Keep Your Audience Interested With These Informative Speech Topic Ideas

An informative speech is a presentation you give in front of an audience to educate others about a specific topic. At first, this may seem a bit dull. In reality, if your topic is interesting, you are an engaging speaker, and you find a topic that interests you, you can deliver an interesting and even amazing informative speech.

If you need further proof of this, hit YouTube and watch Ted Talks for a while. Chances are, you’ll find yourself going down a bit of an internet rabbit hole with these. They’re very interesting, and a good number of them are informative speeches.

THE PURPOSE OF AN INFORMATIVE SPEECH

The informative speech is different from other speeches in that it isn’t intended to get the audience to take any action. Some speeches are given to persuade people to believe a certain way or do something due to what they have been told. With an informative speech, your goal is to educate your audience, to keep them engaged and interested in what you have to say and to ensure that they remember what you’ve told them.

You can think of an informative speech much in the same way you think of an informative essay. The obvious difference is that a speech is an oral presentation. The format, though, is the same. 

• You choose a topic

• You construct an informative speech outline. You don’t really have to look for an informative speech outline example. Furthermore, you already know how to craft an outline for this type of essay.

• You have certain points to make, and that is the body of your presentation.

• You prepare the body points first.

• You craft an engaging introduction to grab attention

• You end with a conclusion that “tells them what you told them” or perhaps includes a call to action.

• You practice that speech until you feel comfortable and confident. And do that in front of a mirror so that you can work on your expressions and your gestures too. Give it to a few friends and get their feedback.

If you have a college-level speech writing assignment, the best way forward is to find a great topic. That would be one that you have a strong interest in. There is nothing worse than giving speeches on a topic that does not excite you. You will have no enthusiasm, and It will totally bomb.

Informative Speech Ideas

There are plenty of ways to find good informative speech topics

• You can review all the coursework you have had through school. What of that content did you find really exciting or interesting? Perhaps you even wrote an essay or a paper on these topics.

• Get online and search for informative speech topics in general topic areas that you are interested in. 

• If you have taken a course you loved, go through that text and your notes from that class.

• If you are still stumped, look at our list below – we know you’ll find several topic ideas you can “run” with. We may just have done your work for you!

Informative Speech Examples

Once you have some general topic ideas, get online and look for examples of speeches in your topic area. This does two things – it shows how such a speech is developed, and it might even give you ideas to narrow your subject area to a specific topic. Reading a great speech provides a model. But when the author is actually speaking, and you have a visual example, all the better! You can pick up voice inflections and non-verbal behaviors – things that help capture audiences and drive home points being made. 

It’s a good idea to watch several speeches out of your topic area too. Again, you will get pointers on delivery. 

Remember this: Producing and delivering a great speech is not an easy task. It has to be compelling and well-organized, just as an essay or paper would be. But it also has to be delivered in just as compelling a manner. 

Now to Those Topics We Promised

We have rounded up a huge list of informative speech topics for college students. You are certain to find some that “strike a nerve.”

SPORTS AND FITNESS TOPICS

Sports, health, fitness, and well-being are topics that are important to many people. Consider covering one of these interesting topics if this is an area where you have the expertise to share.

