Controversial Speech Topics
Every person throughout one’s life is faced with a lot of contradictions. We all have our own opinions. Someone is ready to defend it; someone can change one’s point of view in a competent discussion. Sometimes disputes and reasoning take several years because finding the truth can be difficult. But in any case, it’s worth trying. Your discussion will not necessarily lead to people changing their point of view. But in the dispute, itself, many interesting points can be discovered. No one changes his worldview in one day. This requires many small steps.
Therefore, in colleges and universities, teachers often ask students to give a controversial speech. You will need to prepare a competent, informative and interesting text, highlight several points of view. Remain courageous and sincere, be polite to your opponents. In a dispute it is very easy to offend, so try not to touch on such points. Writing experts from Tutoriage writing service will tell you how to choose a topic for a controversial speech and help you prepare an amazing text.
Controversial Speech Structure
We are so unaccustomed to the reasoning that the periodic discussions we enter into turn into disputes or conflicts. To prevent this from happening, you need to adhere to certain rules and constantly remember that a person and one’s opinion are completely different things. Follow this simple structure to prepare the top-notch controversial speech.
Submit a Topic
But before you do this, you need to make sure that everyone from your audience understands the topic and its key provisions. Sometimes it may seem that everything is too obvious, but in fact, it turns out that some people do not understand basic things or they understand them in another way. Explain to them what do you mean, define key points.
Present Both Sides of the Problem
Despite the fact that after the presentation of the topic, everyone already has their own opinion, it will not be superfluous to weigh the pros and cons. Many people may not have thought about this problem before, so they can automatically take one of the sides and then defend it from the principle.
Encourage Discussion
Make sure everyone is participating in the discussion. Insist on lack of criticism and free expression of opinions, especially if one side is in the minority. The discussion should be constructive: even if a person expressed an absurd point of view, it must be challenged with the help of logic and critical thinking.
Express Your Own Opinion
If you are giving a controversial speech, it is naive to believe that you can hide your position from others. Express it clearly, but indicate that it does not affect your attitude to the other side at all. Remember that the purpose of the discussion is to think about those things that you may not have thought about and get a fresh look at the problem.
Introduce the Case Method
The case study method is a learning technique that uses a description of real economic, social and business situations. The audience should investigate the situation, understand the essence of the problems, propose possible solutions and choose the best of them. Give a description of the real situation.
Discuss the Situation Again
Now when the parties listened to each other and saw real-life examples, it is time to start the discussion again. Go back to the questions that you posed at the very beginning and let people understand for themselves whether their points of view have changed.
If you do everything right, you will greatly benefit and enjoy the topic discussed, even if the problem was quite difficult. The ability to lead a discussion is a very important skill that will come in handy both in real life and in a career. For example, you will have to discuss the project, its strengths, and weaknesses. The topic of the balance between morality and profit may come up. By learning to conduct a constructive discussion, you can defend your point of view without involving unnecessary emotions and listen to your interlocutor.
Examples of Controversial Topics
Here are some interesting controversial topics that will guide you in the right direction:
- The use of animals in medical research helps people
- You can’t have a happy family and an excellent career at the same time
- The marriage is out of date
- Mortal punishment is possible in some cases
- Foreigners should not be allowed to vote
- Celebrities unfairly earn too much
- Curfew for teens can keep them out of trouble
- We are too dependent on computers
- Smoking should be prohibited worldwide.
- Those who can – do, those who cannot – teach
- Happiness is possible out of wedlock
- Computer piracy is not a crime
- Video games make people cruel
- Cloning has several advantages
- Teenagers must be restricted in using the Internet
- Advertising should not be aimed at children
- Fashion doesn’t matter
- Contemporary art is disgusting and meaningless
How to Choose the Controversial Speech Topic
Choosing a topic for a speech is not so simple a task as it might seem at first glance. Sometimes it even seems that by that – well, just a million. However, the choice can always be narrowed down. To choose the most suitable topic for your speech, you need to remember and know two things: who are your listeners and what they want to hear. Knowing this, choosing a topic for speech will not be a particular problem. Follow these 5 steps to success.
1. Consider Your Goals
The reason why you will give a speech largely determines not only its topic but even its content. Reason – some kind of holiday? Maybe a ceremony? Or is the performance planned for a corporate event? Just a college lesson? Be that as it may, here’s what to keep in mind about the occasion. Your goal should be closely related to the occasion for the speech. Speeches can be held to tell the audience about something, to convince them of something, or simply to cheer them up.
2. Do not Forget about Unwanted Topics
The topic you have chosen for your controversial speech should be relevant, therefore you will face a difficult task: to get rid of all inappropriate topics. You should not choose too controversial and acute topics. Abortion? Firearms Resolution? The watch of the patriarch? In principle, if your task is to convince the listeners of something related to these topics, then go ahead, choose controversial topics. However, many will refuse to listen and hear you. Cope with this task – and your performance, at least, will not put anyone to sleep or offend.
3. Consider Your Audience
Think about what your average listener knows. It is important to speak the same language with the public. If you, for example, speak at the congress of writers, you can afford to pour in sophisticated terms from philology, stylistics, and linguistics. It is clear that this will be unnecessary if you speak to, say, chess players. Speaking to professionals? Speak the language of terms and complex phrases. Speaking to schoolchildren? Do not crush children with intellect, speak in such a way as to be understood. What do they need to know? What will interest them? Put yourself in the place of the listener and make a list of everything that may be of interest to you. You understand that an audience of adolescents will be interesting not at all like an audience consisting of their parents.
4. Consider Your Own Interests and Knowledge
Choose a topic that interests you. If a fire of enthusiasm burns in your eyes when you talk about something, you can be sure that the flame will spread to the audience. In other words, the situation is winning from all sides: it will be easier for you to tell, for the audience it will be more interesting to listen to you. If you are speaking at some professional event, it will be more than logical to choose a topic in which you, if not an expert, are at least a very “advanced user”, and then your presentation will sound at the proper level.
5. Choose Something Relevant
If a topic appears in the evening news again and again, then perhaps it makes sense to devote your speech to it. If the case is suitable, then you can even talk about controversial topics, offering your audience a new look at the problem.
Whatever the controversial speech topic, you must take hold of the minds of the audience. How to do it? Through the words of the speech, and only so. Your presentation should be such that the audience, leaving the room, take away with them a new look at the problem, new thoughts, new opinions. If you cannot achieve such an effect by speaking on a chosen topic, then it makes sense to choose something else.