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Impromptu public speaking topics
Impromptu public speaking topics
- 150 topics for impromptu speeches
By: Susan Dugdale | Last modified: 01-04-2022
There are 150 impromptu public speaking topics here split into three lists of fifty:
- 50 impromptu topics
- Yet another 50 random speech topics
- And 50 more good impromptu speech topics
They cover a broad cross section of subject matter. Use them for table topics at your Toastmaster's Club, with your high school public speaking class as practice for debate competitions or, by yourself.
Many are deliberately provocative to stimulate a response from both you, the speaker and, your audience!
Others are open-ended or neutral to allow whatever occurs in your mind to fit the topic. You could use those ones to tell a true story, share your personal bloopers, or talk about the meaning of life!
Any one of the 150 will make a good subject for an excellent impromptu speech.
These types of speeches, off the cuff and with little time to prepare, are a great way to polish communication skills. And, they're fun!
Are you in a hurry & needing impromptu speech topics ready for use now?
Solve your problem in 5 minutes. Get the first list of 50 impromptu speech topics on this page plus 48 more in an instantly available print-and-go pdf.
50 + 48 = 98 topics!
If you're practicing by yourself:
- Choose a good topic, one that appeals to you from one of the lists below
- Give yourself a strictly monitored preparation time of no more than one minute in which to note an opening, a couple of main points with examples and, a conclusion.
- Deliver your speech while timing and if possible, recording it. Aim to speak for a couple of minutes.
- When you play the recording back, listen for structure, content and fluency. Each of those combine to create the overall impact of your speech.
If you're using these impromptu speaking topics with a friend or in front of an audience in a classroom, use the same method but skip the recording. Be sure though to make time to give and receive feedback. Along with practice it's a vital part of improving!
The goal
Ideally once you or your class has become more confident, you'll allow less preparation time.
The ultimate goal is to be given a speech topic, do some quick thinking and to begin speaking on the subject coherently and easily, almost immediately.
There's the green light! Open your mouth and go!
Literally, you get given the topic, the green light, timer or stop watch is flicked on, you open your mouth and go!
Get help with impromptu speaking formats
If you've arrived at this page on impromptu public speaking topics without having seen my impromptu speaking tips page, pay a visit there too.
You'll get really useful information on structural patterns as well as delivery tips.
If you're new to making this kind of speech, both will help a great deal.
The 7 patterns, in particular, are invaluable. They'll stop you from blundering aimlessly around blurting whatever occurs to you first! Something I remember doing quite frequently before I found them. ☺
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50 impromptu public speaking topics
- My biggest
concern for the future is...
- Real wealth is never measured in
money or possessions.
- Conservation is survival.
- Real love is not the stuff of pop
songs.
- If I were an animal I'd be a...
- Plants have feelings too.
- Junk food's popularity relies on
marketing.
- To err is human. To forgive is
divine. Discuss.
- The world is a smaller place these
days.
- The more we communicate, the less
we really say.
- When I grow up...
- The best letter of the alphabet is
...
- Goals are good for you.
- The most important lesson of my
life so far...
- Intelligence is not enough.
- If I ruled the world...
- Color affects the way people feel.
- Ill health begins in the mind.
- Team sports build strong
individuals.
- Laughter is the best medicine.
- Fools and their money are easily
parted.
- Discipline is not a dirty word.
- Beauty is always in the eye of the
beholder.
- Children learn what they live
with.
- My favorite day of the year is ...
- What characteristics make an ideal
hero and why?
- What and who is an average person?
- Being young is over-rated.
- In what situation is lying a good
idea?
- Does money make the world go
round?
- What human quality do we need more
of and why?
- Who has been the most influential
person in your life and why?
- How we look is unimportant. It's
who we are on the inside that counts.
- Fashion victims I have known.
- Pets are for people who don't have
children.
- Summer is the best and worst of
times. Why?
- The media controls how and what we
think.
- Advertising targeting children is
immoral.
- Talking to someone
and talking with someone are two different
activities.
- Real learning doesn't occur in a
classroom.
- What would you rather be - wise or
intelligent?
- True wisdom comes from experience.
- A sense of humor is essential.
- Uniforms stifle individuality.
- What is normal is decided by the
society we live in.
- Manners matter.
- Children should not watch
television.
- Art is essential to life.
- Cities are for people not cars.
- Peace is possible.
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Grab 'n go for busy people - Printable Speech Topics
Speech topics on the RUN
Get the first 50 topics on this page PLUS 48 more.
It's a Serendipity (little-bit-of everything) Selection in an instantly available printable format: 14 topics per A4 page.
Preview an extract. See the 14 topics on page 5 of 7.
98 printable impromptu speech topics
Select, print, cut-and-GO!
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50 excellent random impromptu speech topics
Here's the second list of 50. If a topic ends with an ellipsis, (...), replace it with a word or phrase of your choice. Eg. 'I wish I was...' might become 'I wish I was sitting on a beach with my best friend.', or 'I wish I was more courageous.'
-
What
has
more impact?
Being beautiful
or being kind?
-
I
wish I was...
-
The
color yellow reminds of...
-
Swear
words are satisfying to say.
-
Share
one important memory.
-
What
have you said that you immediately regretted?
- Explain how
to withstand peer group pressure.
-
The
only certainties in life are death and taxes.
-
Nationalism
fuels wars.
-
Doing
what you want, when you want, does not build character.
-
Every
woman needs a husband.
-
Love
is exploited by manufacturers and shopkeepers.
-
The
Christmas season has been hijacked for profit.
-
Vital
medicines should be free.
-
Social
service should be compulsory.
-
Being
poor is not a crime.
-
Love
is not always the answer.
-
What
does it mean to be in a black mood?
-
We
should have Thanksgiving every day.