1. What is Intermittent Fasting and How Does it Impact The Body?

2. Dehydration: a simple speech about the role of water in our lives

3. Is One Meal a Day a Healthy Plan?

4. The variety of healthy lifestyle choices

5. The connection between health and happiness

6. Modern health care: new issues, approaches, and technologies

7. Mental hygiene: taking proper care of your brain

8. Healthy eating vs. eating disorders

9. Healthy exercise habits and how to acquire them

10. The Weirdest Things that People Still Eat

11. New trends in healthy child development

12. Germs: health risks related to the lack of hygiene

13. Natural remedies for cold and cough

14. Chronic neck and back pain: when it's time to see the doctor

15. Informative speaking about heatstroke: first aid, potential risks, and outcomes

16. Older adults and depression: symptoms, risks, and prevention

17. Birth control: types of emergency contraception

18. The Phenomenon of Ambidexterity and Its Probable Explanations

19. Temperaments and Their Variations

20. Developing a grateful approach toward others

21. The most exotic food ever: a snapshot of world culture

22. Food additives, their effects, and threats: be careful what you eat

23. Food chains: mechanisms, efficiency, and revenue

24. Providing food security: learning what meals consist of

25. Food habits in different countries: learning the peculiarities of etiquette

26. Food and nutrition: differences and similarities

27. Food resources in impoverished countries: solving the problem

28. Vegetarianism vs. Daily meat consumption

29. Junk food and obesity

30. How corporations shape our food preferences

31. How technology has changed the food industry

32. Undereating and overeating

33. Caffeine addiction 

34. Mediterranean diet: pros and cons 

35. How climate change affects food supply and global hunger

36. Food allergies

37. The connection between sport and intelligence

38. How Does Keto Work?

This wildly popular diet has helped many people meet their fitness goals. Explain the process of eating Keto, and how it impacts weight loss.

39. What is The Impact of Exercise on Weight Loss?

40. The Physics of Hitting a Baseball

41. What is Tommy John Surgery?

42. How do Athletes Come Back After Severe Injuries?

43. How Does Sugar Impact Your Body?

Is sure addiction a real thing? How bad is sugar? Give an explainer speech on the effects sugar has in the minutes and hours after you eat it.

44. How Does Obesity Impact Your Joints?

45. Explain High Intensity Training

46. What Happens When You Eat Too Much Sugar?

47. What is Burst Training?

48. What is The Difference Between Cardio and Weight Training?

49. How Does a Low-Fat Diet Work?

50. Are All Performance Enhancing Drugs Bad?

51. How Does NCAA Eligibility Work?

52. Should College Athletes Get Paid?

53. What Behaviors Can Make College Athletes Ineligible?

54. Why Are Professional Athletes Allowed to Play in The Olympics?

55. What Exactly Happened at USA Gymnastics

56. How Can Parents Protect Their Child Athlete?

57. What is The Difference Between the Various Protein Powders on The Market?

58. How do Growth Hormones Impact Athletic Performance?

59. Why are Steroids Banned?

POLITICAL TOPICS

Politics and current events are always interesting to people. They’re also nearly always a good choice for an academic environment. Here are a few examples of these speech topics

60. Explain Brexit And Its Potential Impacts on The Rest of The World

The people of Britain voted to leave the EU. How did this come to be, and how will it affect other nations in the EU and elsewhere? What secret role did Vladimir Putin play, and why did he want this?

61. Provide Information About the Paris Climate Treaty. Why did Trump pull out? Why has Biden Moved Back In?

62. What is a Dreamer?

63. How do Tariffs Work? What is a Tariff War? Are We currently in One?

64. What is Universal Basic Income?

Some people believe that a universal basic income will become necessary in the nearest future. Give a speech explaining how UBI works and detail why some people think it’s inevitable.

65. Explain the Relationship Between North and South Korea?

66. Describe a Challenge Faced by Your Local Government

67. How does the electoral college work? How can a presidential candidate win the popular vote and still lose the election? Is there a case for a national popular election?

68. What is the difference between Parliament and Congress?

69. What do Cabinet Members do?

70. What is a Trade War?

71. How Did the Cold War Impact the United States and The Soviet Union? How is it “heating up” again? 

72. Should there be Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices? Make Your Case.

73. Should There be Term Limits for Members of Congress? Why or Why not?

74. Should We Ban all Private Money going into Political Campaigns? How About a National Campaign Fund that is Distributed Equally to Politicians Running for the Same Offices? 

75. How do We Get Money Out of Politics? Why is This Such a Problem?

HUMOROUS TOPICS

Not all topics have to be serious. If you’ve watched the above-mentioned Ted Talks, you know that humor is often used to make speeches more effective. It’s also perfectly fine to use humor as an element in your speeches. This can help you keep the audience’s attention a bit better and make your speech more enjoyable for all.

76. Weird and Wacky Facts About the Human Body

77. Craziest Kings and Queens Throughout Time

78. Some of the Craziest conspiracy theories

79. The Stories Behind Your Favorite Memes

Chances are at least some of your classmates are fans of this contemporary form of expression and humor. Some memes are completely fictional, but others have an interesting story behind them. Entertain your class and earn a good grade by delivering an informative speech about memes.

