Persuasive Speech Outline
YOUR PERSUASIVE SPEECH SPCH 1101
This handout contains the necessary information for you to create and present an effective persuasive speech. The following contains key steps in selecting a topic; the guidelines to properly structuring of your speech; an example of an outline; an
example of a speech; and possible speech topics in which you can select.
REMEMBER,YOU ARE FREE TO SELECT FROM A TOPIC NOT LISTED AT THE END OF THIS HANDOUT.
Persuasive Speech Steps
Ø Step 1: select a controversial topic that is debatable or which requires moving the
audience to action.
Ø Step 2: narrow the topic.
Ø Step 3: decide which two points you would like to prove. BE SPECIFIC
Ø Persuasive speeches are based upon arguments. Remember, an argument is a statement you intend to prove.
Ø At this point, you should have selected a topic. Next, record three points you intend to prove.
The persuasive speech is one of the most challenging speeches. The speech is based upon arguments. In persuasion, you are either for or against. To make this speech easy, you need
three specific reasons, which are arguments. Never discuss more than one reason. Each argument is a reason.
SAMPLE FINAL OUTLINE
Your Name: _______________
Professor Jackson
Speech 1101
Day/Month/Year
Persuasive Speech – Final Outline
“Why The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished”
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Attention material/Credibility Material: (Example) You have spent 25 years in jail. Fifteen years on death row. You could not afford a good attorney. The jury saw a young, black male and without impartially weighing all the evidence, of you of the murder of someone you did even know. Now tomorrow, the state is going to kill you.
B. Tie to the audience: (Example) How many of you know someone (or even you yourself) have been accused of an action that you did not do? What if the false accusation was murder? What if the result of that false accusation was you being sentenced to death.
C. Thesis and Preview: (Example) The death penalty should be abolished because it is not a deterrent to murder and innocent people may be executed.
[Transition into body of speech – your 1st point]: I’ll begin by telling you why the death penalty is not a deterrent to murder
II. BODY
A. MAIN POINT #1 (THE DEATH PENALTY IS NOT A DETERENT TO MURDER) – You only need to state key phrases below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
[Transition into your 2nd point]: Now I want to stress that the death penalty is causing some innocent people to be executed.
B. MAIN POINT #2(INNOCENT PEOPPLE MAY BE EXECUTED) – You only need to state key phrases below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
[Transition into conclusion of speech]
III. CONCLUSION: (note that this conclusion has three parts. You are only required to have two.)
A. Brake light/Transition: (Example) As you can easily see, there are too many indefinites to support something so definite as the death penalty.
B. Summary: (Example) I’ve told you why I feel the death penalty should be abolished – because it is not a deterrent to murder and innocent people may be executed.
C. Concluding Remarks: (Example) Many people are on death row and subsequently executed not because of guilt and innocence, but because of race and money. I agree that
some convicts are guilty, and they deserve to be punish. However, if there is ONE person convicted of a murder and subsequently put to death, while the courts overlooked a single
detail – the person is innocent — then that is ONE executed person too many
***************************************************
POSSIBLE PERSUASIVE TOPICS
Remember these are broad topics so make sure you narrow your area and choose your side so thatyou can properly defend your position. YOU MUST BE FOR OR AGAINST ONE OF THESE TOPICS.
These topics are only suggestions. You are strongly encourage to pick your topic.
1. same sex marriage
2. adoption
3. heaven and hell
4. abortion
5. TV violence
6. gun control
7. Being respectful
8. internet
9. profiling
10. Black Lives Matter
11. immigrant laws
12. Exercise
13. Sagging
14. cloning
15. breast feeding
16. bilingual education
17. voting
18. red light cameras
19. salary caps for athletes
20. vegetarian lifestyle
21. organ donation
22. morning after pill
23. school dress codes
24. school standards
25. second hand smoke
26. pit bulls
27. The best rapper ever!
28. spay or neuter pets
29. divorce
30. doctor assisted suicide
31. sex education
32. Miss American pageant
33. women’s rights
34. SUV’s
35. iPhone vs. Android
36. Capital punishment
37. drunk driving laws
38. legalizing marijuana
39. affirmative action
40. Donald Trump
41. Fathers in children lives
42. women in combat
43. gays in the military
44. drug testing on the job
45. dating multiple people
46. boycott certain products
47. donate blood
48. welfare reform
49. children with cell phones
50. sodas in schools
51. organic foods
52. change drinking age
53. change voting age
54. spanking children
55. socialized medicine
56. no more fraternities
57. premarital sex
58. living together
59. public transportation
60. women ministers
61. women in politics
62. more or less military
63. censorship of prime time shows
64. Alcoholics Anonymous
65. sexism in advertising
66. online classes
67. Paying college athletes
68. Seeing a live play
69. go to the museum
70. read a classic book
71. take a specific class on campus
72. price of textbooks
73. parking on campus
74. Being a true gentleman
75. censorship of songs on the radio
76. Advantages of tech.college
77. arranged marriages
78. Best author ever
79. home ownership
80. breakfast
81. best movie ever!
82. best sit com ever!
83. best sports team ever!
84. disneyland or disneyworld
85. the best dessert!