-
When
is stealing necessary?
-
What
is unforgivable?
-
Being
wrong is good for us.
-
Who
is the enemy? Why?
-
Ignorance
is a root cause of violence.
-
What
I loved doing most as a kid.
-
A
saying I’ll never forget is...
-
The
most important lesson I learned from my mother.
-
What
foreign language should we learn.
-
If
you could be a famous person for a day who would you be?
-
The
silliest thing I ever saw.
-
An
idea is never original.
-
Copying
other people is not bad. It’s the way we learn.
-
Social
media is both good and bad.
-
The
item I value most.
-
We
procrastinate because we are fearful of being wrong.
-
Learning
not to pre-judge a person is very difficult.
-
The
last book I read.
-
My
favorite time of the day.
-
If
I changed my name I’d change it to...
-
People
in my family never...
-
Something
I want to believe in but can’t.
-
Becoming
educated is a life-long mission.
-
Learning
to be grateful for what we have makes us happier.
-
Sexual
predation is never acceptable.
-
Real
friends love us, despite our faults.
-
How
to tell the difference between real and fake news.
-
Describe
an everyday miracle.
-
Being
different makes the world a richer place.
-
Green
washing is
a modern crime.
-
The
contents of my bathroom cupboard.
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Another 50 good impromptu speech topics
And here's the third list, to bring up the total to 150.
-
Comfort
food: what is the food that makes you feel good.
-
How
I got my name and what it means.
-
What
would happen if I had to be without my phone.
-
An
everyday hero.
-
What
qualities makes a person a leader?
-
It’s
OK to be wrong and it’s OK to fail.
-
My
favorite clothes: what are they, and why have you chosen them.
-
My
favorite song: what it
is,
and why is it your favorite.
-
My
favorite place: the place where I feel best.
-
The
worst food I’ve ever eaten.
-
My
favorite season of the year.
-
How
being locked down has changed how we learn.
-
How
the pandemic changed my life.
-
What
country I want to visit and why.
-
How
to break a bad habit.
-
The
best trick I ever played.
-
A
skill I want to learn.
-
The
difference between liking and loving someone.
-
Why
keeping up with national and international news is important.
-
The
sport that seems strangest to me.
-
Cars
reflect their owners.
-
The
clouds in the sky sometimes remind me of...
-
We
need to take cyber-security seriously.
-
How
can you tell if someone is telling a lie.
-
Trees
communicate with each other.
-
What
I collect, and why.
-
Curiosity
underpins inventions.
-
I
wish someone would explain to me why...
-
What
I am most proud of about myself.
-
If
you could go back in time, what time and event would you return to?
-
Three
convincing reasons for not completing your homework.
-
Tell
two truths
and one lie.
Ask the audience to pick the lie.
-
Why
is it important to look someone in the eye?
-
What
is the absolutely best way to relax?
-
Is
there truth in the saying: “Clothes make the man”?
-
In
what ways can sport be seen as a religion?
-
The
three most annoying habits of people in my family.
-
How
to sound and
act like
an expert.
-
Is
it immoral for the immensely wealthy not to use their money to help
people living in poverty?
-
Is
there any truth in the saying: “Fake it until you make it”?
-
Why
do some people behave
as if they are superior to others?
-
My
secret ambition is to become...
-
Name
three words setting your peer group and generation apart from your
parent’s generation? Eg. GOAT, dope, sick. What do they mean? How
are they used?
-
Why
girls should be allowed to play contact sports.
-
Why
vaping should be banned along with cigarettes.
-
Why
is it important to vote?
-
Who
is the best person you have ever met? Why are they the best?
-
What
would you do if
you could do anything?
-
Explain
these sayings: “take a chill pill” and “all that glitters is
not gold”.
-
In
what major ways has the world changed in the last 20 years?
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EVEN MORE good impromptu speech topics!
10+ themed sets of fun impromptu speech topics fresh from the creative, wild and wacky department!
If you're looking for inspiration for your public speaking class or you need table topics for Toastmasters, these are lighthearted nonsensical silliness. (Like the bumper sticker wisdom quote illustrated below.)
Fun Impromptu Speech Topics to get them laughing - the best way to learn ☺
Here's four themed sets of 20 table topic questions: Christmas, music, life-lessons and thought-provoking topic ideas. There's a printable for each set, plus an overview of table topics: its benefit, how a Toastmasters table topics session is run, what makes a good topic, the value of feedback, and more.
Another option are these 150 1 minute speech topics. They are split into 3 groups of 50: those suitable for kids, 50 work/career themed suggestions and another 50 just for fun. You'll also find 3 sample speech outlines and example speeches: text and audio. Plus a free printable speech outline.


See example impromptu speech outlines
Click for example impromptu speech outlines. See how to take a topic and develop it into an outline for a speech. Examples of seven different structural patterns: PREP, Problem - Solution, Cause - Effect - Remedy, Before - The Event - The Result, Past - Present - Future, and two more. Each with a printable outline for your own use.
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Fun activities for practicing impromptu speaking
For more impromptu speaking practice ideas visit this page of public speaking games.
While some of these activities are drama based you'll find all 10 of them useful and FUN! They are especially good if you're a teacher looking for ideas to help you plan impromptu public speaking lessons for your class.
The One Minute Speeches activity featured below is included in the collection however it's minus the pdf of instructions, game variations and printable topics.
One minute speeches - 368 topics + instructions!
368 topics, instructions for introducing and running a session on One Minute Speeches, plus activity variations in an instantly available format. A great reusable impromptu speaking resource for busy teachers! Have a look: One Minute Speeches
Impromptu speech activities bundle
And for those of you who want more than one activity check out this comprehensive bundle of 17 proven fun and effective impromptu speech activities, complete with full guidelines and printables.
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