I haven't even started writing my oratory fro this year yet and this video just saved me!! Initially I wanted my topic to be about fast fashion/overconsumption but converted to "We no longer value sustainability" after watching this video
Hi! I love your videos, they are so helpful! The topic I've come up with is "We are obsessed with seeking happiness", I'm gonna talk about how we think of happiness a goal rather than an experience, creating a constant cycle of dissatisfaction. I'm also going to mention how social media plays a role in this. Could you provide any guidance or any advice for this speech? Thanks a lot!!!
Hi! I'm so glad I found your channel, I'm new to oratory but will be attending my first tournament soon. Some topics I came up with include: - We think comparison is good but it's actually bad - We don't know how to understand others' perspectives - We can’t accept that there will always be problems I picked the topic "We don't know how to understand others' perspectives" and decided to look at the inverse of it which is "We are obsessed with being closed minded". I think this could be a potential topic, as I could include funny stories such as arguing about pineapple on pizza, and even compare it to my own life as I'm the only vegetarian in my family but people are always trying to impose their ideas on me. I'm not sure though, and would love some feedback!
@@AnishaGupta-r1d hey! I think of the three topics you outlined, you went with the most compelling option. I like that you are trying the inverse, as it makes your topic more unique, but im not sure if close-mindedness is exactly the opposite of understanding others’ perspectives. I think a better way to phrase it might be “we are obsessed with our current beliefs.” I like the stories you have outlined above, but I would challenge you to find more explanatory sources than just stories. For example, look into Dave Cullen and Confirmation Bias - that is a great place to start for explanatory sources for this speech. Hope that helps!
hi. my topic is people think about racism too much and it actually makes us more divided. also great video, i saw your speech about how people cant say goodbye and its really good
@@PearlKeough thanks! I think this is a good start - my advice would be how to make this topic more abstract and use racism as an example of a broader topic rather than the topic itself. This feels a little too concrete for me at the moment and could alienate a lot of your audience right upfront.
Hello! My topic is about how mental healthcare changed my life, and why it needs to be more accessible. It is very close to my heart and I admire your talent a lot!!! I’m on my final year of speech after competing for 4 years.
Hey! This is my first time doing oratory and this video helped clear up a lot of things for me! I wanted to do my topic on the ethics of punishment and decided on the template of “we think punishment is good, but in reality it can be bad”. I’m thinking of using the macro micro structure; however, my biggest concern is that though I am passionate about this topic, I’m not sure how I can relate this to myself or if I need to do so, would love any feedback thank you!!
This video was so helpful! I think I want my topic to be "We don't know how to say sorry". To elaborate, I want my speech to highlight how our society, especially people-pleasers like myself, tend to say sorry automatically for anything and everything which, in turn, devalues the meaning of an apology. My dad inspired this - because he always tells me to avoid saying sorry as much as I (appropriately) can until I have the confidence to appoint apologies when actually necessary. I'm nervous that this is kind of convoluted, or that I have the wrong idea about people pleasers and apologies and whatnot. I don't know :( but I would greatly appreciate your help
@@river.of.sorrows thanks! I think for the topic of “saying sorry” / “apologizing” you are conflating three distinct topics - “we dont know how to say sorry” implies we are a society that doesn’t apologize effectively. “We no longer value saying sorry” (which you wrote almost verbatim in your comment) implies we don’t say sorry enough, or don’t carry the weight of apologies (e.g. when we apologize it’s half-baked). I think the topic you’re describing is “we are obsessed with apologizing” where we have been conditioned to apologize for everything, even if we don’t mean it or shouldn’t apologize at all. All three are great topics, but I think to get the most out of this topic you should be specific in which direction you want to take the speech. I would also recommend watching my video on topic selection for more depth on what I described here. Hope that helps!
