the frequent practice opportunities they provide. You can refine your skills in a nonjudgmental environment, receive feedback, and witness the progress of fellow members. Joining such a club can be a powerful stepping stone in your public speaking journey.

   Toastmasters International has over 364,000 members in 16,200 clubs in 145 countries.

You can join our online community of Toastmasters for engaging in Learning and Group Discussions here.

3. Online Public Speaking Resources:

In today’s digital age, a wealth of online resources is readily available to aid in your public speaking education. You can find books, articles, videos, and courses dedicated to the subject. These resources cover a wide range of topics, from speech preparation and delivery techniques to managing stage fright.

The advantage of online resources is their accessibility and flexibility. You can explore these materials at your own pace, focusing on areas that need improvement. Whether you’re looking for expert advice, speech templates, or video tutorials, the internet offers a vast repository of knowledge to help you become a more effective speaker.

  Over 3,000 books on public speaking are available on Amazon.

4. Self-Practice and Recording:

Self-practice is a fundamental component of improving your public speaking skills. Whether it’s practicing in front of a mirror, recording your speeches, or rehearsing in an empty room, these exercises help you become more comfortable with your own voice and body language.

   Recording yourself is particularly valuable as it allows you to objectively assess your performance. You can analyze aspects like tone, gestures, and clarity of speech. By identifying areas that need refinement, you can tailor your practice sessions to address specific weaknesses and gradually build confidence.

    “Practice puts brains in your muscles.” — Sam Snead

5. Seek Feedback from Professors and Peers:

Constructive feedback is an essential component of growth as a speaker. Don’t hesitate to reach out to professors and peers for input on your presentations. Professors, with their expertise, can offer valuable insights into your content, organization, and delivery.

Additionally, peers can provide a different perspective and offer suggestions for improvement. Collaborative learning and sharing feedback within your academic community can enhance your speaking skills and help you gain a fresh outlook on your strengths and weaknesses as a speaker.

   In a survey, 94% of employees said they’d benefit from feedback, according to Harvard Business Review.

6. Volunteer for Speaking Opportunities:

Volunteering to speak in class or participate in campus events is a practical way to apply what you’ve learned. These opportunities allow you to gain real-life experience, helping you overcome nerves and improve your ability to connect with an audience.

Whether it’s delivering a presentation in front of your classmates or addressing a larger crowd at a campus event, each experience contributes to your growth as a speaker. The more you put yourself in these situations, the more confident and adept you’ll become at conveying your message effectively.

   Example: Delivering a class presentation on a topic you’re passionate about.

7. Study Renowned Speakers:

Studying the speeches of renowned public speakers is a powerful way to improve your skills. Analyzing speeches from figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill, Oprah Winfrey, or TED Talk presenters can provide valuable insights into effective rhetoric, storytelling, and engagement techniques.

By dissecting these speeches, you can learn how to structure your content, use persuasive language, and capture your audience’s attention. It’s a practical way to see proven strategies in action and apply them to your presentations.

   Example: Analyzing Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech for rhetorical techniques.

These seven options offer a diverse range of opportunities for college students to embark on their journey toward becoming effective public speakers. Whether you choose formal education, community support, online resources, or practical experience, remember that the key to success is consistent practice and a commitment to personal growth. Developing your public speaking skills will not only benefit your academic pursuits but also prepare you for future personal and professional endeavors.

Conclusion:

The world of public speaking holds endless possibilities for college students. It’s a realm where your voice, ideas, and stories can resonate and inspire. While the journey to becoming a confident and skilled speaker may seem daunting, the key is to remember that every great orator, from the classroom to the TED stage, started somewhere. 

The most crucial step is to just start. Put yourself out there, embrace the challenges, and dive into public speaking activities and exercises. As you navigate tongue twisters, engage in debate duels, or share personal anecdotes, you’re not only honing your communication skills but also building the confidence needed to succeed in academia and the professional world.

Don’t let fear or self-doubt hold you back. The first step may be the most challenging, but it’s also the most transformative. So, seize every opportunity, participate in these activities with enthusiasm, and let your voice be heard. With each word you speak and every audience you engage, you’re inching closer to becoming the confident, influential speaker you aspire to be. Start now, and watch as your public speaking journey unfolds, revealing the remarkable communicator within you.

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15 Fun Public Speaking Activities

Much like riding a bike public speaking is a skill that is best learned through practice. And what happens when we enjoy doing something that we do? We do it more often.