80. The Funniest Excuses Students Have Used for Missing Assignments/Due Dates

81. The Science of Telling a Lie

82. Insignificant Events That Changed History

83. Odd Habits of Old Presidents

84. How to Tell a Joke

85. What is a Dad Joke Anyway?

86. What would school life be like if lessons were taught at night?

87. If Facebook ads are so annoying, why do companies use them?

88. Why do hiccups occur and how to stop them

89. Best and worst reasons to skip your school classes

90. Off-duty: what teachers do when they are not teaching

91. Why do rock stars break their guitars on stage?

92. Why dogs are human's best friends – not cats

93. Fat and fabulous: things to learn from your cat

94. The dangers of family dinners and how to avoid them

95. Things you really shouldn't say on your first date

96. Procrastination for creative people: the art of doing nothing

97. A summary of Star Wars – it's not as confusing as you think

98. Reasons why people find offensive jokes funny

SOCIAL ISSUES

Sadly, every culture is impacted by poverty, violence, pollution, and oppression. Your assignment could be your chance to educate people on a pressing issue that impacts many people.

99. The Impact of Lack of Clean Water on Society

100. Gun Violence Statistics Across Multiple Nations

101. How Poverty Impacts Healthcare Delivery

Poverty doesn’t just leave many people without insurance; it also impacts the ability of healthcare providers to deliver services. Lack of community resources and the inability to draw healthcare providers to impoverished areas means that fewer people get the care they need. Write a speech that explains healthcare delivery, then explain how poverty up ends models that work elsewhere. Is universal healthcare the solution in the U.S.?

102. Explain a Government Program Related to Opiate Addiction

103. What is The Wage Gap?

104. How Does the Food Stamp Program Help Americans?

105. Do Undocumented Immigrants Receive Welfare Benefits?

106. How Does Child Support Work?

107. Domestic violence

108. Education in America vs. education in Europe

109. Why is education important?

110. Education and unemployment: the reasonability of studying

111. The difference between education and personality development

112. Education helps reach the career goals… and shapes them

113. Technological advances in promoting a better quality of education

114. Current issues in education and the means to solve them

115. Education for groups of ESL speakers: challenges and solutions

116. Inclusive education: current breakthroughs and challenges

117. Project-based learning to improve student’s grades and efforts

118. Common Core standards

119. Humor in education: how a good sense of humor can affect the learning environment. 

120. Diversity in education. How differences in one's ethnic background can affect their perception of the studied material and what teachers can do about it. 

121. Web-based education

122. Does Constant Studying Make any Sense?

123. Bullying at School: Old Problem, New Solutions

124. Testing is not scary: standard and creative assessment methods for your class

125. How Can Disabled People Find Resources?

126. What Are my Rights as an Unemployed Person?

127. How Can I Collect Child Support?

128. Can Felons Receive TANF?

129. What is Work for Welfare?

130. Can I go to School and Receive Benefits?

131. What Does a Caseworker Do?

132. Halo - Its Origin and Perceptions in Different Cultures

133. The Willamette Meteorite: Myths and the Truth

134. The Theory of Pyramid Creation

135. Cultural Assimilation: The Process, Causes and Results

136. How to Approach an Unfamiliar Culture

137. The Concepts of Leadership and Work Organization

138. The Concept of Faith

139. Eating Disorders and Mass Media

140. A human is no king of nature: reasons to throw people off the throne

141. The wonders of genetic science

142. Which types of societies are incomparable and why?

143. What is social discrimination and why does it take place today?

144. Why is patriotism and how does it work today?

145. What is the difference between patriotism and nationalism?

146. Why society always needs idols like actors, political figures, and other?

147. Why easier professions are much better paid than the ones that need much more training and special preparations?

148. Does racial discrimination exist among police?

149. How Do Governments of Many Countries Support Homeless People?

150. Who are millennials and Gen Zer’s, and which future can they expect?

151. Can the military become a fulfilling career choice for women? 

LEGAL TOPICS

152. Do Students Have Legal Rights When They’re in School?

153. When Can You Refuse a Search?

154. How do Taxes Work?

155. How Can a Convicted Felon Regain Their Voting Rights?

156. What Are Your Rights When You Get Pulled Over?

157. Who Can Use Medical Marijuana?

Many states have passed medical marijuana legislation, but what does that mean? In some cases, use is limited to people with very serious, even fatal, illnesses. In other states, nearly anyone can get a prescription card. Explain what it takes to become a medical marijuana patient based on the laws in several states.