@@GoofyAhhEdits6969 thank you! The main points of your speech are the body points you use (e.g. “causes and effects” or “the macroeconomic and personal effects”). I go into it a bit in this video but check out my video on OO Structure to really get an in-depth look at the body points
This video was super helpful, I am so glad I found your channel! I am not sure if the topics I came up are useful. Could you provide some insight into which you think is the best? 1. We no longer value communication/We don't know how to communicate 2. We think adaptation to others is always good, but in reality, it can be bad 3. We don't know when/how to take off our masks: I wanna incorporate the story of jekyll and hyde kinda into this, talking about how people switch personalities really fast 4. We struggle between ambition and ethics 5. We are obsessed with insecurities: kinda more prevalent in tiktok, because everyone creates new insecurities every single day, but idk what my call to action would really be and also it seems very similar to pretty privilege/too basic but also eh I'm not sure I also have been struggling to find out a solution/call to action for some of these
Thanks! I really love the masks idea - "We no longer value authenticity" I think is the way you'd want to frame it, but our masks can be a great metaphor to introduce throughout the speech.
Hey dude, great video by the way, this is my second year doing original oratory and i really want to step my game up significantly. What do you think of my thesis statement/topic "we discredit things because we don't view them as entertaining" ( or i thought about fixing it to " we are obsessed with the consumption of entertainment", after watching your video) I'm following a cause/effect structure in which my causes outline what fuels our entertainment driven culture (through the way the media presents information) and how that fosters a misinformed society that oversimplifies topics and my effects is how this creates an illusion of knowledge that contributes to polarization. Im not sure how cohesive this is in terms of the way its structured. What do you think i should improve of my topic or my approach to this topic?
Hey- wish I could've seen this before I started writing but my first ever tournaments next week. My topic is about blame and its powerful but dangerous influence on society- my only problem is i am NOT the worlds best speaker so I don't know how to deliver my jokes and the quote I start the speech with. I sound a little monotone and crazy nervous but ig i just have to trust the process
Hi! This video is super helpful. I came up with the topic "we think discomfort is always bad, but in reality it can be good." Would this be considered a good topic?
I am writing a oo speech about"embracing risks" and I want to add a story about a girl sailing solo around the world at the age of 14, I wonder how can I blend the story in to my speech seamlessly and make it very enhancing.
@@cindychen3449 my first question would be what is the problem you are addressing. Is it that we no longer value risk taking? We are obsessed with safety? We think risks are always bad but in reality they can be good? Once you have a clearer problem to address in the form of a thesis statement, you can include this story in your solutions section as your “transformational story” about someone who embraced risk and benefitted from it. Check out my video on the oratory solutions section for more details. Hope that helps!
Hello, this is so helpful! I’m curious about what you think differentiates an ‘average’ oratory from a winning oratory. AKA, how do you make your speech stand out from the rest? I’m writing a rough draft for my OO, and am finding that it lacks something, but i’m not sure what it is. If you have any input, i’d love to hear it!
Thanks! This is a great question, and there is no "one size fits all" answer to it. Three things come to mind as the biggest separators between "good" speeches (could make the final round at a local tournament) and "great" speeches (could make the final round at a national tournament): First, the speaker has a much clearer "speech persona" in great speeches. Often times, I'll see "good" speeches that check off all the boxes, but I could just swap in and out any old speaker and get the same effect from the delivery. The more unique a persona is, the more memorable and specific the speech becomes. Second, a "great" speech has something about it that sticks with the audience beyond the walls of the classroom. Maybe it's a really fascinating "make em think" source, where the audience genuinely learns something new and can view a topic in a new way. Or perhaps their "make em cry" source genuinely makes the audience tear up. If you give the audience something to hold onto after hearing your speech, you will have a better chance of being remembered. Third, great speeches often tell great stories. This is both a content and a delivery mechanism - the speaker who tells better stories will perform the best. A great story is one that connects with the audience on a deep level, has "twists and turns," and help the audience reflect on their own lives. Hope that helps!
I finished the first draft of my speech and I was wondering if my topic lacks that relatability aspect. My topic was how race crediting (ex; calling black people they're one of the good ones) isn't the compliment it's made out to be. I approached it with a cause and effect structure and followed most of thr steps outlined in this video. I live in a predominantly white area where this issue is rampant however I'm wondering if that means it loses that relatability.