So here are 15 fun public speaking activities that you can do, either by yourself or with a group of people or if you are running a class you can use this using with your students as well. ( more public speaking activities here )

[youtube id=”4zRgNymCB7w” mode=”normal” align=”center”]

What Are The 15 Fun Public Speaking Activities?

I truly believe that making public speaking fun is one of the things that are going to take an average public speaker and give then enough practice to turn them into a good or great public speaker.

1. My Friend’s Fictional Life

In this activity, what you do is you get up in front of people (you can do it home by yourself as well) and you take one of your friends and you introduce them. However, instead of introducing them in the normal way you make up a fictional life for them.

So you say, hi this is Jane Smith, and she actually moonlights as a jazz pianist for the underground mafia. And you talk about her life, whatever it may be.

So this is fun because it makes you been creative, it’s very easy to think of these things on the spot and just roll with it. It’s generally pretty funny as well.

2. Impromtu Game

You basically just get up in front of people and somebody gives you something impromptu to run with.

It might be a topic, it might be a sentence or it might just be a single word or anything like that. But generally we run with just a certain topic.

For example: They need to talk about climate change or they need to talk about what makes a great teacher, or they need to talk about social media changes or whatever. So that the impromptu game.

3. Funny Image Game

This is similar to the impromptu game, but basically what you do is you give the speaker a funny image; you can find these easily just searching through Google and you get them to talk about that image.

You can pretend it’s their life experience and how this impacted my life or they can talk about why this image is important and what this image means or what’s the story behind this image.

4. Continuous Story

This is best done with a group of people. Each person gets up and might speak for anywhere from 20 seconds to a minute and they start telling a story.

And when their time is up, the next person has to get up and they have to continue the story.

So, obviously each person doesn’t know what the person before them is going to say and so they have to continue the story.

The goal of this is to make the story make sense. This game helps people engage in listening and learn to be creative enough to make the story continue on and make sense.

5. Something In My Wallet

You can use your own wallet or (if people are comfortable enough and happy to do it) you can get the person sitting next to you’s wallet.

Take an item out of the wallet and discuss what this item is and why its important and obviously you are trying to elaborate and make it funny as much as possible.

6. Action Story

This can be done in 2 ways.

A) You tell a story that has a whole great of actions in it and as a speaker you have to do these actions yourself whilst speaking.

B) Or the audience has to do the actions themselves while the speaker is giving their speech.

So you could say; I did a big stretch when I woke up in the morning. And everybody has to stretch. And then you say, I put on my hat, and everybody has to do the actions in line with that.

7. Make A Commercial

Get a bunch of things from your room or from your house, bring them in and you need to make a commercial about these items.

Someone is giving a random product. It might be a deodorant, might be an iphone, it could be anything. And then they are required to give a 30 second to 1 minute commercial on this product and talk about why this is so awesome and why people should buy it. So that’s a really fun one as well.

8. A Fake Holiday

This one is done with images primarily and a set of images that are related to each other.

So it could be a farm where you have images of animals, or the barn house or something funny happening on the farm.

The speaker is required to tell maybe 1, 2 or 3 sentences for each image and then you click forward to the next image.

Then they need to use the next image to continue the story.

So you are using these images as the key cards, as to where the story needs to go so the person needs to adapt the story based on the images that are given.

9. Alternative Ending

You take a well known TV show or a well-known movie. And what you do is you create an alternative ending for it.

10. Connect The Nouns

This is really a fun one, I really like this one.

You can do this by either putting nouns on key cards shuffling them up and picking 2 up at a time or you can use this  random noun generator .

You get 2 nouns and you then have to create a story that connects that 2 nouns.

So it might be ‘a sheep’ and ‘a mechanic’ or it could be ‘friend’ and ‘shoelace’.

Then you have to create a story that connects those 2 nouns together.

11. How It Got It’s Name

Take an item (for example: packing tape) and you need to create a story around a packing tape and why it’s got its name that way.

You have to make it exciting.

12. Oink Substitution

When you are giving a speech you must allocate one word that you have to replace with word ‘oink’. Or you can use ‘moo’ or you use ‘woof’ or whatever it is that you want.

So you can use the word ‘I’ and replace it with ‘oink’.

So you would say: “Oink went to the movies and oink bought some popcorn.” And so you replace that word ‘I’ with ‘oink’.

This challenges your mind, and it makes that little bit harder to deliver a presentation. And it’s pretty funny for the audience, as well.

13. Which Is A Lie?

This one is generally pretty easy to out work and a lot of fun as well. And you will find that some students do it really well, but then some students just fumble when they are tying to lie and its quiet humorous to watch.

A person gets up and tells 3 truths about themselves, but 2 of them need to be true and  one of them needs to be a lie .