153. How do Plea Bargains Work?

154. When Can a Judge be Recalled?

155. What is Tort Reform?

156. What is Excessive Force?

157. How will a Defense Attorney Protect You?

158. When Should You Invoke the Fifth Amendment?

159. What Are Punitive Damages?

160. What Should You do if You Are Sued?

161. How do You Sue Someone in Small Claims Court?

162. What Happens if Your Employer Violates Labor Laws?

163. How does Bond Work?

164. Prison Overcrowding

165. What have Been the Effects of Privatizing Prisons?

166. Why are there taxes for an electric car?

167. Drinking age rules: why and when did they appear?

168. What is pleading guilty and what are the benefits?

169. What are anti-trust crimes and how to prevent them?

170. Minimum wage laws in different countries: why are they so different?

171. Why smoking in public places should be illegal?

172. Do homosexuals have a marriage right?

173. Should abortions Remain Legal? 

174. Legalization of drugs. How does it work?

175. Should governments support illegal immigrants?

BUSINESS TOPICS

175. How do You Make a Website?

176. What is an S Corp?

177. What is a Partnership?

178. How do Businesses Pay Taxes?

179. How Does Payroll Work?

180. What is Content Marketing?

181. How do I Know when I Need Workmen’s Comp?

182. How do I Handle an Accusation of Sexual Harassment at my Business?

183. What Licenses do I Need to Open a Business?

184. How do I Market my Business on Social Media?

185. How Should I Handle Customer Complaints?

186. Can the SBA Help Me?

187. Does my Business Need an App?

LITERARY AND CREATIVE

188. How do I Write my First Novel?

189. Should I Self Publish?

190. How do I Sell my Book on Amazon?

191. Where Can I Earn Money From my Poetry?

192. How do I Use Canva?

193. How do I Sell my Art on Etsy?

194. What Does it Take to be Creative?

195. Finding the Perfect Art School

196. Mastering a Musical Instrument as an Adult

197. Musical instruments and character peculiarities

198. The role of music in society

199. Music therapy and its effects

200. Music as a mixture of art and industry: 21st century pop culture

201. Musical theater

202. The most notable persons in music history and their influence on later musical genres

203. How musical development has changed in the 21st century

204. Musical expression: definition and the modern interpretation

205. Babies and music

206. Everybody hurts: how listening to sad music can reinforce that mood

207. How early musical training can be beneficial

208. Music is not entertainment but a tool for empowerment

209. How earphones affect hearing acuity in adolescents and adults

210. What EEG tells us about our brains during music listening

211. Music for stroke or brain trauma rehabilitation

212. How different types of music affect our mood

213. The Work of a Museum Curator

214. An Overview of The Different Styles of Dance

215. The Art of Auditioning

VISUAL AIDS FOR YOUR SPEECH

Should you use visual aids during your informative speech? That depends. If your instructor allows it, and you have time, maybe. If there are images that help you drive home your lesson, or if you would benefit from a whiteboard, these things can help you deliver a more impactful speech. Just be careful about using a prop to ‘hide behind’ or to use as a gimmick. There is a place for “show and tell” in some types of speeches, but make sure yours is one of them.

GETTING READY FOR YOUR BIG MOMENT

It’s perfectly natural to feel nervous about giving a speech, even if it is in front of a small group. However, you can reduce your nerves quite a bit if you are well-rehearsed. Go over your speech frequently. If you can nearly deliver the whole thing without referring to your notes, that’s perfect. You’ll deliver a speech much more naturally than you would if you have to read from your notecards. 

At the same time, you do not want to appear too rehearsed – you can sound a bit like a robot. The solution for this will be your nonverbal clues and behaviors during your speech delivery. These should be practiced as much as the actual words. There is always a bit of “drama” in an excellent speech. See how you can develop your acting skills as you practice. As stated before, practice in front of a mirror to develop those nonverbal patterns that show your enthusiasm for the topic and the importance it has to you.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Preparing and delivering a speech can be a challenge. It involves a lot more than crafting an essay or a paper. You have a live audience, and that can make you a bit nervous. Just before you go “on,” take several deep breaths and remind yourself that you are well-prepared. We are not all “naturals” when it comes to “performing” in front of others. But we can do a pretty good job if we have practiced enough and we have a natural enthusiasm for the topic.

Try out one or two of these topic ideas for your next informative speech assignment. Hopefully you’ll enjoy both writing and delivering your speech.