Alright everyone, I'm enlisting you all as a brainstorming team. I have to make a persuasive presentation in my speech class, and I have no clue about what I should do.

What do you guys think is a good topic for a persuasive speech?

Gay Marriage! ;)!

Gay Marriage! ;)!
I don't think I want to do that one, because he used it as an example in class and that means that there will be at least two other people talking about it. Plus, the speech can only be 5 minutes long (I already got points off for going overtime on one I did today :( ), and I think gay marriage is too general a subject for a speech that has to be so short.

It's a good topic though and one of the first ones I considered.

Religion in government.

Religion in government.
That's pretty good...

I think I might want to shy away from politics though. Depends on if I can think up anything else. :)

Which is the best Harry Potter book!??

LOL @ OD! I would so do that. :D

I want to really engage my audience... My speech today about the effects of the Crusades was really interesting to me, but the whole class looked bored as hell.... I don't think I'm really interested in the things that other people are.

So I'm still thinking hard about this...

I considered talking about the gold standard, but after reading through an article about it on wikipedia I figured out that even I found it boring. So no doubt my classmates will as well.

And I just thought about the fact that my teacher is a dyed in the wool liberal, so I'd probably disagree with him on most political issues anyways... Another reason not to talk about them...

How the internet and forums have affected public speaking.

the importance of property rights:D

How the internet and forums have affected public speaking.
LOL I actually already did a paper for that class about online relationships and communication. :D It's a good topic.

But that would've been more for the informative speech (I did it about the effects of the crusades). This speech has to be persuasive. I always have so much trouble with thinking of something to persuade people about. I think in order to persuade you have to be passionate about something, and I really am not passionate about many things...

The benefits of reading over only watching TV/movies? (for some reason, I think that may arouse some passion from you?)

The benefits of reading over only watching TV/movies? (for some reason, I think that may arouse some passion from you?)
That's true, I could do that.

I decided, though. I chose the idea of net neutrality. I read a flier about it on a bulletin board at school earlier and was inspired to visit the website (www.savetheinternet.com) and join the Facebook group. I think it's a great idea because it really affects everyone in my audience. I think I'll open with asking them how many of them use the internet.... Just to illustrate how much it does affect them.

Excellent choice, DF.

Most people don't even know it's an issue.

Excellent choice, DF.

Most people don't even know it's an issue.
Thanks, Sedan. :D

I didn't know it was an issue either until today!

Why ramen noodles are not healthy (but for some reason are still pretty good when looking for a quick fix).

Ramen is not really that bad for you, at least real ramen.

I love ramen. Omg it's amazing. :D

Thanks, Sedan. :D

I didn't know it was an issue either until today!
How the hell did you not? There was a big brouhaha about Ted Stevens calling the Internet a "series of tubes" a while ago, when talking about net neutrality. It's one of the biggest First Amendment issues in the country today.

How the hell did you not? There was a big brouhaha about Ted Stevens calling the Internet a "series of tubes" a while ago, when talking about net neutrality. It's one of the biggest First Amendment issues in the country today.
I may have heard about it in the past but if I did I don't remember. Excuse me for being more ignorant than you sometimes.

I may have heard about it in the past but if I did I don't remember. Excuse me for being more ignorant than you sometimes.
You're excused. But only because I'm feeling generous today. That and that fact that it's impossible to be less ignorant than I, seeing as how I am the single most intelligent and informed person in the country. ;)

DarkFantasy,

You're best bet for making a persuasive argument in a speech is to pick a topic that you feel passionate about and run with it. Back in my college days, I was passionate about hunting and how popular culture distort and malign it. I did my speech about that one.

If you really care about a particular issue, if something fires you up, organize your thoughts, prepare your speech, do a couple of rehearsals and you will kick ass all over the place when you give your speech. Believe me on that one, I was something like popular entertainment when I got up and did my speeches. I managed to get the entire class to laugh out loud a few times and have had people congratulate after class on how well I did, dammit.

Everyone is probably going to take a really serious topic and try to do a persuasive speech on it. If I was you I would take a more frivolous topic. I would do what Jonathon Swift did in Gulliver's Travels. He had a persuasive argument about which egg of an egg to break.

You can take either side, break the egg at the rounded end or break the egg at the tapered end and do a good five minutes on it.

If you break the egg at the pointier end you have a larger base for the egg to sit on while you are trying to scoop out the soft cooked contents and eat them. Of course the opening is a bit smaller so you will have to use a smaller spoon but using a smaller spoon will make the egg last longer. Having a smaller opening in the egg will also mean that the contents do not cool as quickly as they would had you opened the larger, rounder end. There would also be fewer broken egg shells to clean up after you ate and you could always use the unbroken rest of the shell to plant a seed by filling it first with a bit of potting soil.

You get my drift. Take a less than serious topic and create a serious five minute talk about it. At least you'll get points for originality.

Good suggestions. I did think about doing something a little humorous, but I'm not that great at it. I stuck a few little jokes into my informative speech, but no one laughed :(. It's not that I have no sense of humor, I can tell funny jokes online and I get other people's jokes... I just have bad delivery.