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Fun persuasive speech topics

105 persuasive topic suggestions to make them smile

By: Susan Dugdale | Last modified: 09-09-2022

So you've been asked to prepare a persuasive speech and you're looking for the right topic; one your audience will love.☺

You'd like something interesting. Preferably a combination of zany, cheerful, entertaining, outrageous, amusing, side-splittingly funny, comical, jolly, merry AND mirthful with a side serving of droll and a whiff of the ridiculous.

Maybe, even crazy!  

Because humor is the best way to give people a good laugh. And done well, it is very, very persuasive.

For you, here's a collection of 105 funny persuasive speech topics.

Image - girl with T-shirt saying You can do anything. Background text - Be funny, droll, witty, amusing, zany, jolly - 105 persuasive speech topics

Weirdly amusing and bizarre book titles! 

What were those authors thinking? And who were they expecting to read their work?

Is there actually an audience for these books?

Come on, convince me that I should read them

Use these book titles as a starting point and let your mind run free. 

Persuade us that we need what is contained within the covers of any one of these 20 extraordinary books.*

Image - vintage tractor. Text: Old tractors and the men who love them.
  1. Anybody Can Be Cool …But Awesome Takes Practice 
  2. Bombproof Your Horse 
  3.  Natural Bust Enlargement with Total Mind Power
  4.  5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
  5.  How to Raise Your I.Q. by Eating Gifted Children
  6.  Old Tractors and the Men Who Love Them
  7.  Pets with Tourettes
  8.  Extreme Ironing
  9.  Horse Yoga 
  10.  The History of the Concrete Roofing Tile
Image - orange and purple pencils perfectly sharpened. Text:Fun Persuasive Speech Topics - How to sharpen pencils.
  1. How to Sharpen Pencils 
  2. How Tea Cosies Changed the World
  3. How To Live With An Idiot: Clueless Creatures And The People Who Love Them 
  4. 50 Sad Chairs
  5. Outwitting Squirrels
  6. The Deer-Smellers of Haunted Mountain
  7. Nuclear War: What's in It for You? 
  8. A Popular History of British Seaweeds
  9. Dating for Under a Dollar: 301 Ideas
  10. Be Bold With Bananas

*These are titles of real books -  not a figment of my over active imagination. Check this link to Abebooks.com and all will be revealed. It's worth a visit just see the covers. Some of them are truly, glorious retro masterpieces.

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Using these titles as the basis of a speech

You do not need to actually read the books. (I don't think they'll be on a college student's reading list any time soon.)

Instead choose a title: one you think has the potential to make a good topic. Then, let it work its magic in your mind.

Use your imagination to come up with your own ideas. When you have the main speech content sorted, flesh it out with compelling details: fun things everyone needs to know about.

How Tea Cosies Changed the World

As an example here's the beginning of a persuasive speech using the title - How Tea Cosies Changed the World.

Image: cover of cushions and cosies magazine circa 1940

"We know about the invention of the wheel changing the world. Similarly we know about the impact of light bulbs, telephones, and the internet. However, how much do we know about tea cosies?

That's right. Very little. In fact, nothing.

And yet, ladies and gentlemen, we should."

Compelling "alternative facts" I've invented to establish the humble tea cosy as a world changer, an important influencer, are:

  • The British Empire was built on tea. Every important event or meeting had the taking of tea as its center-point.

    Expanding the colony? Let's chat over a nice cup tea about it. Those meetings could be very long, and tea needs to be drunk hot. Therefore to minimize the distraction and distress caused by tepid or worse, cold tea, a tea cosy was placed over the teapot to keep the tea inside warm. Thus allowing allowing history to be made. (Examples needed to illustrate.)

  • The tea cosy as an ambassador - A cosy was often given as a gift to important dignitaries on visits to other countries - becomes a tangible reminder of the Empire and its power. (Examples needed.)

  • The tea cosy as a symbol of domestic, national and international harmony - bringing people together, uniting them - fostering civilized conversations in often difficult situations...

Obviously it needs much more development. However I'm sure you get the idea. It's fun!

Who'd have thought a hand knitted tea cosy could achieve so much! They need to be preserved and protected. They're an endangered artifact...

Is it a true story? No. Does that matter? No.

The most important thing is that you construct and deliver a good speech: one demonstrating you understand how to persuade effectively and is entertaining for the audience.

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16 more funny speech topics

Image: the twelve signs of the zodiac
Text: Newspaper horoscopes accurately forecast the day's events.

Put "persuade me that" in front of each of the following topics and take your imagination for a stroll. Are there any sparking a few fresh ideas?

