Debate Speech Topics

Choosing interesting debate speech topics can be tough going sometimes. In the world of debating, there are some topics that seem to show up over and over again. No matter what the level of the debaters, these topics seem to be unavoidable.

While there's certainly nothing wrong with using some of the standards, like "Does television violence influence children in a negative way?", there are certainly a lot of other topics that can be used to keep things fresh and exciting.

Age and Maturity Levels

Teaching kids debating skills can be a tough job.

For many kids, debating means arguing or fighting.

It's only after they have practiced with a few topics that they begin to master the fine art of debating.

To keep kids interested, you have to use debate topics that are appropriate, yet challenging, for their age and maturity levels.

If you're working with 6th grade kids, you probably don't want to make the topic too controversial, but you still want to have the students push their own boundaries a bit, in order for them to grow and mature their debating skills.

Interesting Debate Speech Topics for Middle School Students

• Should homework be banned from schools?
• Should kids be allowed to use their mobile phones at school?
• Is Big Foot real or just a legend?
• Is there life in outer space?

Interesting Debate Speech Topics for High School Students

• Should laboratory animal testing be banned?
• Is global warming real, or just a myth?
• Should the death penalty still be used today?
• Censorship of the media - is it justifiable?

Interesting Debate Speech Topics for College Students

• Which is the real truth: evolution or creationism?
• Should the United States decriminalize illegal drugs?
• Should same-sex marriage be legalized?
• Does the United States have the right to occupy Iraq?

As you can see from these topics, they are challenging and appropriate to the age and maturity levels, but they still make the participants think and study before they state their case.

Debate should always rest on preparation and study. If you coach a debate team, give some of these topics to your students and have them prepare a statement for each perspective on the topic. You can really challenge them with these kinds of topics, and they will become better at debating by having unique speech topics to think about.

You may even want to keep a few of these topics under wraps and do some surprise topic sessions.

While you want your students to be prepared for most debates, throwing them a surprise curve-ball every once in a while helps them to think on their toes.

As you know, debates can take some unusual twists and turns. By having surprise topics from time to time, you will be equipping them to react quickly and come up with good responses during real debates.

There really is no end to great debate speech topics that you can come up with. A little imagination and a unique spin on age old questions can give you enough topics to last for years.

 

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