research topics about public speaking

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How to Pitch a Brilliant Idea

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A Speech Is Not an Essay

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

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What the Best Presenters Do Differently

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How to Blow a Presentation to the C-Suite

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Making the Most of the Worst Speaking Slot at the Conference

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5 Ways to Get Over Your Fear of Public Speaking

Mark Bonchek
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How to Shine When You're Put on the Spot

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A Checklist for More Persuasive Presentations

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3 Rhetorical Techniques to Increase Your Impact

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151 Best Public Speaking Topics In 2021

Thu Oct 21, 2021

Do you love giving a speech in front of a large group of people or simply feel nervous about it? Sometimes, the lack of preparation and planning a good speech may cause the latter. With today's fast-paced environment, you will have to step up on stage to deliver a speech at some time in your life. Writing a compelling and insightful speech necessitates the selection of a suitable topic, extensive research. It will need the creation of individual ideas to communicate everything fact and opinion. It might be difficult to select a suitable speech topic for your speech . But don't worry, the work has been done for you! This blog provides a list of popular English speaking themes as well as some useful tips and methods. Be ready to effectively communicate your views and suggestions in front of the public. Table Of Contents:

List Of Best Speech Topics For Public Speaking

1-minute speech topics.

2-Minute Speech Topics

Unique Speech Topics

Interesting speech topics, easy speech topics, speech topics on environment.

Speech Topics On Social Issues

Speech Topics On Greatest Leaders

Speech topics on education, speech topics on health, frequently asked questions.

Speeches are entirely about the speaker's own ideas. It should not be duplicated from another source. It ultimately boils down to what the speaker believes about any particular issue. Examine the following collection of English Speaking Ideas on various current topics and themes.

A 2-minute speech is an excellent method to start into public speaking and is often utilised in the classroom. It's brief. It's quick.

To make things easier for yourself, choose a topic that fascinates you and about which you can speak passionately.

Public Smoking
Bar Hours of Operation
Confirmed Alien Sightings
The Rape Culture
Indian Reservation Casinos
Marijuana Legalization
Making Prostitution Legal
The Dangers of Cosmetic Surgery
Adoption Across Cultures
What Causes Men to Have Affairs?
What Is the Importance of Reading?
Homelessness in the United States
Reducing the Legal Drinking Age
General Education Courses (20)
Is Online Dating Dangerous or Safe?
How to Speak English in America
Getting Your Pets Spayed/Neutered
Are Video Games Beneficial to Your Health?

Choosing new and exciting unique speech themes for your public speaking skills is vital. It can also help with any other special event that necessitates developing your own exceptional experiences. Read through these ideas and choose just the ones that are unique to you.

Seniors are no longer able to adopt children.
TV commercials are not works of art.
Allow students to use social media at school.
Cash will be phased out.
Music has the ability to heal.
Historic structures must be protected.
There should be a one-car-per-family regulation.
Marriage should be permitted only after the age of 25.
Parents who home educate their children should first have to pass examinations.
The Bermuda Triangle is not a work of fiction.
Medication has no effect on hyperactive youngsters.
It is possible to survive without internet access.
Leadership cannot be learned.
Married couples should engage in extramarital relationships.
Modern art just requires ambition.

Almost always, you will be required to present one or more compelling speeches throughout your career.

Unless the topic is appropriate, no matter how good your material or delivery is, you will fail to make an impression. As a result, when making this decision, one must use extreme caution and wisdom. Here are some interesting topics to choose from, especially if it’s your first on stage.

Reality television is a source of exploitation.
Reality programmes are far from authentic.
Computer-based learning is the most efficient.
Gamification and virtual reality are the educational technologies of the future.
Juvenile criminality is tolerated.
Prostitution need to be legalised.
To conserve endangered species, severe fines should be imposed.
Pollution of the environment is a worldwide issue.
The developed world is to blame for global warming.
Is Pink appropriate for men
Eco-fashion is the way of the future.
Fashion shows one's actual self.
Travel introduces fresh experiences.
Travel broadens your horizons.
Rhetorical learning is less essential than personal experience.

If you don't have much time to prepare or research , it's necessary to adhere to what you know. This will greatly reduce your burden because you already know the majority of what there is to know.

Here are some simple and easy speech topics on popular topics.

There are less professional ads in schools.
Why are single-gender public schools preferable than co-ed?
From cradle to finish, schools should educate students on healthy nutrition.
Students who engage in cyberbullying should be expelled from school.
Before getting married, you should live together.
Higher education is a basic requirement for success in today's world.
French fries and drinks should not be served in schools.
Students who study online are more likely to cheat.
Classic literature should be reserved for college students alone.
Every kid at every school should be required to wear a uniform.
After completing a basic education, students should be put in trade schools.
Exam results provide little insight into a student's skills.
History textbooks do not always tell the entire storey.
It is critical for students to learn about all global faiths in school.
Homeschooling outperforms formal education.

For public speaking , consider environmental speech themes and essay writing on many elements of our ecology. https://www.letstute.com/s/store/courses/Spoken%20English

Do you want to write about sustainability in the environment? These suggestions will serve to enliven your imagination.

The dangers of oil spills in the water.
Recycling should be made compulsory.
Why is it necessary to save oil?
Why should we use reusable bags?
Why should palm oil be banned?
Mining should be prohibited in environmentally vulnerable regions.
Disposable diapers pollute the environment.
In deciding how a person will turn out, the environment is more significant than heredity.
The dangers of drilling for oil in Alaska.
Fishing restrictions are required to protect the ecosystem.
Endangered species must be protected.
We need to put more money into alternate fuels.
Endangered oceans ought to be protected.
We should work for a paperless society.
Conserve the world's resources.
Rain forests must be safeguarded.

Speech Topics on Social Issues

When working on a speech that asks you to write about a societal topic, you must be neutral in your research and writing. The topic you choose should be related to and relevant to the societal issue addressed in your speech. Here are a few issues that will have a bigger influence in terms of social affairs.

The notion that all individuals are equal
The statistics on homelessness in the United States are accurate. Fashion is the biggest cause of kid misbehaviour.
Corporate corruption is a major factor of poor economies in many countries.
Never take your right to privacy for granted.
People are not killed by firearms. People kill one other, and the meaning of beauty pageants is muddled.
The prevalence of spoiled children has increased as a result of media violence.
The world's biggest population has lost its cultural identity.
There is an urgent need to put an end to the maiming and abuse of schoolgirls.
China's one-child policy is justifiable.
In current culture, correct tipping etiquette and procedures
Unemployment, a growing crisis
The Importance of the Right to an Education
Child trafficking as an unspoken issue

The capacity to lead is extremely powerful since it allows you to influence the future and control the behaviour of others.

Choose a theme for your speech that focuses on the notion of leadership. By delving into this subject and expanding on it in your speech, you may not only increase your personal understanding of what makes a successful leader. However, also communicate your insights with your listening crowd. Pick on the topics below to exemplify leadership.

Jacinda Adern
Mahatma Gandhi
Nelson Mandela
Winston Churchill
Martin Luther King Jr
Abraham Lincoln
Mother Teresa
Napoleon Bonaparte
George Washington
Julias Caesar
Franklin D Roosevelt
Francoise Hollande
Pope Francis
Akbar the Great

Education is a human right to which everyone is entitled. When individuals differ on what is good and wrong with education, problems occur. As a part of public speaking, education becomes an important topic to address the audience about.

The topics listed below are ones that everyone working in or with education must deal with at some time.

The value of education in advancing one's career
Outside the classroom, there is a lesson to be learned.
The Advantages of E-Learning
E-learning vs. traditional classroom instruction
What will the future of education look like?
Is it appropriate for instructors and students to connect on social media?
Should homework be assigned in schools?
How to Achieve Academic Success in College Through Online Learning
Which is the better measure of success: theory or practise?
Various modes of learning and teaching
Before being admitted to school, one should undergo a psychological evaluation.
Do you believe it should be permissible for students to drop out before reaching the age of 18?
Should life skills classes be required in schools?
Should public universities be free?
Should laptops take the role of textbooks?

Today, public health speeches are required so that people may concentrate on promoting and safeguarding community health. It is critical to implant the concept of well-being in broad groups of people, with a focus on wellness.

Here is a list of compelling and instructive health and wellness speech themes. These are certainly, also for the purpose of enhancing your own thinking and that of others.

Diet beverages are frequently not diet at all, while ordinary beverages are not quite regular.
Going barefoot in the summer is beneficial to your feet.
Take a test to determine whether you are susceptible to any hazardous diseases or viruses.
Why you shouldn't work too hard if you have diabetes.
Breakfast is the most essential meal of the day for several reasons.
Fast food establishments should provide healthier choices.
Do you believe that sex education should be taught in schools?
People who live in cities will die younger.
Excessive salt consumption is harmful to one's health.
Consumption of meat should be decreased.
People should be more concerned about their sleep.
Why should you become an organ donor?
Why should we utilise homoeopathic remedies?
Why are vaccinations beneficial?
Are e-cigarettes preferable to cigarettes?

1. What are the 4 types of public speeches?

To master public speaking, you must first distinguish between four styles of public speaking:

Ceremonial Speaking
Demonstrative Speaking
Informative Speaking
Persuasive Speaking

2. What do you say in a 2-minute public speech?

Prepare your 2–3 main points ahead of time, and keep in mind that a successful presentation would include:

Captivating start, such as a strong quotation or questions that pique your audience's attention.
Introduction, major body, and conclusion are all well-structured.
A strong conclusion that will stay with the viewers.

3. What is the best topic for students?

The Best Speech Topics for Students:

Noise Pollution
Women Empowerment
Environment Pollution
Health and Wellness

4. What are the 7 elements of public speaking?

The 7 aspects of public speaking are:

The speaker
The message
The channel
The listener
The feedback
The interference
The circumstance

5. How do you practice impromptu speaking?

You may practise spontaneous speeches in two ways:

You're on your own. Every day, pick a different random topic and talk out about it.
Speak in front of a group. The greatest method to master spontaneous speaking is to practise in front of a group and receive expert criticism.

People are generally encouraged to talk about a current issue in order to help them become better public speakers. They are also required to acquire the skill of expressing themselves in front of an audience. Choosing the appropriate topic before you begin practising your speech may make all the difference. It is a method of keeping your audience engaged and from being bored. You may also choose one about which you are enthusiastic so that you can express it properly. When considering these persuasive English speech ideas, ensure you keep it interesting, engaging, short, and clear. Do you think we left something out? Or do you have a topic that you believe is significant and would want to add? Please mention them in the comments section below!

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101 Public Speaking Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best public speaking topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 simple & easy public speaking essay titles, 📑 interesting topics to write about public speaking, ❓ research questions about public speaking.

Public Speaking as an Effective Skill Proper application of public speaking knowledge will allow the new member of a group to move through the stage of getting to know the colleagues and feel comfortable talking with new people in unfamiliar situations.
The Art of Public Speaking The main purpose of communication is to involve the listener in the discussion and make him/her perceive the message of the speech. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
Communications: Public Speaking Problems The main problem that people face when speaking to the public is the inability to understand the expectations of the audience.
Public Speaking in a Democracy Public speaking actually matters for a democracy, because it is a good and sometimes the only chance to save democracy that is eroding now, to improve communicative skills, and to underline the problems that prevent […]
Public Speaking Fears and Overcoming Techniques However, the fear of public speaking is an issue that threatens the effectiveness of this form of art. Every individual should be familiar with ways to avoid the fear of public speaking.
Personal Public Speaking Critique The purpose of this critique is to evaluate the speech I gave during the class, note the strong and weak points as I see them after the fact, and suggest improvements.
An Analysis of Barack Obama’s Style of Public Speaking During the course of his speech, Obama alludes to this slogan a number of times to drive home the point that he is the ‘agent of change’.
Glossophobia: The Public Speaking Anxiety The level of fear in public speaking among the male and female participants was determined using a percentage and frequency approach.
Public Speaking: The Key Requirements In conclusion, a good public speaker should prepare well for the speech and deliver it confidently while communicating effectively to the listeners.
Public Speaking in Ancient Greece and Roman Empire With this in mind, investigation of some main peculiarities of the development of art of public speaking public can help to understand its peculiarities better.
Toastmasters and Public Speaking The act of public speaking can be defined as the process of speaking to a group of people in a deliberate and well structured manner with the purpose to inform, entertain or influence listeners.
Public Speaking: Why Recycling Is Important The intention of such a program is to make “recycling of lead batteries easier and more profitable to recycle would lead to more extensive recycling programs.
Communication Techniques in Public Speaking Initially, a public speaker has to watch the words in the content of a speech, to deliver the right message. This implies that a public speaker has to limit the frequency of using the word […]
Public Speaking and Rhetorical Implications The speaker makes connections between the audience and the topic of his speech a few times. The speaker recognizes some relationships between himself and the audience at some points in his lecture.
Public Speaking Courses Analysis While a job as a nursing assistant may not require formal public speaking, the skills learned in a public speaking course can still be applied and transferred to other areas of the professional and personal […]
Speech Preparation Outline: Importance of Taking Public Speaking Classes General Purpose: To Inform/ Persuade the Audience Specific Purpose: By the end of the speech, the audience will agree that completing public speaking has psychological, professional, and social benefits.
Public Speaking as the Art of Communication The more homogeneous is audience composition, the easier it is for the speaker to achieve the desired result with the speech.
Public Speaking: Presentation Analysis Darryll Stinson’s strength in the analyzed presentation is in the introduction of the argument in the middle of the speech. Once the harms of rejection are characterized and explained in detail, so the audience is […]
Importance of Public Speaking and Eloquence Skills This is due to the fact that a human being is constantly progressing and enhancing the scope of the worldview. For example, using public speaking abilities provides an opportunity to persuade authorities and the community […]
Important Aspects of Public Speaking In addition, both speakers know the techniques of paralinguistics and extralinguistics, that is, the range and tonality of the voice and the inclusion of pauses in speech. Nevertheless, it is not difficult to notice differences […]
Public Speaking About Public Health The article talks about the comparison of the life of the elderly, socially active, and in isolation. Confidence, charm, and friendliness are three of the main contributors to a person’s appeal.
Public Speaking for College and Career by D. Menton Menton is dedicated to the recent issue in evolutionary science, which is the mystery of Lucy, the ape, believed to be the ancestor of Homo sapiens.
Steve Jobs’ Public Speaking Evaluation Jobs was dressed the same as the graduates, therefore contributing to his confidence and the gravity of his words. His speech was well-organized, and Jobs talked of every point stated in the outline in the […]
Public Speaking and Audience Analysis To begin with, the speaker may be directly invited by an organization, which may be a business conglomerate, a school, community, a political party, or a religious institution to make a public speech on a […]
Effective Public Speaking in Business Environment The aim of this paper is to reply to a discussion of glossophobia by deliberating on the importance of effective public speaking in the twenty-first-century business environment.
The Art of Public Speaking: Steve Jobs and His Messages While one must give credit to the groundbreaking ideas that the innovator introduced to the audience, the delivery of the information also played a significant part in the success of the performance.
Public Speaking: Ethics and Critical Thinking The audience should be able to trust the speaker. The speaker will also use valid arguments and facts before presenting his or her findings to the audience.
Importance of Mathematics, English and Public Speaking Public speaking is a subject that is very important in business administration as it is in other careers. Therefore, studying mathematics equipped me with statistical skills as well as other mathematical skills that are very […]
Better Public Speaking and Presentation It is normal and even beneficial for the speaker to feel a little nervous when planning to make a public speech, especially when the speech is expected to generate a massive change of thought to […]
Delivering Effective Oral Presentations: How to Succeed in Public Speaking The author contents that a strong ending of a presentation will be a plus as it will leave an impact to the audience.
Public Speaking by American Politicians Introducing a specific topic should attract readers and provide them with the reason for listening to the speech up to the end. In such a manner, the President manages to establish credibility and review the […]
Improving Public Speaking Skills Among African American Students Within a High School Institution
African-American Youth Public Speaking and Community Relations
Behavior Modification Plan for Public Speaking
Rhetoric: Creating Community Through Public Speaking
How Public Speaking Improves Your Social Life?
Incorporating Public Speaking Into Regional and Urban Town Planning
Public Speaking Anxiety and Its Effect on Students
Effective Techniques for Overcoming Anxiety Associated With Public Speaking
Intro to Public Speaking. Managing Nervousness
How to Get Prepared for Public Speaking: Main Tips for Tough Speeches
Social Phobia and Fear of Public Speaking Psychology
The Personal Benefits That Come With Taking a Public Speaking Course
How to Overcome Fear of Public Speaking?
Psychological Interventions for Fear of Public Speaking
Susan and Steven Beebe’s Public Speaking Handbook Review
Mass Persuasion: The Power of Public Speaking
Effective Public Speaking Audience Contact
Defining, Explaining, and Treating Public Speaking Anxiety
Improving Public Speaking and Oral Communication Skills
Critical Thinkings About Principles of Public Speaking
How Public Speaking Classes Improve Writing and Presentation Skills?
Analyzing the Common Fear of Public Speaking and Presentations Among Students
Inverted U-Shaped Dose-Response Curve of the Anxiolytic Effect of Cannabidiol During Public Speaking in Real Life
Key Factors for Success in Debating: Team Processes and Preparation, or the Public Speaking Skills
Social Media and Its Enhancement of Public Speaking
How Are Tones Important in Public Speaking?
Reduced Cortisol Output During Public Speaking Stress in Ostracized Women
Public Speaking: America’s Number One Fear
Informative Speech About Cognitive Analytic Therapy for Public Speaking
Communication Apprehension Theory: The Gap of Public Speaking
John Wolff’s and Dr. Matt Sanderson’s Styles of Public Speaking
What Are the Similarities and Differences between Public Speaking and Conversation?
Chris Anderson’s Field Guide to Giving a Great Public Speaking
The Relationship Between Public Speaking and Democracy
Public Speaking Anxiety and How to Deal With It
Public Speaking Basics for Starters Review
Speeches Are Scary for Anyone Who Hates Public Speaking
Why Should You Sharpen Your Public Speaking Skills?
The Magic and Logic of Powerful Public Speaking
Public Speaking: The Key to Personal Growth and Career Success
Do Introverts Struggle With Public Speaking?
Why Should We Overcome Fear of Public Speaking?
What Is the Difference Between Online and In-Person Public Speaking?
Is Anxiety in Public Speaking Normal?
What Are Some of the Best Career Options for Someone With Good Public Speaking?
Who Are the Theorists of Public Speaking?
How Has Social Media Affected Public Speaking?
What Part of the Brain Causes Fear of Public Speaking?
Is Public Speaking Similar to Everyday Conversation?
Who Is the Father of Public Speaking?
Does Anybody Actually Enjoy Public Speaking?
What Are the Theories About Public Speaking Anxiety?
Is Public Speaking Influenced by Technology?
What Is the Relationship Between Public Speaking and Democracy?
How Has Public Speaking Changed Over Time?
What Are the Techniques for Public Speaking?
Is Public Speaking the Number One Fear of Americans?
Why Is Confidence Important in Public Speaking?
How Can You Practice and Improve Your Public Speaking at Home?
What Are the Factors Affecting Public Speaking?
Is Public Speaking Online Course Effective for Entrepreneurs?
Why Is Public Speaking Important in the 21st Century?
Are There Effective Ways to Develop Spontaneous Public Speaking Skills?
Were Steve Jobs’ Public Speaking Skills Innate or Taught?
Why Is Public Speaking Relevant in the Age of Digital Communication?
Is Public Speaking a Skill or a Talent?
Can Hypnotherapy Cure a Public Speaking Phobia?
Should Public Speaking Be Taught in All Schools?
Why Is Public Speaking Important for Students?
Is There Any App to Improve or Practice Public Speaking?
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

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112 Persuasive Speech Topics That Are Actually Engaging

What’s covered:, how to pick an awesome persuasive speech topic, 112 engaging persuasive speech topics, tips for preparing your persuasive speech.

Writing a stellar persuasive speech requires a carefully crafted argument that will resonate with your audience to sway them to your side. This feat can be challenging to accomplish, but an engaging, thought-provoking speech topic is an excellent place to start.

When it comes time to select a topic for your persuasive speech, you may feel overwhelmed by all the options to choose from—or your brain may be drawing a completely blank slate. If you’re having trouble thinking of the perfect topic, don’t worry. We’re here to help!

In this post, we’re sharing how to choose the perfect persuasive speech topic and tips to prepare for your speech. Plus, you’ll find 112 persuasive speech topics that you can take directly from us or use as creative inspiration for your own ideas!

Choose Something You’re Passionate About

It’s much easier to write, research, and deliver a speech about a cause you care about. Even if it’s challenging to find a topic that completely sparks your interest, try to choose a topic that aligns with your passions.

However, keep in mind that not everyone has the same interests as you. Try to choose a general topic to grab the attention of the majority of your audience, but one that’s specific enough to keep them engaged.

For example, suppose you’re giving a persuasive speech about book censorship. In that case, it’s probably too niche to talk about why “To Kill a Mockingbird” shouldn’t be censored (even if it’s your favorite book), and it’s too broad to talk about media censorship in general.

Steer Clear of Cliches

Have you already heard a persuasive speech topic presented dozens of times? If so, it’s probably not an excellent choice for your speech—even if it’s an issue you’re incredibly passionate about.

Although polarizing topics like abortion and climate control are important to discuss, they aren’t great persuasive speech topics. Most people have already formed an opinion on these topics, which will either cause them to tune out or have a negative impression of your speech.

Instead, choose topics that are fresh, unique, and new. If your audience has never heard your idea presented before, they will be more open to your argument and engaged in your speech.

Have a Clear Side of Opposition

For a persuasive speech to be engaging, there must be a clear side of opposition. To help determine the arguability of your topic, ask yourself: “If I presented my viewpoint on this topic to a group of peers, would someone disagree with me?” If the answer is yes, then you’ve chosen a great topic!

Now that we’ve laid the groundwork for what it takes to choose a great persuasive speech topic, here are over one hundred options for you to choose from.

Should high school athletes get tested for steroids?
Should schools be required to have physical education courses?
Should sports grades in school depend on things like athletic ability?
What sport should be added to or removed from the Olympics?
Should college athletes be able to make money off of their merchandise?
Should sports teams be able to recruit young athletes without a college degree?
Should we consider video gamers as professional athletes?
Is cheerleading considered a sport?
Should parents allow their kids to play contact sports?
Should professional female athletes be paid the same as professional male athletes?
Should college be free at the undergraduate level?
Is the traditional college experience obsolete?
Should you choose a major based on your interests or your potential salary?
Should high school students have to meet a required number of service hours before graduating?
Should teachers earn more or less based on how their students perform on standardized tests?
Are private high schools more effective than public high schools?
Should there be a minimum number of attendance days required to graduate?
Are GPAs harmful or helpful?
Should schools be required to teach about standardized testing?
Should Greek Life be banned in the United States?
Should schools offer science classes explicitly about mental health?
Should students be able to bring their cell phones to school?
Should all public restrooms be all-gender?
Should undocumented immigrants have the same employment and education opportunities as citizens?
Should everyone be paid a living wage regardless of their employment status?
Should supremacist groups be able to hold public events?
Should guns be allowed in public places?
Should the national drinking age be lowered?
Should prisoners be allowed to vote?
Should the government raise or lower the retirement age?
Should the government be able to control the population?
Is the death penalty ethical?

Environment

Should stores charge customers for plastic bags?
Should breeding animals (dogs, cats, etc.) be illegal?
Is it okay to have exotic animals as pets?
Should people be fined for not recycling?
Should compost bins become mandatory for restaurants?
Should electric vehicles have their own transportation infrastructure?
Would heavier fining policies reduce corporations’ emissions?
Should hunting be encouraged or illegal?
Should reusable diapers replace disposable diapers?

Science & Technology

Is paper media more reliable than digital news sources?
Should automated/self-driving cars be legalized?
Should schools be required to provide laptops to all students?
Should software companies be able to have pre-downloaded programs and applications on devices?
Should drones be allowed in military warfare?
Should scientists invest more or less money into cancer research?
Should cloning be illegal?
Should societies colonize other planets?
Should there be legal oversight over the development of technology?

Social Media

Should there be an age limit on social media?
Should cyberbullying have the same repercussions as in-person bullying?
Are online relationships as valuable as in-person relationships?
Does “cancel culture” have a positive or negative impact on societies?
Are social media platforms reliable information or news sources?
Should social media be censored?
Does social media create an unrealistic standard of beauty?
Is regular social media usage damaging to real-life interactions?
Is social media distorting democracy?
How many branches of government should there be?
Who is the best/worst president of all time?
How long should judges serve in the U.S. Supreme Court?
Should a more significant portion of the U.S. budget be contributed towards education?
Should the government invest in rapid transcontinental transportation infrastructure?
Should airport screening be more or less stringent?
Should the electoral college be dismantled?
Should the U.S. have open borders?
Should the government spend more or less money on space exploration?
Should students sing Christmas carols, say the pledge of allegiance, or perform other tangentially religious activities?
Should nuns and priests become genderless roles?
Should schools and other public buildings have prayer rooms?
Should animal sacrifice be legal if it occurs in a religious context?
Should countries be allowed to impose a national religion on their citizens?
Should the church be separated from the state?
Does freedom of religion positively or negatively affect societies?

Parenting & Family

Is it better to have children at a younger or older age?
Is it better for children to go to daycare or stay home with their parents?
Does birth order affect personality?
Should parents or the school system teach their kids about sex?
Are family traditions important?
Should parents smoke or drink around young children?
Should “spanking” children be illegal?
Should parents use swear words in front of their children?
Should parents allow their children to play violent video games?

Entertainment

Should all actors be paid the same regardless of gender or ethnicity?
Should all award shows be based on popular vote?
Who should be responsible for paying taxes on prize money, the game show staff or the contestants?
Should movies and television shows have ethnicity and gender quotas?
Should newspapers and magazines move to a completely online format?
Should streaming services like Netflix and Hulu be free for students?
Is the movie rating system still effective?
Should celebrities have more privacy rights?

Arts & Humanities

Are libraries becoming obsolete?
Should all schools have mandatory art or music courses in their curriculum?
Should offensive language be censored from classic literary works?
Is it ethical for museums to keep indigenous artifacts?
Should digital designs be considered an art form?
Should abstract art be considered an art form?
Is music therapy effective?
Should tattoos be regarded as “professional dress” for work?
Should schools place greater emphasis on the arts programs?
Should euthanasia be allowed in hospitals and other clinical settings?
Should the government support and implement universal healthcare?
Would obesity rates lower if the government intervened to make healthy foods more affordable?
Should teenagers be given access to birth control pills without parental consent?
Should food allergies be considered a disease?
Should health insurance cover homeopathic medicine?
Is using painkillers healthy?
Should genetically modified foods be banned?
Should there be a tax on unhealthy foods?
Should tobacco products be banned from the country?
Should the birth control pill be free for everyone?