Persuade me that:

  1. lying is a good skill to have
  2. the dog really did eat your homework
  3. procrastination is essential for survival
  4. fashion, for example, skinny jeans, makes fools of people
  5. newspaper horoscopes accurately forecast the day's events
  6. academic examinations are bad for high school student's health
  7. dogs are a man's best friend
  8. vegetables communicate with each other
  9. being good looking is over-rated
  10. time spent on social media is productive
  11. looking intelligent is better than looking cool
  12. it's a child's duty to annoy their parents
  13. junk food is good food
  14. public personal bloopers are character building
  15. it's a parent's duty to embarrass their children
  16. labor-saving machines like dishwashers or clothes driers are damaging family dynamics
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Another 15 great funny topics

Image: Fantasy landscape coming to life out of pages of a book.
Text: Fairy tales can come true.

Persuade me that:

  1. teaching someone close to you to drive will strengthen your relationship
  2. corporate jargon is an aid to good communication 
  3. being completely lazy is a useful skill to have
  4. life would be better with a soundtrack and volume control
  5. common sense is actually quite rare
  6. parental bribery is permissible 
  7. time is interpreted differently by men and women
  8. romantic love is over rated
  9. fairy tales can come true
  10. being young and stupid is unavoidable
  11. extreme diets can work
  12. the perfect partner does exist
  13. vehicles have personality
  14. pets reflect their owners
  15. clothing should be optional
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 OMG! 30 more fun topic ideas -:)

Image: drawing of a line of simple flowers.
Text: Plants have feelings.

Please do your very best to persuade me that:

  1. everyone has something to hide
  2. life is a test you can't revise for 
  3. preparation for the future is for cowards
  4. failing spectacularly and publicly is character building
  5. wearing spandex tights is not a public health hazard
  6. love at first sight is a myth
  7. plants have feelings
  8. being sensible is boring
  9. painting the town red is a good idea
  10. telling the truth to your parents can be dangerous
  11. talking to trees is normal
  12. acting like a child keeps a person young
  13. girls are programmed by gender to want pink things
  14. most teachers have humor-bypasses
  15. life is better with cake
  16. a balanced diet is a cupcake in both hands
  17. looking in the mirror is inspirational
  18. failure is opportunity in disguise
  19. too much of a good thing is wonderful - Mae West
  20. growing up is optional
  21. breaking your funny-bone is painful
  22. dating disasters are unavoidable
  23. believing in Santa Claus is for children
  24. Christmas is primarily a marketing opportunity
  25. money, like the best things in life, should be free
  26. life should come with a remote control 
  27. google has replaced the need for education
  28. pick-up lines can work
  29. tattoos are a necessary fashion accessory
  30. customers are always right
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And another 25 funny, interesting persuasive speech topics!

Image - plate with piece of chocolate cake mostly eaten.
Text: Having your cake and eating it too is fair.

Once you've heard my carefully crafted speech you'll believe, like I do, that:

  1. men should be stay-at-home dads
  2. getting rich quick is an excellent goal to have
  3. dark humor keeps people healthy
  4. annoying other people is a desirable skill to have
  5. feminism is outdated
  6. being an only child is preferable to having siblings
  7. sibling rivalry is very good training for real life
  8. people need to pass examinations to gain the right to become parents
  9. having your cake and eating it too is quite fair
  10. learning to pass on blame is an essential survival skill   
  11. imitation is a compliment
  12. age is irrelevant
  13. good luck charms work
  14. advertising is art
  15. being rude can be therapeutic
  16. cheating is understandable
  17. Murphy's Law is real
  18. being intentionally funny is an art
  19. waiting in a queue is an opportunity to meet people
  20. cleanliness is over-rated
  21. bribery is a lucrative profession
  22. watching paint dry is rewarding 
  23. cultivating charm is useful
  24. looking good is never enough
  25. being intelligent is better than being popular
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More persuasive speech resources

Another 658 persuasive topics!☺

  1. 100 persuasive speech ideas
  2. 50 good persuasive speech topics
  3. 90 'easy' persuasive speech topics
  4. 310 best persuasive speech topics for college 
  5. 108 feminist persuasive speech topics
A group of women with raised fists. Text: 108 feminist persuasive speech topics

How to write a persuasive speech

Get a 7 step checklist covering all aspects of crafting a good persuasive speech that will take you from topic selection to choosing the best structural pattern to suit your purpose.
Go to: writing a persuasive speech.

Persuasive speech outline with FREE printable

I've also put together an overview of the classic 5 step pattern of persuasion called Monroe's Motivated Sequence. It comes with a free printable, blank ready-for-you-to-complete persuasive speech outline template.  I hope you find it useful!

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