Good question - I think if you live in an area where the issue is rampant, then that means it's far MORE relatable since the people implicated in your problem are the people committing the problem. I would say this is NOT relatable if the audience you're speaking to does not commit the problem at all. One thing I would caution you about is if you take this speech to a tournament outside of your local area, then the relatability may dissipate. For example, where I'm from most people know not to commit microaggressions such as this, so your speech wouldn't really sway our actions or attitudes. One potential way to circumvent this problem is to switch your topic from a concrete one to an abstract one. I'm imagining a speech such as "we don't know how to give compliments" with a macro/micro structure could work great since your point about race crediting would make an excellent example for the macro section of the speech.
Hi! Thank you so much for posting this. It was extremely helpful. This is my first year competing, and I want to do a topic about how there is an epidemic of eating disorders integrated into our society that goes unnoticed. I’m worried that might be too specific. Any ideas?
Thanks Ava! I think this is a very interesting topic, and one that fits the three criteria of a good topic. I wonder if it's too concrete - perhaps think about using the epidemic of eating disorders as an example of a more abstract topic, such as "we are obsessed with control." Hope that helps!
Hi, great video! I came up with the topic: "We don't know how to live" My speech will be focused on Existensialism - more specifically on my belief that we no don't know what absolute freedom is because of the uniform life we are forced to live. I want to focus on the idea that we do the things we do, not because we want to but because we don't know any better. Any suggestions are appreciated :)
Thanks! This is an interesting topic, and my gut reaction is that it is a bit too vague as it stands right now. "We don't know how to live" can mean lots of things. Based on your description, going the direction of "we no longer value freedom" could be much more focused. The analysis of philosophy you provide here is really interesting and could provide a good "make em think" source. I would caution against SOLELY talking about this topic in terms of theory though - make sure you connect it all back to real world examples of health, safety, relationships, and wealth. Hope that helps!
My tournament is next weekend but I have to write it out and memorize it by then it about how much ChatGPT is taking over our creativity and I just don’t know if I can do it
Hello! Incoming sophomore here, thinking about doing a speech on how the anxiety epidemic is affecting younger kids especially related to social media. I can get my points to be strong but I don’t know how whether to have a more serious or funny hook, or a bit of both? Any insight?
That is a great start! I am still a bit confused about what your thesis statement is. “The anxiety epidemic affecting younger kids especially related to social media” is a bit too vague for my liking. I would encourage you to think about how to use one of the five topic templates I outline in this video for your speech. Social media feels like a cause and an anxiety epidemic feels like an effect to a larger societal problem that could be your topic - perhaps “We are obsessed with comparisons” where in today’s day and age we measure our own self worth by comparing ourselves to others (rather than, perhaps, to our past selves). For the hook I think telling a funny story never fails! I have a separate video on topic selection already out if you’d like more specifics there, and one on oratory intros coming out soon if you’d like more specifics on the hook
Good morning! I am a sophomore currently who mostly did informative speaking last year, but I want to write an oratory this year as well. With that being said, I am not quite sure if these topics are too commonly used. Could you possibly provide some insight into which one you think is the best? -we are obsessed with perfectionism -we dont know how to say no -we dont know how to be honest anymore -insensitivity (talking about gun violence in the US, etc) -we dont know how to embrace our regrets Are these topics too niche? Please let me know. Thank you!
@@zhenruigu3921 i like almost all of these (“insensitivity” needs more fleshing out as right now it feels like just an idea and not a thesis statement) - with that said “we no longer value honesty” is a very relevant topic with great large-scale and personal examples to boot. In our politics, media, and relationships this is a problem and has become even more so in recent years. Hope that helps!
Hi. For my topic, I choosing between: -We do not give enough attention to middle children (middle children syndrome) / we do not give enough attention to each other -We as a society cannot find the middleground, leaving us divided and increasing polarization. any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!
I am sensing a theme of the "middle" in both of these - why not connect them; "We no longer value the middle." Your AGD can be funny stories about being forgotten as the middle child (assuming you are based on the topic idea) and you can include "make em think" sources about how we favor the extremes of our beliefs (e.g. our convictions). Anything that's "down the center" or a comprise is quickly cast aside. Hope that helps!
Hi! I love this video. My topic is that we victimize ourselves to avoid accountability. Do you have any ideas to make this more heartfelt, like a story?
Thanks Anika! I think a good story for this should come from your personal life. Is there a time you can think of where you perpetuated the problem you're addressing?