If you need more help brainstorming topics, especially those that are personalized to your interests, you can use CollegeVine’s free AI tutor, Ivy . Ivy can help you come up with original persuasive speech ideas, and she can also help with the rest of your homework, from math to languages.

Do Your Research

A great persuasive speech is supported with plenty of well-researched facts and evidence. So before you begin the writing process, research both sides of the topic you’re presenting in-depth to gain a well-rounded perspective of the topic.

Understand Your Audience

It’s critical to understand your audience to deliver a great persuasive speech. After all, you are trying to convince them that your viewpoint is correct. Before writing your speech, consider the facts and information that your audience may already know, and think about the beliefs and concerns they may have about your topic. Then, address these concerns in your speech, and be mindful to include fresh, new information.

Have Someone Read Your Speech

Once you have finished writing your speech, have someone read it to check for areas of strength and improvement. You can use CollegeVine’s free essay review tool to get feedback on your speech from a peer!

Practice Makes Perfect

After completing your final draft, the key to success is to practice. Present your speech out loud in front of a mirror, your family, friends, and basically, anyone who will listen. Not only will the feedback of others help you to make your speech better, but you’ll become more confident in your presentation skills and may even be able to commit your speech to memory.

Hopefully, these ideas have inspired you to write a powerful, unique persuasive speech. With the perfect topic, plenty of practice, and a boost of self-confidence, we know you’ll impress your audience with a remarkable speech!

717 Good Research Paper Topics

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

good and interesting research paper topics

Some examples of common research paper styles include:

Argumentative Research Papers
Persuasive Research Papers
Education Research Papers
Analytical Research Papers
Informative Research Papers

Your research essay topic may also need to be related to the specific class you are taking. For example, an economics class may require a business research paper, while a class on human behavior may call for a psychology research paper.

The requirements for your paper will vary depending on whether you are in high school, college, or a postgraduate student. In high school, you may be able to choose an easy topic and cite five or six sources you found on Google or Yahoo!, but college term papers require more in-depth research from reliable sources, such as scholarly books and peer-reviewed journals.

Do you need some help with brainstorming for topics? Some common research paper topics include abortion, birth control, child abuse, gun control, history, climate change, social media, AI, global warming, health, science, and technology.

But we have many more!

On this page, we have hundreds of good research paper topics across a wide range of subject fields. Each of these topics could be used “as is” to write your paper, or as a starting point to develop your own topic ideas.

Can We Write Your Speech?

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How to Choose Your Research Paper Topic

The first step to developing an interesting research paper is choosing a good topic. Finding a topic can be difficult, especially if you don’t know where to start. Finding the Right Research Paper Topic

If you are in a class that allows you to choose your own term paper topic, there are some important areas to consider before you begin your project:

Your Level of Interest: Research papers are time-consuming; you will be spending countless hours researching the topic and related topics, developing several primary and secondary sources, and putting everything together into a paper that is coherent and accomplishes your objectives. If you do not choose a topic you are passionate about, the process will be far more tedious, and the finished product may suffer as a result.

Your Level of Experience: Being interested in a topic is great, but it is even more helpful if you already know something about it. If you can find a topic that you already have some personal and/or professional experience with, it will vastly reduce the amount of research needed and make the whole process much easier.

Available Information on the Topic: Be sure to choose a topic that is not only interesting but also one that has numerous sources available from which to compile your research. A researchable topic with several potential sources gives you access to the level of information you need to become an authority on the subject.

Your Audience: An interesting topic to you may not necessarily be interesting to your professor or whoever is grading your research paper. Before you begin, consider the level of interest of the person(s) who will be reading it. If you are writing a persuasive or argumentative essay, also consider their point of view on the subject matter.

As you begin researching your topic, you may want to revise your thesis statement based on new information you have learned. This is perfectly fine, just have fun and pursue the truth, wherever it leads. If you find that you are not having fun during the research phase, you may want to reconsider the topic you have chosen.

The process of writing the research paper is going to be very time consuming so it’s important to select a topic that is going to sustain your interest for the duration of the project. It is good to select a topic that is relevant to your life since you are going to spend a long time researching and writing about it. Perhaps you are considering starting your own business or pursuing a career in politics. Look through the suggested research paper topics and find one in a category that you can relate to easily. Finding a topic that you have some personal interest in will help make the arduous task a lot easier, and the project will have better results because of your vested interest.

Our List of Research Topics and Issues

Affirmative action, health, pharmacy, medical treatments, interpersonal communication, marketing and advertising, barack obama, discrimination, bill clinton, hilary clinton, computer crimes and security, cosmetic surgery, controversial, criminal justice, donald trump, easy/simple, environment, family violence, foreign policy, gambling and lotteries, the lgbtq community, generational conflict, gun control, hate crimes, immigration, middle east, maternity/paternity leave, natural disasters, police work, population explosion, pornography, prisons and prisoners, prostitution, ronald reagan, student loan debt, teen issues, women, mothers, what, why, and how, relationships.

We compiled an exhaustive list of topics that would make excellent research papers. The topics are specifically organized to help you find one that will work for your project. Broad topics are headed, and then below them are narrowed topics, all to help you find an area to focus on. The way we have organized the topics for research papers can save you lots of time getting prepared to write your research paper.

We have topics that fit into categories that cover such areas as education, environmental sciences, communication and languages, current events, politics, business, criminal justice, art, psychology, economics to name just a few. Simply get started by choosing the category that interests you and peruse through the topics listed in that category and you’ll be well on your way to constructing an excellent research paper.

Be sure to check other topics ideas: persuasive speech topics , argumentative speech topics , policy speech topics . We also have some sample outlines and essay templates .

What limits are responsible?
What limits are realistic?
How to protect abortion doctors, pregnant women, and the protection of abortion clinics vs. the right to protest
Partial birth abortion
Scientific evidence vs. definition of viability
Stem cell research
Unborn victims of violence
Relative equality has been achieved vs. serious inequities continue
Can racial balance in business, education, and the military be achieved without policies that promote Affirmative Action
Reverse discrimination
NOW, National Organization for Women
No government support vs. fairness to parents who pay twice for education
Separation of church and state vs. religion’s contribution to the public good
Placement by age vs. placement by academic ability
Mainstreaming students with disabilities vs. special classrooms for their special needs
Required standardized tests for advancement vs. course requirements only
National standardized tests vs. local control of education
Discrimination in education
Multicultural/bilingual education vs. traditional basics
Teacher competency tests vs. degree requirements only
Teacher’s needs/demands vs. teaching as a service profession
Policing schools
School’s responsibility vs. parental responsibility for school violence
Drug and alcohol abuse, pregnancy, suicide
Zero tolerance toward violence vs. toughness with flexibility
Permit corporal punishment
Exams often do little more than measure a person’s ability to take exams. Should exams be outlawed in favor of another form of assessment?
Should teens in the U.S. adopt the British custom of taking a “gap year” between high school and college?
In some European schools, fewer than 10% of students get “As”. Is there grade inflation in the U.S.? Why so many “As” for Americans?
Education and funding
Grade inflation
No Child Left Behind Act: Is it working?
Home schooling
Standardized tests
Are children smarter (or more socialized) because of the Internet?
Should the federal government be allowed to regulate information on the internet?
How has the music industry been affected by the internet and digital downloading?
How does a search engine work?
What are the effects of prolonged steroid use on the human body?
What are the benefits and hazards of medical marijuana?
How does tobacco use affect the human body?
Do the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks?
What are some common sleep disorders and how are they treated?
What are the risks of artificial tanning or prolonged exposure to the sun?
Should thin people have to pay Medicare and other health costs for the health problems of obese people? Should obese people have higher premiums?
Low carbohydrate vs. low fat diets
Benefits of weight training vs. aerobics
How much weekly exercise is needed to achieve lasting health benefits
Health websites give too much information
Psychological disorders, such as cutting and self-harm, eating disorders, Autism, Tourette Syndrome, ADHD, ADD, Asperger Syndrome
Are we taking it too far by blaming fast food restaurants for obesity? When is it individual responsibility and when is it appropriate to place blame?
Should companies allow employees to exercise on work time?
Steroids, Antibiotics, Sprays; Are food manufacturers killing us?
Alternative medicine
Alzheimer’s disease
Causes of eating disorders, society’s portrayal of women
Eating disorders statistics
Down’s syndrome
Birth control
Dietary supplements
Exercise and fitness
Heart disease
In vitro fertilization
Attention deficit disorder
Investigate the history and authenticity of ADHD and ADD.
Organic foods
Prescription drugs
Vegetarianism
Learning disabilities
Schizophrenia
Coma recovery: techniques, successes, new strategies.
What are the primary types of cancer, and in what ways are they related?
Investigate the success ratio of holistic and non-medical cancer treatments.
Is Alzheimer’s inevitable? Examine theories regarding its prevention.
What forms of physical degeneracy are seen as linked to aging?
Investigate the connections between emotional stability and physical well-being, and provide evidence as to how the two may be related.
Investigate differences in rates of injury recovery and overcoming illness based on cultural parameters.
Examine the modern history of viral epidemics, researching what is known about the emergence of deadly viruses.
Examine how congenital heart disease may be treated, and how it differs from other forms of heart disease.
Is occasional depression a natural state to an extent, and is society too eager to treat this as a disorder?
Investigate Sociopathy, determine biological and psychological roots, typical patterns, and potentials of treatment.
How are compulsive behaviors determined as such? Explore examples of anal retention and expulsion, OCD, etc., as offering accepted criteria.
Research and analyze the nature of codependency as both a normal state of relations and as an unhealthy extreme.
Investigate the history and practice of electroshock, analyzing how and why this extreme treatment came to be widely used.
Hoarding: symptoms and treatments, causes, types of hoarding
Limits on extraordinary, costly treatments vs. doing everything possible
Nutritional/alternative therapy vs. mainstream medical treatment insurance coverage for alternative treatment?
Government grants for alternative treatment research?
Health superiority of alternative treatments?
Assisted suicide vs. preservation of life
Governmental insurance requirements
Should there be a national database to track controlled substances (i.e., OXYCODONE) or should it be a state issue?
Should parents avoid vaccinating their children?
Decline of communication due to technology
Online social networks and their influence
Impact of texting and cell phones
How do men and women communicate differently using body language, and why does it matter (in dating, the workplace, and social circles)?
Limitations of the media
Marketing to children
Sexual innuendos in marketing
Global marketing trends
Should certain kinds of ads be banned in the interest of health/morality/annoyance – alcohol, cigarettes, prescription meds, etc…?
Children’s programming and advertising
Most controversial political ads
Media response and public outcry to political ads
Campaign funds and their relation to political advertising
Domestic policy
Separation of church and state
Judge nominations and make up of supreme court
Congressional opposition to presidential nominees/filibusters
Affirmative action
Erosion of civil liberties vs. protection against terrorism
Patriot Act One and Two
Most developed nations have universal health coverage. Why doesn’t the U.S., the wealthiest nation, have it?
Tax cut as economic stimulation
Needs of the states vs. needs of the individuals
Budget deficits and deficit spending
Rich vs. poor
Protection of victims vs. freedom of speech/rights of the accused
How to improve race relations
Women still earn only 75 cents for every $1 a man earns. Explain why.
Discrimination in the workplace: analyzing issues for today’s corporations.
Gender discrimination
Interracial marriage
Should government impose restrictions on what kinds of foods can be served in school cafeterias?
Pros and cons of school uniforms.
Do children learn better in boys-only and girls-only schools?
Charter schools
Prayer in schools
Rights of the individual vs. community safety (or campus safety)
Funding for research
U.S. obligation to third world countries
Manufacturing of generic drugs vs. U.S. pharmaceutical companies
How contagious diseases “jump” from animal hosts to human
What treatments are available to people infected with HIV and are they effective?
Right to privacy of a child with AIDS vs. safety of other children
Limits for campus safety vs. personal freedom
Implications on violence and crime
Issues with binge drinking
Should the U.S. lower the drinking age to 18?
Leniency because of condition vs. community safety
Revoking drivers license vs. being able to attend classes and work
Age discrimination of violators
Animal rights vs. medical research
Should it be illegal to use animals for sports and entertainment?
Humane treatment of animals vs. factory farms
Animal welfare in slaughter houses
Animal protection vs. business, employment interests
School prestige vs. academic standards
Should shoe companies be able to give away free shoes and equipment to high school athletes?
Should college athletes be paid?
Doping in sports
What are the effects on children whose parents push them in sports?
Steroids: Should they be legalized?
Title IX: Has it helped women’s sports? Has it harmed men’s sports?
Social effects of team sports
Needed in public school library/curriculum?
Needed in entertainment industry?
Needed on the Internet?
Should parents censor textbooks and other literature for children in schools?
Parental filters on the Internet. Does censorship actually increase curiosity and use of pornography?
How is internet censorship used in China and around the world?
How has United States censorship changed over the decades?
Democratic kingmaker, influence on political succession
Impact of global initiative
Influence on fundraising
Influence as Secretary of State
Foreign policies
Influence on women
ACT or SAT score requirements
Promotional techniques, such as 1st time scholarships
4 year vs. 2 year colleges
College admission policies
College tuition planning
Distance education
Diploma mills
Online porn vs. freedom of speech
Stalking, invasion of privacy vs. reasonable access
Hacking crimes–workable solutions?
What are the latest ways to steal identity and money?
From where does spam email come and can we stop it?
How do computer viruses spread and in what ways do they affect computers?
Cyber security
Securing Internet commerce: is it possible in today’s arms’ race of hackers and evolving technology?
Is downloading of media (music, videos, software) infringing on the rights of media producers and causing economic hardships on media creators?
Should media producers prosecute students and individuals that they suspect of downloading copyrighted materials?
Programs such as SPOTIFY and PANDORA
Copyright Law
Age limitations on surgery
Addiction to surgery
Demand for beauty by society
The dangers of breast implants for teenagers
The cost of cosmetic surgery
Plastic surgery
Weight loss surgery
Are surgeons “scissor happy,” and are surgeries widely unnecessarily
Negative texting, instant messaging, email
Is cyber-bullying as bad as face-to-face?
Kinds of punishment for cyber-bullying
Media response
Should the state or federal government put laws into place to prevent bullying?
Is homosexuality a choice, or are people born gay?
Evolution vs. Creationism.
Should “under God” remain in the Pledge of Allegiance?
Is healthcare a right or a privilege?
Fossil fuels vs. alternative energy.
Transgender bathroom policies.
Capitalism vs. socialism.
Should parents be allowed to spank their children?
Should sanctuary cities lose their federal funding?
The pros and cons of gun control.
Should the U.S. continue drone strikes in foreign countries?
Was the U.S. justified in going to war with Iraq?
How to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The pros and cons of animal testing.
Do pro athletes have the right to sit during the national anthem?
Incarceration rates in the U.S.
Technology and the criminal justice system.
Police brutality and minorities.
Should the police wear body cameras?
In what circumstances should the death penalty be allowed?
Should we have stiffer penalties for drunk driving?
Should those who text while driving be put in jail?
White-collar crime and punishment.
Criminalizing protests and activism.
The rise of wrongful convictions.
Mutual consent vs. exploitation
Campuses with “no touch” policy
Drugs associated to Date Rape
Violence and Rape
Government support vs. parental financing
Benefits vs. harmful effects
Trump’s unconventional presidential campaign.
The psychology of Donald Trump.
Who is behind Trump’s political rise?
Donald Trump and evangelical voters.
Donald Trump the businessman.
Trump’s war on the press (aka “fake news”).
The Trump Organization and conflicts of interest.
The border wall and illegal immigration policy.
Global warming and climate change policy.
Trump-Russia collusion.
The rapid rise of “The Resistance.”
Trump’s legislative agenda; e.g., health care, tax policy, deregulation, etc.
Trump’s “America First” trade and foreign policy.
The case for (or against) the Trump presidency.
Punishment vs. treatment
Family reactions
Social acceptance
Community safety vs. legalization
United States military involvement in Colombian drug trade?
Drug legalization
Abstinence Program: Do they work?
Should the federal government legalize the use of marijuana?
What is the true key to happiness?
What is the cause of America’s obesity crisis?
Why sleep is necessary.
Are plastic bottles really bad for you?
How to encourage people to recycle more.
How 3D printers benefit everyone.
How do GPS systems on smartphones work?
How have oil spills impacted the environment?
Verbal vs. nonverbal communication.
The accuracy of lie detector tests.
How Bill Gates and Steve Jobs changed the world.
The pros and cons of hitchhiking.
The PC vs. the Mac.
What causes tornadoes?
Pollution, air, and water
Endangered species
What are the risks of climate change and global warming?
Rain forests
Alternative energy
Alternative fuel/hybrid vehicles
Conservation
Deforestation
Greenhouse effect
Marine pollution
How have oil spills affected the planet and what steps are being taken to prevent them?
Sustainability of buildings
Recycling programs
Cost of “green” programs
Wind turbines
Landfill issues
Renewable fuels
Radioactive waste disposal
Soil pollution
Wildlife conservation: what efforts are being taken to protect endangered wildlife?
Excessive burden on industries?
Drilling for oil in Alaska’s ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge)
Gasoline consumption vs. SUV’s popularity
Wildlife protection vs. rights of developers
Clean air and water standards–weakened vs. strengthened
What are the dangers of scuba diving and underwater exploration?
Should the use of coal be subjected to stricter environmental regulations than other fuels?
Is global warming a hoax? Is it being exaggerated?
How much is too much noise? What, if anything, should we do to curb it?
Protecting victims vs. rights of the accused
Women who kill abusive husbands vs. punishment for murder
Marital rape?
How to protect children vs. respect for parental rights
Children who kill abusive parents
Child abuse–workable solutions?
Child abuse
Domestic abuse
Organic farming vs. mainline use of chemical sprays
How to best protect the environment; conservation
Family vs. corporate farms
Food production costs
Interventionism?
Third world debt and World Bank/International Monetary Fund
Military support vs. economic development of third world countries
Human rights violations
European Union in competition with the U.S.
Unilateralism
Relevance of the United Nations
Neocon role in foreign policy
Christian right influence on foreign policy
Pentagon vs. State Department
Nation building as a policy
Arms control
Obama’s National Strategy for Counterterrorism
Control of al Qaeda
Drawdown of U.S. Armed Forces in the Middle East
Cats vs. dogs: which makes the better pet?
My pet can live forever: why I love animal clones.
According to my social media profile, my life is perfect.
Football vs. baseball: which sport is America’s favorite pastime?
Starbucks vs. Caribou: whose coffee is better?
What does your dog really think of you?
Why millennials deserve lower pay.
What makes people end up with so many mismatched socks?
How to become a research paper master.
How reading Tuesdays with Morrie can make you wiser.
Easy way to earn revenues vs. social damage
Individual freedom vs. social damage
Do lotteries actually benefit education or is it a scam?
Can gamblers ever acquire a statistical advantage over the house in casino games?
Should there be a constitutional amendment that allows gays and lesbians to legally marry?
Adoption rights?
Need special rights for protection?
College campus response
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender
Gay parenting
Elderly to share in the tax burden vs. government support of elderly
Future of social security
Job discrimination
Child rearing
Employment issues
Generational differences
Community and police safety vs. unrestricted right to bear arms
NRA (National Rifle Association)
2nd Amendment
Do states that allow citizens to carry guns have higher or lower crime rates?
Community safety vs. freedom of Speech
Punishment inequities
Persecution of alternative lifestyles
Church Arson: Hate crime?
Prevention of hazing
Greek organizations and rituals of hazing
Statistics of death or injury due to Hazing
High Schools and Hazing
What happened during the Salem witch trials?
How did trains and railroads change life in America?
What may have occurred during the Roswell UFO incident of 1947?
What Olympic events were practiced in ancient Greece?
How did Cleopatra come to power in Egypt? What did she accomplish during her reign?
What are the origins of the conflict in Darfur?
What was the women’s suffrage movement and how did it change America?
How was the assassination of Abraham Lincoln plotted and executed?
How did Cold War tension affect the US and the world?
What happened to the lost settlers at Roanoke?
How did Julius Caesar affect Rome?
How did the Freedom Riders change society?
What was the code of the Bushido and how did it affect samurai warriors?
How did Joan of Arc change history?
What dangers and hardships did Lewis and Clark face when exploring the Midwest?
How are the Great Depression and the Great Recession similar and different?
What was the Manhattan Project and what impact did it have on the world?
Why did Marin Luther protest against the Catholic Church?
How did the Roman Empire fall?
How did the black plague affect Europe?
How did Genghis Khan conquer Persia?
How did journalists influence US war efforts in Vietnam?
Who is Vlad the Impaler and what is his connection to Count Dracula?
Who was a greater inventor, Leonardo di Vinci or Thomas Edison?
What was the role of African Americans during the Revolutionary War?
What was Britain’s view of India during British rule?
What were the factors in the China-Tibet conflict?
Research and analyze the emergence of the Catholic Church as a political force following the collapse of the Roman Empire.
Investigate Dr. Eileen Powers’ claim that the Roman Empire was lost primarily due to an inability to perceive itself as subject to the change inevitable to all governments, or her “force of nature” theory.
Explore and discuss the actual cooperation occurring through the centuries of Barbarian conquest of Rome.
Examine the differences and similarities between Western and Eastern concepts and practices of kingship.
Investigate and explain the trajectory of ALEXANDER THE GREAT’s empire, with minimal emphasis on personal leadership.
To what extent did commerce first link Eastern and Western cultures, and how did this influence early international relations?
Research and analyze how Japan moved from a feudalistic to a modern state, and how geographic isolation played a role in the process.
Analyze the process and effects of Romanization on the Celtic people of ancient England: benefits, conflicts, influences.
Overview of British dominance of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland! How was this justified in each case, and what motivated the attempts over centuries of rebellion and failure?
Investigate the known consequences of Guttenberg’s printing press within the first 30 years of its invention, and only in regard to the interaction between European nations.
Identify and analyze the point at which the Reformation became fused with European politics and nationalist agendas.
To what extent did Henry VIII promote the Reformation, despite his vigorous persecution of heretics in England?
Trace and discuss the uses of papal power as a military and political device in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Research the city/state of Florence from the 13th to the 16th centuries, discussing how and why it evolved as so fiercely republican.
Compare and contrast the Russian Czarism of Peter, Elizabeth, and Catherine with the monarchies of England and France in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Investigate the enormous significance of Catholic Orthodoxy as the dominant faith in Russia, and its meaning and influence in an empire populated by a minimal aristocracy and predominant serfdom.
To what extent did Philip II’s religious convictions shape European policy and conflict in the 16th century?
Trace the path leading to the convocation of the Estates in France in the late 18th century, leading to the Revolution. Assess political and social errors responsible.
What eventually ended serfdom in Russia, and why were numerous attempts to end it by the Czars in power consistently unsuccessful?
Research and report on how England was transformed in the 19th century by the industrial revolution and the advent of the railroad.
Compare and contrast the consequences of the industrial revolutions in England and America in terms of urbanization.
What were the circumstances leading to World War I, and how might the war have been averted?
Assess the Cold War of the 20th century in an historical context: can any parallels be made between this conflict and other ongoing tensions between major powers in earlier centuries?
Analyze Roosevelt’s decisions in implementing the New Deal, beginning with the closing of the banks. Suggest alternative strategies, or reinforce the rationale of the actions.
What architectural marvels were found in Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire?
What was the cultural significance of the first moon landing?
Food programs
Welfare reform
Governmental supplementation
Homeless: urban restrictions vs. needs of the destitute
Workable solutions?
Realistic limits vs. openness toward people in need
English as official language vs. respect for diversity
Should illegal immigrants be made legal citizens?
Access to public school and public programs for Illegal Aliens
Policing borders–workable solutions?
Employment and/or taxation for Illegal Aliens
International trade
Democratization
“Shock and awe”
U.S. occupation vs. liberation
Iraqi run vs. U.S. puppet state
Oil and Gas prices-Control of resources
Effective self-government
War on Terrorism
Is America winning or losing the War? What is the measurement of success? Have the benefits outweighed the costs?
Parental leave for both parents
FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act)
Bonding time
Preemptive strike policy
Precision weapons
Intelligence reliability
Afghanistan – a success or stalemate
Should the U.S. have mandatory military conscriptions? For whom?
Governmental support
Preparedness
School emergency plans
Community warning systems
Damage costs
U.S. presidential elections should be decided by the popular vote, rather than the Electoral College.
The minimum wage should be increased to provide a “livable” wage for working families.
There should be stiffer penalties for those who commit animal cruelty.
School vouchers increase competition and create better quality schools.
The corporate tax rate should be lowered to create more jobs.
Social Security should be privatized.
Human torture should be banned in all circumstances.
Affirmative action is still needed to ensure racial and gender equality.
The U.S. dollar should go back on the gold standard.
Euthanasia and assisted suicide should be outlawed.
Police brutality vs. dangers that police face
Racially motivated brutality?
Politician’s right to privacy vs. the public’s right to know
Amount of money going into presidential campaigns
Views on abortion, gay marriage, and other controversial topics
Political debates throughout history
Third-party candidates at presidential debates
Rights of religious citizens vs. freedom from imposition (e.g. prayer in schools)
Religious motivation for political involvement vs. cultural pluralism
Christian Right’s influence on foreign policy
How serious? Causes? Workable solutions?
Funding abortion as a form of birth control in third world countries?
What would happen globally if the demand for natural resources is greater than the supply?
Limitation of social deterioration vs. freedom of speech
Definition of Pornography
Child Pornography
Building prisons vs. alternative sentencing
Adjusted sentencing for lesser crimes
Community service
Diversion Programs for inmates
How does the prison population in America compare to other nations?
Prostitution laws in the US and abroad
Benefits and drawbacks to legalizing prostitution
Psychological effect on prostitutes and former prostitutes
Sex slavery, buying and selling
Should the government be allowed to wire tap without permission?
What limitations, if any, should be applied to the paparazzi?
What medical information should be confidential? Who, if anybody, should have access to medical records?
Does the public have a right to know about a public figure’s private life?
Privacy rights
Do harsher punishments mean fewer convictions?
Date rape: consent vs. exploitation
Drugs-Rohypnol, GHB, KETAMINE
Legalization of Date Rape Drugs
Recently, a 17-year-old boy was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl. Are statutory rape laws patronizing to girls and discriminatory to boys?
Acquaintance rape
Is there one true religion?
Freedom of religion
Offer distinct reasons why the Bible should be studied as literature, removed from religious significance.
From Hollywood to the White House: the political rise of Ronald Reagan.
The Great Communicator: how Reagan captured the hearts of Americans.
1981 assassination attempt: bullet wound leaves Reagan inches away from death.
Reagan appoints the first female Supreme Court justice.
The PATCO breakup and decline of the labor unions.
Tax cuts and “Reaganomics.”
The “Iran-Contra” scandal.
Reagan, Gorbachev, and the end of the Cold War.
The final act: Reagan’s Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and long goodbye.
How has airport security intensified since September 11th, 2001?
Identity theft
Homeland Security: Are we safer since the creation of this department?
Should the government use invasive pat-downs and body scans to ensure passenger safety or are there better methods?
Is arming Pilots a good idea?
What responsibilities do secret service agents have?
Student loan scams
How to avoid student loan debt
Managing student loan debt
Driverless cars and the future of transportation.
Breaking the glass ceiling: the impact of the women’s rights movement.
How seniors contribute to societal well-being.
How disabled individuals are viewed by society.
The modern-day civil rights movement.
Has technology made us more detached from society?
The role of religion in society.
In today’s society, are we better off or worse off than previous generations?
Popular music and its impact on the culture.
Class and geographical segregation.
The differences between life in the city, suburbs, and/or rural areas.
Should parents be able to create designer babies?
Should microchips be implanted inside humans for better tracking and security?
Will smart watches eventually replace cell phones?
The pros and cons of being a global citizen.
Progressive vs. flat tax
Excessive taxes vs. worthwhile programs
Is text messaging contributing to teen illiteracy?
How eating disorders impact teens.
Tablets vs. textbooks.
Do standardized tests improve teen education?
Are violent video games contributing to juvenile delinquency?
Is English literature relevant for today’s teens?
Should the HPV vaccine be required for teen girls?
Do teachers inflate grades so students can pass?
Should advertisers be allowed to target teens?
How to encourage teens to stop smoking.
The causes and effects of teen alcohol and drug abuse.
How to prevent teen pregnancy.
Osama Bin Laden
World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings
September 11, 2001
War on terrorism
Afghanistan
Bioterrorism
Al Qaida: Has U.S. policy actually spread terrorism rather than contained it? Will it get better or worse? Why and how?
Can terrorism ever be justified?
What kind of person becomes a suicide bomber?
What were the circumstances surrounding the death of Osama Bin Laden?
Has the Patriot Act prevented or stopped terrorist acts in America?
How is text messaging affecting teen literacy?
Cell Phones: How have they changed us socially?
Does the Information Age mean we are losing important historical information?
Where did hip-hop music originate?
A day in the life of a Buddhist monk.
How does the brain store and retrieve memories?
What life is like inside an ant colony.
The case for and against the existence of UFOs.
Can virtual reality adequately substitute for actual reality?
Are dreams hidden messages or just hot air?
Why do people collect the most ridiculous things?
When is it time to get out of an abusive relationship?
The art of pretending to care.
Public attitudes toward veterans
Health issues caused by service time
Organizations for veterans
Governmental support for veterans
What programs are available to help war veterans get back into society?
Iraq War Vets: Are they being cheated on medical benefits?
Is there a glass ceiling?
Obstacles to women running for political office?
Should women be priests, pastors, ministers, and rabbis?
What differences, if any, are there in children who are raised by stay-at-home moms and working moms? Does society today still discriminate against working mothers who wish to have flexible work schedules?
Should stay-at-home moms get a salary from the government?
Why do we sleep?
How do GPS systems work?
Who was the first person to reach the North Pole?
Did anybody ever escape Alcatraz?
What was life like for a gladiator?
Are there any effective means of repelling insects?
How is bulletproof clothing made?
How was the skateboard invented and how has it changed over the years?
What is life like inside of a beehive?
Where did hip hop originate and who were its founders?
What makes the platypus a unique and interesting mammal?
What is daily life like for a Buddhist monk?
How did gunpowder change warfare?
How were cats and dogs domesticated and for what purposes?
What do historians know about ninjas?
Are humans still evolving?
What is the curse of the pharaohs?
Why was Socrates executed?
How did ancient sailors navigate the globe?
How are black holes formed?
How do submarines work?
Do lie detector tests accurately determine truthful statements?
How does a hybrid car save energy?
What ingredients can be found in a hotdog?
How does a shark hunt?
How does the human brain store and retrieve memories?
How does stealth technology shield aircraft from radar?
What causes tornados?
How does night vision work?
What causes desert mirages, and how do they affect wanderers?
What are sinkholes, and how are they formed?
What are the major theories explaining the disappearance of the dinosaurs?
Should we reform laws to make it harder to get a divorce?
Divorce rates
Family relationships
Family values
Race relations
Marriage and Divorce
A view of home life and its effect on child development
How 4 generations in the workplace can work together.
Building positive employee relationships
Modern work environments
Business leadership
Workforce regulations
Small business and taxation
Corporate law
Issues in modern Human Resources: Are today’s corporations patronizing employees or being more responsible for them?
Cultural conflict in globalization: Strategies for successfully establishing a presence in a foreign culture
Corporate abuse: How can executives so successfully manipulate corporations criminally?
Identifying stakeholders in non-public companies: is the corporate responsibility the same as for public offerings?
Devise a new model of leadership for business today, incorporating elements of existing leadership models and theories.
Examine the actual impact of social media as a business promotion instrument.
Devise a scenario in which traditionally unethical business practices may be justified.
Should newspaper reporters be required to reveal their sources?
Do the media (both print and broadcast) report fairly? Do they ever cross the line between reporting the news and creating the news?
Does news coverage favor whites?
What steps are involved in creating a movie or television show?
How have the film and music industries dealt with piracy?
Media conglomerates/ownership
Minorities in mass media
Portrayal of women
Reality television
Television violence
Media portrayals
Sensationalized media
Examine the issues of responsibility in pharmaceutical companies’ promotion of drugs in the media.
Forensic science technology
What are the current capabilities and future goals of genetic engineers?
What obstacles faced scientists in breaking the sound barrier?
What is alchemy and how has it been attempted?
What technologies are available to home owners to help them conserve energy?
Nuclear energy
Clean energy resources
Wind energy: Is wind energy really that inexpensive? Is it effective? Is it practical?
What are the dangers and hazards of using nuclear power?
Investigate Freud’s contributions to psychology as they exist today: what value remains?
Are there gender foundations to psychology and behavior that are removed from cultural considerations? To what extent does gender actually dictate thought process?
To what extent is sexual orientation dictated by culture, and is there an orientation not subject to social and cultural influences?
Investigate the psychological process in group dynamics with regard to the emergence of leaders and the compliance of others.
Compare and contrast Jung, Freud, and Adler: explore distinctions and commonalities.
What is “normal,” and to what extent is psychology reliant on culture to define this?
Research and assess the effectiveness of radical psychotherapies and unconventional treatments.
Research the concept of human will as both a component of individual psychology and a process or element removed from it.
To what extent is self-image influenced by culture in regard to eating disorders? Are external factors entirely to blame?
How do centuries-old beliefs of madness and dementia relate to modern conceptions of mental illness?
Is psychology itself inevitably a non-science in that virtually any theory may be substantiated, or is there a foundation of science to the subject to which all theorists must conform?
Examine Euripides and gender psychology: what do the Trojan Women and Medea reveal?
Using three characters, explore Chaucer’s insight into human behavior in The Canterbury Tales.
Identify the true relationship between Dante and Virgil in The Divine Comedy, emphasizing Dante’s reliance on the poet.
Research and discuss the English fascination for euphemism and ornate narratives in the 16th century, beginning with John Lyly.
Examine any existing controversies regarding Shakespearean authorship, citing arguments on both sides.
Analyze similarities and differences between Marlowe and Shakespeare in regard to Tamburlaine and Titus Andronicus.
Defend or support Bloom’s assertion of Shakespeare as the “inventor of the human being.”
To what degree are Shakespeare’s plays influenced by, or reflective, of the Elizabethan era? Identify specific cultural and national events linked to at least 3 plays.
Analyze the unusual construction of A Winter’s Tale in regard to transition from comedy to drama. Is this valid? Does the transition benefit or harm the play?
Support the belief that Shakespeare is representing himself as Prospero through evidence, or similarly refute the belief.
Why was extreme violence so popular in English Reformation drama? Cite Marlowe, Kyd, Webster, and Shakespeare.
Analyze the metaphysical in Donne’s poetry: is it spiritual, existential, or both?
What is Shelley seeking to say in Frankenstein? Support your answer with passages from the novel.
Compare and contrast Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina with Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, noting the characters of the heroines.
It is argued that Dickens failed when he turned to serious, romantic narrative in his novels. Using Copperfield, Great Expectations, and Dombey and Son, defend or refute this claim.
Assess Dickens’ stance as a moralist in Bleak House and Hard Times: to what extent does he seek reform, and to what does he comment on the human condition?
Was the Harry Potter phenomenon warranted by quality of storytelling or more a matter of public receptivity at the time combined with media exposure?

