I have to give a persuasive speech.

I took a public speaking class in college during the McCain v Obama fall. I had to support McCain one day, and then the next give a speech in support of Obama. I crushed the person against me...Everyone sides one way or another for any topic. Maybe not as dedicated as others, but we all do. You have to completely take yourself out of your shoes and into those of the other side. I.E- gay marriage. If you are for it, you need to think about why people who are against it are truly against it. Don't think they are stupid, or bigoted, or backwoods rednecks. Think about what part of their thought-process makes them against it and really hammer on that aspect. On the other hand, if you are against it, don't think about the sinners, the disgusting, or the liberal hippies who are for it. Think about a gay person who truly is in love with his/her partner and all of the benefits marriage can bring them (from a strong household to financial benefits etc.)

I remember in high school my buddy and I would make bets over which outrageous stories we could get people to buy into. In college, my public speaking prof tried to get me to join debate, but I had bigger fish to fry. It's easier for some than others, but if you really want to knock it out of the park, you have to completely separate yourself from what you normally think. As George Costanza so eloquently stated, "It's not a lie if you believe it."

You can literally google this & get a plethora of topics to choose from.

I gave a speech a semester or so ago expressing the importance of having a strong properly funded flagship university. By having & supporting a strong LSU will equate to a strong Louisiana

I included the economic benefits, social benefits, and the hundreds of millions of dollars of research performed by LSU that postively impacts every Louisiana resident

Eta: All the info is easy to find too. LSU provides everything on the matter

Evolution, Evils of Religion, Racism, Breastfeeding kids past 1-1/12... the topics are literally endless... mainly because every topic today is controversial....

I think the PS4 is better than the xbox.... and GO!!!

Game of Thrones is better than Walking Dead... and GO!!!

The problem is I have to give the speech on something they can leave and take action. That's been my main dilemma.

ULM

If you're going with the "it doesn't affect you" mind-set, why not switch from a topic that is cliche and go for a current event. Like why Barack shouldn't give a shite that Russia wants Crimea back when 95% of Crimea wants to go back to Russia as well.

I'm thinking of how to weave in a way to persuade them to take action and that usually negates most of the topics I come across.

Global warming could work. I've always viewed buying a hybrid like taking a recycle bin to a landfill and saying you're gonna make a difference and clean up the world.