This is great! I would be specific though - we no longer value asking questions and we no longer value curiosity are different topics. We no longer value asking questions is a proven topic - check out this speech - ua-cam.com/video/Z34JRseLKHo/v-deo.html - which ended up taking third at nationals in 2009. For the hook, if you don't have a funny story from your life about getting in trouble for being overly curious or asking too many questions, a great "make em think" AGD might be telling the story of Schrodinger's Cat, and how that birthed the phrase "curiosity killed the cat."
Which of these topics is best -we don’t value creativity as we get older -even though forgiveness is good, in reality it can be bad (I would talk about how some people conform to apologies and brush them off and don’t verbalize it) - we think a growth mindset is good, but in reality it is bad - we don’t value being childish and spontaneous
@@yonasamare6159 these are all great and any would work well. Something I noticed is a similarity that the first and last topic ideas have - You seem to be very interested in how as we get older we’re told to “grow up” and “act our age,” forcing us to lose the qualities that make life magical as kids. I think this is a profound direction to go, and I would spend some time crafting a clearer thesis statement incorporating this idea (perhaps “we think growing up is always good, but in reality it can be bad”?). Since you kept on this theme a few times, I am sure you have some personal story or connection to the topic - embrace that and include it in the speech! Hope that helps
I’m thinking of doing something like “self improvement is not always good”. I’ve fell into a rabbit hole in my self improvement journey, always striving for perfection but ignoring things that actually make me happy. What do you think about this?
hello! i am a freshman in highschool who is completely new to speech and debate and i have no idea what im doing haha. i want to talk about gun violence in america but dont know how to approach it and feel like it is too broad of a topic. any sort of feedback would be appreciated so much and i will definitely be using this video to help make my speech, thank you!!
@@maxeatscereal i think gun violence is too broad and too concrete. First, you need a clear thesis statement to tackle. Remember the five topic templates from the video! “Gun violence in america” is a topic but not a thesis. Second, I would try sticking to an abstract topic. If you want to tackle gun violence, you can use it as an example in your speech. Hope that helps!
I think this is a good start for a topic but it doesn't have a clear thesis. What is the specific problem you are trying to address? Is it that we don't know how to be ourselves? Is it that we are obsessed with other's approval? Is it that we think changing ourselves is always good but in reality it can be bad? Be specific and make sure you use the three criteria of a good topic to pick the right one - I think the more unique you can be with this type of topic the better. We've all heard "just be yourself" before - maybe it would be more interesting to go in the other direction and say "we think 'being ourselves' is always good but in reality it can be bad." You can talk about how much the "be yourself" narrative gets pushed, and in doing so we ignore the importance of improving ourselves. The point is there's lots of directions you can take this topic, which circulates back to my original point - you need a more specific thesis statement! Hope that helps
@@IsaiahYetter i feel like you are combining two topics: “we no longer value love” and “we don’t know how to say i love you” - both are great topics but make sure you have one specific topic!
@@IsaiahYetter yes! Feel free to visit my website justincooperspeech.com - you can purchase a speech review and I’ll give you extremely in depth comments on your draft
Hey, I’m thinking of my topic to revolve around the harmful interactions that Africans perceive African Americans to be, or something along those lines. Is it to specific and not relatable?
@@yonasamare6159 I’m not exactly sure what the problem you’re addressing is, so I would start by having a clearer thesis statement (try using one of the topic templates!) - If you are talking about negative attitudes from Africans towards African Americans, then I would say most of your audience is not a part of the problem and likely not the solution (unless they are African). One thing you can do if you still want to talk about this problem is to use it as an example of a broader, more abstract topic. Hope that helps!
I haven't even started writing my oratory fro this year yet and this video just saved me!! Initially I wanted my topic to be about fast fashion/overconsumption but converted to "We no longer value sustainability" after watching this video
Hi! I love your videos, they are so helpful! The topic I've come up with is "We are obsessed with seeking happiness", I'm gonna talk about how we think of happiness a goal rather than an experience, creating a constant cycle of dissatisfaction. I'm also going to mention how social media plays a role in this. Could you provide any guidance or any advice for this speech? Thanks a lot!!!