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20 thoughts on “717 Good Research Paper Topics”

How has music evolved? How has music effected history? Music of the past vs music of the present. How has the music industry effected the music’s quality?

Do you think abortion is legal? Why they do abortion?

Why are people instinctively afraid of animals that are not mammals?

Should abortion be legalized? Should domestic abuse and child abuse victims be granted clemency for killing their abuser?

Jewish holocaust and its contribution to European History, specifically Germany

What is the most popular college in the United States?

The Black Knight: Space Waste or Alien Satellite? The Moon Landing: Real or Hollywood Hoax? Have We Become Too Politically Correct? Paranormal Research: Real? Fake? Should it be offered in college? Who really was Jack the Ripper? Can a zombie apocalypse truly occur? Who is the best or worst president of the USA? The Men in Black: real or hoax?

Why Marching Band is a sport.

Marching band is not a sport

how did aids start?

Topic : Alternative medicine Research question : Does the alternative medicine is safe and standardized Hypothesis : analyse the quality controle of alternative medicine formulations

Does our nostalgic music/childhood songs affect our present lifestyle, and in what ways?

reverse discriminations is still discrimination so there’s no such thing as that. like reverse racism isn’t a thing because that is still racism

Men on birth control and not women.

You forget the topic Islamophobia 😉

You should add a music section. Is Muzio Clementi overshadowed by Mozart? The Toccata and Fugue in D- really wasn’t written by Bach The use of the “Dies Irae” in cinema Why is modern music so repetitive and simple compared to classical music?

I want to do a research project on Education

I want to research but not get a perfect topic help me give me a best topic about current affairs

Topic: History. Are the Crusades oversimplified? where they justified? If so, how? Topic: Current affairs. Is the term “conspiracy theory” used to discredit any non-mainstream, controversial opinions. Topic: Gun control. Does limiting magazine capacity for firearms have any effect on gun crime? Are high-capacity magazines ever necessary for self-defense? Topic: Economics. Are minimum wage laws necessary to guarantee “decent”, or do the laws of supply and demand automatically ensure that?

Are women funny?

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Organizing your topic, cq researcher, credo reference, differing points of view, encyclopedias & reference books.

Additional Research Help

Preparing to present a speech?

Sometimes choosing a topic is the hardest part:

Think about how to make a broader topic manageable and interesting to you (see Organizing your topic below)
Utilize databases such as CQ Researcher to find more information, historical context, and more on your topic.
Do "pre-research" on your topic in Reference Books , Encyclopedias , CREDO Reference , etc.
Browse other online resources arranged by topic listed on this page ( Points of View , ProCon.org , Pew etc.)
10 Public Speaking Tips: How to Relax, Focus, and Shine at Your Next Presentation Copyright © 2019, Purdue University Global, Inc.
Visual Ways to Organize Your Ideas (Topics or Concepts) Concept Webs (Concept Maps) and other Thought Mapping Diagrams.

How to Create a Concept Map:

U of G Library. 2017, April 27. How to Create a Concept Map. https://youtu.be/sZJj6DwCqSU

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Browse Topic Pages in Credo Similar to Wikipedia, these pages give definitions, history, statistics on broad topics
Points of View Reference Center Viewpoint and analyses of topical issues relating to news and current events.
Writing a Persuasive Essay How to write persuasively. From Points of View database.

Politifact.com Pulitzer Prize winning site that rates political statements with a "Truth-O-Meter." Who will get a "Pants on Fire" rating this week?
HealthNewsReview Wonder about health-related stories the you see in the news? Here is some independent evaluation
Pew Research Center Topic List A rich source of recent statistics/polls covering diverse topics related to social and demographic trends from public opinion to technology use.

Did you know there are Encyclopedias on Extreme Sports and Witchcraft and hundreds of other topics at the library online and in print? Click on the link below to browse them. Use the search box to find even more.

TIP: Add "encyclopedia" to your search keyword (topic) in your search, like "dance, encyclopedia".

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45 Public Speaking Topics and Ideas

October 4, 2018 - Helen Hooper

Do you enjoy standing up in front of a large audience and making a speech? Or do you get so nervous that you forget what you were going to tell the audience about?

If the answer to the second question is “yes,” then you’re not alone. Many people, including well-known entrepreneurs, politicians, and actors, aren’t fans of public speaking. For example, did you know that Richard Branson is among them? Yes, one of the best entrepreneurs in history has a real far of public speaking!

“I loathe making speeches, and always have,” Branson admitted in one of the interviews. “Over the years, however, I have become much more practiced at giving speeches, though it still makes me a bit nervous.”

“Fortunately, the fear of public speaking shouldn’t be an insurmountable obstacle for you with some learning and practice,” says Gordon Stevens, a motivational coach. “The more you develop your skills, the more confident you’ll feel during your speeches.”

Moreover, having strong public skills can greatly boost your career and improve your position in the labor market. Warren Buffet stated “you can improve your value by 50 percent just by learning communication skills – public speaking”

So, whether you’re looking for topics for your next public speech or just for practice, take a look at these 45 ideas, including tips on how to choose the best ones for your purpose.

Public speaking topics

Category: science.

1. Why humans should colonize mars

Let’s be honest here, humans are endangered species because all of us live only on one planet. Colonizing mars increases the chance of long-term survival of humankind and has many other benefits, so it’s definitely a great topic to talk about.

2. When will AI exceed human performance?

It’s one of the most discussed topics in science right now because AI has been developing at an amazing speed in the recent years. So, there are tons of quality materials to retrieve information from, such as this article from cornell university .

3. What is the future of commercial space flight?

Elon musk has recently announced the name of the first space tourist who will orbit the moon several times on SpaceX’s most advanced spacecraft, the BFR. When do you think this will happen?

4. Should nanotechnology research continue?

With all the risks and ethical issues that nanotechnology research is facing now, it could be an interesting topic to discuss.

5. Should we bring extinct species back from the dead?

Animal cloning is becoming more common, so cloning extinct species appears to be a matter of time. But should we really bring back animals like mammoths? What would we do with them if we succeed?

6. Potential for super greenhouse effect on earth

Global warming is the real thing, and governments around the world are starting to take this issue seriously. But where are we on our way to triggering a runaway greenhouse effect that turned our neighboring planet Venus into a hellish world?

7. What is gene therapy?

For example, could we use it to prevent diseases and conditions?

8. Why whales should not be hunted for food

Also an interesting topic that touches upon one of the most relevant issues in environmental health.

9. Stephen Hawking’s contributions to science

One of the greatest minds in history, Stephen Hawking, passed away recently, so it would be great to share his main contributions to science.

10. When will the next solar superflare hit earth?

The scientists know it’s coming, but can we make some predictions?

Category: self-development and self-help topics

11. How can you improve public speaking skills?

Why not, right?

12. What leadership style is the most suitable for your personality?

There are a number of leadership styles, so finding out which one suits you is an interesting idea.

13. How to get a fresh start after a breakup / divorce?

14. Why you should become a freelancer

15. Why being lazy isn’t always a bad thing

16. What Richard Branson recommends to everyone to make everyday a success

Here are some materials for you to start researching.

17. Why you should visit at least 5 countries by the time you’re 30

18. Gluten isn’t bad for health

19. Scientific evidence on why you shouldn’t skip your breakfast

20. Why success if often an extreme tolerance for failure (Jeff Bezos experience)

Jeff Bezos is an excellent example of a person who thinks of a failure as a chance to learn .

Category: society

21. Do professional athletes make too much money?

22. Why the your country should promote legal immigration

23. Is it possible to eliminate poverty in every country in the world?

24. The internet should be free for everyone

25. Why punishing children for bullying others isn’t a solution

This conversation article has some good ideas on that for you to explore.

26. The U.S. should encourage the spirit of volunteerism

27. Society should make monopolies illegal

28. Is our society too dependent on technology?

29. Why we need to support local businesses

30. Being gay: choice or nature?

31. Cell phone use while driving should be banned in all U.S. states.

Category: workplace

32. How to spot a toxic employee?

33. Give 5 reasons why we should abolish tipping restaurant servers

This Huffington Post article will be of great help to you on this topic.

34. Why the minimum wage should be raised?

35. Top reasons why best employees invest in employee wellness programs

36. The best ways to increase employee engagement for better performance

37. Should age discrimination be a criminal offence?

38. All internships should be paid internships

39. The minimum age for unsupervised driving should be raised to 18

40. LGBT workers are protected from workplace discrimination.

Category: controversial

41. Airline passengers should sacrifice their privacy for the sake of flight safety

42. Your government should promote conservation

43. Your government should make animal testing illegal

44. The use of the internet by teens should be limited

45. The internet contributes to media bias

How to choose a public speaking topic?

Check out these quick tips for picking a great topic:

Choose a topic that you’re fairly familiar with or have an interest in. This might help you to include some personal experience as a bonus to your speech.
Know your audience. Your topic should always resemble the interests of your audience, otherwise they could find it boring. In this case, you’ll be wasting yours and their time.
Pick up a hot topic that describes a current event, place, or process.

Read this article for additional information on choosing a public speaking topic .

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Published: 04 March 2024

How to give great research talks to any audience

Veronica M. Lamarche ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2199-6463 1 ,
Franki Y. H. Kung 2 ,
Eli J. Finkel ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0213-5318 3 , 4 , 5 na1 ,
Eranda Jayawickreme ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6544-7004 6 na1 ,
Aneeta Rattan 7 na1 &
Thalia Wheatley 8 , 9 na1

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Being able to deliver a persuasive and informative talk is an essential skill for academics, whether speaking to students, experts, grant funders or the public. Yet formal training on how to structure and deliver an effective talk is rare. In this Comment, we give practical tips to help academics to give great talks to a range of different audiences.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Early Career Committee for supporting the preparation of the SPSP 2022 professional development session that led to the development of this Comment. We thank all of the attendees who joined us for this session and not only generated a lively discussion but also signalled the need for more support in giving great academic talks for all audiences.

Author information

These authors contributed equally: Eli J. Finkel, Eranda Jayawickreme, Aneeta Rattan, Thalia Wheatley.

Authors and Affiliations

Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK

Veronica M. Lamarche

Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

Franki Y. H. Kung

Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

Eli J. Finkel

Management & Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Evanston, IL, USA

Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

Department of Psychology & Program for Leadership and Character, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

Eranda Jayawickreme

Department of Organisational Behaviour, London Business School, London, UK

Aneeta Rattan

Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, USA

Thalia Wheatley

Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA

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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Veronica M. Lamarche .

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Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Lamarche, V.M., Kung, F.Y.H., Finkel, E.J. et al. How to give great research talks to any audience. Nat Hum Behav (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01839-2

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Assistant Professor of History of Behavioral Science, The Ohio State University

Research Associate, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

Emeritus Professor of Education and Director of Oracy Cambridge, University of Cambridge

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Professor of International Affairs and the Associate Vice-President (Teaching and Learning), Carleton University

Lecturer in Strategic Speech Communication, Queensland University of Technology

Professor of Rhetoric, University of Oregon

Postdoctoral fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the ERC funded project APARTHEID-STOPS that studies the transnational circulation of anti-apartheid expressive culture., Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Associate Professor of English Language Studies, The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Middlebury

Senior lecturer, Monash University

Lecturer, English Language and Linguistics, University of the West of England

Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis

PhD Candidate in Speech Pathology, University of Minnesota

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Developing a Topic

Finding topics: persuasive speeches, finding topics: informative speeches, video: picking your topic is research.

Search Strategies
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Developing a good research question can sometimes be the most difficult part of the research process. If you are struggling, consider the following ways:

Ask your instructor for help.
Ask a reference librarian for help.
Use databases (listed on this page) to help you.

Narrowing a topic: Use subject-specific dictionaries or encyclopedias (Reference books) for key terms/ideas related to your subject.

Several of the library databases are helpful for locating topics for persuasive speeches:

Not sure what a database is or how to search one? Use the site menu to learn more!

Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window Look for 'Browse Issues' for an extensive list of debatable, argumentative topics to research. This database is an expanded, digital version of the Hot Topics shelf in the library.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window Look for the drop-down menu 'Browse Topics' to find very broad topics like 'Education' or 'Defense and National Security.' Under those broad categories, find the report names which would be your narrow topic.
SIRS Issues Researcher This link opens in a new window Look for 'Leading Issues' or 'All Leading Issues' . SIRS gives an overview of the broad topic and different sides to the issue.

Websites for further topic ideas:

ProCon.org: Understand the issues. Understand each other. The mission statement at ProCon.org is: "Promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, and primarily pro-con format." more... less... ProCon.org uses professional researchers and rigorous editorial standards to explore more than 70 controversial issues from gun control and death penalty to illegal immigration and alternative energy. Understanding issues using this structured methodology helps to improve academic performance, increase civic engagement, strengthen personal resiliency, bridge political divides, and stimulate critical thinking – the #1 skill sought by employers and educators.
401 Prompts for Argumentative Writing From The Learning Network, Teaching and Learning with the New York Times. (https://www.nytimes.com/section/learning)

Here is a selection of library databases to find resources for an informative speech.

Informative speeches may be broken down into four distinct types:.

Objects (people, places or things)
Processes or "How-To"

Examples: Famous or infamous people, places, regions, countries, or cannons, the wheel.

CountryWatch: Website to the World This link opens in a new window Find up-to-date and detailed information on all countries including government,culture, history, social, economy and economic forecasts, business, environmental conditions, travel and maps.
MasterFILE Complete This link opens in a new window Search full-text articles on people, places or things in popular and general magazines such as Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated and Motor Trend.

2. PROCESSES or "HOW-TO"

Examples: Business plan development or How to avoid athletic injuries.

Business Source Elite This link opens in a new window Video Tutorial: Business Source Elite (3 minutes) Business Source Elite provides full-text coverage of scholarly business, management and economics journals. This resource includes access to video content from the Associated Press, the world’s leading news agency. The collection also includes publications covering topics such as accounting, banking, finance, international business, marketing, sales and more. **If required by your assignment, you may limit your results to "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals."
Health Source - Consumer Edition This link opens in a new window Health Source: Consumer Edition is a rich collection of consumer health information. This resource provides access to nearly 80 full text, consumer health magazines, including American Fitness, Better Nutrition, Fit Pregnancy, Harvard Health Letter, Men's Health, Muscle & Fitness, Prevention, Vegetarian Times, and many others. This database also includes searchable full text for more than 1,000 health-related pamphlets and more than 130 health reference books, including books published by the People's Medical Society. Additionally, Health Source: Consumer Edition contains more than 4,500 Clinical Reference Systems reports (in English and Spanish); AHFS Consumer Medication Information, which includes Drug information monographs written in lay language for consumers; and Merriam-Webster's Medical Desk Dictionary. Health Source: Consumer Edition covers topics such as AIDS, cancer, diabetes, drugs & alcohol, aging, fitness, nutrition & dietetics, children's health, women's health, etc. **If required by your assignment, you may limit your results to "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals."

Examples: Kwanzaa, Women's March, or Hurricane Andrew

America: History and Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window America: History & Life with Full Text is the definitive database of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window CQ Researcher provides award-winning in-depth coverage of the most important issues of the day. Reports are written by experienced journalists, footnoted and professionally fact-checked. Full-length articles include an overview, historical background, chronology, pro/con feature, plus resources for additional research.

4. CONCEPTS

Examples: Childhood obesity or global warming

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window Video Tutorial: Opposing Viewpoints (1:30 minutes) Current and controversial (pro/con) social issues published in academic journals, magazines, newspapers, reference works, statistical sources, and primary documents, including the Opposing Viewpoints Series of books. **If required by your assignment, you may limit your results to "Academic Journals."

Websites for further information:

509 Informative Speech Ideas and Topics From My Speech Class, Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics.
Major Types of Informative Speeches From Writing@CSU, The Writing Studio at Colorado State University.
Topic Selection Helper From the University of Hawai'i Maui Community College Speech Department.

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60 Interesting Public Speaking Topics to Engage Your Audience

If you’re the type of person who gets head spinningly, palms-sweaty nervous when asked to make a public speech, you’re certainly not alone. As intimating and intimidating as it may seem, it’s true that having the ability to confidently stand in front of an audience and deliver a speech can be a super useful tool. Not only could it bring you better marks in school, it’ll also come in handy in future job applications, leadership positions, and even in everyday conversation. Now that you’re serious about conquering public speaking , the next step is knowing what to say. We’ve got your back on this one. Here’s a list of 60 interesting public speaking topics which promise to keep your audience engaged and eager to hear what you have to say. Customize them however you please, add more information and ideas of your own, and let your ideas do the talking! Let’s get going!

Interesting Public Speaking Topics

Public speaking provides a unique opportunity for speakers to share their opinions, experiences, and knowledge in an interesting way. Interesting public speaking topics can range from controversial to informative, from historical to present day, from fun to serious. When selecting a topic , it’s important to consider the interests of your audience as well as what you can provide appropriate supporting information on. Controversial or opinion-based topics can be engaging, but it’s important that all sides of the argument are presented fairly and no one in the audience is disparaged or excluded. Additionally, providing both sides of an argument here helps inform your audience and may even expose them to different perspectives. Informative topics are great for teaching audiences about specific subjects or movements, while delivering the information in an entertaining and interesting way. Explain how each piece fits into the bigger picture and build suspense throughout your talk. Additionally, if you have personal stories associated with the topic, by all means include them; these stories help make your presentation more memorable and engaging for your audience. Historical topics provide excellent fodder for a public speaking engagement; beyond teaching about specific events that occurred in our past, you can also shed light on important dates in history or major events of the past century. Providing context helps bring to life lessons from those points in time that still influence us today. Current events are also great platforms for public speaking – highlighting what is happening now provides a powerful connection between speaker and audience as everyone is probably equally (or almost equally) knowledgeable about it—and if not? You get to teach them! When presenting current events as your topic, make sure you use up-to-date sources and highlight any compliance changes or other political matters that could affect your audience directly. Now let’s move on to discuss current events as an interesting public speaking topic…

Current Events

When it comes to public speaking, current events make for a highly engaging topics. Depending on the agenda and purpose of the speech, current events can be used either to inform and educate the audience or to galvanize support and motivate action. When dealing with current events, speakers should strive to remain impartial while bringing forth both sides of the argument. For example, if the event is to discuss international trade policy in light of recent tariffs disputes between major trading partners, speakers should present both advantages and disadvantages of increased tariffs. Understanding the core issue at hand without commenting on the efficacy of each side’s policies is key in order to maintain an impartial outlook. Similarly, when addressing a complex social issue like discrimination against minority groups or income equality, it is important to provide a sober and nuanced overview of the issue while ensuring that all sides are properly represented. Naturally, as certain issues become particularly salient in the public debate , more detailed analysis may be necessary in order to provide a full account of the situation. With that said, presenters must always exercise caution when discussing hot-button topics so as not to alienate any portion of their audience. Finally, speakers may choose to conclude their discussion by proposing a plan for action or connecting their topic with wider implications for society. As such, choosing current events as one’s topic allows for an opportunity to create real change that can have tangible benefits for members of their audience. With this potential impact in mind, let us now explore creative ideas that are just as interesting but offer a different approach.