So they get up and they tell 3 things about themselves and then the audience needs to choose which one was a lie and they see if they were correct.

So this one is really quick, really easy and you don’t have to go into a great detail about it but it can be really fun.

14. Definitions

Get really big words that nobody really knows what the meaning is. You can do this using  this big word generator  or another tool (just Google it). Or you can just go through the dictionary and pick some strange ones yourself.

The speaker has to get up – they are given this strange word and they need to with confidence tell the class what this word means.

Obviously they are making it up, but they need to do it confidently.

15. Endings

You give a person an ending. It could be a saying: “Diamonds are forever” or an ending to a story ‘and the man cried for 3 days’.

You give them an ending and they have to create a story that matches up with that ending.

A lot of being a great pubic speaking is about story telling. Teaching people how to creatively think up stories on the spot is going to make them a better public speaker.

I have previously talked about how public speaking rubric actually damages the progression of public speaking skills . We need to continually practicing public speaking (like riding a bike) and have it be fun if we want to teach people to be great public speakers . Technique comes along with that.

So keep that in mind, keep public speaking fun and I hope that you enjoyed these activities.

18 thoughts on “15 Fun Public Speaking Activities”

Great activities Ryan! Thank you for sharing. I will definitely be using these with my graduating seniors to help them write their speeches!

Thank you for uploading these activities, Ryan. I’ll be using it with my kids.

These are fun and practical. Thanks for sharing

Great Ideas Ryan. I am a public speaking trainer in Spain and ypur ideas helped me to mix up my classes and have some fun activities. Thanks.

Very nice activities and funny too! Shall use in my sessions with students.

These are activities are definitely doable and fun! I would love to try these with my Oral Comm students! Thank you!

This is a Supercalifragalistic piece. I already think this will work without having tried it, but I’ll definitely give it a shot. Thanks for the revelation Ryan

Great tips. I used some of them for my classes. Really enjoyed your video too! Well done!

Thank you for downloading these ideas. I will be using several of these for teaching a Speech Class. They will also be helpful for beginning Debate Class as well.

Good sharing. Im gonna use it for my pupils. Tq.

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Very practical, thank you for sharing! I will use most of them with young people with intellectual disabilities.

how these activities can lead the students to participate in big events in the school? thank you

Thank you for these wonderful suggestions. I will use them with my EAL students.

Thank you for sharing your great innovative ideas, we will definitely use for my students. THANKYOU

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Classroom Activities for Teaching Speech to High School Students

Danny waldo.

Fear of public speaking is a phobia that has afflicted many students. The anxiety and nervousness you feel when required to stand in front of a large group of peers and speak can be summarized as terrifying at best. Because of the uncomfortableness associated with giving speeches, it is important that teachers incorporate activities that allow students to feel relaxed and at ease when faced with speaking in front of their peers.

Explore this article

• Play Performances
• Famous Speeches
• Mock Trials
• How To Presentations

1 Play Performances

Getting your high school students involved in performing arts activities is one way to get them comfortable speaking in front of their peers. Practice reading the lines to a short play together as a class so they get used to hearing how the words are supposed to be read, then give a performance. Have your students first perform in front of just their classmates, but then expand the performance to include other audience members as well. The students will be practicing verbal expression, reading non-verbal cues and audience interaction -- all key to public speaking -- during the course of their performance. You can then encourage your students to join a drama club at your school if they have that option.

2 Famous Speeches

Have your high school students study famous speeches from history, such as Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream..." speech, then mimic those speeches for their peers. By studying the text of the speech, as well as the oral presentation of the speech - if there is recorded audio -- your students will learn about the importance of word choice and voice inflection. Having your students memorize the text of the speech will take the pressure off having to create their own original dialogue as they practice their speaking skills.

3 Mock Trials

Performing mock trials, similar to play performances, is another way to increase your high school students' comfort level with speaking in front of their peers. In mock trials, teams of students work together to create a plan for prosecuting or defending a famous trial, such as the O.J. Simpson trial. Although mock trials can include dialogue for court transcripts, your students can also be encouraged to go "off script," and ad-lib to make it more personalized. The advantage of mock trials is that students work together, so students do not feel as much pressure as they do on an individual assignment. Mock trials also allow students practice in persuasive speaking practices, as they attempt to persuade their peers of the guilt or innocence in the case.

4 How To Presentations

Have your students give a "How to...," speech on a topic they are intimately familiar with, such as stringing a guitar or throwing a football. "How to...," speeches are a great way to begin a speech class because they allow your students to speak naturally about a topic on which they are comfortable. Not only will the speech give your students an opportunity to ease into public speaking, but it will also give you, the teacher, an idea of the strengths and weaknesses of each of your students.