Hi! I'm so glad I found your channel, I'm new to oratory but will be attending my first tournament soon. Some topics I came up with include:
- We think comparison is good but it's actually bad
- We don't know how to understand others' perspectives
- We can’t accept that there will always be problems
I picked the topic "We don't know how to understand others' perspectives" and decided to look at the inverse of it which is "We are obsessed with being closed minded". I think this could be a potential topic, as I could include funny stories such as arguing about pineapple on pizza, and even compare it to my own life as I'm the only vegetarian in my family but people are always trying to impose their ideas on me. I'm not sure though, and would love some feedback!
@@AnishaGupta-r1d hey! I think of the three topics you outlined, you went with the most compelling option. I like that you are trying the inverse, as it makes your topic more unique, but im not sure if close-mindedness is exactly the opposite of understanding others’ perspectives. I think a better way to phrase it might be “we are obsessed with our current beliefs.” I like the stories you have outlined above, but I would challenge you to find more explanatory sources than just stories. For example, look into Dave Cullen and Confirmation Bias - that is a great place to start for explanatory sources for this speech. Hope that helps!
@@justincooperspeech Thanks so much!!
hi. my topic is people think about racism too much and it actually makes us more divided. also great video, i saw your speech about how people cant say goodbye and its really good
@@PearlKeough thanks! I think this is a good start - my advice would be how to make this topic more abstract and use racism as an example of a broader topic rather than the topic itself. This feels a little too concrete for me at the moment and could alienate a lot of your audience right upfront.
Hello! My topic is about how mental healthcare changed my life, and why it needs to be more accessible. It is very close to my heart and I admire your talent a lot!!! I’m on my final year of speech after competing for 4 years.
@@astridshowers4445 best of luck!
Hey! This is my first time doing oratory and this video helped clear up a lot of things for me! I wanted to do my topic on the ethics of punishment and decided on the template of “we think punishment is good, but in reality it can be bad”. I’m thinking of using the macro micro structure; however, my biggest concern is that though I am passionate about this topic, I’m not sure how I can relate this to myself or if I need to do so, would love any feedback thank you!!
This video was so helpful! I think I want my topic to be "We don't know how to say sorry".
To elaborate, I want my speech to highlight how our society, especially people-pleasers like myself, tend to say sorry automatically for anything and everything which, in turn, devalues the meaning of an apology. My dad inspired this - because he always tells me to avoid saying sorry as much as I (appropriately) can until I have the confidence to appoint apologies when actually necessary.
I'm nervous that this is kind of convoluted, or that I have the wrong idea about people pleasers and apologies and whatnot. I don't know :( but I would greatly appreciate your help
@@river.of.sorrows thanks! I think for the topic of “saying sorry” / “apologizing” you are conflating three distinct topics - “we dont know how to say sorry” implies we are a society that doesn’t apologize effectively. “We no longer value saying sorry” (which you wrote almost verbatim in your comment) implies we don’t say sorry enough, or don’t carry the weight of apologies (e.g. when we apologize it’s half-baked). I think the topic you’re describing is “we are obsessed with apologizing” where we have been conditioned to apologize for everything, even if we don’t mean it or shouldn’t apologize at all. All three are great topics, but I think to get the most out of this topic you should be specific in which direction you want to take the speech. I would also recommend watching my video on topic selection for more depth on what I described here. Hope that helps!
@@justincooperspeech This helps so much!! Thank you
What do you mean by outlining the main points in the road map part? Great video by the way.
@@GoofyAhhEdits6969 thank you! The main points of your speech are the body points you use (e.g. “causes and effects” or “the macroeconomic and personal effects”). I go into it a bit in this video but check out my video on OO Structure to really get an in-depth look at the body points
This video was super helpful, I am so glad I found your channel!
I am not sure if the topics I came up are useful. Could you provide some insight into which you think is the best?
1. We no longer value communication/We don't know how to communicate
2. We think adaptation to others is always good, but in reality, it can be bad
3. We don't know when/how to take off our masks: I wanna incorporate the story of jekyll and hyde kinda into this, talking about how people switch personalities really fast
4. We struggle between ambition and ethics
5. We are obsessed with insecurities: kinda more prevalent in tiktok, because everyone creates new insecurities every single day, but idk what my call to action would really be and also it seems very similar to pretty privilege/too basic but also eh I'm not sure
I also have been struggling to find out a solution/call to action for some of these
also maybe the idea that we fear confrontation, I could bring p the "delulu" culture that was very popular
Thanks! I really love the masks idea - "We no longer value authenticity" I think is the way you'd want to frame it, but our masks can be a great metaphor to introduce throughout the speech.