10 Current Events Topics

COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on society, economy, and healthcare systems
Climate change and environmental issues, including wildfires, hurricanes, and rising sea levels
Global politics and international relations, including tensions between countries and geopolitical conflicts
Technological advancements, such as artificial intelligence, automation, and the future of work
Social justice movements, including Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, and their impact on society
Mental health and wellbeing, including the effects of the pandemic on mental health and access to mental health services
Education and the challenges of remote learning and hybrid learning models
Immigration and refugee crises, including the global response and the impact on individuals and communities
Economic inequality and the wealth gap, including the effects of the pandemic on job losses and income disparities
The role of media and technology in shaping public opinion and discourse, including issues of censorship and misinformation.

Fun Public Speaking Topics

Public speaking can be an incredibly effective method of communication and expressing ideas to an audience. When selecting a topic for a public speaking event, it is important to choose one that will be engaging, exciting and entertaining . Fun public speaking topics are a great way to captivate your audience’s attention. Some fun topics popular today include conspiracy theories, humorous anecdotes and weird trivia questions. In addition to topics that can evoke laughter, you could opt for a conversation-like approach by selecting topics tailored towards discussing or debating current events or pop culture trends. This type of discussion creates a sense of involvement amongst your listeners, as they are likely to have their own opinions on the subject matter at hand. Knowing the interests of your audience makes it easier to pick one of these types of interesting conversation starters. Yet another type of enjoyable public speaking topic is one related to personal experience. By sharing stories from your own life you can create a connection with your audience because they realize you are not only knowledgeable about academic subjects but also about human experiences. For example, you could talk about how traveling abroad changed your perspective or how volunteer work with animals opened up new opportunities in your life. No matter what route you take, having a fun element in each speech encourages conversations , making it more engaging for the listener.

Here are 10 fun topics for public speaking:

The science of laughter and how it can improve mental and physical health
The history of popular board games and how they have evolved over time
The art of cake decorating and how to create beautiful and delicious desserts
The world of cosplay and the art of creating intricate costumes
The benefits of travel and tips for planning the perfect vacation
The world of online gaming and the rise of esports
The history of memes and how they have impacted popular culture
The art of mixology and how to make creative cocktails at home
The joys and challenges of pet ownership and the benefits of having a furry friend
The world of improv comedy and how to master the art of improvisation.

These fun public speaking topics spark imagination and interest from all those involved in the discussion. While brainstorming ideas, it is important to keep in mind that the topic should contain enough material to elaborate upon while maintaining a lighthearted spirit; balance is key!

Controversial Public Speaking Topics

Controversial public speaking topics can be excellent ways to engage your audience and spark a lively discussion. It is best to keep the language used respectful, as well as being mindful of the makeup of the audience you are presenting to. Popular controversial public speaking topics range from opinions about current events and politics, religion, gender roles and LGBTQ issues, amongst other things. When debating each side of the argument, it is important to make sure that one doesn’t invalidate or insult the opposing views.

Here are 10 controversial public speaking topics:

Gun control and the right to bear arms
Abortion and reproductive rights
Capital punishment and the death penalty
Immigration policy and border control
Affirmative action and equal opportunity employment
LGBTQ+ rights and marriage equality
The legalization of marijuana and other drugs
Animal rights and animal testing
Freedom of speech and hate speech laws
Climate change and the role of humans in causing and combating it.

No matter which topic you decide to explore, controversial public speaking topics provide a great opportunity for learning experiences. With great research beforehand, ambitious speakers can use these occasions to inform their audiences in meaningful ways. Moving on to the next section, motivational public speaking topics have become increasingly popular within the last several years. This type of speech aims to inspire its audience by inciting positive feelings and emotions while promoting an inspiring idea or action plan.

Key Points to Remember

Controversial public speaking topics can be engaging to an audience, but the language used should remain respectful regardless of opinions held. Popular topics include current events, politics, religion, gender roles, and LGBTQ issues. When debating both sides of a controversial argument, it is important not to insult or invalidate another viewpoint. Controversial public speaking gives speakers a great opportunity to enhance learning experiences with thorough research and information .

Motivational Public Speaking Topics

Motivation is a powerful tool that can influence and inspire people to realize their potential and reach unseen levels of success. When applied effectively, motivational public speaking topics can be incredibly impactful and help an audience take action on ideas they can implement in their daily life. The key to delivering an effective motivational talk is to focus on the idea of progress. Talk about how something good can be accomplished over time if dedication and hard work are continually applied. Present stories of real-life successes, as well as struggles, to illustrate these points and increase the audience’s engagement level. Make sure to inject positive energy into your speech by outlining strategies the audience can use to stay motivated while achieving their goals. By presenting topics in a motivational manner, you can help ensure that members of your audience feel encouraged, empowered, and inspired. If you are debating a controversial topic, make sure to present both sides of the argument within the same motivating framework.

Here are 10 motivational public speaking topics:

Overcoming obstacles and achieving success
Finding purpose and meaning in life
Building self-confidence and self-esteem
The power of perseverance and determination
Mindfulness and living in the present moment
Overcoming fear and taking risks
The importance of setting and achieving goals
Turning setbacks into opportunities for growth
Developing a positive mindset and attitude
The benefits of gratitude and appreciation in life.

Keeping these important principles in mind will allow you to deliver a compelling motivational presentation that helps your audience believe in themselves and develop clear directions for taking action. Taking the right steps today will bring better results tomorrow — this is a concept worth discussing during your talk.

Historical Topics for Public Speaking

History is a rich and complex tapestry of events, ideas, and movements that have shaped the world we live in today. Exploring historical topics can help us gain a deeper understanding of our collective past, and shed light on the challenges and triumphs of human experience. From the fall of the Roman Empire to the Civil Rights Movement, there are countless historical topics that continue to fascinate and inspire us. In this list, we explore ten historical topics that offer a glimpse into the great events and movements that have shaped our world.

Here are 10 historical topics to talk about:

The fall of the Roman Empire and its impact on European civilization
The French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
The Industrial Revolution and its impact on society, economy, and technology
The American Revolution and the birth of the United States of America
The Renaissance and its impact on art, science, and culture
The colonization of the Americas and the impact on indigenous populations
The World Wars and their impact on global politics and international relations
The Age of Exploration and the impact of European colonization on the world
The Civil Rights Movement and the fight for racial equality in the United States
The Cold War and the global tension between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Persuasive Speech Topics

Persuasive speeches are designed to convince the audience to take a particular action, adopt a certain viewpoint, or support a specific idea. These speeches can be powerful tools for effecting change and promoting important causes. From protecting the environment to advocating for social justice, persuasive speech topics cover a wide range of issues that are relevant to our world today. In this list, we explore ten persuasive speech topics that can inspire and motivate audiences to take action and make a positive impact on the world around us.

Here are 10 persuasive speech topics:

The importance of recycling and reducing waste to protect the environment
The benefits of meditation and mindfulness for mental health and well-being
The need for stricter gun control laws to reduce gun violence
The importance of early childhood education for future success
The benefits of a plant-based diet for health and the environment
The need to address income inequality through progressive taxation
The importance of access to affordable healthcare for all individuals
The need for comprehensive sex education in schools
The benefits of renewable energy sources for a sustainable future
The need for increased support for mental health resources and services

Public speaking is not always an easy task. Whether you are presenting a persuasive or informative speech, it can be difficult to keep your audience interested and engaged. In order to do this, it is essential to choose the appropriate public speaking topics. The fifty-plus interesting public speakings topics suggested in this article can provide plenty of inspiration and help you deliver a powerful message to your audience. Whether you take a light-hearted approach or focus on a more serious subject matter, picking the right public speaking topics can make all the difference. Larger philosophical questions may prove intimidating and impractical as public speaking topics, while trivial conversation starters may bore your audience before they even start listening. To get the most out of your speeches, it is important to pick a topic that walks the line between engaging your listeners without making them uncomfortable or unsure of how to respond. It is also imperative that you develop solid argumentation and presentation skills if you want to succeed in public speaking. An entertaining speech must still provide solid facts and evidence while at the same time grabbing the attention of your listeners. A good balance between interesting content and persuasive rhetoric should help make any speech successful.

Responses to Frequently Asked Questions

What are some creative public speaking topics.

Creative public speaking topics can range from the exploration of current trends, to unique takes on traditional topics. For example, if discussing the current state of education, one could focus on the trend of more expensive tuition for higher education and dive into the implications this has for students and the job market, or discuss emergent strategies for providing greater access to educational opportunities in economically disadvantaged areas. Additionally, one could explore the current technology landscape and how it will shape future generations, or investigate developments in artificial intelligence that are redefining our understanding of what “intelligence” means. One could also take a more artful approach to public speaking and open up a dialogue about the power of creativity in solving problems or elicit discussion around empathy as a form of communication. Ultimately, creative public speaking topics are limited only by creative thought and provide an exciting opportunity for speakers to present inspiring ideas in entertaining ways.

What are some tips for choosing public speaking topics?

Some tips for choosing public speaking topics include: 1. Choose topics that are relevant to your audience. Make sure the topic is of interest to them and will keep their attention. 2. Research the topic thoroughly before speaking. Knowing the subject matter well will make it easier to engage your audience. 3. Select a topic that is both challenging and interesting. While choosing a subject that people might be familiar with can be safe, make sure it is still engaging and stimulating. 4. Avoid topics that are too controversial or sensitive. Refrain from such topics as they could lead to arguments or displeasing reactions amongst the audience members. 5. Expand on popular material but don’t plagiarize other speakers’ ideas. People like new concepts and appreciate hearing new information so challenge yourself to come up with something original!

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Front Psychol

Psychological Interventions for the Fear of Public Speaking: A Meta-Analysis

Omid v. ebrahimi.

1 Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

Ståle Pallesen

Robin m. f. kenter.

2 Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway

Tine Nordgreen

Associated data.

The data supporting the conclusions of this manuscript will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation, to any qualified researcher. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to [email protected] .

Background: Fear of Public Speaking (FoPS) or public speaking anxiety is a type of social anxiety and the single most commonly feared situation in the population. FoPS is disabling with negative occupational, academic, and social consequences, reported by up to one third of the population. FoPS in adolescence and adulthood is associated with an increased risk of developing generalized social anxiety disorder with further impairments. Since the last review on FoPS, a significant number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been conducted assessing the effects of novel interventions with innovative modes of delivery.

Objectives: The objectives of the present meta-analysis are to (1) examine the short and long-term effects of psychological interventions aimed at FoPS on FoPS and generalized social anxiety; (2) assess whether differences exist between technology-assisted modes of delivery (e.g., Internet-delivered therapies) and more traditional modes of delivering treatment (e.g., face-to-face therapies); (3) investigate whether differences in effect exist between theoretical frameworks; (4) inspect the differences in effect size between self-report measures and other measures (i.e., physiological and behavioral); (5) examine the effects of psychological interventions aimed at FoPS on secondary outcome measures (e.g., depression); and (6) investigate whether a “sleeper effect” is present for psychological interventions for FoPS and generalized social anxiety.

Methods: The study investigates the effects of psychological interventions for FoPS through a quantitative meta-analysis of RCTs, using a random-effects model.

Results: A total of 30 RCTs with 1,355 participants were included through systematic searches of PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. The majority of the studies investigated the effects of cognitive or behavioral interventions. Nearly half of the studies used active control groups (e.g., attention placebo), whereas the other half used passive (e.g., waitlist) controls. The overall effect of psychological interventions for FoPS across 62 interventions was 0.74 (Hedges g ; 95% CI: 0.61–0.87) with low to moderate heterogeneity. No difference in effect was found across theoretical frameworks. The effects based on self-report measures were larger compared to physiological and behavioral outcomes. Effects were robust against both active and passive control groups. Furthermore, psychological interventions for FoPS had a small to moderate effect on generalized social anxiety disorder ( g = 0.35; 95% CI: 0.22–0.48). The effect of psychological interventions aimed at FoPS at follow-up was large ( g = 1.11, 95% CI: 0.90–1.31) and moderate to large for generalized social anxiety ( g = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.59–0.80). A sleeper effect was found for cognitive and behavioral interventions, indicating that patients continued to improve after treatment termination. There were some indications of publication bias.

Conclusions: Psychological interventions are effective in reducing FoPS. Interventions using technology-assisted modes of delivery are equally effective as traditional face-to-face interventions in reducing FoPS. This finding highlights an opportunity to increase access to evidence-based treatments through technology-delivered interventions, which can be implemented at schools, in primary care and specialist mental health care. Moreover, psychological interventions aimed at FoPS have an effect on generalized social anxiety. Further implications are discussed.

Introduction

Fear of Public Speaking (FoPS), also referred to as public speaking anxiety, is a costly (Lépine, 2002 ) and disabling fear (Blöte et al., 2009 ), with prevalence rates ranging from 21 (Pollard and Henderson, 1988 ) to 33% (Stein et al., 1996 ; D'El Rey and Pacini, 2005 ) in community samples. FoPS has been reported as the single most commonly feared situation in both university and community samples (Pollard and Henderson, 1988 ; Holt et al., 1992 ; Stein et al., 1996 ; Tillfors and Furmark, 2007 ). Additionally, FoPS is a fear that almost always has its onset in adolescence (Wittchen and Fehm, 2003 ).

FoPS has consistently been described as a specific type of social anxiety disorder (SAD; Heimberg et al., 1993 ; Blöte et al., 2009 ). SAD is the most common anxiety disorder with a lifetime prevalence of 12.1% (Stein and Stein, 2008 ). SAD is characterized by a considerable fear or anxiety in social interaction or performance situations in which the individual is exposed to unfamiliar people or possible scrutiny by others (American Psychiatric Association, 2013 ). SAD is highly impairing, disabling, reduces quality of life, has negative scholastic, occupational and social consequences (Stein and Kean, 2000 ; Fehm et al., 2005 ), and has great societal costs both directly and indirectly (e.g., through absenteeism from work; Dams et al., 2017 ). There are two broad subgroups of social anxiety. One of these involves individuals with both interaction and performance anxiety, referred to as generalized social anxiety disorder (Blöte et al., 2009 ; Bögels et al., 2010 ). The other involves individuals with only performance anxiety, where FoPS is its most common form (Blöte et al., 2009 ; Bögels et al., 2010 ). This distinction is in accordance with the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013 ) including a “performance only”-specifier within the social anxiety diagnosis for individuals whom have the specific fear of performing in front of others, such as FoPS.

Around half of the adolescents with FoPS (Hofmann et al., 1999 ) and half of the adults with FoPS (Blöte et al., 2009 ) develop generalized social anxiety. A prospective follow-back study by Gregory et al. ( 2007 ) reports that both anxiety disorders and specific phobias in adulthood are frequently preceded by phobias in the adolescent years. In addition to the impairing consequences of FoPS on its own (Pollard and Henderson, 1988 ; Fehm et al., 2005 ), untreated FoPS in both adolescent and adult years is associated with later generalized social anxiety disorder (Wittchen and Fehm, 2003 ; Blöte et al., 2009 ) with further disabling consequences. The high prevalence and negative consequences of FoPS, taken together with the fact that FoPS increases the risk of a more generalized SAD, makes it important to update the knowledge base on effective interventions for FoPS.

Over the past decades, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been conducted to investigate the effect of psychological interventions for FoPS (e.g., Newman et al., 1994 ; Harris et al., 2002 ; Anderson et al., 2013 ; McNally et al., 2013 ; Homer et al., 2016 ). These trials comprise a wide range of psychological interventions, where most are based on the cognitive and/or behavioral family of therapies (e.g., Karst and Trexler, 1970 ; Newman et al., 1994 ). Still, psychological interventions within the traditions of psychodynamic therapies such as visualization therapy based on psychosynthesis (Ayres, 1995 ) and insight therapy (Meichenbaum et al., 1971 ) have been utilized. Different modes of delivery of interventions have also been investigated, such as Internet-delivered therapies (e.g., Botella et al., 2010 ) and interventions that implement virtual reality scenarios as a method of exposure (e.g., Anderson et al., 2013 ).

The last and only meta-analysis conducted solely on FoPS (Allen et al., 1989 ) is nearly 30 years old and is exclusively based on self-report measures, in addition to including uncontrolled and non-randomized studies. The fact that the results are only based on self-report is problematic, as previous studies on social anxiety (e.g., Heimberg et al., 1990 ) have found that the effects of interventions assessed through self-report measures are larger as compared to other types of measures (i.e., physiological and behavioral measures). Additionally, the inclusion of uncontrolled and non-randomized studies in the meta-analysis by Allen et al. ( 1989 ) brings uncertainty to its results, as it hinders estimation of the effects of psychological interventions for FoPS compared to control groups, presenting fundamental problems concerning the elimination of confounding variables, maturation, spontaneous recovery, and regression to the mean. A more recent meta-analysis by Acarturk et al. ( 2009 ) examined the effects on psychological treatment of social anxiety disorder. This meta-analysis included seven studies that examined the effects of FoPS interventions, but in their analysis the authors did not examine the effects of psychological interventions for FoPS specifically, but rather looked at the difference for generalized social anxiety disorder and specific social anxiety disorder. Thus, the efficacy of psychological interventions for FoPS exclusively based on RCTs remains unknown to date. Furthermore, several new RCTs have been conducted since the meta-analysis by Allen et al. ( 1989 ) and Acarturk et al. ( 2009 ), utilizing interventions with novel modes of delivery that are yet to be examined in a meta-analysis. The present study will be the first to assess and compare the effects of different modes of delivery for interventions for FoPS, such as technology-delivered interventions (e.g., Internet-delivered interventions and virtual reality-based interventions) and face-to-face interventions. The present meta-analysis is furthermore the first meta-analysis on FoPS that examines changes in effect after treatment termination, also referred to as the “sleeper effect” (Flückiger et al., 2015 ). Taken together, there is a need for updated knowledge on effective psychological interventions for FoPS.

The present meta-analysis will provide synthetized information about treatment of FoPS to clinicians and researchers. Specifically, the effects of psychological interventions for FoPS will be examined across age-groups, modes of delivery and theoretical orientation. The meta-analysis includes RCTs with a control group, regardless of type (e.g., attention placebo or waitlist control). The effect of FoPS interventions on generalized social anxiety disorder will be investigated. We will also elucidate the effect of psychological interventions for FoPS for all types of outcome measures (i.e., physiological, self-report, and behavioral). The present meta-analysis will furthermore provide an evaluation of newer modes of treatment delivery for FoPS (e.g., Harris et al., 2002 ; Botella et al., 2010 ; Anderson et al., 2013 ), which is of practical significance for clinicians in guiding treatment selection.

Research Aims

The present study had several aims, the first of which was to examine the overall effect of psychological interventions for FoPS. Our second aim was to evaluate the long-term effects of such psychological interventions for FoPS. The third aim was to investigate whether there is a difference between technology-assisted modes of delivery of interventions for FoPS (i.e., Internet-delivered therapies, virtual reality exposure therapies and computerized interventions) vs. traditional face-to-face interventions. The fourth aim was to examine whether there is a difference between cognitive and/or behavioral interventions compared to other therapeutic frameworks (e.g., visualization and insight therapy). The fifth aim was to investigate if there would be difference in effect size between self-report measures as compared to other outcome measures such as behavioral or observational measures (assessing overt signs of anxiety) and physiological measures. The sixth aim was to investigate whether psychological interventions of FoPS have short- and long-term effects on generalized social anxiety. Provided sufficient data were available, another aim of this study was to examine the effects of psychological interventions for FoPS on secondary outcome measures of depression, satisfaction with treatment, outcome expectancy and treatment credibility. Finally, changes in outcomes after treatment termination were investigated.

The meta-analysis was prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA; Moher et al., 2009 ) and the Meta-Analysis Reporting Standards (MARS; American Psychological Association, 2008 ).

Systematic Review Protocol

The pre-registered protocol of this study can be found in the PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews ( https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=60702 ). The search strategy, inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, strategy for data synthesis and subgroup analyses adhered to the preregistered study protocol.

Participants, Interventions, Comparators

The present meta-analysis included (a) randomized controlled trials in which the effects of (b) psychological interventions for (c) FoPS were assessed (d) across any age group. Participants were required to (e) have been identified as having a problem with FoPS either through a diagnosis of social anxiety with public speaking as their primary fear; through scoring above a certain cut-off point on an instrument measuring FoPS; through evidence of elevated scores (e.g., one standard deviation above the mean) on an instrument assessing FoPS; or through self-identification of FoPS as an impairing problem. Furthermore, studies were included if (f) the intervention group was compared to a control group of any of the following kind: sham, or attention placebo, treatment as usual or minimal contact, waiting list control or no treatment control. For studies with two or more control conditions, the control group selected for the calculation of effect size was chosen, as a conservative approach, in the order specified above, with active control groups (e.g., attention placebo) being preferred over passive controls (e.g., waiting list control).

Psychological interventions were defined as interventions designed to decrease psychological symptoms, distress, and maladaptive behavior or designed to improve prosocial and adaptive functioning using interpersonal interactions, counseling, or activities following a specific treatment plan (Garfield, 1980 ; Walrond-Skinner, 1986 ).

Studies were excluded if they (a) failed to meet the inclusion criteria described above, (b) were duplicate studies, (c) were studies in a language other than English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish or Swedish, (d) were studies that did not provide sufficient information to calculate effect sizes, (e) were studies where the participant had been identified as having a problem with generalized social anxiety (not FoPS specifically), and (f) were studies in which participants were identified as having a problem with communication apprehension generally (not FoPS specifically). If a study did not provide sufficient information for the calculation of effect sizes, the study authors were contacted in an attempt to acquire the necessary data to include the study.

Search Strategy

The search strategy was constructed by three of the authors (OE, TN, and RK) of the present study through identification and discussion of relevant keywords, accompanied by preliminary searches identifying further relevant keywords to increase search sensitivity. Relevant studies were primarily identified through systematic searches in major bibliographical databases, including PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. The last search was conducted by the first author on January 19, 2018. No restriction was set concerning how far the search could go back in time in order to include all relevant studies. In the searches, different combinations of words indicative of FoPS, speech phobia, fear of presenting and communication apprehension were combined with words like intervention, treatment, psychotherapy, and related words. In an attempt to increase the sensitivity of the searches, we did not further limit the searches by searching for terms indicative of RCTs. Both text words and keywords were utilized. An overview of the keywords and search strategy can be found in “ Supplemental Material A .” Furthermore, database searches were supplemented by manually searching already published, relevant, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses (Allen et al., 1989 ; Pull, 2012 ). Reference lists of included studies in the meta-analysis were also searched.

Data Extraction

Two independent researchers screened all titles and abstracts of the retrieved references for eligibility against the inclusion criteria. Disagreements were resolved in consultation with a third independent, senior researcher. The first author obtained the full text of eligible studies before two independent researchers assessed them for inclusion.

Several aspects of the included studies were coded in line with the Cochrane Review data extraction template in addition to coding further aspects of the studies that we deemed relevant through the pilot testing of our data extraction procedure. Where available, the following data were extracted: Study characteristics (e.g., year, country, design, sample size, type of control group, and trial duration); sample characteristics (e.g., age, sex, sample description, description of comorbidities, and ethnicity); intervention characteristics (e.g., intervention name, details, number of sessions, attrition, format, mode of delivery, and theoretical framework); and outcome characteristics for both FoPS and social anxiety (e.g., name of outcome instrument, type of measurement, time points, and scores). Measures of FoPS and social anxiety served as the primary outcome measures in the present study. When available, we also coded measures of depression, satisfaction with treatment, outcome expectancy and treatment credibility, which served as secondary outcome measures. We coded the type of control group used in the study as either active (e.g., attention placebo) or passive (e.g., waiting list or no treatment control). Sample description was coded as diagnostic in cases where individuals were identified with a formal diagnosis of social anxiety with FoPS as their primary fear, and as non-diagnostic where the individuals were identified through cut-offs, elevated scores, or had self-identified as having an impairing problem with FoPS. The format of the interventions was coded as individual, group or self-help. Mode of delivery was coded as technology-delivered (Internet-delivered, virtual reality based, computerized, or video-based interventions) and non-technological (traditional) interventions (face to face, telephone-based or self-help). Coding the theoretical framework of the different interventions was challenging as most of the interventions included a mixture of different cognitive and behavioral components. We therefore, in accordance with a previous meta-analysis, followed the example of Cuijpers et al. ( 2014 ) and coded the intervention belonging to the broad family of cognitive and/or behavioral interventions if it included at least one of the following components; exposure, cognitive restructuring, relaxation, biofeedback, and problem solving. Interventions not in this category were, once again in accordance with Cuijpers et al. ( 2014 ), coded as “other” interventions, representing non-cognitive or non-behavioral interventions including visualization therapy based on psychosynthesis, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), exercise, and insight therapy.

Risk of Bias Assessment

In agreement with prior meta-analyses (e.g., Cuijpers et al., 2014 , 2016 ), we used four criteria of the “Risk of Bias” assessment tool developed by the Cochrane Collaboration (Higgins et al., 2011 ) to assess the sources of bias in the included RCTs. Two independent researchers rated the following domains of bias: (1) adequate generation of allocation sequence (selection bias); (2) concealment of allocation to conditions (selection bias); (3) prevention of knowledge of the allocation intervention or blinding of outcome assessors (detection bias); and (4) dealing with incomplete outcome data (attrition bias). Disagreements were resolved through discussion with a third independent senior researcher, in addition to contacting the study authors in cases of insufficient reporting for clarification. In the present meta-analysis, we judged a randomized controlled trial to be high in terms of risk of attrition bias if the dropout rate of the intervention group was higher than 10%, or if there was a considerable discrepancy in drop-out rates between the intervention and comparing conditions as defined by the Cochrane risk of bias tool guidelines (Higgins et al., 2011 ). Based on the abovementioned sources of bias and in line with the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (Higgins and Green, 2011 ), we categorized each domain of bias within a study to have low, high or unclear risk, respectively. In accordance with previous meta-analyses (e.g., Cuijpers et al., 2014 ), we coded outcomes solely based on self-report measures as “SR” in the risk of bias domain concerning blinding of outcome assessors (detection bias).

