Cool Topics to Do a Speech on for Kids

Children enjoy making speeches on fun topics.school girl reading a book image by Julia Britvich from Fotolia.com

Many school kids dread the prospect of preparing and presenting a speech to their classmates. Topic selection is often one of the most difficult steps. When students choose a topic that they care about, know something about or is pertinent to them, writing and presenting the speech becomes somewhat easier.

Persuasion

Persuasive speech topics should convince the audience to make a decision, change their minds or take some kind of action. The speech needs to include information on all sides of the topic. The speech might try to convince the audience to read a book by a particular author or to take a trip to a specific location. The speaker must include sufficient details on the subject to give the listeners enough information on which to base a decision. Topics could relate to current events, such as convincing the audience that there is life on other planets or why we should ban cell phone use in cars. For lighter topics, choose from convincing the audience to watch a popular TV show or movie, to try a specific restaurant or to become a vegetarian. Younger kids might choose speech topics to convince the teacher to give more or less homework, convince the principal to allow longer recesses or to persuade the cafeteria to serve particular menu items. Whatever the topic, for a persuasive speech, the speaker needs to convince the audience that he believes in the topic and support his view with facts.

Informative, or expository, speeches explain a topic with enough details that the audience will be motivated about the topic and interested in the subject matter. Informative speeches may simply inform the listeners about an idea or process, such as explaining how an airplane stays in the air, the Bermuda Triangle or the Lost City of Atlantis.

For younger kids, choose speeches on topics that are of interest to them such as a description of a particular breed of dog, the characteristics of a certain kind of reptile, how kangaroos care for their young or what to do if another kid bullies you. Kids can get excited about topics such as their greatest adventure, ghosts or the best rides at Disney World or another amusement park.

In a demonstration speech, the speaker is explaining how to do something. The speech is informative but includes the steps in a process to complete a task. Showing the audience how to complete the steps keeps them engaged and ensures that they understand how to complete the task. A speech showing how to pot and care for plants or how to carve a pumpkin might include an actual demonstration along with an explanation of the steps. A cooking topic might be accompanied by a step-by-step demonstration of preparing the recipe. When it isn't feasible to physically demonstrate the steps, the speaker should use visual aids for a topic like how to milk a cow. Younger kids can also give speeches explaining how to do things, such as how to play laser tag or how to do tricks on a skateboard.