Hey dude, great video by the way, this is my second year doing original oratory and i really want to step my game up significantly. What do you think of my thesis statement/topic "we discredit things because we don't view them as entertaining" ( or i thought about fixing it to " we are obsessed with the consumption of entertainment", after watching your video)
I'm following a cause/effect structure in which my causes outline what fuels our entertainment driven culture (through the way the media presents information) and how that fosters a misinformed society that oversimplifies topics and my effects is how this creates an illusion of knowledge that contributes to polarization.
Im not sure how cohesive this is in terms of the way its structured. What do you think i should improve of my topic or my approach to this topic?
Hey- wish I could've seen this before I started writing but my first ever tournaments next week. My topic is about blame and its powerful but dangerous influence on society- my only problem is i am NOT the worlds best speaker so I don't know how to deliver my jokes and the quote I start the speech with. I sound a little monotone and crazy nervous but ig i just have to trust the process
Hi! This video is super helpful. I came up with the topic "we think discomfort is always bad, but in reality it can be good." Would this be considered a good topic?
This is a great topic!
@@justincooperspeech thank you!
I am writing a oo speech about"embracing risks" and I want to add a story about a girl sailing solo around the world at the age of 14, I wonder how can I blend the story in to my speech seamlessly and make it very enhancing.
@@cindychen3449 my first question would be what is the problem you are addressing. Is it that we no longer value risk taking? We are obsessed with safety? We think risks are always bad but in reality they can be good? Once you have a clearer problem to address in the form of a thesis statement, you can include this story in your solutions section as your “transformational story” about someone who embraced risk and benefitted from it. Check out my video on the oratory solutions section for more details. Hope that helps!
@@justincooperspeech thank you so much, this is very helpful for me!
Hello, this is so helpful!
I’m curious about what you think differentiates an ‘average’ oratory from a winning oratory. AKA, how do you make your speech stand out from the rest?
I’m writing a rough draft for my OO, and am finding that it lacks something, but i’m not sure what it is.
If you have any input, i’d love to hear it!
Thanks! This is a great question, and there is no "one size fits all" answer to it. Three things come to mind as the biggest separators between "good" speeches (could make the final round at a local tournament) and "great" speeches (could make the final round at a national tournament): First, the speaker has a much clearer "speech persona" in great speeches. Often times, I'll see "good" speeches that check off all the boxes, but I could just swap in and out any old speaker and get the same effect from the delivery. The more unique a persona is, the more memorable and specific the speech becomes. Second, a "great" speech has something about it that sticks with the audience beyond the walls of the classroom. Maybe it's a really fascinating "make em think" source, where the audience genuinely learns something new and can view a topic in a new way. Or perhaps their "make em cry" source genuinely makes the audience tear up. If you give the audience something to hold onto after hearing your speech, you will have a better chance of being remembered. Third, great speeches often tell great stories. This is both a content and a delivery mechanism - the speaker who tells better stories will perform the best. A great story is one that connects with the audience on a deep level, has "twists and turns," and help the audience reflect on their own lives. Hope that helps!
I finished the first draft of my speech and I was wondering if my topic lacks that relatability aspect. My topic was how race crediting (ex; calling black people they're one of the good ones) isn't the compliment it's made out to be. I approached it with a cause and effect structure and followed most of thr steps outlined in this video. I live in a predominantly white area where this issue is rampant however I'm wondering if that means it loses that relatability.
Good question - I think if you live in an area where the issue is rampant, then that means it's far MORE relatable since the people implicated in your problem are the people committing the problem. I would say this is NOT relatable if the audience you're speaking to does not commit the problem at all. One thing I would caution you about is if you take this speech to a tournament outside of your local area, then the relatability may dissipate. For example, where I'm from most people know not to commit microaggressions such as this, so your speech wouldn't really sway our actions or attitudes. One potential way to circumvent this problem is to switch your topic from a concrete one to an abstract one. I'm imagining a speech such as "we don't know how to give compliments" with a macro/micro structure could work great since your point about race crediting would make an excellent example for the macro section of the speech.