Meta-Analyses

To calculate the effects of psychological interventions for FoPS, the effect size demonstrating the difference between the intervention and control group at post-treatment was calculated using Cohen's d (standardized mean difference). These were calculated by subtracting the mean score of the psychological intervention group at post-treatment from the mean score of the control group at post-treatment, before dividing the result by the pooled standard deviation formed by the two groups, and adjusting the effect size to account for small sample bias in accordance with the procedures advised by Hedges and Olkin ( 1985 ; Hedges' g ) When available, we based our comparisons on intention-to-treat data for the calculation of effect sizes. If intention-to-treat data was unavailable, we based our calculations on completers-only data. Effect sizes ( g ) of 0.2 are identified as small, effect sizes of 0.5 are considered moderate, whereas effect sizes of 0.8 are referred to as large (Cohen, 1988 ). If means and standard deviations were not reported, we used the accompanying procedures in the Comprehensive Meta-analysis Software (version 3.3.070; CMA) to calculate effect sizes based on other statistics (e.g., t, p , and F value). The effect size for generalized social anxiety disorder was calculated in the same manner as described above.

The long-term effects of psychological interventions on FoPS were calculated as explained above, based on comparisons between the intervention group and a control group (between-group comparison). If a control group was not available at the follow-up assessment, we calculated effect sizes indicative of improvement from baseline to follow-up for the treatment condition (within-group comparisons). Since the values at baseline and follow-up are not independent of each other, a conservative correlation between baseline and follow-up score of r = 0.70 was assumed, following procedures used in other meta-analyses (Grossman et al., 2004 ; Ledesma and Kumano, 2009 ; Cuijpers et al., 2016 ). The same procedures were employed to investigate whether psychological interventions aimed at FoPS had long-term effects on the more generalized form of social anxiety.

Furthermore, we conducted two meta-analyses to examine the changes in effect after treatment termination, also referred to as the “sleeper effect” (e.g., Flückiger et al., 2015 ). One of these meta-analyses concerned the changes on FoPS, more specifically from post-treatment to follow-up. The average effect size was calculated based on within-group comparisons (post-treatment to follow-up). As the values at post-treatment and follow-up scores are not independent of each other, a conservative correlation between post-treatment and follow-up score of r = 0.70 was assumed, following procedures used in other meta-analyses (Grossman et al., 2004 ; Ledesma and Kumano, 2009 ; Cuijpers et al., 2016 ). The second meta-analysis concerned generalized social anxiety outcomes from post-treatment to follow-up. Its effect size was calculated in the same manner as described above. We thus conducted six meta-analyses, two investigating the post-treatment effects of psychological interventions aimed at FoPS on FoPS and generalized social anxiety, respectively, two meta-analysis investigating the long-term effects of psychological interventions on the two same parameters, and two meta-analyses examining the changes in effect after treatment termination on the two parameters.

Some studies report multiple comparisons, where two or more psychological interventions were compared to the same control group. A potential consequence of such multiple comparisons is an artificial reduction of heterogeneity, which in turn can affect the overall effect size. In order to take this into account, we followed the procedure of Cuijpers et al. ( 2014 ) comprising separate analyses that include only the smallest and the largest effect size from each study, respectively.

As the standardized mean difference (Hedges' g ) can be difficult to interpret from a clinical viewpoint, we transformed this into numbers-needed-to-treat (NNT) following the procedure and formulae provided by Kraemer and Kupfer ( 2006 ). The NNT can be described as the number of patients that would have to be treated in order to generate one additional positive outcome (Laupacis et al., 1988 ).

Furthermore, the present study differentiated between three categories of outcome measures in the calculation of effect sizes: (a) self-report measures; (b) behavioral or observational measures (e.g., measuring overt signs of anxiety); and (c) physiological measures (e.g., heart rate or pulse rate). If the effect of an intervention was assessed by more than one outcome measure, we pooled all relevant instruments to provide one average effect size rather than imputing effect sizes for each outcome measure, as suggested by Borenstein et al. ( 2009b ). This is a conservative approach as it somewhat overestimates the study variance resulting in wider confidence intervals compared to approaches taking the independence of the outcomes into consideration. The current approach was used as the included studies in general did not report the correlation coefficient between the different outcome measures. The percentage of outcome measures that was not based on self-report was coded for the purpose of moderation analyses.

CMA, version 3.3 was used for calculation of the pooled mean effect sizes. The random-effects pooling model was utilized in all analyses to account for the expected heterogeneity. The statistical assumptions underlying the random-effects model imply that the included studies stem from populations that vary systematically. Taking this into consideration, the difference in effect size results not only from random error within studies (as the fixed effects model assumes) but also from true variation in effect size, as studies are assumed to represent a different population of studies.

Heterogeneity of effect sizes was assessed by the Q-statistic and the I 2 -statistic. The latter is an indicator of variance (0–100%) between studies that is due to heterogeneity. Values equal to and lower than 25% are considered low; values of 50% as moderate, and values equal to and higher than 75% as high heterogeneity (Higgins et al., 2003 ).

Meta-Regression Analyses

In cases of significant heterogeneity, meta-regression analyses would be conducted to test whether a priori selected moderator variables could explain the heterogeneity. Maintaining a reasonable ratio of single effect sizes/moderators implied restrictions on the number of moderators that could be analyzed in the present meta-analyses. In line with this, a limited number of a priori selected moderators were analyzed. The effect size was used as the dependent measure in these multivariate meta-regression analyses which were conducted in CMA.

For the first meta-analysis in the present study concerning the effects of psychological interventions on FoPS, the following moderator variables were pre-selected: (1) technology-delivered vs. non-technological interventions; (2) theoretical framework (cognitive or behavioral vs. other interventions); (3) percentage of measures other than self-report; and (4) type of control group (active control groups including attention placebo vs. passive no-treatment or waiting list groups).

For the second meta-analysis examining the effects of psychological interventions aimed at FoPS on generalized social anxiety disorder, we pre-selected the latter three mentioned moderator variables above.

For the meta-analyses concerning the long-term effects of psychological interventions on FoPS and generalized social anxiety, respectively, the pre-selected moderator variables were (1) time from post-treatment to follow-up, and (2) whether the effect size at follow-up was calculated within-groups (comparing pre-treatment scores to follow-up scores) or between-groups (comparing intervention group to control group). Meta-regression analyses would only be conducted in cases of significant heterogeneity, indicated by a significant Q-statistic.

As the meta-regressions include all moderators in the same analysis, potential dependence between moderators was controlled for. All the included studies provided information of all moderators, hence, the potential dependence within each study was controlled for. Furthermore, for each single effect size, only one specific level of each moderator was coded. Hence dependencies between categories/levels of the same moderator was not an issue.

Publication Bias

Furthermore, publication bias was examined through inspecting the funnel plot on primary outcome measures and by following the procedures suggested by Duval and Tweedie's trim and fill procedure (Duval and Tweedie, 2000 ). This procedure provides an adjusted estimate of the effect size after accounting for publication bias. The present meta-analysis also calculated Orwin's fail-safe N (Orwin, 1983 ), a measure quantifying the amount of studies that would be needed to bring the observed effect size (calculated in Hedges' g ) of the current meta-analysis down to a chosen “trivial” effect size with less importance. We set this “trivial” effect size to a value of 0.2 Hedges' g , since a value of 0.2 represents a small effect (Cohen, 1988 ). This test was conducted in an attempt to take into account the file-drawer problem (Rosenthal, 1979 ).

Selection and Inclusion of Studies

The systematic searches in PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library resulted in a total of 981 citations. After removal of duplicates, 659 citations remained. The screening of the titles and abstracts excluded 517 studies. The disagreement between the two independent reviewers appeared 21 times across the 659 citations, yielding an excellent Cohen's kappa of 0.91. A total of 142 full-text articles were retrieved and assessed for eligibility, wherein 109 articles did not meet our inclusion criteria and were consequently excluded. Concerning inclusion of full-text articles, the disagreement between the two independent reviewers appeared two times across 142 articles, yielding an excellent Cohen's kappa of 0.96. The specific reasons for exclusion are presented in Figure 1 , which portrays the selection and inclusion process. In the exclusion category referred to as “Other,” two studies were excluded. The first study (Calff and MacLean, 1970 ) was excluded due to its faulty experimental design and inappropriate statistical analysis, as highlighted by Blanchard ( 1971 ). The second study (Straatmeyer and Watkins, 1974 ) was unavailable through retrieval processes and interlibrary loan. Finally, 33 studies met the inclusion criteria, amongst which three studies were separately published follow-up studies, yielding a total of 30 unique studies to be included in the meta-analysis. For FoPS, the 30 studies included 62 psychological interventions that were compared to a control group. For social anxiety, the 30 mentioned studies included 32 interventions that were compared to a control group.

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PRISMA flow diagram of the study selection process.

Study Characteristics

A total of 1,355 participants were included in the 30 RCTs included in this meta-analysis, where 869 belonged to the psychological intervention groups and 486 participants resided within the control conditions. Participants were identified through a diagnosis of social anxiety in four studies. In the remaining 26 studies, participants were identified through either a cut-off value on an instrument measuring FoPS ( N = 14); through elevated scores on an instrument measuring FoPS (e.g., scoring one standard deviation above the mean N = 6); or through self-identification of FoPS as an impairing problem ( N = 6). The target age group for provision of intervention was adults (individuals above 18 years) in 29 of the 30 studies. One study had adolescents as the target group. A total of 24 out of 30 studies reported gender. We calculated the percentage of females across these 24 studies to be 46.9%. Only three studies reported the ethnicity of the participants included. We calculated the percentage of ethnicities other than Caucasian across these three studies to be 34.5%. In all, 27 studies reported means and standard deviations, whereas the last three studies reported other statistical information (e.g., F, p , and t values).

Several studies had more than one intervention group. Of the 62 conditions across the 30 studies, 50 were based on cognitive or behavioral interventions, whereas 12 employed other types of interventions. Within the cognitive or behavioral interventions, the majority comprised variations of desensitization therapies (nine interventions), relaxation therapies (seven interventions), and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT; six interventions). Amongst the 12 non-cognitive or behavioral interventions, visualization therapy based on psychosynthesis (four interventions) and EMDR (four interventions) represented the majority. The remainder of intervention conditions as well as a full overview of all interventions within each study are provided in Table 1 .

Selected characteristics of the included randomized controlled trials assessing the effects of psychological treatments on fear of public speaking and generalized social anxiety.

ABM, Attention Bias Modification; ACL, Affect adjective Checklist; AD, Anxiety Differential; AE, Anxiety Expectancy; AS, Anxiety Scale with 10 points similar to Fear Thermometer; ATPS, Attitudes Toward Public Speaking; BASA, Behavioral Assessment of Speech Anxiety; BFNE, Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation; BRS, Behavior Rating System; CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; CCR-W, Cue-Controlled Relaxation - Word Cue; CCR-A, Cue-Controlled Relaxation – Aroma Cue; C/B, Intervention belonging to the Cognitive or Behavioral family; D, Diagnostic; DiaA, Diastolic blood pressure after speaking; DiaB, Diastolic blood pressure before speaking; EGT, Exposure Group Therapy; EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing; FNE, Fear of Negative Evaluation; FT, Fear Thermometer; FTF, Face to face; FU, Follow-Up in months; GBR/F, Graduated Behavior Rehearsal/Feedback; GR, Global Rating of anxiety; GRSA, General Rating of Speech Anxiety; GST, Graded Speech Task; Het. AMT, Heterogeneous Anxiety Management Training; Hom. AMT, Homogenous Anxiety Management Training; HR, Heart Rate; HR-A, Heart Rate After speaking; HR-B, Heart-Rate Before speaking; HR-R, Heart Rate Reactivity; Instr., instrument; Int. delivered, Internet-delivered therapy; IST-P, Impromptu Speech Task – Patient reported; IST-T, Impromptu Speech Task – Therapist reported; IST-O, Impromptu Speech Task—Observer reported; I-ABM, Inverse Attention Bias Modification; LSAS, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale; Mix, Mixture of in vivo and imaginary exposure; N/A, Not available; ND, Non-diagnostic; NR, Not Reported; NT, No Treatment control group; OA, Overall Anxiety; OR, Observer Rating of anxiety during behavioral task; PD, Psychodynamic; Pop., Population; PR, Pulse Rate; PRCA, Personal Report of Communication Apprehension; PRCS, Personal Report of Confidence as Speaker; RET, Rational-Emotive Therapy; SA, State Anxiety on a visual analog scale; SAD, Social Avoidance and Distress scale; SAS, State Anxiety Scale; SCL, Skin Conductance Level; SCR, Skin Conductance Response; SFS, Social Fear Scale; SHM, Self-Help Material; STAI, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; SPAI, Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory; SPRS, Social Performance Rating Scale; SUDS, Subjective Units of Discomfort Scale; SysA, Systolic blood pressure after speaking; SysB, Systolic blood pressure before speaking; SA-CBT, Self-administered CBT; SRA, Self-Rated measure of Anxiety during behavioral task; SRP-A, Self-Rated Performance – Anxiety; SRP-F, Self-Rated Performance—Fear; S-R Inventory, S-R Inventory of speech anxiousness; TA, Therapist-administered; TAS, Trait Anxiety Scale; TBCL, Timed Behavior Checklist; TLM, The Lefkoe Method; ToS, Time of Silence; USRA, Unspecified Self-Report measure of Anxiety; USRA-A, Unspecified Self-Report measure of Anxiety After speaking; USRA-B, Unspecified Self-Report measure of Anxiety Before speaking; Vis., Visualization; VR, Virtual Reality; VRCBT, Virtual Reality Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; VRET, Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy; WL, Waitlist control .

Most of the included interventions ( N = 28) were based on a group format. Furthermore, 24 of the 62 interventions employed an individual treatment format, and five studies used self-help materials. The remaining five interventions did not report type of format used. The number of treatment sessions ranged from 1 to 16, where the majority of the interventions had eight or fewer sessions ( N = 49). A total of seven interventions had more than eight sessions. The remaining six interventions did not report the number of sessions employed.

The majority of the included interventions were non-technological ( N = 55), nearly all of which consisted of face-to-face individual or group interventions, except for one intervention which was delivered via telephone. The remaining seven interventions were categorized as technology-delivered interventions, of which three encompassed virtual reality-based interventions, two represented Internet-based cognitive self-help interventions, and two utilized a computer application for attention bias modification.

Concerning control groups, 16 of the 30 studies included a waiting-list or no-treatment control group only, seven studies included a placebo group only, and the remaining seven studies included both a placebo and a waiting list (or no-treatment) group. Six of the 14 placebo groups were categorized as attention placebo (e.g., discussion groups), six placebo conditions were described by the study authors as credible replacements of the interventions (sham), and the last two placebo groups involved listening to tapes on communication unrelated to public speaking.

In the present meta-analysis, half of the included studies ( N = 15) included a follow-up measure. The mean follow-up length was 9.28 months. However, due to an extreme outlier (follow-up of 72 months; 6 years), we also calculated the median follow-up length which was 2.5 months. Removing this outlier, the mean follow-up length was 4.46 months. Furthermore, 26 of the included studies were conducted in the USA or Canada, three in Europe and one in Asia. Only one out of the 30 included studies had included an intention-to-treat analysis, while the remaining 29 studies were based on completer data. No study explicitly reported data on researcher allegiance. Three out of 30 studies reported therapist effects, where one study reported holding therapist effects constant across groups, while the two other studies revealed insignificant findings for these effects. Table 1 provides a complete overview of study characteristics.

Risk of Bias

Disagreement between the two independent reviewers occurred three times in the coding of risk of bias, yielding an excellent Cohen's kappa of 0.93. In the domain regarding masking of outcome assessors, 16 studies were judged to have a low risk of bias, meaning that the outcome assessors had no knowledge of the allocated intervention by being blinded. Of the remaining studies, six studies were found to have an unclear risk of bias, while two studies were judged to have a high risk of bias. The last six studies in this domain were solely based on self-report measures. Regarding attrition bias or the domain of dealing with incomplete data, 15 studies were found to have a low risk of bias meaning that the studies had outcome data for all or nearly all participants. Furthermore, 14 studies were judged to have an unclear risk of bias, whereas one study was found to have a high risk of bias. Only one of the 30 studies included had an intention-to-treat analysis, while the remaining 29 studies were based on completer data. Concerning the domain of adequate generation of allocation sequence, it was found that 25 studies had an unclear risk of bias, implying that no information was provided on how the sequence generation of randomization was conducted. Furthermore, three studies were judged to have a low risk of bias in this domain, whereas two studies were found to have a high risk of bias, the latter portraying that the sequence generation was done in a manner that was not truly random as exemplified by the Cochrane risk of bias tool. For the concealment of allocation to conditions domain, we found 28 studies to have an unclear risk of bias where no information was presented on whether the allocation to conditions were concealed. The remaining two studies demonstrated a low risk of bias. Risk of bias of the included studies is depicted in Figure 2 .

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Estimated risk of bias of the included studies. SR, Self-report.

Synthesized Findings

Post-treatment effects of psychological interventions compared with control groups on fops.

Table 1 provides a summary of the 30 studies that were included in the present meta-analysis, including 62 interventions across 30 studies. The overall effect of psychological interventions for FoPS was g = 0.74 (95% CI: 0.61–0.87), with a low to moderate amount of heterogeneity ( I 2 = 40.85, 95% CI: 19.66–56.45) that was found to be significant ( Q = 103.12, p = 0.001). This corresponds to an NNT of 2.50. For each study, the effect size with its associated 95% confidence interval is presented in Figure 3 . There was one potential outlier that did not overlap with the 95% CI of the pooled effect size (Cunningham et al., 2006 ). Removing this outlier resulted in an overall effect size of g = 0.70 (95% CI: 0.59–0.82), with low heterogeneity ( I 2 = 22.24, 95% CI: −7.70–58.52) that was non-significant ( Q = 77.16, p = 0.067).

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A forest plot of the standardized effect sizes of psychological treatments for fear of public speaking compared with control conditions.

In 22 of the 30 studies reported above, two or more psychological interventions were compared to the same control group. A potential consequence of such multiple comparisons might be an artificial reduction of heterogeneity, which in turn can affect the overall effect size. In order to take this into account, we followed the procedure of Cuijpers et al. ( 2014 ) and conducted an analysis that included only one effect size per study. We examined this by first including the largest effect size from the studies, yielding a result of g = 0.91 (95% CI: 0.70–1.12), with a moderate amount of heterogeneity ( I 2 = 50.32, 95% CI: 27.92–67.39) that was significant ( Q = 58.37, p = 0.001). The analysis including only the smallest effect size resulted in an overall effect size of g = 0.63 (95% CI: 0.43–0.83), with a moderate amount of heterogeneity ( I 2 = 50.16, 95% CI: 27.57–67.30) that was significant ( Q = 58.19, p = 0.001).

A visual inspection of the funnel plot, in addition to Duval and Tweedie's trim and fill procedure revealed some signs of possible publication bias for the effect of psychological interventions on FoPS at post-test. The funnel plot revealed three potential missing studies and is presented in Supplementary Figure 1 . Duval and Tweedie's procedures informed that three studies were missing to the right of the mean. Therefore, the calculated effect size after the adjustment of publication bias was slightly higher, g = 0.76 (95% CI: 0.66–0.86) for psychological interventions on FoPS at post-treatment. Finally, the Orwin's fail safe N to quantify the amount of studies with zero effect ( g = 0.00) that would be needed to bring the observed effect size down to the chosen “trivial” value ( g ) of 0.20 (a finding of trivial clinical importance) showed this number to be 162.

We also examined whether there were differences in the effect size of psychological interventions for FoPS between studies that included a diagnostic sample (i.e., participants were formally diagnosed with social anxiety disorder) and studies that included subclinical samples (e.g., participants scored above a cut-off and did not fulfill formal diagnostic criteria). No significant differential ( p = 0.579) effect was found.

Post-treatment Effects of Psychological Interventions Compared With Control Groups on Generalized Social Anxiety

A total of 32 interventions across 16 studies provided sufficient data concerning the effects on generalized social anxiety. The overall effect size for psychological interventions aimed at FoPS on generalized social anxiety was g = 0.35 (95% CI: 0.22–0.48). Heterogeneity was zero and non-significant ( Q = 25.60, p = 0.740). This corresponds to an NNT of 5.11. The effect sizes along with their associated 95% confidence intervals are presented in Figure 4 .

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A forest plot of the standardized effect sizes of psychological treatments aimed at FoPS for generalized social anxiety compared with control conditions.

The procedures by Duval and Tweedie and inspection of the funnel plot was conducted for the effect size of psychological interventions aimed at FoPS on generalized social anxiety. The funnel plot revealed some signs of possible publication bias and can be found in Supplementary Figure 2 . Duval and Tweedie's procedures revealed that three studies were missing to the right of the mean. The adjusted effect size for psychological interventions aimed at FoPS for generalized social anxiety was thus g = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.27–0.52). Orwin's fail safe N quantifying the amount of studies with zero effect ( g = 0.00) that would be needed to bring the observed effect size down to the chosen “trivial” value ( g ) of 0.20 (a finding of trivial clinical importance) was found to be 25.

Long-Term Effects of Psychological Interventions on FoPS

Our meta-analysis of the long-term effects of psychological interventions on FoPS yielded an overall effect of g = 1.11 (95% CI: 0.90–1.31), with a moderate amount of heterogeneity ( I 2 = 64.76, 95% CI: 46.12–76.95; Q = 68,10, p < 0.001). This corresponds to an NNT of 1.76. For each study, the effect size along with its associated 95% confidence intervals can be found in Figure 5 . Since the vast majority of the included studies used a waiting list control group, participants in these conditions had received treatment at follow-up, meaning only within-group data was available for these studies. A total of 11 studies reported data that would allow for long-term effect comparisons. Only eight conditions across four of these studies had compared the intervention group with a control group at follow-up (between-group comparisons). The remaining 17 conditions across seven studies did not have a control group at this time point. We therefore conducted within-group effect size calculations for these 17 conditions, combining them with the between-group calculations of the eight other conditions. In these calculations, we coded whether the effect size was based on a between-group or within-group comparison as a moderator, to be used in a meta-regression analysis reported later in this paper.

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A forest plot of the standardized effect sizes of psychological treatments aimed at fear of public speaking at follow-up.

Visual inspection of the funnel plot, in addition to Duval and Tweedie's trim and fill procedure revealed no potential signs of publication bias for the effect size concerning the long-term effects of psychological interventions on FoPS. The funnel plot is presented in Supplementary Figure 3 . Orwin's fail safe N quantifying the amount of studies with zero effect ( g = 0.00) that would be needed to bring the observed effect size down to the chosen “trivial” value ( g ) of 0.20 (a finding of trivial clinical importance) showed this number to be 228.

Long-Term Effects of Psychological Interventions on Generalized Social Anxiety

The meta-analysis of the long-term effects on generalized social anxiety resulted in an overall effect size of g = 0.70 (95% CI: 0.59–0.80), where heterogeneity was non-significant ( Q = 20,72, p = 0.414). This corresponds to an NNT of 2.64. The effect sizes along with their associated 95% confidence intervals can be found in Figure 6 . For generalized social anxiety, a total of nine studies provided data for long-term effects comparisons. Only six conditions across three studies had between-group data available at follow-up, comparing the intervention and control groups. We used within-group effect size calculations for the remaining 15 conditions across six studies. Once again, we registered whether effect size calculation was based on a between-group or a within-group comparison as a moderator.

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A forest plot of the standardized effect sizes of psychological treatments aimed at fear of public speaking on generalized social anxiety at follow-up.

The procedures by Duval and Tweedie and inspection of the funnel plot were conducted for the effect size concerning the long-term effects of psychological interventions aimed at FoPS on generalized social anxiety. The funnel plot revealed a relatively symmetrical distribution; still there were some signs of potential publication bias. The funnel plot can be found in Supplementary Figure 4 . Duval and Tweedie's procedures revealed two potential missing studies to the right of the mean. The effect size concerning the long-term effects of psychological interventions aimed at FoPS on generalized social anxiety was thus adjusted to g = 0.72 (95% CI: 0.62–0.82). Orwin's fail safe N quantifying the amount of studies with zero effect ( g = 0.00) that would be needed to bring the observed effect size down to the chosen “trivial” value ( g ) of 0.20 (a finding of trivial clinical importance) was found to be 126.

Meta-Regression Results

A series of planned meta-regression analyses were conducted with moderator variables chosen a priori to address our aims of investigating the differences in effect size for different modes of delivery, theoretical frameworks, type of control groups, and types of outcome measures. A limited number of moderators were analyzed in order to maintain a reasonable ratio between of single effect sizes/moderators.

Meta-Regression Analysis for the Effects of Psychological Interventions on FoPS at Post-treatment

First, we conducted a meta-regression analysis with the effects of psychological interventions on FoPS at post-treatment. We included the following variables in this analysis: (1) theoretical framework (cognitive or behavioral vs. other theoretical models); (2) type of control group (placebo vs. no-treatment or waiting list); (3) percentage of measures other than self-report; and (4) technology-delivered vs. non-technological interventions. Theoretical framework was a significant predictor of the effect size on FoPS at post-treatment ( p = 0.016), favoring “other” theoretical models (insight therapy, visualization therapy, The Lefkoe Method, and EMDR) over cognitive or behavioral models. However, removing the extreme outlier (The Lefkoe Method; Cunningham et al., 2006 ) that did not overlap with the 95% CI of the pooled effect size, we found no significant differences between “other” theoretical models compared to cognitive or behavioral models ( p = 0.104). We examined whether this finding could be explained by the studies with cognitive or behavioral interventions more often including physiological or behavioral outcome measures. In accordance with this, we compared the two groups only including self-report measures. Still, no significant difference in effect size between cognitive or behavioral interventions and “other” intervention ( p = 0.821) was found.

The type of control group used was found to be a significant predictor of the effect size, where waiting-list or no-treatment control groups had a more favorable effect compared to placebo groups ( p = 0.012), as expected. Following up on this with a subgroup analysis, we found that the effect of psychological interventions compared to placebo groups was moderate to large ( g = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.46–0.84), whereas the same effect compared to waiting-list or no-treatment control group was large ( g = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.63–1.01).

Returning to the meta-regression, the percentage of outcome measures other than self-report was found to be a significant predictor of the effect size ( p < 0.000), with studies that had a higher percentage of other outcome measure types than self-report (i.e., physiological or behavioral measures) yielding lower effect sizes.

Finally, we found no significant differences between face-to-face and technology-delivered interventions (i.e., Interned-delivered therapies, virtual reality exposure therapies and computerized interventions), p = 0.814. The meta-regression model explained 56% ( R 2 = 0.56) of the observed heterogeneity. The Goodness of fit test showing whether still unexplained variance was significantly different from zero was non-significant ( p = 0.065). Meta-regression results with standard regression coefficients, confidence intervals, and associated p -value are presented in Table 2 .

Multivariate meta-regression analyses of the four overall effect sizes calculated in this study, with standard regression coefficients and their associated 95% CI and p -value are provided.