About the Author

Danny Waldo started writing professionally in 2011, covering topics in education and sports. His writing has appeared on various websites, including BleacherReport.com. Waldo holds a Bachelor of Science in education from Montana State University-Bozeman and a Master of Science in education from Walden University.

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• Sample Assignments

The following list suggests some possible speaking activities and is not meant to limit anyone’s creativity. Other kinds of speaking tasks are certainly possible.

Presentational Speaking

These assignments give students an opportunity to speak to an audience, and they can be done on an individual basis or students could work together as a presenting group. Some formats include:

• Oral reports of research or student papers debates
• Presentation of course content areas Interviews
• Presentation analyzing a problem Oral exam
• Role-playing as part of a simulation

Presentational speaking assignments encourage students to understand course material well enough to communicate it to others. Typically, these assignments emphasize factors such as:

• research, analysis, evaluation of data
• adaptation of materials to meet the demands of the occasion and audience
• determination of a suitable purpose and focus for a presentation
• development of a suitable and clear organizational pattern
• development of arguments to support the speaker’s purpose
• delivery skills suitable to the presentation’s objectives
• listening to and critical evaluation of oral messages

Learning Groups and Class Discussion

Learning group activities give students specific oral tasks, such as analyzing a problem or examining textual material. The assignment is designed so that collaboration by group members is essential to make progress on the task. A speaking-intensive approach to learning groups and class discussion involves more than merely having discussions and using groups in class. To make the class speaking-intensive, instructors must spend time with students talking about the discussion process and the characteristics of good discussions. Instructors also provide opportunities for the class to assess its discussions and for students to examine their own communication behavior as part of the discussion group.

Learning group and class discussion formats include:

• Laboratory groups Student led discussions (whole class)
• Peer reviews Instructor led discussions (whole class)
• Study groups Transcript analysis of group “talk”

Learning group and class discussion assignments emphasize factors such as:

• development of discussion skills that facilitate group progress
• an understanding of and skill in dealing with group conflict
• increased student responsibility for learning in the class
• an awareness of how questioning technique helps or hinders group talk

Task Group Projects

In these assignments, students work together for longer periods of time and may be expected to produce a final report of some sort. Often, task groups have to meet together outside of regular class times in order to work on their assigned projects.

Formats include:

• Problem solving projects Analysis of case studies
• Laboratory groups Research teams
• “Task force” groups, assigned a long- or short-term product goal

Once again, simply assigning student group projects does not make one’s use of these activities speaking-intensive. Instructors must spend time with students talking about the group process and helping students learn how to understand group communication dynamics. Instructors also include opportunities for groups to assess their progress and for students to examine their own communication behavior as part of the group.

Task group assignments emphasize:

• development of communication skills that facilitate group progress
• awareness of and skill in dealing with group conflict
• an understanding of the advantages and limitations of group work

Interpersonal Communication

These assignments involve projects in which two students communicate together for the purpose of achieving some common goal. Typical formats include: Role-playing cases (e.g., managerial issues, clinical interviews, conflict resolution)

One-on-one teaching/tutoring Interviews Interpersonal communication assignments help students:

• gain and improve interpersonal communication skills
• acquire an awareness of and skill in dealing with interpersonal conflicts
• develop listening skills
• Speaking Intensive Program
• SI Course Expectations
• Archive of the 2015 NACC Conference at UMW
• Body Language
• Formats for Group Presentations
• Handling Speech Anxiety
• Leading Discussion Groups
• Moderating a Group Presentation
• Outline Checklist
• People Ask Me to Repeat Myself
• Planning a Group Presentation
• Preparing Speaking Notes
• Preparing Supporting Materials
• Settings for Group Presentations
• Speech Organization
• Toulmin Argument Model
• Transitions
• Using a Script
• Using PowerPoint
• Available Articles
• Class Discussion
• Communication
• Evaluation Sheets
• Learning Groups
• Public Speaking
• Task Groups
• Speaking Center Video
• Your First In-Class Presentation
• Accommodations and Oral Communication Assignments
• New Course Proposals
• Speaking Intensive Committee
• Speaking Intensive Committee – Minutes and Reports
• Speaking Intensive Course List – courses approved by the SI committee
• Using Video for Student Presentations
• Speaking and Writing Center

My Speech Class

Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

242 Personal Persuasive Essay Topics and Ideas

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

Personal essays are some of the most diverse assignments you can receive. Whether you’re a student in middle school or university, the best personal essay will highlight an individual’s personal views and unique experience. They’re not confined by the restrictions of literary essays and give plenty of opportunity for introducing the writer’s personality. The key here is selecting the right topics to talk about in a personal essay. Usually, this is the toughest part. After all, it’s the emotional core of your text. A lot of people also struggle to write about themselves and their experience as subjects of the text. Where does one start? Essay topics in general are frustrating to formulate so if you need help with some inspiration, take a look at some more ideas here ! And if you’re wondering what some good personal essay topics are, you’ll find a lot of sample ideas here as well as a guide on how to write a persuasive text.