86. reality tv
87. animal testing
88. prison system
89. The best recipe!
90. over population
91. deforestation
92. partial birth abortions
93. STD’s
94. Mac or PC’s
95. Being a true lady
96. Space exploration
97. FCC regulations
98. The Black Panther
99. Snapchat
100. Athletic scholarships
101. College tuition
102. Genocide
103. Adopt an animal
104. Purchase land on the moon
105. Go Green (environment)
106. President Obama Legacy
107. The coolest car ever
108. Join the Peace Corp
109. Hate Crimes
110. Mandatory drug testing
111. SAT (or standardized testing)
112. street racing
113. plastic surgery
114. Instagram
115. hunting
116. Heavy metal
117. R & B Music
118. English as our official language
119. paparazzi
120. learn a foreign language
121. take in a foreign exchange student
122. minimum wage
123. fireplaces
124. bar-b-ques
125. dogs in cars
126. Eat dinner as a family
127. calories on menus
128. Starbucks
129. Wal Mart
130. women in media or men in media
131. cultures in media
132. Best song ever!
133. Best singer/or group ever
134. Why your favorite sports team is the best!
135. alternative fuel
136. off shore drilling
137. homeschooling
138. extreme fighting
139. homelessness
140. abstinence
141. kids playing football
142. bed and breakfast
143. burial vs. cremation
144. Atlanta’s best restaurant
145. stock market
146. Political parties
147. solar panels
148. speed limits
Arts/Culture
149. Should art and music therapy be covered by health insurance?
150. Should all students be required to learn an instrument in school?
151. Should all national museums be free to citizens?
152. Should graffiti be considered art?
153. Should offensive language be removed from works of classic literature?
154. Are paper books better than e-books?
Economic
155. Should all interns be paid for their work?
156. Should employees receive bonuses for walking or biking to work?
157. Should all people over the age of 65 be able to ride the bus for free?
158. Should the federal minimum wage be increased?
159. Should tipping in restaurants be mandatory?
160. Should Black Friday sales be allowed to start on Thanksgiving?
Education
o Should students who bully others be expelled?
o Should all schools require students wear uniforms?
o Should boys and girls be taught in separate classrooms?
o Should students be allowed to listen to music during study hall?
o Should all elementary schools be required to teach a foreign language?
o Should schools include meditation or relaxation breaks during the day?
o Should grades in gym class affect students’ GPAs?
o Should teachers get a bonus when their students score well on standardized tests?
o Should children of undocumented immigrants be allowed to attend public schools?
o Should students get paid for getting a certain GPA?
o Should students be allowed to have their cell phones with them during school?
o Should high school students be allowed to leave school during lunch breaks?
o Should Greek life at colleges be abolished?
o Should high school students be required to volunteer a certain number of hours before they can graduate?
o Should schools still teach cursive handwriting?
o What are the best ways for schools to stop bullying?
Ethics
o Should prostitution be legalized?
o Should people with more than one DUI lose their driver’s license?
o Should people be required to shovel snow from the sidewalks in front of their house?
o Should minors be able to drink alcohol in their home if they have their parent’s consent?
o Should guns be allowed on college campuses?
o Should flag burning as a form of protest be illegal?
o Should welfare recipients be required to pass a drug test?
o Should white supremacist groups be allowed to hold rallies in public places?
o Should assault weapons be illegal?
o Should the death penalty be abolished?
o Should beauty pageants for children be banned?
o Is it OK to refuse to serve same-sex couples based on religious beliefs?
o Should transgender people be allowed to serve in the military?
o Is it better to live together before marriage or to wait?
o Should affirmative action be allowed?
o Should prisoners be allowed to vote?
o Should Columbus Day be replaced with Indigenous Peoples’ Day?
Government/Politics
o Should the government be allowed to censor internet content deemed inappropriate?
o Should Puerto Rico become the 51st state?
o Should Scotland declare independence from the United Kingdom?
o Whose face should be on the next new currency printed by the US?
o Should people convicted of drug possession be sent to recovery programs instead of jail?
o Should voting be made compulsory?
o Who was the best American president?
o Should the military budget be reduced?
o Should the President be allowed to serve more than two terms?
o Should a border fence be built between the United States and Mexico?
o Should countries pay ransom to terrorist groups in order to free hostages?
Health
o Should minors be able to purchase birth control without their parent’s consent?
o Should hiding or lying about your HIV status with someone you’re sleeping with be illegal?
o Should governments tax soda and other sugary drinks and use the revenue for public health?
o Should high schools provide free condoms to students?
o Should the US switch to single-payer health care?
o Should healthy people be required to regularly donate blood?
o Should assisted suicide be legal?
Religion
o Should religious organizations be required to pay taxes?
o Should priests be allowed to get married?
o Should the religious slaughter of animals be banned?
o Should the Church of Scientology be exempt from paying taxes?
o Should women be allowed to be priests?
o Should countries be allowed to only accept refugees with certain religious beliefs?
o Should public prayer be allowed in schools?
Science/Environment
o Should human cloning be allowed?
o Should people be allowed to own exotic animals like tigers and monkeys?
o Should genetically modified foods be sold in grocery stores?
o Should people be allowed to own pit bulls?
o Should parents be allowed to choose the sex of their unborn children?
o Should vaccinations be required for students to attend public school?
o What is the best type of renewable energy?
o Should plastic bags be banned in grocery stores?
o Should the United States rejoin the Paris Agreement?
o Should puppy mills be banned?
o
o Should offshore drilling be allowed in protected marine areas?
o Should the US government increase NASA’s budget?
o Should Pluto still be considered a planet?
Sports
o Should all athletes be required to pass regular drug tests?
o Should professional female athletes be paid the same as male athletes in the same sport?
o Are there any cases when athletes should be allowed to use steroids?
o Should college sports teams receive less funding?
o Should boxing be illegal?
o Should schools be required to teach all students how to swim?
o Should cheerleading be considered a sport?
o Should parents let their children play tackle football?
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