Expository speech topics are some of the easiest topics to come up with! Expository speeches should be informative, with the goal of describing, explaining or defining an idea, or process, or an object. Consequently, you have a LOT of scope in picking something that interests you!
On this page, I’ll take a look at what makes a good expository speech and some great brainstorming techniques. Alternatively, you may prefer to jump straight to some good expository speech topics here.
Speech Topic: Tips for Picking the Perfect Topic
Before you decide on the right topic for your next expository speech, there are a few things you might want to keep in mind as you get started on your brainstorming process.
Any good expository speech involves listeners, by allowing them to visualize the topic. Another goal of your presentation is to offer audience members precise and specific details in a clear, logical order.
To achieve both goals, it’s a good idea to give the audience a clear idea about your topic by offering details that not only enlighten them, but also motivate and interest them.
Choosing the perfect topic to meet the requirements of your next class assignment also means thinking about the categories into which the required speech may fall.
- Some expository speeches are best classified as speeches that inform audiences about an idea or a process. Expository topics that fit into this category might include those that explain how a problem was solved. You would help your audience to either understand the process, or actually perform the process.
- The second category of expository speeches discuss a past or current event. In this type of speech, you would offer audience members a clear idea of the main circumstances that occurred during the event about which you are speaking. For example, perhaps you have chosen to speak about a famous battle. You might talk about the movements of each army during the battle.
- The final category is the definition speech. With this type of expository speech, you would talk about the principal parts of a subject. This speech could be about anything that is either tangible, alive or visible, such as locations, animals, things or people. For example, you could choose to discuss the major features of a hurricane.
With any of these categories, you must decide how to organize the details of your speech. For some of the categories, a chronological order might work best. For others, you may need to work through the details in emotional order. Still, with other expository speech topics, choosing to show the details in terms of a spatial order might be your perfect option.
Once you have examined the requirements of your expository speech, you are ready to start choosing a list of speech topics that meets your needs.
After compiling a list of good expository speech topics, you can begin to zero in on the perfect topic area for you. There are lots of topic ideas within the realm of expository speeches, but staying close to your own interests is the best way to find the best one.
If you choose a topic that doesn’t particularly interest you, your lack of enthusiasm will show. So begin making your list by simply thinking about the topics you already know, understand and find appealing.
Are you proficient in any particular areas? Can you think of issues that have caught your attention recently? For example, maybe you served as an EMT on the streets of a major city for a few years before you decided on college.
There are probably thousands of things around which you could create an expository speech, purely based on your experiences. You might even find some good topics within OTHER courses you are taking!
Choosing the perfect expository speech topics doesn’t have to be hard – it’s simply a matter of finding a subject you care about and know well and sharing your knowledge in a clear and engaging way.