In this article:

How to Write Personal Essays

Personal narrative essay topics, personal experience essay topics, personal argumentative essay topics, personal cause-and-effect essay topics, personal persuasive essay topics, personal essay topics for middle school, personal essay topics for high school students and college students.

Start by taking a trip down memory lane. The most gripping stories come from personal experience, especially if you’re thinking of writing a personal narrative essay. Think about a memory from your past that includes some inciting incident. If this is the first time you come across this phrase, inciting incidents are typically the metaphorical “ hooks ” of the story that have the audience interested in your text.

You could talk about your experience working as a volunteer, for example, or if you aren’t the volunteering type, you can write about some exciting memories from your childhood and summer vacations. Have you taken a trip abroad that has really left an impression on you? Are you drawn to different cultures because of that exotic trip? Maybe you went to visit a museum of your favourite artist, and this has inspired you to become an artist yourself. Perhaps you were immersed by the sound of a different language and decided to have a go at it. What have you enjoyed the most in the process? What did you hate about it? Perhaps you tried acquiring a new skill, but it went completely the wrong way for you. The list goes on and on.

There’s something there. Just remember the golden rule: always be honest in your personal essays . Trying to change your viewpoint on a subject so that it fits the masses’ opinion won’t make your personal essay enticing. The topic you’ll talk about in your personal essay is extremely important and so is the first sentence. Writing phrases such as “ever since I was a baby, I wanted to become a doctor” isn’t convincing or truthful. Try not to stick to clichés. You want to make an impression with your text, so ask yourself: What would grab your attention if you were reading your persuasive essay? I always think of Charles Dickens’ first sentence from A Christmas Carol : “Marley was dead: to begin with.” It begs for explanation and resolve, and it’s short and simple. The same should go for the personal essay entry sentence.

Why Choose Personal Persuasive Topics for Your Essay

If you’re wondering why you should choose personal persuasive topics for your essay, the answer lies in the question. We are a narrative-oriented society, and much of our relatability comes from convincingly expressing to others our individual, personal experience. What better way to let your personality shine than through conveying your emotions and adventures in a gripping story?

Personal experience essay topics vary depending on your age, and it’s quite likely that a story that worked for a high school assignment won’t have the same effect in your university days. That’s why in the sections below, we have divided the best personal essay topics into different categories. That way, you can easily navigate across all topics (and there’s quite a lot of them – a total of 242 ), but don’t let that restrict you. If you’re confident, you can always choose a topic from any of the categories.

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Of course, there are other important takeaways from writing a great personal essay. Usually, your teacher or admissions officer will look out that you have successfully done the following:

• Communicated and implemented your critical thinking skills
• Spoken convincingly and from experience about challenging themes that make you stand out from the crowd
• Demonstrated your creativity and unique voice all the while applying persuasive techniques in your writing

With all this in mind, you can now start by selecting the right type of personal essay topic from our categories. We have included everything from personal essay topics for middle school to personal essay topics for high school, as well as narrative essay topics and many more. Go on, what are you waiting for?

Personal narrative essays are a great way to tell your unique take on a personal story. You just have to choose a project you feel passionate about. Typically, choosing a story involving your success and personality growth is your best bet, but of course, always make sure to check that your topic is suitable for the task given by your tutors. If you’re wondering what topics are suitable for a great personal narrative essay, check out the following ideas:

• Starting your first job
• Volunteering for the first time
• A memorable teacher that made an impact on you
• A dangerous experience
• Your first journey abroad/to the countryside
• An experience that changed your behavior
• An experience that made you gain/lose religious faith
• A comedic situation based on some misunderstanding
• Events from your summer vacation that changed your life
• The first time you got a pet
• The experience of meeting your little sibling for the first time 
• A time when you decided what your future job will be 
• The change of a relationship with some you didn’t expect you’d like
• The first time you experienced a dangerous event of some kind 
• The first time you won something
• Your experience participating in a sport/political/environmental design
• A story about a teacher who inspired you
• A story about a family member who is dear to you
• Your experience of being in charge of something for the first time
• Your experience traveling on your own for the first time 
• How a book you read changed your life 
• How the most exciting subject in school changed your life
• How technology changed the way you access information
• The first time you experienced an earthquake or tornado
• A story about someone who has become your patron/idol 
• Your reaction/opinion on an event that influenced your country 
• A moment you caught someone in a lie
• An episode that changed your relationship with your parents
• An event which showed you taking responsibility and leadership 
• An event in which you face discrimination 
• An experience of successfully fighting procrastination 
• A time when you helped people in a crisis
• The experience of creating secret places in your childhood
• An experience playing your favorite game
• A time you got lost 
• Your first time going on a trip by yourself 
• The influence of technology on your younger siblings vs you
• What you would do if you won the lottery for the first time 
• Your best childhood memory
• Your experience of discovering a disability for the first time 
• A secret talent you have 
• Your experience learning a musical instrument
• Your experience with an inexplicable event that happened to you
• A story about the greatest fear you have 
• How your favorite work of art inspires you
• The best advice you have heard in your life 
• A place you would go to if you could travel in time 
• A story about the most beautiful place you have visited
• Something you witnessed in your lifetime that you will never forget
• Your favorite holiday experience 
• Your most awkward moment in college
• Your biggest fear
•  The most crucial lesson in your life 
• Your experience of being betrayed by someone and your response to it 
• An advice your parents gave you that wasn’t useful
• Describe your biggest moment of failure 
• Your biggest argument with a family member
• A difficult decision you have made 
• The day you realized you had made a best friend
• The most interesting dream you have had 

Personal experience essays aren’t that much different from personal narrative essays. They still have an element of narrative storytelling within them, but this time, they focus more on a level of experience you have gained because of a certain event. Usually, personal experience essay topics are focused around the theme of personal development. Many things can be described and included in a personal narrative essay, and you not only are given the opportunity to demonstrate your personal views on a subject, but you can also have your level of determination and ambition evaluated by a professional teacher or college admissions officer. Usually, personal narrative essay papers are written when submitting a college application, but it’s also possible to receive such an essay in school. In my personal experience, some of the greatest essays presenting an intellectual challenge are in fact the personal experience essays.

Let’s get straight into some essay prompts:

• How do you handle stress when attending an important exam?
• Which school subject motivated you to study hard?
• Did a teacher have a significant influence on your confidence in selecting a career?
• Is homework a waste of time?
• How would you go about doing research for an essay?
• What motivates you to study and pursue your dreams?
• Everyone has a plan “A” when it comes to choosing a career. What is your plan “B”?
• How has your biggest failure shaped your personality today?
• What is your biggest accomplishment outside of college/school, and how did you come to achieve it?
• What is the difference between female and male roles in your family? In what way would you change them?
• How did a book/film change your worldview?
• What role have teams and clubs had in your life?
• What role has television had in your life? 
• What is your relationship with social media?
• How have moments of racial or religious discrimination affected you?

Personal argumentative essay topics are generally given to college students or sometimes to people applying for a degree in Humanitarian Sciences. Such essays are a great way for admission officers to evaluate your knowledge of current events and relevant social discussions. Personal argumentative essay topics are usually considered more difficult than narrative essays, for example. For more argumentative ideas and speech topics , check the guide! Thus, if you’re planning on taking up this challenge, make sure you have enough time to prepare. If you have a whole term to prepare for this personal argumentative essay topic, you’ll surely be able to tackle it. Also, if that sounds too engaging, don’t worry, there are plenty of other, easier essay ideas on our lists!

Check out our example personal argumentative essay prompts for argumentative essay topics:

• Should prisons be abolished? If so, what is the negative and positive impact of this global decision?
• How does higher education affect the merit in meritocracy?
• Should artificial intelligence be applied actively in warfare?
• Does revolution go hand in hand with violence?
• Has the COVID-19 pandemic made us more prepared for the prevention of future epidemics occurring worldwide?
• In what way has the instant gratification of social media changed our relationship to technology?
• How has the digital age changed children’s relationship to empathy?
• What would the impact of a potential legalization of productivity drugs look like in current society?
• Is there a difference in work performance between Ivy League alumni and lower-ranking university students?
• Is obesity preventable?
• Is gun control a necessary method for the prevention of shootings?
• Should everyone have the right to vote?
• Should the right to vote be exclusively available to people with some form of education?
• Does the #metoo movement yield meaningful social change?
• Is knife control a necessary and sufficient method of knife crime prevention?
• How can the value of digital collectible art be accurately determined?
• Is fan fiction writing real writing?
• Do all students need to learn a foreign language?
• Should students take a gap year between high school and university?
• Why should universities teach financial literacy?
• Should students participate in the maintenance of school property?