Between, Between group comparison of intervention vs. control group; CI, Confidence Interval of regression coefficient; Coeff., regression coefficient; C/B, Cognitive or Behavioral; FoPS, Fear of public speaking; g = Hedges' g; k = number of interventions; Non-tech, Non-technological intervention; Ref., Reference group; Tech. Technological intervention; Within, Within group comparison between based on pre-intervention vs. follow-up assessment; WL/NT, Waiting list control group or No-Treatment control group .

Meta-Regression Analysis for the Long-Term Effects of Psychological Interventions on FoPS

For the second meta-regression concerning the long-term effects of psychological interventions for FoPS, we had pre-selected the following moderator variables; (1) time from post-treatment to follow-up (follow-up length); and (2) whether the effect size at follow-up was calculated within-groups (comparing pre-treatment scores to follow-up scores) or between-groups (comparing intervention group to a control group). Once again, we did not investigate other moderator variables to maintain a reasonable ratio between effect sizes and the number of moderators. As seen in Table 2 , the results from this analysis show that follow-up length was not a significant predictor of the effect size ( p = 0.509).

The other moderator variable in this analysis (type of effect size; within or between) was also non-significant ( p = 0.064). This indicates that no difference was found between the effects calculated from between-group comparisons and the effects calculated from within-groups comparisons. As moderators in this model were non-significant, we could not account for any of the observed heterogeneity shown by a significant Goodness of fit test ( p < 0.001), which indicates that there still remained unexplained variance after accounting for the two moderators.

Meta-Regression Analysis for Generalized Social Anxiety

Since meta-regression analyses were conducted only in cases of significant heterogeneity, no such analyses were conducted for the effects of psychological interventions aimed at FoPS on generalized social anxiety at post-treatment or for the long-term effects on generalized social anxiety at follow-up.

Changes in Effect After Treatment Termination

Two meta-analyses were conducted to investigate the changes in effect after treatment termination from post-treatment to follow-up, also referred to as the “sleeper effect” (e.g., Flückiger et al., 2015 ).

Changes in Effect After Treatment Termination for Psychological Interventions on FoPS

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine changes in efficacy of psychological interventions for FoPS over time after treatment termination (post-treatment to follow-up). The results revealed an overall effect size of g = 0.20 (95% CI: 0.081–0.312), where heterogeneity was non-significant ( Q = 23.69, p = 0.096). This corresponds to an NNT of 8.89. The effect sizes and their associated 95% confidence intervals can be found in Figure 7 .

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A forest plot of the change in efficacy from post-treatment to follow-up of psychological treatments aimed at fear of public speaking.

Visual inspection of the funnel plot, in addition to Duval and Tweedie's trim and fill procedure revealed some signs of publication bias for the effect size concerning changes in efficacy of psychological interventions on FoPS from post-treatment to follow-up. The funnel plot revealed four potential missing studies and is presented in Supplementary Figure 5 . Duval and Tweedie's trim and fill procedure revealed four potential missing studies to the left of the mean. The effect size concerning changes in efficacy of psychological interventions on FoPS from post-treatment to follow-up was adjusted to g = 0.12 (95% CI: 0.04–0.21) when applying the trim and fill procedure.

Changes in Effect After Treatment Termination for Psychological Interventions On Generalized Social Anxiety

We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the changes in efficacy of psychological interventions for generalized social anxiety outcomes from post-treatment to follow-up. The results yielded an average effect size of g = 0.23 (95% CI: 0.135–0.328), where heterogeneity was non-significant ( Q = 9.44, p = 0.802). This corresponds to an NNT of 7.74. The effect sizes along with their associated 95% confidence intervals are presented in Figure 8 .

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A forest plot of the change in efficacy from post-treatment to follow-up of psychological treatments aimed at fear of public speaking on generalized social anxiety.

The funnel plot revealed four potential missing studies and is presented in Supplementary Figure 6 . Duval and Tweedie's trim and fill procedure revealed four potential missing studies to the left of the mean. The effect size concerning changes in efficacy of psychological interventions for generalized social anxiety from post-treatment to follow-up was g = 0.16 (95% CI: 0.08–0.25) after adjustment based on the trim and fill procedure.

Secondary Outcome Measures

As specified in the objectives and the study protocol, when available, depression, satisfaction with treatment, treatment credibility, and outcome-expectancy outcome measures were coded with the additional aim to conduct meta-analyses on these secondary measures. However, there were not enough (< 5 conditions) studies providing data for these outcomes to warrant such analyses. There were two studies reporting outcomes on depression, two studies reported satisfaction with treatment, three studies reported treatment credibility, and three studies reported outcome expectancy. Among these numbers there were also some qualitative descriptions for some of these measures (e.g., satisfaction with treatment). We therefore did not conduct meta-analyses for any secondary outcomes.

The present meta-analysis is the first on FoPS in nearly three decades (Allen et al., 1989 ). Furthermore, it is the first meta-analysis to date to examine the efficacy of psychological interventions for FoPS exclusively based on RCTs, producing more reliable results. This is in contrast to the meta-analysis by Allen et al. ( 1989 ), which included uncontrolled and non-randomized studies. Our literature search identified 30 studies researching the effects of psychological interventions on FoPS, including N = 14 new RCTs since the last meta-analysis conducted by Allen et al. ( 1989 ).

Summary of Main Findings

The effects of psychological interventions on fops at post-treatment.

The first aim of the present meta-analysis was to assess the overall short-term effect of psychological interventions for FoPS when compared to a control group. We found moderate to large effects on FoPS (Hedges g = 0.74), corresponding to an NNT of 2.50, indicating that between two to three patients must be treated in order to generate one positive patient outcome. This finding seems robust as the FoPS interventions were compared to a relatively large pool of both active and passive control groups, where nearly half were from active placebo groups. When comparing the psychological interventions for FoPS at post-treatment to passive control groups only (e.g., waiting list), a large effect size was revealed. On the other hand, comparing psychological interventions for FoPS at post-treatment to an active control group only (e.g., attention placebo) resulted in a moderate to large effect size. This is an important conclusion, suggesting that psychological interventions are effective in reducing FoPS on a clinically significant level when compared to both passive waiting list groups and active placebo groups, indicating robustness.

Furthermore, we conducted a subgroup analysis to investigate whether there were differences in the effect of psychological interventions for FoPS between studies that used a diagnostic sample on the one hand and studies that used a subclinical sample on the other. No significant differences were found, suggesting that psychological interventions for FoPS are equally effective for individuals with a social anxiety diagnosis and individuals with subclinical symptoms.

The Long-Term Effects of Psychological Interventions on FoPS

The second aim of the present study was to investigate the long-term effects of the psychological interventions for FoPS. The psychological interventions were indeed effective at follow-up for FoPS, demonstrating a large effect size (Hedges g = 1.11). A meta-regression revealed that follow-up length was not associated with the effect size, suggesting that the effects of psychological interventions on FoPS are stable and persist over time. Although we based this calculation primarily on within-group comparisons and, where available, between-group comparisons, we did not find any indication of a difference between these two types of comparisons in our meta-regression, providing further confidence for these long-term results.

Technology-Delivered and Traditional Face-to-Face Interventions

The third aim of this review was to find out whether there is a difference in effect between technology-delivered interventions (i.e., Interned-delivered therapies, virtual reality exposure therapies and computerized interventions) and individual or group face to face or telephone interventions. For the effect size on FoPS at post-treatment, we did not find any difference in effect size between technology-delivered interventions vs. more traditional face-to-face and telephone interventions. This provides support for technology-delivered psychological interventions as effective in treating FoPS. An important practical implication of this finding is highlighted by the advantages related to dissemination and individualization of treatment, presenting clinicians with an opportunity to provide different types of treatments to different patients. A patient with a severe level of social anxiety who may not be willing to initiate face-to-face therapy, may thus benefit from an intervention with a less threatening mode of delivery, such as an Internet-delivered intervention. Our findings are in line with a recent meta-analysis not finding any difference between Internet-delivered therapies vs. traditional face-to-face therapies for depression and anxiety disorders, including social anxiety disorder (Andrews et al., 2018 ).

Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions and Other Types of Interventions

The meta-regression analysis concerning the effect of psychological interventions for FoPS at post-treatment was utilized to test our fourth aim of investigating whether there was a difference between cognitive or behavioral interventions vs. “other” interventions. The multivariate regression analysis favored the “other” group consisting of insight therapy, visualization, The Lefkoe Method, and EMDR. However, removing an extreme outlier of which the 95% CI did not overlap with the overall pooled effect size (Cunningham et al., 2006 ), showed that no such differences were observed between the two categories of interventions. The latter analysis thus provides no indication of differences between cognitive or behavioral interventions vs. other interventions of FoPS. We examined whether this finding could be related to the studies using cognitive or behavioral interventions more often involving behavioral and physiological measures. Taking this into account by comparing the two groups only including self-report measures, we once again found no difference in treatment effects between cognitive or behavioral interventions and other interventions in treating FoPS. We recommend clinicians and researchers to interpret this finding with caution as the “other” group consists of a highly heterogeneous collection of interventions. More studies are therefore required to draw conclusions about the effects of interventions that are not cognitive or behavioral. It is furthermore important to highlight that, although the cognitive and behavioral group was coded in accordance with a previous meta-analysis by Cuijpers et al. ( 2014 ), also this category includes some heterogeneity, implying that the average effect sizes should be interpreted with caution and examined by forthcoming research. Future research should also investigate whether specific interventions for FoPS provide different effects in different population of patients.

Self-Reported vs. Physiological and Behavioral Measures

Our fifth aim—to investigate if there is a difference in effect size between self-report measures as compared to other outcome measures—was examined with the meta-regression analysis concerning the effect of psychological interventions for FoPS at post-treatment. We found that the effect size for FoPS at post-treatment was inversely related to the percentage of instruments included in a study that was not based on self-report. In other words, the effect size got increasingly lower the higher the amount of physiological and behavioral measures. The causes of such differences are not clear. One possible explanation regards the different nature of measures. Whereas self-report measures assess the individual's perceived state of fear and anxiety, the behavioral or observational measures are primarily concerned with overt or visible signs of anxiety and how the individual performed in a public speaking situation. This view is shared by Lang ( 1968 ) who argues that anxiety is conceptually linked to three related, but different, response systems: the behavioral, the subjective, and the physiological. Thereby, this may reflect a difference between signs of anxiety that are visible and signs of anxiety that are covert. Also, behavioral measures are commonly rated by an observer or clinician. Thus, another possibility for the differences could be that the raters are more negatively biased or conservative, whereas the participants are positively biased. Furthermore, it cannot be ruled out that discrepancy in effects between different sources of information might reflect differences in sensitivity with regard to the instruments used, with some instruments being more sensitive than others. Nevertheless, our findings correspond with an earlier study (Heimberg et al., 1990 ), where self-report measures were found to produce greater reductions in social anxiety than behavioral and physiological measures. These differences highlight the importance of assessing different types of outcome measures in a meta-analysis, which is one of the major assets of the present meta-analysis. The aforementioned differences also suggest that future studies on FoPS should attempt to include different measures of anxiety, for instance in accordance with the three systems-model of fear proposed by Lang ( 1968 ). It would also be of interest to investigate whether different symptoms profiles within such systems have implications for daily functioning and treatment.

The Effects of Psychological Interventions Aimed at FoPS on Generalized Social Anxiety

The sixth aim of the present study was to examine whether psychological interventions aimed at FoPS have an effect on concurrent generalized social anxiety, and whether these effects would be maintained at follow-up. It was found that the effects on generalized social anxiety outcomes had a small to moderate (Hedges g = 0.35) effect. This corresponds to an NNT of 5.11, meaning that about five patients have to be treated to generate one positive outcome. One possible explanation for this finding is that the treatment of FoPS reduces generalized social anxiety, as an individual with generalized social anxiety has a performance anxiety (e.g., FoPS) in addition to an interaction anxiety (Blöte et al., 2009 ; Bögels et al., 2010 ). Such a perspective could also explain why the treatment effects of psychological interventions aimed at FoPS are lower for generalized social anxiety than for FoPS, as generalized social anxiety consists of more than a public speaking fear. Another possible interpretation is that the positive treatment effect on generalized social anxiety can be explained by the fact that questionnaires measuring generalized social anxiety also measure FoPS, to a certain extent.

It was also shown that psychological interventions aimed at FoPS for generalized social anxiety demonstrate a moderate to large (Hedges g = 0.70) effect size at follow-up. The effect size for generalized social anxiety at follow-up was thus larger than the same effect size at post-treatment. One possible explanation for this is that the effects not only remained at follow-up, but also increased with time. This is in accordance with a previous finding by Nordgreen et al. ( 2018 ). Following this explanation, it would seem that psychological interventions for FoPS continue to decrease generalized social anxiety symptoms over time. A possible interpretation of this is that reduced public speaking anxiety over time generalizes to fear reductions for other social situations. However, this difference might also reflect the different effect sizes utilized, where the post-treatment effect size was solely based on between-group comparisons, whereas the follow-up effect size was based on both between-group and within-group comparisons. As we could not control for these different methods in effect size calculation for the follow-up results on generalized social anxiety, this finding should be interpreted with caution.

Changes in Effect of Psychological Interventions After Treatment Termination

We conducted two additional meta-analyses to examine the effect of psychological interventions after treatment termination. This effect is commonly referred to as the “sleeper effect,” describing any type of delayed impact or effect on a recipient of an intervention after its termination (e.g., Flückiger et al., 2015 ).

The overall effect after treatment termination for psychological interventions aimed at FoPS from post-treatment to follow-up was small ( g = 0.20), corresponding to an NNT of 8.89. Furthermore, the overall effect after treatment termination of psychological interventions on generalized social anxiety from post-treatment to follow-up was small ( g = 0.23), corresponding to an NNT of 7.74. As heterogeneity was non-significant for both of these analyses, no meta-regression analyses were conducted in these cases.

Although the sleeper effect is commonly calculated by comparing changes between different therapeutic frameworks following treatment termination (Flückiger et al., 2015 ), we were precluded from this in the present meta-analysis. The reasons for this was the non-significant heterogeneity for both of the aforementioned meta-analyses, making meta-regression analyses redundant, and due to the fact that the studies that provided sufficient data for calculation of effect sizes after treatment termination all were cognitive and/or behavioral interventions. Consequently, only one group of therapeutic frameworks was available for these analyses. Still, our findings revealed an overall sleeper effect for cognitive and behavioral psychological interventions for FoPS as well as generalized social anxiety outcome measures. As all studies in these meta-analyses were cognitive or behavioral, one possible explanation for the continued effects after treatment termination might be that the therapies in question emphasize the importance for patients to utilize and continue to apply the techniques learned during treatment also after its termination.

As there were not enough studies with sufficient data, we could not pursue the final aim of this study and conduct any meta-analyses on our chosen secondary outcomes (i.e., depression, satisfaction with treatment, treatment expectancy, and treatment credibility).

Limitations

The present meta-analysis has several limitations. One limitation is the risk of bias of included studies, with several studies not passing all four criteria in the applicable four domains of bias. The unknown risk of some of the included studies suggests our results should be interpreted with caution. However, we cannot conclude whether these studies are of actual high or low bias. This pertains in particular to the older studies included in the present review, due to poorer reporting of results in past decades. Another limitation of the present meta-analysis is that it did not include unpublished studies, as it has been argued by some authors (e.g., Cook et al., 1993 ) that such studies generally obtain lower effect sizes which in turn could potentially impact the effect sizes in meta-analyses. However, in their review of nearly 200 meta-analyses, Schmucker et al. ( 2017 ) argue that current empirical data demonstrates that the inclusion of unpublished studies rarely impacts the effect sizes in meta-analyses on a statistically significant level. Other recommended methods for assessing publication bias and its impact on effect sizes (e.g., Duval and Tweedie, 2000 ; Borenstein et al., 2009a ; Schmucker et al., 2017 ), including examination of funnel plot symmetry and the adjustment of effect sizes using the Duval and Tweedie's trim and fill procedure were followed in the conduct of the present meta-analysis. Still, including unpublished data could potentially provide even more accurate estimates of effect sizes, making the omission of such unpublished data a limitation of the present study.

Another limitation of the present study is that the majority of the included studies were based on completers-only data. This may have led to an overestimation of effect sizes, perhaps due to the individuals not benefitting from the interventions dropping out or due to such incidents being unaccounted for in intention-to-treat analyses. Furthermore, our finding examining the differences between cognitive-behavioral interventions vs. other types of interventions should be interpreted with caution. Although our categorization of the cognitive-behavioral group was in accordance with previous research (Cuijpers et al., 2014 ), both groups compared in this analysis are quite heterogeneous. More research is therefore needed to examine the differences between therapeutic frameworks, as well as examining the effects of the interventions in the “other” category.

Although nearly none of the included studies reported researcher allegiance or therapist effects, such characteristics are important to examine as they can impact the effect size, a notion which is highlighted by the MAP-24 guidelines (Flückiger et al., 2018 ). There are examples of how indicators of such factors can be investigated in alternative ways (e.g., Del Re et al., 2012 ). Another limitation of the present study is therefore not accounting for these characteristics, which future reviews are encouraged to examine. Furthermore, future treatment studies should report data on researcher allegiance and therapist effects so that these variables can be investigated as potential moderators of treatment outcome in future meta-analyses. A general limitation with meta-analyses should also be considered, because such analyses provide an effect size estimate of how different psychological interventions compare to control groups. Thus, such a broad perspective comes at the cost of the detailed information on how the interventions work.

Future Directions

It is noteworthy that the present meta-analysis did not examine whether interventions delivered through a group format, individualized format or self-help format differed in their ability to reduce symptoms of FoPS and generalized social anxiety. As previously mentioned, this was due to the fact that only a limited number of moderator variables could be selected in order to maintain a reasonable ratio of single effect sizes to the number of moderators. Future research is encouraged to attempt to clarify potential different outcomes for such formats.

Another important finding of the present review was that only one of the 30 included studies focused on the effects of psychological interventions on FoPS for adolescents. Because social anxiety and its associated forms, such as FoPS, have an onset during childhood and the adolescent years (American Psychiatric Association, 2013 ), it is essential for future studies to investigate the effects of psychological interventions on FoPS for this age group. It could be important to intervene early in an attempt to prevent the development of FoPS, but also because FoPS may significantly impair educational attainments (Van Ameringen et al., 2003 ), and furthermore may decrease the number of years an individual is impaired by FoPS. Moreover, early interventions on specific phobia such as FoPS can prevent the development of generalized social anxiety disorder (Wittchen and Fehm, 2003 ; Gregory et al., 2007 ; Blöte et al., 2009 ), making the treatment of FoPS highly important given the individual impairments and societal costs of social anxiety disorder. In this respect, an examination of how adolescents (and not only adults) respond to existing psychological interventions for FoPS may be of vital importance. With regards to future directions, we thus urge forthcoming studies to investigate the effects of psychological interventions for FoPS and social anxiety in adolescent populations. We would also like to direct researchers' attention to the lack of studies on FoPS and social anxiety in an elderly population, as noted elsewhere in the literature (Fehm et al., 2005 ).

Another important empirical implication of the present meta-analysis is that it directs forthcoming research to examine the effects of interventions for FoPS on relevant comorbidity. Given the strong association and the high comorbidity between social anxiety and depression (Kessler et al., 1999 ), it may be deemed an important additional task to assess the effects of the interventions toward FoPS on depression. Although lower in FoPS than social anxiety in its generalized form, the comorbidity between FoPS and major depressive disorder was found in one study to be about 2-fold, with an odds ratio of 2.1 (Stein and Chavira, 1998 ). It is therefore a surprising and important finding that few studies examining the effects of psychological interventions on FoPS have investigated its further effect on depressive symptoms.

Regarding the three other secondary outcomes that we could not examine due to insufficient data, it might be of interest for studies with newer interventions (e.g., technology-delivered interventions) to assess treatment credibility as well as the satisfaction with treatment. Furthermore, as treatment expectancy has been demonstrated to be an important predictor of psychotherapy outcome (Meyer et al., 2002 ; Greenberg et al., 2006 ), future studies should also investigate its role in the field of FoPS.

Additionally, more studies on FoPS reporting follow-up results that utilize other types of theoretical framework than cognitive and behavioral treatments are needed, as this would allow future meta-analyses to investigate the potential sleeper effects of these interventions. Finally, future studies should examine several potential moderators that could have an impact on the effect of psychological interventions for FoPS. More specifically, possible moderators include comorbidity, the utilization of manuals, treatment adherence, therapist effects, and researcher allegiance. It is important for future outcome studies to report such characteristics, so that they can be investigated as potential moderators in future meta-analyses.

Conclusions

The present meta-analysis is of importance as it informs the treatment of FoPS, relieving its negative educational, social, and occupational consequences. It fills an important knowledge gap as it is the first meta-analysis on FoPS for three decades, and because it is the first meta-analysis to date to examine the effects of psychological interventions for FoPS exclusively based on RCTs. From this meta-analysis, it seems safe to conclude that psychological interventions aimed at FoPS are both effective for the FoPS as well as the more generalized form of social anxiety in an adult population. Furthermore, psychological interventions have beneficial long-term effects in the treatment of FoPS. Additionally, a sleeper effect was found for cognitive and behavioral interventions, indicating that patients receiving these interventions continued to improve after treatment termination. The effects of psychological interventions were robust against active control groups (e.g., attention placebo) as well as passive control groups (e.g., waiting list). With regard to the high prevalence, the impairments that FoPS and social anxiety have on functioning and well-being, as well as their societal costs, and the findings highlighting how FoPS in both adolescence and adulthood is associated with the development of generalized social anxiety disorder, we find these to be important conclusions, suggesting that psychological interventions are effective and are associated with moderate to large effects at post-treatment as well as large effects on follow-up for FoPS. Moreover, the present study found no difference between technology-delivered interventions (i.e., virtual reality and Internet-delivered interventions) and traditional interventions such as therapy delivered face-to-face for FoPS. This is an important finding, suggesting that treatment outcome is not dependent on mode of delivery, implying that clinicians can exert some flexibility in terms of the way treatment is administered. This finding further highlights an opportunity to increase access to evidence-based treatments through technology-delivered interventions, which can be implemented at schools, in primary care and specialist mental health care.

Data Availability

Author contributions.

OE designed the study and wrote the protocol under the supervision of TN and RK. OE conducted the literature search. RK assisted OE in the reviewing process. OE and SP proceeded with the data extraction process. Statistical analyses and risk of bias assessment was conducted by OE under the supervision of SP. OE wrote the first draft of the manuscript. The manuscript continued its development under OE with involvement from TN, RK, and SP. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Pim Cuijpers for his guidance throughout this project, in addition to Ole Myklebust Amundsen and Kåre Frønsdal for assisting in the assessment of abstracts.

Funding. This publication is part of the INTROducing Mental health through Adaptive Technology (INTROMAT) project, funded by the Norwegian Research Council (259293/o70).

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00488/full#supplementary-material

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Public Speaking Research Paper

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In everyday language, public speaking refers to the communication practice of a speaker sharing ideas with an audience primarily through speech. The term encompasses a great many communication contexts, including events as different as delivering an oral report on company profits to a closed meeting of a board of trustees, addressing millions of listeners around the globe during a U.S. presidential inauguration ceremony, and giving a toast at a wedding. The fundamental notion underlying public speaking as a form of communication is that it is an embodied and oral act. Associated expectations that signal that a communication interaction is an example of public speaking are that the oral communication is shared with more than one listener and there is one person in the interaction who does most of the communicating. Like written communication, public speaking is complicated because sharing meanings with others through language is difficult. The challenges of public speaking are heightened, however, since the speaker shares meaning not only through words but also through body, voice, and visuals.

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Furthermore, the public-speaking experience, traditionally, is transitory; a speaker has only one opportunity to accomplish his or her goal—to be understood by the listeners. While readers can re-read documents until they understand the gist of the message, listeners, typically, cannot hear a speech again. Another challenge particular to the publicspeaking experience is anxiety. In fact, 70% to 75% of the U.S. population report experiencing public-speaking anxiety (McCroskey, 2000; Richmond & McCroskey, 1998). Challenges such as these make public speaking a communication practice that continues to interest researchers and everyday practitioners and have made public-speaking classes a common requirement for undergraduate degrees and public-speaking titles popular in the self-help sections of bookstores.

It is perhaps surprising that the demand for public speakers persists in our increasingly mediated age.While information can be shared through many other means and persuasive appeals are pervasive on television, billboards, and the Internet, there remains a significant role for public speaking as a means for sharing ideas and motivating others. Political speaking is particularly visible in U.S. culture as we watch candidates participate in debates and see legislators and citizens speak about civic affairs on news shows, C-Span, community access television, and Internet sites such asYouTube. Public speaking also happens at pep assemblies; in board rooms; during parents’ night at public schools; in assembly halls and civic centers; at state fairs and trade shows; as part of award shows such as the Oscars; at commencements; at religious gatherings, inaugurations, and weddings; in classrooms, prisons, and legislatures; and even during meetings of 4-H or Rotary Clubs. U.S. culture is rife with contexts that call for public speaking.

Organizations such as the All American Speaker’s Bureau arrange for celebrities and professional speakers to address audiences at corporate meetings, trade shows, conventions, and major community events. Though sometimes these appearances may include a chance to shake hands or get an autograph, their central purpose is to arrange to have someone with significant understanding of an issue, someone with a deep passion for a cause, or someone with a fascinating experience to share speak before an audience. The speakers’ bureau understands the potential impact of this speaking situation for listeners and for the organization arranging the event and knows its market value. Groups will pay speaking fees ranging from around $5,000, to hear, for example, Amy Henry from NBC’s The Apprentice , to more than $200,000, to hear Donald Trump himself. Another organization, TED, originally devoted to sharing ideas about Technology, Entertainment, and Design, meets annually to showcase 50 speakers, who address a crowd of 1,000 for about 18 minutes each. These speakers share their exceptional ideas on topics ranging from open-source textbooks for college classrooms to innovations in wind power, to how the mind works, to the nature of romantic love. The 4-day conference regularly sells out a year in advance, but the speeches are digitally captured and the best are posted at www.ted.com. The organizers adopted the slogan “ideas worth spreading” and devote significant resources to their goal of “giving everyone on-demand access to the world’s most inspiring voices.” Such examples underscore the fact that public speaking remains a significant mode of communication in contemporary culture.

Public speaking has evolved as a form of communication, and it overlaps many of the other types of communication discussed in this handbook. Individuals engaged in the specific tasks of interviewing, deliberating, debating, mediating conflict, demonstrating, or communicating with visuals are likely to engage in public speaking as well. This research paper, therefore, will focus on the fundamental concepts of public speaking as a type of communication. While public-speaking theory and pedagogy are deeply rooted in the classical period, it is important to recognize how cultural developments, ways of understanding communicative processes, and even theories of language have revitalized and complicated the classical concepts. Even as U.S. cultural expectations have expanded such that today there is a belief that all citizens should be prepared to express themselves through public speaking, the ideas about how public speaking functions have grown increasingly complex. As a result, it has become clear that public speaking, like other complex skills, is one that can continue to develop across a lifetime. Though technological developments bring new challenges as well as opportunities, there are a handful of primary concepts that can guide public speakers to success in the 21st century.