Hi! Thank you so much for posting this. It was extremely helpful.
This is my first year competing, and I want to do a topic about how there is an epidemic of eating disorders integrated into our society that goes unnoticed. I’m worried that might be too specific. Any ideas?
Thanks Ava! I think this is a very interesting topic, and one that fits the three criteria of a good topic. I wonder if it's too concrete - perhaps think about using the epidemic of eating disorders as an example of a more abstract topic, such as "we are obsessed with control." Hope that helps!
Hi, great video! I came up with the topic:
"We don't know how to live"
My speech will be focused on Existensialism - more specifically on my belief that we no don't know what absolute freedom is because of the uniform life we are forced to live. I want to focus on the idea that we do the things we do, not because we want to but because we don't know any better. Any suggestions are appreciated :)
Thanks! This is an interesting topic, and my gut reaction is that it is a bit too vague as it stands right now. "We don't know how to live" can mean lots of things. Based on your description, going the direction of "we no longer value freedom" could be much more focused. The analysis of philosophy you provide here is really interesting and could provide a good "make em think" source. I would caution against SOLELY talking about this topic in terms of theory though - make sure you connect it all back to real world examples of health, safety, relationships, and wealth. Hope that helps!
@@justincooperspeech Thank you so much, this really helped!
My tournament is next weekend but I have to write it out and memorize it by then it about how much ChatGPT is taking over our creativity and I just don’t know if I can do it
Hello! Incoming sophomore here, thinking about doing a speech on how the anxiety epidemic is affecting younger kids especially related to social media. I can get my points to be strong but I don’t know how whether to have a more serious or funny hook, or a bit of both? Any insight?
That is a great start! I am still a bit confused about what your thesis statement is. “The anxiety epidemic affecting younger kids especially related to social media” is a bit too vague for my liking. I would encourage you to think about how to use one of the five topic templates I outline in this video for your speech. Social media feels like a cause and an anxiety epidemic feels like an effect to a larger societal problem that could be your topic - perhaps “We are obsessed with comparisons” where in today’s day and age we measure our own self worth by comparing ourselves to others (rather than, perhaps, to our past selves).
For the hook I think telling a funny story never fails!
I have a separate video on topic selection already out if you’d like more specifics there, and one on oratory intros coming out soon if you’d like more specifics on the hook
Good morning! I am a sophomore currently who mostly did informative speaking last year, but I want to write an oratory this year as well. With that being said, I am not quite sure if these topics are too commonly used. Could you possibly provide some insight into which one you think is the best?
-we are obsessed with perfectionism
-we dont know how to say no
-we dont know how to be honest anymore
-insensitivity (talking about gun violence in the US, etc)
-we dont know how to embrace our regrets
Are these topics too niche? Please let me know. Thank you!
@@zhenruigu3921 i like almost all of these (“insensitivity” needs more fleshing out as right now it feels like just an idea and not a thesis statement) - with that said “we no longer value honesty” is a very relevant topic with great large-scale and personal examples to boot. In our politics, media, and relationships this is a problem and has become even more so in recent years. Hope that helps!
Hi. For my topic, I choosing between:
-We do not give enough attention to middle children (middle children syndrome) / we do not give enough attention to each other
-We as a society cannot find the middleground, leaving us divided and increasing polarization.
any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!
I am sensing a theme of the "middle" in both of these - why not connect them; "We no longer value the middle." Your AGD can be funny stories about being forgotten as the middle child (assuming you are based on the topic idea) and you can include "make em think" sources about how we favor the extremes of our beliefs (e.g. our convictions). Anything that's "down the center" or a comprise is quickly cast aside. Hope that helps!
Hi! I love this video. My topic is that we victimize ourselves to avoid accountability. Do you have any ideas to make this more heartfelt, like a story?
Thanks Anika! I think a good story for this should come from your personal life. Is there a time you can think of where you perpetuated the problem you're addressing?
Thank you! Do you also have any ideas for a funny hook/AGD?