Personal cause-and-effect essay topics are pretty self-explanatory. You’re aiming to express your opinion on a subject that has a cause, for example, supposedly, school uniforms are meant to cause discipline among students. Exercising and backing up your opinion on this essay idea will make it personal. Here is a detailed guide on how to write a great cause and effect essay . Think of a topic that excites you. It could be something you’re unhappy with or something you think is unjust.

Here are personal cause-and-effect essay topics we came up with:

• How can video games boost people’s IQ?
• Can a personal relationship in a family improve with phone use?
• Can going to college make for happier marriages?
• How can the involvement of a parent change a child’s education?
• How have smartphones impacted general communication?
• What is the effect of cookies, and does it make people shop more?
• What is the effect of tablets on young children?
• What is the effect of mobile usage during class?
• Why can’t another popular engine be established in place of Google?
• What is the effect of the financial success Disney has had in the last 30 years?
• Should dating in school be banned?
• Can living together before marriage make a relationship between partners stronger?
• Can a couple sleeping in separate beds have a healthy relationship?
• What is the effect of bullying on mental health?
• What is the cause of bullying behavior?
• Why shouldn’t women have to work after an abortion or miscarriage?
• What is the impact of smoking on a pregnant mother ?
• How can the presence of acne affect the life of a teenager? What about an adult?
• Why do some people avoid vaccines?
• What causes a lack of interest in sports?
• How can teenagers better protect themselves against cyberbullies?
• What causes certain social media apps to lose popularity?
• Can continuous sporting activities cause character development?
• Is “cancel culture” sparking meaningful change?
• What is the root cause of racism?
• Why is it essential to manage forest fires?
• What are the harmful effects of antill hunting on the ecosystem? 
• Why is it important for everyone to conserve water?
• What is the environmental impact of a single-use plastic ban?
• Can a long-distance relationship work?
• What are the causes and effects of cheating during exams?
• Is it a necessity to have an obligatory Sex Ed class ?
• How has the Internet changed the public’s sexual education?
• Should there be student bars on campus?
• Should work become mandatory for anyone over the age of 18?
• What causes some sports to be more popular among students than others?
• What are the effects of using computers and tablets in school? What about university?
• Have libraries become more popular over the last few years? 
• What caused the General Data Protection Regulation, and why is it necessary?
• What are the effects of online dating apps such as Tinder or Grindr?
• What are the effects of drugs and alcohol on people?
• Should people be allowed to drive after drinking a single unit of alcohol?
• What are the effects of a family structure on an individual?
• Does having a sibling make a person more responsible?
• Are siblings better at sharing?
• How has the golden child syndrome affected millennials?
• How can teachers positively and negatively affect student lives?
• What are the root causes of commitment phobia in men and women?
• What is the effect of social media on romantic relationships?
• How does eating fast food affect the energy levels of an individual?

Unlike personal cause-and-effect essay topics, personal persuasive essay topics aim to convince the reader that your opinion is right. This type of academic writing assignment explains a particular problem and uses research combined with personal experience in order to end up with a powerful persuasive conclusion. Through logic and convincing evidence, as well as always keeping in mind the goal of persuasion, you can write a powerful assignment.

Here are some personal persuasive essay ideas to choose from for your next writing assignment:

• Is chess considered a sport or a game?
• How is modern music not as well-composed as music from the past, such as the 1970s?
• Is it important to put PG labels on music tracks or films?
• Elaborate on the importance of the right education when playing professional music.
• Is animal hunting an immoral hobby?
• Is it a good idea to keep pets indoors?
• The cruelty behind testing beauty products on animals
• Is it ethical to breed animals for sale?
• Schools have to reduce the amount of homework assigned to students.
• SATs and ACTs are not effective ways of examining the knowledge of students.
• There should be an Emotional Intelligence mandatory class for all years.
• Vaccines can lead to autism.
• Astrology isn’t an effective way of predicting future events.
• All transport vehicles should be automatic or electric.
• Can distant online learning replace traditional classes?
• Working from home is better for finance but worse for mental health.
• The current taxation system is unfair.
• Listening to music when writing homework is an effective way of sparking productivity
• Hustle culture has taxing effects on mental health.
• People volunteer for their personal benefit, instead of kindness
• People who have survived a near-death experience have a newfound appreciation for life.
• Is “fake it until you make it” a healthy way of progressing?
• Why do people lie on their resumes?
• Why book reading during summer vacations should become mandatory.
• Weekends should change from 2 days to 3 days.
• Why we should be making selective school sports mandatory in school.
• Cooking and body health classes should be mandatory subjects in school.
• Can e-books and Kindles replace physical books?
• Should the death penalty exist?
• Why should children have chores?
• Why should it be made mandatory for children to contribute to the overall maintenance, cleanliness, and gardening of schools?