Public-Speaking Goals

Public speaking is a form of communication that seeks an outcome; public speakers seek not simply to express themselves but to have an effect on their listeners. Humans have long sought to understand more about the ways language can shape circumstances and help them accomplish their goals. The first formal discussions on communication and public speaking in the Western tradition emerged in the 5th century BCE in Greece, though more ancient texts of Chinese and Jewish origin as well as the works of Homer indicate an even earlier interest in effective speech making. In Western cultures, public-speaking instructors were among the first people to be paid to share their knowledge with others. Early legal systems required citizens to speak on their own behalf when presenting arguments on issues such as property ownership. Those who listened to these speeches and saw their varying levels of effectiveness began to codify the strategies that were most successful in particular situations. In Greece, ancient teachers of what was commonly known as “rhetoric” included well-known figures such as Gorgias and Aristotle in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, respectively. In Rome, the first systematic rhetoric handbook, the Ad Herennium , dates to the 1st century BCE.

These early texts identify three central goals related to the different contexts for public speaking: to persuade judges to support your position in a court of law (known as forensic discourse, as in “I am not guilty of murder”); to persuade decision makers to support your position about what action should be taken by the community or state (known as deliberative discourse, as in “We should build a new wall for the city”); and to persuade people with arguments that a person or event is worthy of either praise or blame (known as epideictic discourse, as in “Helen of Troy’s beauty is beyond all comparison”). These goals were related by their common goal or outcome: the persuasion of a listener.

According toAristotle, the differences among these goals emerged in large part due to the specific context within which the speech took place and the role played by the audience during the exchange. Forensic discourse referred to the speeches given in legal settings where listeners would judge whether someone was guilty of a crime or whether a wrong was done in the past that required redress. Deliberative discourse was the discourse that took place in the senate, within bodies of decision makers for the state, who argued for certain policies, inviting listeners to judge whether such policies should be implemented in the future. Epideictic discourse took place in public spaces before popular audiences who made judgments about the object of praise or blame and also rendered judgments about the talents of the speakers. The situation within which speakers shared their ideas determined the kinds of materials, arguments, vocabulary, and delivery that were appropriate. For this reason, early rhetoric handbooks often divided their guidelines into chapters devoted to each different context.

In the 100 years preceding and following the beginning of the Common Era, debate about the goals of public speaking was vigorous.As the Roman theorist Quintilian summarized the issue in his landmark work the Institutes of Oratory (95 CE), which is the most detailed account of the education of a public speaker from the ancient world, what began as a debate about whether a speech of praise was significantly different from a speech of blame soon developed into claims that the goals of speaking were innumerable:

Indeed, if we distinguish praising and blaming in the third part of oratory, in what kind of oratory shall we be said to employ ourselves when we complain, console, appease, excite, alarm, encourage, direct, explain obscure expressions, narrate, entreat, offer thanks, congratulate, reproach, attack, describe, command, retract, express wishes or opinions, and speak in a thousand other ways? (Quintillian, 2006, Book 3, chap. 4, para. 1)

But if the goals of speakers were as numerous as the goals any individual speaker might set for himself or herself, there would be no way to generalize about the skills needed by a speaker, and it would become impossible to teach others to be successful in addressing audiences.

Some agreement about the genres of discourse became necessary as a way to identify what public speakers needed to know and what they needed to be able to do in order to be successful. The categories of forensic, deliberative, and epideictic speech remain salient today; but they fail to encompass other essential functions of public discourse within a culture. By the 5th century, rhetoric handbooks, such as Book IV of Augustine’s (1958) On Christian Doctrine , encouraged teachers and students of rhetoric to accept a broad set of three goals for public speaking: to teach, to please, and to persuade. Today the majority of public speaking textbooks concentrate on the same three central goals of public speaking to inform, to entertain and to persuade an audience. Persuasive speaking is the most complex of the goals and remains an umbrella term for diverse discourses such as those aiming to change belief, to move to action, to inspire, to sell, to convert, and to motivate. In response to recent critiques of the fundamentally coercive nature of these kinds of persuasive speeches, whose aim is to change listeners, some theorists are exploring a new genre called “invitational speaking.” This alternative goal for public speakers aims to initiate dialogues with listeners about issues and aims to share perspectives. The goal is to invite consideration of change rather than speaking with the intention of changing audience members (Foss & Griffin, 1995; Griffin, 2009).

Identifying the genre or the general goal of a speech within a particular situation helps a speaker understand a great deal about the strategies available to achieve the outcome for that kind of speaking situation. Informative speeches rely on clarity and thoroughness so that listeners can remember the information. Persuasive speeches are built on the speaker’s credibility, the use of evidence and reasoning, as well as engaging the emotions of the audience to produce change. Invitational speeches aim to establish and sustain conditions of equality, value, and self-determination with listeners. Speeches to entertain rely on strategies that use humor to make their point. While these broadly defined goals govern the study of the discipline of public speaking, each speaker also needs to determine his particular goal within a particular speech situation. Those goals, like the long list developed by Quintilian, are innumerable, and identifying those goals requires careful consideration of many factors. While technology has expanded the potential impact of public speaking and added complications to the communicative process, the fundamental concerns and resources of the public speaker have remained remarkably consistent over time.

Fundamental Principles: The Dynamic Process of Public Speaking

Mid-20th-century efforts to visualize the components and processes of communication were dominated by what is called the transmission model (Shannon & Weaver, 1949). This was an information transfer model that seemed to suggest that communicators send information across some medium (such as telephone wires) to a receiver, who takes in the information as sent unless some kind of noise interferes to make the transmission problematic. This understanding of the public communication model has changed over time and is currently being influenced by postmodernists, who point out the indeterminacy of each of the parts of the model. Nevertheless, most teachers and publicspeaking practitioners continue to find value in thinking about the distinct parts of the communication process to better accomplish their communicative goals. There are seven essential parts to the model: speaker, audience, message, channel, feedback, interference, and context.

The speaker is perhaps the most obvious part of the public-speaking transaction, but there are complexities in the role that must not be overlooked. Communication begins within the mind of the speaker as he or she perceives and processes his or her own experiences and learning and makes decisions about the goal(s) of a speech and the strategies best suited to accomplishing those tasks. In fact, Aristotle does not define rhetoric as a product. It is not a speech or a specific strategy; it is not the outcome or effect a speaker has on an audience. Rhetoric, he says, is “the faculty of observing, in any given case, the available means of persuasion.” Developing one’s rhetorical skill, then, is about training the mind to see all the possibilities for persuasion or, in contemporary theory, to see all the possibilities for engaging audiences. Much of the work of a successful public-speaking interaction is the mental work of the speaker, who must sift through the possible goals, materials, information, and organizational and delivery strategies to select the best for a particular speaking context.

In addition, from the listener’s point of view, the presence of the speaker is meaningful even before the speaker begins a presentation. The very fact that a presidential candidate chose to speak at a particular event conveys a message about the value of that event to that audience and to the listener as well as to those looking at the event from outside the immediate situation. The reputation of the speaker, his ethos or credibility, may also be known to the listener before the start of the speech. Announcements about the speech, the speech of introduction before a presentation or audience knowledge about earlier speeches, books or appearances by the speaker all serve to help listeners construct ideas about the speaker before the talk. These preexisting attitudes about the speaker can support or interfere with the speaker’s goals depending on the listener.

Listener/Audience

The presence of an audience is essential to the publicspeaking situation. Philosophers may debate the nature of “sound” when arguing about whether a tree falling in the forest makes a sound if no one is there to hear it, but theorists agree that the communicative act of public speaking requires the presence of a listener to be meaningful. Listeners bring their own experiences, languages, expectations, and ways of making meaning into the public-speaking interaction. The meanings taken away from a public-speaking presentation depend on the audience member’s work in creating them. The more researchers investigate the ways people learn, the more it becomes clear that complex biological and social processes are at work as audience members construct their own meanings in communication contexts. Public communication is a participatory process; a speaker cannot make himself or herself understood without the willing participation of the listener in the process. The complexities of the mental landscapes of audience members—individually and as groups—is part of what makes public speaking a creative challenge that is never fully mastered.

A third complex feature of the public-speaking process is the message itself. By definition, the message is the meaning received and understood by the members of the audience. In general, the closer the message received is to the message intended by the speaker, the more effective the presentation. For this reason, public-speaking instruction is typically focused on the construction of the speaker’s message—such as the content, the structure, the word choices, but it is also the case that audience members are actively engaged in constructing their own sense of the message. The messages from which they construct meanings are intentional and unintentional, verbal and nonverbal.As individuals, listeners have varying degrees of attentiveness; still, the speaker must assume that audience members are constructing impressions of the speaker’s character, beliefs, age, class, race, gender, and even sexual orientation even before the speaker begins to address them orally. Contemporary public speakers are increasingly aware of this and work to manage these impressions to the best of their ability.

The intended and unintended messages projected by speakers come to listeners through some line of communication that we typically call a channel or medium. In the public-speaking context, air is the typical carrier of our verbal cues, and lines of sight carry nonverbal cues. These channels can be complicated by the presence of something that amplifies the sound, such as a microphone (as in a presidential state-of-the-union address) or a bull horn (as when President Bush stood in the rubble of the 9/11 attacks and addressed the rescue workers). Even poor stage lighting or a podium too large for the speaker can make it more difficult to “read” the visual cues. In recent decades, public speeches have become increasingly mediated, such that one speech may be available through various channels. Today, not only are speech texts, such as the Gettysburg Address, available to new readers who are separated from the context by many years, but complete recordings of speeches are available to be viewed by individuals and groups around the globe. New technologies have also expanded the kinds of channels available to speakers to share their messages; whether using PowerPoint and embedding videos in presentations or publishing presentations via YouTube or blogs, today’s speakers have new challenges and opportunities when considering the media through which their messages are created and shared.

Feedback is the element of the communication process that makes it a transactional experience. Rather than messages running only one way, from speaker to listener, theorists conceptualize public-speaking interactions as having a feedback loop. Parallel to the messages speakers communicate, feedback messages can be verbal and nonverbal, intentional and unintentional. Successful public speakers must be able to take in these messages and adapt to them. Audience members may communicate their enthusiasm or anger, the trouble they are having hearing or understanding, their agreement or disagreement, their willingness to give their attention or to ignore, and they may show their appreciation of the presentation with applause. Responding to feedback by restating, rephrasing, or elaborating a point; speaking up; slowing down; or even moving to an interactive moment of the speech to regain audience attention are all marks of the mature public speaker who is aware of the importance of audience feedback as a way to gauge whether an audience is continuing to work with the speaker to create shared meanings.

Within the immediate speaking situation, feedback is simultaneous with the delivery of the speaker’s message. However, in colloquial use, feedback also refers to information solicited by public speakers after public-speaking events. In classrooms, peers and instructors may offer feedback to a speaker about a presentation, asking questions or commenting on the public-speaking choices made. Mediated public messages, such as a speech posted on YouTube, will collect feedback by way of comments posted. Audience researchers can use new technologies to measure the feedback responses of listeners. During a presidential debate, focus groups may press triggers to indicate their level of agreement or how much they like a candidate at any particular moment in the debate. Processing such data helps political advisers and speech writers capture a glimpse of the meaning-making process at work within listeners so that later efforts to communicate similar messages can be made more successful.

Interference

When something prevents our messages from reaching those with whom we are communicating, interference is the culprit. In the transmission model of communication, this idea is typically conceived of as literal noise. For example, a public speaker’s message might not get through to listeners if there was a baby crying in the room, a bus passing by the rally at the park, or a conversation being carried on among some members of the audience. This part of the model is based on the analogy that compares such noise with the kind of static that can interfere with a phone connection. Certainly such noise can make it hard for a speaker’s message to be heard, thus, at a very fundamental level, preventing meanings from being shared with audiences.

As our conceptualization of speech making has shifted from the simplistic notion of transmitting sound from one person to an audience, so has the understanding of interference become much more complex. Hearing, listening, and understanding are different physiological and psychological tasks that we ask of audiences, and while public speakers are rightly concerned about being heard, they are also deeply concerned with being understood. An expanded notion of interference for the 21st-century speaker can include a wide range of possible distractions for audiences that can block, or make it harder for, messages to be understood. Today’s speakers continue to be concerned about external distractions, such as noisy speaking venues or cell phone interruptions. In addition, new research about brain processing demonstrates the special challenges facing a speaker who is addressing listeners experiencing a sugar low or audience members who are present but are preoccupied with worries about needing to catch a plane, finish a project, or repair a relationship strained by an argument earlier that day. These internal distractions are usually outside the control of speakers, but the challenges they present to the success of a presentation are real and demand creative responses. Some points of internal interference in listeners can be unwittingly encouraged by speakers. Speakers who commit a faux pas, whether it be dressing inappropriately for the occasion, mispronouncing the name of the person who introduced them, or using terms unfamiliar to the audience, can send unintentional messages that interfere with the audience’s ability or willingness to construct the meaning intended by the speakers. Similarly, speakers who incorporate poor visual aids, weak evidence, or a provocative word choice can invite listeners in whole or in part to disregard the rest of the presentation or to engage in a mental debate that interferes with their ability to understand what follows.

In its most specific sense, context refers to the situation within which the public-speaking exchange occurs. This situation involves the reason the group constituting the audience is called together, whether it is a political convention where the room is filled with credentialed delegates, a monthly meeting of the Rotary club, or a rally to protest a decision to cut funding for a university program. It also involves the actual setting for the speech—a comfortable, climate-controlled board room; an overheated, crowded schoolboard meeting running late into the night; or an outdoor rally where it is hoped that the audience will grow during the presentation. Within the setting, speakers also consider the size of the audience, the arrangement of space, the presence or absence of means of amplification, the visual aid support available, and even whether there will be other speakers at the event. Understanding the situation is paramount for the speaker to make decisions that will lead to a successful presentation.

Context issues, however, extend beyond the specifics of the particular speaking situation. Cultural and institutionalized differences will affect the norms of the speakeraudience relationship. U.S. senators know that their presentations on the floor of Congress will be listened to politely, though sometimes by only a handful of fellow senators. Members of the British Parliament, in contrast, can expect colleagues to make their agreement and disagreement clear throughout the speech with shouts, feet stomping, or hisses. The conventions governing delivery and language use vary widely among cultures and subcultures, complicating the challenge facing speakers as they aim to adapt to those norms. Professional speakers know that every new speaking situation requires some adjustment if their message is to be successful.

Public speaking is a radically situated communicative act. Delivered to a particular audience at a particular time in a particular space, speeches have been recognized as among the most transitory of the arts. Prior to the invention of recording technologies, a speech might persist as a written text, but that text represented a mere shadow of the experience of the speech as delivered. Though a speech can now experience an extended life span through recording, it remains, in the nature of public speaking, fundamentally linked to the context that called it into being, what Lloyd Bitzer (1968) called the rhetorical situation. Though listeners around the world continue to view Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” address, their understanding of the speech and the meanings they construct are not identical to those constructed by the listeners at the march or by people watching television coverage of the event. While some of the meanings of the speech persist over time and are shared by the millions of listeners who experience the speech today through various channels and in many different contexts, each listener lends his or her own life experiences and interpretive lenses to the meaning-making process. When listeners have the opportunity to add a deep understanding of the historical context within which the speech was given, their interpretive lenses change and new possible meanings of the text begin to emerge. Context persists as one of the most powerful influences on the public communication process, and our understanding of its significance continues to evolve.

Fundamental Principles of Public Speaking: Effective Characteristics of Speakers

Speakers have various tools with which to respond to the dynamic complexities of the parts of the public-speaking interaction. Significantly, the skills required to respond effectively have not changed dramatically since the earliest theories of public speaking were being set forth. When today’s students are asked what public speakers need to know in order to succeed, their responses are very similar to the ideas set forth in what communication educators call the Roman rhetorical canon. These five areas of instruction for public speakers have governed the topics studied in classrooms and mastered by remarkable speakers across the centuries. They include invention (creating the materials of the speech), arrangement (creating the order of the ideas in the speech), style (creating the expression of the ideas of the speech), delivery (embodying and speaking the ideas of the speech), and memory (strategies for recalling the ideas of the speech during delivery). In addition, today’s students will often list more abstract concepts such as “confidence” as essential for the successful public speaker. Public-speaking instruction is typically founded on the assumption that mastery of the elements in the rhetorical canon added to experience will support the development of speaker confidence.

Invention, Arrangement, and Style Generate Ideas to Foster Connections With Audiences

While often treated as distinct areas of study, these first three parts of the rhetorical canon are coming to be understood as integrated because each of them lends generative power to the speaker. Invention includes tasks such as setting goals for a speech, identifying the major ideas the speaker hopes to convey, doing the research work necessary to select and develop those ideas, creating lines of thought and reasoning to powerfully attach the main ideas to the evidence at hand, considering ways to engage the particular audience to be addressed, and imagining points of opposition or confusion and ways to overcome those challenges. In other words, invention has long been recognized as the area of study concerned with creating and identifying the heart of the public speaker’s message.

Arrangement, in contrast, has often been understood to involve the somewhat mechanical task of outlining the ideas and materials gathered and created in the inventional process. Distinct tasks such as structuring the main points; connecting the main ideas to one another; and understanding the conventions necessary to develop a good introduction, body, and conclusion for a particular situation are often taught as the fundamental aspects of this canon. In practice, the work of arrangement is dynamically linked with invention. For any particular speech topic, the consideration of strategies for organizing the speech to enhance its impact on listeners will lead to insights about engaging those listeners, responding to objections, or refining the goal of the presentation. A speaker addressing recycling efforts in the community would produce a very different speech if he or she used a chronological structure (which would require addressing the steps in the process or offering a historical perspective) than if a topical structure was used (which might lead to an exploration of current options for local citizens or addressing the advantages and disadvantages of competing proposals). In this way, arrangement becomes more than putting together the pieces in the puzzle of a speech; it becomes a way to determine the very shape and look of the puzzle in its final form.

Similarly, current work at the intersection of linguistics, psychology, and communication identifies the deep impact that stylistic choices—speakers’ ways of expressing themselves, or their use of style—are often constrained by habits of the mind and worldviews that have dramatic effects on the inventional process. Theorists such as Michael Osborn (1967) have identified the important ways in which metaphor functions not simply as a stylistic device that is used to clothe the thoughts of speakers but as a mode of thought that shapes our ideas and ways of thinking. Kenneth Burke (1966) explored the notion of terministic screens, arguing that a choice of terminology is “a selection of reality” and so, in some way, also functions to deflect us from some other perspective on reality (p. 45). Public speakers have long been aware that the connotations words carry have great power. The terms prolife and antichoice ostensibly refer to the same social movement, but the use of one term or the other offers an important insight into the attitudes of the speaker and may attract or repel listeners as a result. Linguists such as George Lakoff (2004) press the point further, arguing that connotations of words are not just suggestive but can constrain the ways in which we see the world. One example he offers is the phrase tax relief . When people hear the word relief , he argues, a mental frame is triggered. This frame, or way of understanding the world, sees relief as something good, something necessary for one to escape an affliction. When the frame of relief is brought together with the word tax , then that word is understood to be the source of the affliction and whoever can bring tax relief is understood to be a hero. Lakoff argues that discussions about tax policies would be significantly different if the term tax triggered a frame related to paying dues or to making an investment. Debates over the nature of language and its effects on the brain are ongoing, but successful public speakers of the 21st century must become increasingly aware of the power of language choices and the ways they influence not only audiences but the speakers’own ways of understanding the world.

Delivery and Memory Guide Nonverbal Connections With Audiences

The canons of delivery and memory address what, for many, are the most anxiety-provoking aspects of public speaking. The dynamic communication process relies on the speaker prompting the interaction by orally and visually sharing the ideas generated through the processes of invention, arrangement, and stylistic considerations. Giving an embodied presence to these ideas is the only way public speakers have to initiate the meaning-making process with their audience, and it has an impact on the audience’s ability and willingness to share in that process. Since a large part of the public speaker’s success depends on the speaker’s ability to use his or her voice and body and visual aids to project the message, teachers of public speaking have long invested energy in identifying and offering training in the factors that contribute to successful delivery. Eye contact, gesture, stance, facial expression, posture, appearance, volume, rate, pitch, and inflection all play significant roles in the delivery of the presentation and affect the success of the message. Indeed, if listeners cannot hear the message because the speaker is too soft or cannot understand the message because the speaker rushes, no appropriate meaning can be shared. Besides a few fundamental guidelines such as doing nothing that will prevent the audience from hearing and understanding the message, there are few delivery rules that enjoy universal application. Even direct eye contact between speaker and audience, which in mainstream U.S. culture is typically considered an essential feature of successful public speaking, would be considered inappropriate in some other cultures. Since there is no one-size-fits-all practice of delivery suitable for all speakers in all situations, wise speakers take constant note of the successful choices of the speakers they see and work to integrate those behaviors into their own repertoire, reinterpreting a choice to fit their own style and so expanding the possibilities for their delivery in future presentations.

Likewise, strategies for recall during delivery vary widely from speaker to speaker. While there has always been a tradition of impromptu speaking—training speakers to competently deliver ideas with little or no time for preparation, the classical tradition emphasized the need for the orator to develop a knack for memorizing speeches and reciting them as planned. In the United States, writing speeches and committing them to memory or delivering them from a manuscript remained a common practice well into the 20th century. While those kinds of preparation behaviors persist—most often supported by technology such as a teleprompter, other strategies such as outlining and focusing on key words and ideas have a strong following today. Current communication norms put a high premium on the authenticity of speakers. A conversational delivery style supported by brief notes, a rarely consulted outline, and, in some situations, a PowerPoint slide show that blends words and visuals is the most commonly implemented set of delivery and memory strategies.

Evolutions of Public Speaking in the 21st Century

Conceptualizations of public speaking have evolved over time. Today’s speakers recognize that they do not simply transfer words and ideas to listeners but rather are engaged in a complex process of attempting to share meanings among diverse members of an audience. This collaborative process means that public speakers must surrender the belief that they exercise entire control over the meanings constructed by audience members. The greatest challenge facing the contemporary public speaker is to adapt to the changing expectations and needs of their audiences. Emerging technologies are creating new opportunities for speakers to adapt to audiences, but they may also be changing the way audiences process information and create meanings.

The mental landscape of today’s audience members has been shaped by regular interaction with a wide range of electronic technologies that may be altering their expectations of public speakers. In industrialized nations, a generation of multitaskers with fragmented attention spans that embrace distractions has come of age; it is also a generation accustomed to easy electronic information access and sophisticated visuals. This is a group whose members have constructed their own homepages and social networking pages with personalized links and in doing so have exercised great power in determining the information, communication styles, and worldviews they see. There is research to suggest that developing strong multitasking skills has both costs and benefits and that immersion in technology affects how people access and process information. For example, a recent study (Adam, Edmonds, & Quinn, 2007) looked at newsreading habits and discovered that today’s consumers of online news read as much as the traditional newspaper reader, but they read very differently. The online readers gravitated to innovative structures of information; they were more apt to read a question-and-answer column or a set of bullet points; they also tended to jump from place to place on the screen and follow links. In this way, they created their own narratives from the information rather than taking in the narrative structures created by the reporters. These new habits of mind may mean that speakers need new organizational skills to adapt to listeners who want to, and who have learned to, process information less linearly.

Public speakers also need to develop new strategies for gaining and maintaining audience attention. Integrating more visual elements and more audience interaction into their presentations will help public speakers accomplish their goals. Instead of just talking about the structure of the pyramids of ancient Egypt, today’s speakers can offer something like a guided tour to audiences by using a series of images along with oral descriptions. In his lectures on global warming, Al Gore doesn’t use a long list of statistics to indicate the historical relationship between carbon in the atmosphere and temperature changes; instead, he illustrates a suggestive relationship with animated lines that are drawn on a screen before the very eyes of his listeners.Anyone with an MP3 player and speakers can incorporate sound to help an audience of naturalists learn to distinguish between the calls of the barred owl and the great horned owl. Asking for a show of hands, using call-andresponse strategies, or having listeners participate in other ways will help speakers engage audiences, increasing the likelihood that the message they are trying to share will be understood.

With so many avenues for gathering information and for communicating ideas open to the citizens of the 21st century, the central questions for an aspiring speaker must be “What is the added value of using public speaking as the means of communication for a particular message? What is it that public speaking can offer that would be absent from a documentary, a narrated PowerPoint slide show, an e-mail, or a blog or vlog posting?” The answer, of course, is the presence of the speaker. There is high demand for the opportunity to experience firsthand the ideas, voice, facial expressions, gestures, energy, and, in a sense, the character of a speaker through the public-speaking context. The physical presence of a speaker conveys a level of attention of the speaker for that particular audience, which is a gift every bit as desired as is the attention that audience is offering to the speaker. The possibility of an authentic connection continues to bring audiences together. In professional contexts, the possibility of interaction with the speaker, through comments or a questionand-answer session, adds value to the presentations of a sales or research team. In civic contexts, the transitory moment of public speaking, though changing somewhat with the advent of recordings and rebroadcasts, remains a real thing for the audience present in the room, who, by sharing the physical space with the speaker and other listeners at that moment, experience something that cannot be re-created. Live public speaking is no more likely to disappear than live music concerts or movie theaters. DespiteYouTube, concert videos, DVDs, and home theater systems, the community-building exercise of sharing the experience of a speech, music, or a film is likely to persist.

Technology has and will continue to influence the choices of public speakers and the impact potential of public speaking in various ways. Whether using technology to engage audiences or eschewing it entirely to stand out as a different and still compelling presenter, speakers will continue to exercise a wide range of rhetorical choices. With audience research tools, demographic data, online surveys, and even opinion polling data all at the fingertips of the contemporary public speaker, there have never been more opportunities to “know” things about the audience a speaker intends to address. But making use of this information continues to depend both on training in the fundamental skills of the rhetorical canon and on developing what Aristotle called the faculty of mind that can see the various options for building bridges of meaning between speakers and listeners.