Im thinking of doing - we dont ask enough questions (we dont value curiosity). I need something funny for my hook though
This is great! I would be specific though - we no longer value asking questions and we no longer value curiosity are different topics. We no longer value asking questions is a proven topic - check out this speech - ua-cam.com/video/Z34JRseLKHo/v-deo.html - which ended up taking third at nationals in 2009. For the hook, if you don't have a funny story from your life about getting in trouble for being overly curious or asking too many questions, a great "make em think" AGD might be telling the story of Schrodinger's Cat, and how that birthed the phrase "curiosity killed the cat."
Which of these topics is best
-we don’t value creativity as we get older
-even though forgiveness is good, in reality it can be bad (I would talk about how some people conform to apologies and brush them off and don’t verbalize it)
- we think a growth mindset is good, but in reality it is bad
- we don’t value being childish and spontaneous
@@yonasamare6159 these are all great and any would work well. Something I noticed is a similarity that the first and last topic ideas have - You seem to be very interested in how as we get older we’re told to “grow up” and “act our age,” forcing us to lose the qualities that make life magical as kids. I think this is a profound direction to go, and I would spend some time crafting a clearer thesis statement incorporating this idea (perhaps “we think growing up is always good, but in reality it can be bad”?). Since you kept on this theme a few times, I am sure you have some personal story or connection to the topic - embrace that and include it in the speech! Hope that helps
@@justincooperspeech Hello, if I send you my speech, could you help me revise it? I could send it to your email if you have the time and permit it.
I’m thinking of doing something like “self improvement is not always good”. I’ve fell into a rabbit hole in my self improvement journey, always striving for perfection but ignoring things that actually make me happy. What do you think about this?
@@eh7598 we are obsessed with self improvement is a great topic!
hello! i am a freshman in highschool who is completely new to speech and debate and i have no idea what im doing haha. i want to talk about gun violence in america but dont know how to approach it and feel like it is too broad of a topic. any sort of feedback would be appreciated so much and i will definitely be using this video to help make my speech, thank you!!
@@maxeatscereal i think gun violence is too broad and too concrete. First, you need a clear thesis statement to tackle. Remember the five topic templates from the video! “Gun violence in america” is a topic but not a thesis. Second, I would try sticking to an abstract topic. If you want to tackle gun violence, you can use it as an example in your speech. Hope that helps!
"changing ourselves for others approval" topic good?
I think this is a good start for a topic but it doesn't have a clear thesis. What is the specific problem you are trying to address? Is it that we don't know how to be ourselves? Is it that we are obsessed with other's approval? Is it that we think changing ourselves is always good but in reality it can be bad? Be specific and make sure you use the three criteria of a good topic to pick the right one - I think the more unique you can be with this type of topic the better. We've all heard "just be yourself" before - maybe it would be more interesting to go in the other direction and say "we think 'being ourselves' is always good but in reality it can be bad." You can talk about how much the "be yourself" narrative gets pushed, and in doing so we ignore the importance of improving ourselves. The point is there's lots of directions you can take this topic, which circulates back to my original point - you need a more specific thesis statement! Hope that helps
Would “we no longer know HOW to say I love you?”, be a good topic? If not, what would a good question involving love in everyday society be?
@@IsaiahYetter i feel like you are combining two topics: “we no longer value love” and “we don’t know how to say i love you” - both are great topics but make sure you have one specific topic!
@@justincooperspeech thank you for the input. Also, do you proofread speech’s? If so I would love to send you mine after I write it up?
@@IsaiahYetter yes! Feel free to visit my website justincooperspeech.com - you can purchase a speech review and I’ll give you extremely in depth comments on your draft
Hey, I’m thinking of my topic to revolve around the harmful interactions that Africans perceive African Americans to be, or something along those lines. Is it to specific and not relatable?
@@yonasamare6159 I’m not exactly sure what the problem you’re addressing is, so I would start by having a clearer thesis statement (try using one of the topic templates!) - If you are talking about negative attitudes from Africans towards African Americans, then I would say most of your audience is not a part of the problem and likely not the solution (unless they are African). One thing you can do if you still want to talk about this problem is to use it as an example of a broader, more abstract topic. Hope that helps!