When choosing a personal essay topic, it’s important to take on subjects and ideas related to your age. Some topics require a lot more research, while others can be a little too sensitive for a younger writer. Selecting the right one for you will leave you with less workload and can guarantee you a better grade. Of course, if you feel confident and knowledgeable enough, you can try your skills with a more difficult essay idea. Paper writing can be a difficult intellectual challenge, but we’re sure that with these essay ideas, you’ll be able to tell your personal story and write a great essay:

• How did you make a best friend?
• A special top-secret place you have.
• A story of a time a friend let you down.
• A time when you disappointed someone.
• What is your happiest memory?
• Your first time receiving a pet.
• Your bravest moment.
• A time you felt embarrassed.
• What would you do if you were omnipotent? 
• What would you do if you could switch lives with someone? Who would it be?
• How did a book change your life?
• What would you do if your pet could talk?
• If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
• If you could shapeshift into an animal, what would you be? What would you do?
• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Would you change anything?
• What’s your secret talent?
• The first time you fell in love.
• An accident that changed your life.
• Talk about the ugliest thing you have seen.
• Talk about the most influential family member.
• Talk about your favorite gift.
• Talk about something you can’t resist.
• Talk about a guest you had in your house that you’ll never forget.
• Talk about the hardest news you’ve had to deliver.
• Talk about a special gift you have received.
• Talk about something that if your mum knew, you’d be in a lot of trouble. A lot.
• If you could volunteer anywhere, where would it be?
• If you won a million dollars, how would you spend them?
• What is an unexplained event that stuck with you?
• The one thing you can’t resist.
• If you could be a superhero, what power would you have? Why?
• If you could teleport anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

This list of personal essay topics for high school students will definitely inspire you to practice your personal essay skills. Covering topics like communication, ethical consumption, personal experience and more, you’ll be able to gain new ideas and express your deepest thoughts within the confines of the page. These personal essay topics for high school students are also a great way of reflecting on your growth and personal opinion, while expressing your thoughts and opinions.

• What inspires you?
• What inanimate object best embodies you?
• What’s one thing your parents don’t understand about you?
• What is the one quality a good person must have?
• Describe the best decision you ever made
• What is one thing you would change that you know will make a great difference in your life?
• How do you respond to criticism? Talk about a time you were critiqued.
• Do you feel the impact of peer pressure in your life? How is it manifested?
• Are you religious, an atheist, or agnostic? Why and why not?
• Do you feel comfortable in your body? Do you feel pressure from the media about how you “should” look?
• What are your views on ethical consumption? Does it matter to you?
• What are your views on veganism? 
• Do you feel like your friends are honest with each other? Why and why not?
• When you look back on your time in high school, what part will you remember with fondness?
• If you could tell your 12-year-old self something, what would it be and why?
• Do you have a dream profession? What is it?
• If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
• Do you believe in “soulmates”? Why and why not?
• What is your dream goal? Do you feel like you’ll ever achieve it?
• Do you believe in the concept of “best friends”? Why and why not?
• Do you believe in astrology? Why and why not?
• What do you think the world will look like in 100 years?
• If you could bring to life any famous historical figure and spend the day with them, who would you pick, and what would you do?
• If you could go back in time, would you kill Hitler? 
• What TV series you saw recently made an impression on you? Why?
• What part of high school do you wish you could get rid of?
• If you could start your own business, what would you do?
• What issues truly motivate you and why?
• If you were an admissions officer, what positive qualities would you look for in students?
• What period of school do you think is most important? 
• What is your dream profession? What are it’s positives and negatives?
• Do you think the world can function without money? What would that alternative universe look like?
• Do you think all students should go to college? Why?

Writing essays is a great way to showcase your writing skills, as well as clearly communicate your views and ideas. Personal essay writing improves your debating, logical, and deductive skills, so it’s important that you select a topic you’re passionate about and inspired by. This will give you enough fuel to power through the most difficult essay topics while at the same time enjoy what you’re writing about. We hope you enjoyed our personal persuasive essay topics! Make sure to bookmark and come back to this personal essay ideas list in the future when you’re given an assignment! Here are some more college essay topics , check them out!

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