Persuasive Speech Idea Checklist

Writen by Jim Peterson

A persuasive speech idea has to state a fact, value, or policy in order to get your listeners change their views or to convince them to act or to agree with your opinion and solutions. This checklist will help you turning public speaking ideas into speech topics to persuade and not just to inform.

1. Determine who your listeners are. Because the more controversial your speech topics are the harder you have to convince them.

2. Figure out the social-economic status of your audience. Age, males, females, ethnicity? What is their political, educational, religious status? Do they have background knowledge about the speech topic? What are their needs and interests?

3. Note down why the topic interests you and what your clear opinion is.

4. What is attitude of your public towards your persuasive speech idea? Why do they have to agree or act? Can you make the topic more relevant to them?

5. If you state a Fact Claim then prove that your claim is the best. Why do I think something is true or false? Provide evidence, hard facts, statistics, new figures, illustrations, quotations, definitions.

If you state a Value Claim then appeal to the morality and values of your listeners. Why do I like or dislike something? Why do your listeners have to agree that something is right or wrong, moral or immoral, valuable or worthless? Why do you want to convince them? Offer examples the public will recognize, try to find common ground on related subjects and expert testimonies, and compare your idea with oppositional ideas.

If you state a Policy Claim then persuade that there is a problem and get the audience to agree with your solution. Appeal to human needs, to reason and to emotion. Summarize the present situation, the causes and the negative effects everybody will recognize. Then present your solution to solve the problem.

6. Find out and set the goal of your persuasive speech idea. Formulate it in a single phrase.

Fact claim: I want to persuade that the aging population has negative effects on the economy.

Value claim: I want to persuade that metal detectors in schools violate the rights of students.

Policy claim: I want to persuade the public that arranged marriages should be outlawed.

7. Now turn your goal into an effective persuasive speech idea statement that is clearly identifying your message: The Aging Population Hurts The Economy, Metal Detectors In Schools Violate Students' Rights and Arranged Marriages Should Be Outlawed are examples of catchy persuasive speech idea statements.

(c) Copyright 2006 Jim A. Peterson. Jim has over 10 year's experience in the speech writing business. He offers 1,250+ free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at http://www.speech-topics-help.com.