LibGuides: Public Speaking: Finding a Topic

Ideas for Topics

Britannica: ProCon
ProCon's mission is to promote critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting the pro and con arguments to controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, freely accessible way.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
The premier online resource covering today’s hottest social issues, from capital punishment to immigration, to marijuana. This cross-curricular research tool supports science, social studies, current events, and language arts classes. Its informed, differing views present each side of an issue and help students develop information literacy, critical thinking skills, and the confidence to draw their own valid conclusions.

The Perspective
The website displays two sides of current events, historic and classic debates, employing design and psychology to make it easier to consider ideas that are different from your own.
All Sides
All Sides' mission is to "strengthen our democratic republic by freeing people from filter bubbles so they can better understand the world — and each other."

Virtual Speech: Persuasive Speech Topics
Virtual Speech has provided a list of speech ideas covering a wide range of categories.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
The premier online resource covering today’s hottest social issues, from capital punishment to immigration, to marijuana. This cross-curricular research tool supports science, social studies, current events, and language arts classes. Its informed, differing views present each side of an issue and help students develop information literacy, critical thinking skills, and the confidence to draw their own valid conclusions.

Snopes
Snopes is the oldest and largest fact-checking site online, widely regarded by journalists, folklorists, and readers as an invaluable research companion.
All Sides
All Sides' mission is to "strengthen our democratic republic by freeing people from filter bubbles so they can better understand the world — and each other."

Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new window
Major American newspapers, some foreign newspapers, and selected stories from US regional newspapers. Also includes television and radio news transcripts.

Gallup
Gallup is best known for its Gallup Polls, which are surveys it conducts to measure public opinion on political and economic matters and to predict the outcome of key events, such as the U.S. presidential elections. The organization also develops business performance metrics, conducts marketing research, and provides consulting services to major businesses, governments, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) around the world.
Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. They conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research.