Bibliography:

Adam, P. S., Edmonds, R., & Quinn, S. (2007). Eyetracking the news: A study of print and online reading. Petersburg, FL: Poynter Institute.
(1954). Rhetoric. In F. Solmsen (Ed.), The rhetoric and the poetics of Aristotle (pp. 1–218) (W. Rhys Roberts, Trans.). NewYork: Modern Library. (Original work from ca. 350 BCE)
(1958). On Christian doctrine (D. W. Robertson Jr., Trans.). Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill. (Original work from ca. 397, 427 CE)
Bitzer, L. (1968). The rhetorical situation. Philosophy and Rhetoric, 1, 1–14.
Burke, K. (1966). Language as symbolic action: Essays on life, literature, and method. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Carnegie, D. (2005). Public speaking for success. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin.
Foss, S., & Griffin, C. (1995). Beyond persuasion: A proposal for an invitational rhetoric. Communication Monographs , 62 , 2–19.
Griffin, C. (2009). Invitation to public speaking (3rd ed.). Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
Jaffe, C. (2006). Public speaking: Concepts and skills for a diverse society (5th ed.). Boston: Wadsworth.
Lakoff, G. (2004). Don’t think of an elephant: Know your values and frame the debate—The essential guide for progressives. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green.
Lucas, S. E. (2007). The art of public speaking (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
McCroskey, J. C. (2000). An introduction to rhetorical communication (8th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Osborn, M. (1967). Archetypal metaphor in rhetoric: The lightdark family. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 53, 115–126.
Osborn, M., & Osborn, S. (2006). Public speaking (7th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
(2006). Institutes of oratory (L. Honeycutt, Ed.; J. S. Watson, Trans.). Retrieved June 1, 2008, from http://honeyl.public.iastate.edu/quintilian (Original translation published 1856; original work from 95 CE)
Richmond, V. P., & McCroskey, J. C. (1998). Communication: Apprehension, avoidance, and effectiveness (5th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Sellnow, D. (2004). Confident public speaking (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Tufte, E. R. (2006). Beautiful evidence. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.
Zarefsky, D. (2007). Strategic public speaking: A handbook. Boston: Pearson.

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Communication 1071: Effective Public Speaking

Getting Started With Your Research: Topic and Keywords
Finding Sources Using Library Databases
Evaluating Sources
Citing Sources in APA Format
Resources on Effective Public Speaking

Your Speech Topic

As you develop your speech topic:

Review your assignment for requirements and guidelines
Talk with your professor to determine if the speech topic meets the scope and scale of the assignment
Make sure you go through the speech topic approval process if required by your professor

Find Topic Ideas, Definitions and Background Information

The following resources provide background information to help you discover a topic for research.You may be able to find one or more of the following: definitions, references, pro/con, and related sources. Materials from these reputable sources can be used for any of your speeches.

Please note that these are just starting points and other resources will be necessary to further investigate your argument or point of analysis. Be sure to check with your instructor for any assignment requirements and/or restrictions.

Choose Keywords

After you have decided on your speech topic, you'll need to identify keywords--the most essential elements of your research question. These terms are what you will search with in library databases. It also is important to brainstorm related words and concepts, so that you have multiple terms to mix and match--this will maximize your chances of finding sources.

Introduction to Keywords: Link to Video

The background reading you did when choosing your topic is also relevant to selecting keywords--look through what you have already read to get a sense of the language others have used to describe this topic. Use this vocabulary as a starting place for listing keywords.

Hints for Using Keywords

Don't use too few keywords. This will bring too many results, many of which will be irrelevant.
Don't use too many keywords may bring too few results.
Choose contextually appropriate language (think about the terms the author would you use for the topic/genre):

flu or influenza teens or adolescents etc.

Examine relevant articles to identify keywords for subsequent searches.
Use double quotes to "glue" words together:

"global warming"

Many databases allow you to indicate if you want to include all your search terms (AND), any terms (OR) or exclude terms (NOT).

Who wrote this guide

Next: Finding Sources Using Library Databases >>
Last Updated: Mar 11, 2024 11:34 AM
URL: https://guides.libraries.uc.edu/publicspeaking

University of Cincinnati Libraries

PO Box 210033 Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0033

Phone: 513-556-1424

University of Cincinnati

Chapter 6: Researching Your Speech

Learning Objectives

Learn that research is not only useful, but fun.
Describe how to establish research needs before beginning research.
Identify appropriate scholarly and popular sources.
Differentiate between primary and secondary research.
Understand how to incorporate sources within a speech and how to use sources ethically.
Differentiate between direct quotations and paraphrases of information within a speech.
Explain twelve strategies for avoiding plagiarism.
CRAAP Method
Direct Quotation
“Drive-by” Quoting
Encyclopedias
General-Interest Periodicals
Interlibrary Loan
Peer-reviewed Sources
Popular Sources
Primary Research
Representative Sample
Research Log
Scholarly Sources
Secondary Research
Special-Interest Periodicals
Subheadings
Topic Sentence
World Wide Web

style scholars in the various social science fields (e.g., psychology, human communication, business) are more likely to use

CRAAP stands for “currency,” “relevance,” “authority,” “accuracy,” and “purpose,” or the five ways that you should evaluate each source to determine if it represents the best information available at the time

an online searchable collection of information

when you cite the actual words from a source with no changes

a practice that disorients your audience by not giving them everything they need to understand how the source is relevant to your own claims

information sources that provide short, very general information about a topic and are available in both print and electronic formats

magazines and newsletters published on a fairly systematic basis

a title at the head of a page or section of a book

a process where librarians are able to search other libraries to locate the book a researcher is trying to find

a scholarly publication containing articles written by researchers, professors and other experts

a word or concept of great significance

the style scholars in the various humanities fields (e.g., English, philosophy, rhetoric) are more likely to use

to take a source’s basic idea and condense it using your own words

an article that has been reviewed by a group of experts in the field, sometimes called a board of editors

(also called non-scholarly) sources inform and entertain the public or allow practitioners to share industry, practice, and production information

carried out to discover or revise facts, theories, and applications and is reported by the person conducting the research

a group or set chosen from a larger statistical population or group of factors or instances that adequately replicates the larger group according to whatever characteristic or quality is under study

scholarly investigation into a topic in order to discover, revise, or report facts, theories, and applications

step-by-step account of the process of identifying, obtaining, and evaluating sources for a specific project, similar to a lab note-book in an experimental setting

are written by experts in their field, usually professors in a specific discipline

research carried out to discover or revise facts, theories, and applications—similar to primary research—but it is reported by someone not involved in conducting the actual research

magazines and newsletters that are published for a narrower audience

a heading given to a subsection of a piece of writing

clear sentence that restates the preview statement in past tense, outlining the main points that were addressed in the speech

The first sentence of each paragraph is the topic sentence, which is basically a paragraph’s thesis statement: well-written topic sentences tell the reader what the entire paragraph is about.

an interconnected system of public webpages accessible through the Internet

It’s About Them: Public Speaking in the 21st Century Copyright © 2022 by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Chapter Seven – Conducting Research

What does the word “research” conjure up for you? Do you think about sitting in a library and sorting through books or searching online? Do you picture a particular type of person?

While these images aren’t incorrect (of course libraries are connected with research), “research” can feel like an intimidating process. When does it begin? Where does it happen? When does it stop?

It’s helpful to understand what research is – the process of discovering new knowledge and investigating a topic from different points of view. Research is a process ; it’s an ongoing dialogue with information. But, as you know, not all information is neutral, and not all information is ethical. Part of the research process, then, is evaluating information to determine what knowledge is ethical and best suited for your argument.

This chapter will focus on the research process and the development of critical thinking skills—or decision-making based on evaluating and critiquing information— to identify, sort, and evaluate (mostly) scholarly information. To begin, we outline why research matters, followed by insights about locating information, evaluating information, and avoiding plagiarism.

Why Research?

Research gets a bad rap. It can feel like a boring, tedious, and overwhelming process. In our current information age, we are guilty of conducting a quick search, finding what we want to read, and moving on. Many of us rarely sit down, allocate time, and commit to digging deep and researching different perspectives about an idea or argument.

But we should.

When conducting research, you get to ask questions and actually find answers. If you have ever wondered what the best strategies are when being interviewed for a job, research will tell you. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to be a NASCAR driver, an astronaut, a marine biologist, or a university professor, once again, research is one of the easiest ways to find answers to questions you’re interested in knowing.

Research can also open a world you never knew existed. We often find ideas we had never considered and learn facts we never knew when we go through the research process. Maybe you want to learn how to compose music, draw, learn a foreign language, or write a screenplay; research is always the best step toward learning anything.

As public speakers, research will increase your confidence and competence. The more you know, the more you know. The more you research, the more precise your argument, and the clearer the depth of the information becomes.

Where to Start

With basic information in mind, ask: “what question am I answering? What should I be looking for? What do I need?”

Your specific purpose statement or a working thesis are good places to start. Take this example of a specific purpose: “to persuade my audience to support campus solutions to rising textbook costs.” Research can help zero in on a working thesis by a) finding support for our perspective and b) identifying any specific campus solution that we could advocate for.

When we begin researching, we have three initial questions that arise from our specific purpose: has the cost of college textbooks increased over time? What are the causes? And what are the opportunities to address rising textbook costs in a way that can improve access relatively quickly at your institution?

These are just our starting questions. It’s likely that we’ll revise and research for information as we learn more. As Howard and Taggart point out in their book Research Matters , research is not just a one-and-done task [3] . As you develop your speech, you may realize that you want to address a question or issue that didn’t occur to you during your first round of research, or that you’re missing a key piece of information to support one of your points.

Use these questions, prior experience, and insight from exploratory brainstorming to determine what to search and where to start. If you still feel overwhelmed, that’s OK. Start somewhere (or ask a librarian for help) and use the insights below about information types as a guide.

Locating Effective Research

Once you have a general idea about the basic needs you have for your research, it’s time to start tracking information down. Thankfully, we live in a world that is swimming with information.

As you search, you will naturally be drawn to tools and information types that are already familiar to you. Like most people, you will likely use Google as your first search strategy. As you know, Google isn’t a source, per se: it’s a search engine. It’s the vehicle that, through search terms and savvy wording, will direct you to sources related to those terms.

What information types would you expect to see in your Google search results? We are guessing your list would include: news, blogs, Wikipedia, dictionaries, and social media.

While Google is a great tool, all informational roads don’t lead to Google. Learning about different information types and different ways to access information can expand your search portfolio.

Information Types

As you begin looking for research, an array of information types will be at your disposal.

When you access a piece of information, you should determine what you are looking at. Is it a blog? an online academic journal? an online newspaper? a website for an organization? Will these information types be useful in answering the questions that you’ve identified?

Common helpful information types include websites, scholarly articles, books, and government reports, to name a few. To determine the usefulness of an information type, you should familiarize yourself with what those sources are and their goals.

Information types are often categorized as either academic or nonacademic.

Nonacademic information sources are sometimes also called popular press information sources; their primary purpose is to be read by the general public. Most nonacademic information sources are written at a sixth to eighth-grade reading level, so they are very accessible. Although the information often contained in these sources can be limited, the advantage of using nonacademic sources is that they appeal to a broad, general audience.

Alternatively, academic sources are often (not always) peer-reviewed by like-minded scholars in the field. Academic publications can take longer to publish because academics have established a series of checklists that are required to determine the credibility of the information. Because of this process, it takes a while! That delay can result in nonacademic sources providing information before scholarly academics have tested or studied the phenomena.

The first source we have for finding secondary information is books. Now, the authors of your text are admitted bibliophiles—we love books. Fiction, nonfiction, it doesn’t really matter, we just love books. And, thankfully, we live in a world where books abound and reading has never been easier. Unless your topic is very cutting-edge, chances are someone has written a book about your topic at some point in history.

Historically, the original purpose of libraries was to house manuscripts that were copied by hand and stored in library collections. After Gutenberg created the printing press, we had the ability to mass produce writing, and the handwritten manuscript gave way to the printed manuscript. In today’s modern era, we are seeing another change where printed manuscript is now giving way, to some extent, to the electronic manuscript. Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Apple’s iPad, and Sony’s e-Ink-based readers are examples of the new hardware enabling people to take entire libraries of information with them wherever they go. We now can carry the amount of information that used to be housed in the greatest historic libraries in the palms of our hands. When you sit back and really think about it, that’s pretty darn cool!

In today’s world, there are three basic types of libraries you should be aware of: physical library, physical/electronic library, and e-online library. The physical library is a library that exists only in the physical world. Many small community or county library collections are available only if you physically go into the library and check out a book. We highly recommend doing this at some point. Libraries today generally model the US Library of Congress’s card catalog system. As such, most library layouts are similar. This familiar layout makes it much easier to find information if you are using multiple libraries. Furthermore, because the Library of Congress catalogs information by type, if you find one book that is useful for you, it’s very likely that surrounding books on the same shelf will also be useful. When people don’t take the time to physically browse in a library, they often miss out on some great information.

The second type of library is the library that has both physical and electronic components. Most college and university libraries have both the physical stacks (where the books are located) and electronic databases containing e-books. The two largest e-book databases are ebrary and netlibrary . Although these library collections are generally cost-prohibitive for an individual, more and more academic institutions are subscribing to them. Some libraries are also making portions of their collections available online for free: Harvard University’s Digital Collections , the e-book collection at the New York Public Library , the British Library Online Gallery , and the US Library of Congress .

One of the greatest advantages to using libraries for finding books is that you can search not only their books, but often a wide network of other academic institutions’ books as well. Furthermore, in today’s world, we have one of the greatest online card catalogs ever created—and it wasn’t created for libraries at all! Retail bookseller sites like Amazon.com can be a great source for finding books that may be applicable to your topic, and the best part is, you don’t actually need to purchase the book if you use your library, because your library may actually own a copy of a book you find on a bookseller site. You can pick a topic and then search for that topic on a bookseller site. If you find a book that you think may be appropriate, plug that book’s title into your school’s electronic library catalog. If your library owns the book, you can go to the library and pick it up today.

If your library doesn’t own it, do you still have an option other than buying the book? Yes: interlibrary loans. An interlibrary loan is a process where librarians are able to search other libraries to locate the book a researcher is trying to find. If another library has that book, then the library asks to borrow it for a short period of time. Depending on how easy a book is to find, your library could receive it in a couple of days or a couple of weeks. Keep in mind that interlibrary loans take time, so do not expect to get a book at the last minute. The more lead time you provide a librarian to find a book you are looking for, the greater the likelihood that the book will be sent through the mail to your library on time.

The final type of library is a relatively new one, the library that exists only online. With the influx of computer technology, we have started to create vast stores of digitized content from around the world. These online libraries contain full-text documents free of charge to everyone. Some online libraries we recommend are Project Gutenberg , Google Books , Read Print , Open Library , and Get Free E-Books . This is a short list of just a handful of the libraries that are now offering free e-content.

General-Interest Periodicals

The second category of information you may seek out includes general-interest periodicals. These are magazines and newsletters published on a fairly systematic basis. Some popular magazines in this category include The New Yorker , People , Reader’s Digest , Parade , Smithsonian , and The Saturday Evening Post . These magazines are considered “general interest” because most people in the United States could pick up a copy of these magazines and find them interesting and topical.

Special-Interest Periodicals

Special-interest periodicals are magazines and newsletters that are published for a narrower audience. In a 2005 article, Business Wire noted that in the United States there are over ten thousand different magazines published annually, but only two thousand of those magazines have significant circulation. [1] Some more widely known special-interest periodicals are Sports Illustrated , Bloomberg’s Business Week , Gentleman’s Quarterly , Vogue , Popular Science , and House and Garden . But for every major magazine, there are a great many other lesser-known magazines like American Coin Op Magazine , Varmint Hunter , Shark Diver Magazine , Pet Product News International , Water Garden News , to name just a few.

Newspapers and Blogs

Another major source of nonacademic information is newspapers and blogs. Thankfully, we live in a society that has a free press. We’ve opted to include both newspapers and blogs in this category. A few blogs (e.g., The Huffington Post , Talkingpoints Memo , News Max , The Daily Beast , Salon ) function similarly to traditional newspapers. Furthermore, in the past few years we’ve lost many traditional newspapers around the United States; cities that used to have four or five daily papers may now only have one or two.

According to newspapers.com, the top ten newspapers in the United States are USA Today , the Wall Street Journal , the New York Times , the Los Angeles Times , the Washington Post , the New York Daily News , the Chicago Tribune , the New York Post , Long Island Newsday , and the Houston Chronicle . Most colleges and universities subscribe to a number of these newspapers in paper form or have access to them electronically. Furthermore, LexisNexis, a database many colleges and universities subscribe to, has access to full text newspaper articles from these newspapers and many more around the world.

In addition to traditional newspapers, blogs are becoming a mainstay of information in today’s society. In fact, since the dawn of the twenty-first century many major news stories have been broken by professional bloggers rather than traditional newspaper reporters [4] . Although anyone can create a blog, there are many reputable blog sites that are run by professional journalists. As such, blogs can be a great source of information. However, as with all information on the Internet, you often have to wade through a lot of junk to find useful, accurate information.

We do not personally endorse any blogs, but according to Technorati.com, the top eight most commonly read blogs in the world (in 2011) are as follows:

The Huffington Post ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com )
Gizmodo ( http://www.gizmodo.com )
TechCrunch ( http://www.techcrunch.com )
Mashable! ( http://mashable.com )
Engadget ( http://www.engadget.com )
Boing Boing ( http://www.boingboing.net )
The Daily Beast ( http://www.thedailybeast.com )
TMZ ( http://www.tmz.com )

Encyclopedias

Another type of source that you may encounter is the encyclopedia. Encyclopedias are information sources that provide short, very general information about a topic. Encyclopedias are available in both print and electronic formats, and their content can range from eclectic and general (e.g., Encyclopædia Britannica ) to the very specific (e.g., Encyclopedia of 20th Century Architecture , or Encyclopedia of Afterlife Beliefs and Phenomena ). It is important to keep in mind that encyclopedias are designed to give only brief, fairly superficial summaries of a topic area. Thus, they may be useful for finding out what something is if it is referenced in another source, but they are generally not a useful source for your actual speech. In fact, many instructors do not allow students to use encyclopedias as sources for their speeches for this very reason.

One of the most popular online encyclopedic sources is Wikipedia. Like other encyclopedias, it can be useful for finding out basic information (e.g., what baseball teams did Catfish Hunter play for?) but will not give you the depth of information you need for a speech. Also keep in mind that Wikipedia, unlike the general and specialized encyclopedias available through your library, can be edited by anyone and therefore often contains content errors and biased information. If you are a fan of The Colbert Report , you probably know that host Stephen Colbert has, on several occasions, asked viewers to change Wikipedia content to reflect his views of the world. This is just one example of why one should always be careful of information on the web, but this advice is even more important when considering group-edited sites such as Wikipedia.

Websites are the last major source of nonacademic information. In the twenty-first century we live in a world where there is a considerable amount of information readily available at our fingertips. Unfortunately, you can spend hours and hours searching for information and never quite find what you’re looking for if you don’t devise an Internet search strategy. First, you need to select a good search engine to help you find appropriate information. Table 7.1 “Search Engines” (below) contains a list of common search engines and the types of information they are useful for finding.

In addition, be cognizant of who produces information and who that information is produced for. Table 7.2 simplistically illustrates the producer and audience of our short list of information types.

This is not an exhaustive list of information types. Others include: encyclopedias, periodicals or blogs. For more insight on information types, check here .

With any information type, the dichotomy of producer/audience helps us with evaluating the information. As you’ve learned from our discussion of public speaking, the audience informs the message. If you have a clearer idea of who the content is written for, you can determine if that source is best for your research needs.

Having a better understanding of information types is important, but open and closed information systems dictate which source material we have access to.

Open/Closed Information Systems

An open system describes information that is publicly available and accessible. A closed system means information is behind a paywall or requires a subscription.

Let’s consider databases as an example. It’s likely that you’ve searched your library’s database. Databases provide full text periodicals and works that are regularly published. This is a great tool because it can provide you links to scholarly articles, news reports, e-books, and more.

“Does that make databases an open system?” you may be asking. Access to databases is purchased by libraries. The articles and books contained in databases are licensed by publishers to companies, who sell access to this content, which is not freely available elsewhere. So, databases are part of a closed system. The university provides you access, but non-university folks would reach a paywall.

Table 7.3 illustrates whether different information types are like to be openly available or behind a paywall in a closed system. Knowing if an information is type is open or closed might influence your tools and search strategies used to discover and access the information.

Information isn’t always free. If you are confronted with a closed system, you will have to determine if that information is crucial or if you can access similar information through an openly accessible system.

Having a better understanding of information types and access will assist you in locating research for your argument. We continue our discussion below by diving into best practices for locating and evaluating research.

Academic Information Sources

After nonacademic sources, the second major source for finding information comes from academics. The main difference between academic or scholarly information and the information you get from the popular press is oversight . In the nonacademic world, the primary gatekeeper of information is the editor, who may or may not be a content expert. In academia, we have established a way to perform a series of checks to ensure that the information is accurate and follows agreed-upon academic standards. For example, this book, or portions of this book, were read by dozens of academics who provided feedback. Having this extra step in the writing process is time consuming, but it provides an extra level of confidence in the relevance and accuracy of the information. In this section, we will discuss scholarly books and articles, computerized databases, and finding scholarly information on the web.

Scholarly Books

College and university libraries are filled with books written by academics. According to the Text and Academic Authors Association ( http://www.taaonline.net ), there are two types of scholarly books: textbooks and academic books. Textbooks are books that are written about a segment of content within a field of academic study and are written for undergraduate or graduate student audiences. These books tend to be very specifically focused. Take this book, for instance. We are not trying to introduce you to the entire world of human communication, just one small aspect of it: public speaking. Textbooks tend to be written at a fairly easy reading level and are designed to transfer information in a manner that mirrors classroom teaching to some extent. Also, textbooks are secondary sources of information. They are designed to survey the research available in a particular field rather than to present new research.

Academic books are books that are primarily written for other academics for informational and research purposes. Generally speaking, when instructors ask for you to find scholarly books, they are referring to academic books. Thankfully, there are hundreds of thousands of academic books published on almost every topic you can imagine. In the field of communication, there are a handful of major publishers who publish academic books: SAGE ( http://www.sagepub.com ), Routledge ( http://www.routledge.com ), Jossey-Bass ( http://www.josseybass.com ), Pfeiffer ( http://www.pfeiffer.com ), the American Psychological Association ( http://www.apa.org/pubs/books ), and the National Communication Association ( http://www.ncastore.com ), among others.

In addition to the major publishers who publish academic books, there are also many university presses who publish academic books: SUNY Press ( http://www.sunypress.edu ), Oxford University Press ( http://www.oup.com/us ), University of South Carolina Press ( http://www.sc.edu/uscpress ), Baylor University Press ( http://www.baylorpress.com ), University of Illinois Press ( http://www.press.uillinois.edu ), the University of Alabama Press ( http://www.uapress.ua.edu ), the University of Minnesota Libraries ( https://publishing.lib.umn.edu/#Textbooks ), and OpenStax ( https://openstax.org/ ) are just a few of them.

Scholarly Articles

Because most academic writing comes in the form of scholarly articles or journal articles, that is the best place for finding academic research on a given topic. Every academic subfield has its own journals, so you should never have a problem finding the best and most recent research on a topic. However, scholarly articles are written for a scholarly audience, so reading scholarly articles takes more time than if you were to read a magazine article in the popular press. It’s also helpful to realize that there may be parts of the article you simply do not have the background knowledge to understand, and there is nothing wrong with that. Many research studies are conducted by quantitative researchers who rely on statistics to examine phenomena. Unless you have training in understanding the statistics, it is difficult to interpret the statistical information that appears in these articles. Instead, focus on the beginning part of the article where the author(s) will discuss previous research (secondary research), and then focus on the end of the article, where the author(s) explain what was found in their research (primary research).

Computerized Databases

Finding academic research is easier today than it ever has been in the past because of large computer databases containing research. Here’s how these databases work: a database company signs contracts with publishers to gain the right to store the publishers’ content electronically. The database companies then create thematic databases containing publications related to general areas of knowledge (business, communication, psychology, medicine, etc.). The database companies then sell subscriptions to these databases to libraries. Your tuition dollars help to pay these subscription fees, so you’re essentially doing yourself a disservice NOT to use them!

The largest of these database companies is a group called EBSCO Publishing, which runs both EBSCO Host (an e-journal provider) and NetLibrary (a large e-book library) ( http://www.ebscohost.com ). Some of the more popular databases that EBSCO provides to colleges and universities are: Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete, Communication and Mass Media Complete, Education Research Complete, Humanities International Complete, Philosopher’s Index, Political Science Complete, PsycArticles, and Vocational and Career Collection. Academic Search Complete is the broadest of all the databases and casts a fairly wide net across numerous fields. Information that you find using databases can contain both nonacademic and academic information, so EBSCO Host has built in a number of filtering options to help you limit the types of information available.

We strongly recommend checking out your library’s website to see what databases they have available and if they have any online tutorials for finding sources using the databases to which your library subscribes.

Scholarly Information on the Web

In addition to the subscription databases that exist on the web, there are also a number of great sources for scholarly information on the web. As mentioned earlier, however, finding scholarly information on the web poses a problem because anyone can post information on the web. Fortunately, there are a number of great websites that attempt to help filter this information for us.

Evaluating Research

Going deeper through lateral reading.

Imagine that you’re online shopping. You have a pretty clear idea of what you need to buy, and you’ve located the product on a common site. In a perfect world, you could trust the product producer, the site, and the product itself and, without any research, simply click and buy. If you’re like us, however, being a knowledgeable consumer means checking product reviews, looking for similar products, and reading comments about the company. Once we have a deeper understanding of the product and process, then we buy!

Argument research is similar. Feeling literate about the information types described above is key, but inaccurate or untrustworthy content still emerges.

In response, we recommend lateral reading – fact-checking source claims by reading other sites and resources.

Lateral reading emerged after a group of Stanford researchers pitted undergraduates, professors with their Ph.D.s in history, and journalists against each other in a contest to see who could tell if information was fake or real. The results? Journalists identified fake information every time, but the Ph.D.s and undergraduates struggled to sniff out the truth.

Why is this?

Well, journalists rarely read much of the article or website they were evaluating before they dove into researching it. They would read the title and open a new tab to check out if anyone else had published something on the same topic. Reading what other people had written gave the journalists some context or background knowledge on the topic, better positioning them to judge the argument and evidence made. They would circle back to the original article, identify the author, and open more tabs to verify the identity of the author and their credentials to write the piece. Once the journalists were satisfied with this, they had enough background information to start judging the argument of the original piece. Essentially, journalists would read the introduction and pick out big ideas or the argument, people, specific facts, and the evidence referenced in the first paragraph.

Mike Caulfield (2017), a professor who specializes in media literacy, read the Stanford study and identified steps to evaluate sources. One of those steps is to read laterally, and three ad d itional steps include :

Check for previous work : Look around to see if someone else has already fact-checked the claim or provided a synthesis of research.
Go upstream to the source: Go “upstream” to the source of the claim. Most web content is not original. Get to the original source to understand the trustworthiness of the information.
Circle back: If you get lost, hit dead ends, or find yourself going down an increasingly confusing rabbit hole, back up and start over, knowing what you know now. You’re likely to take a more informed path with different search terms and better decisions.

Let’s apply lateral reading to the college textbook affordability topic with the specific purpose to “to persuade my audience to support campus solutions to rising textbook costs.”

You decide to search “textbook affordability” into Google. Google identifies approximately 1 million sources – whoa. Where do you start? Click on one those stories, “ Triaging T e xtbook Costs ” – a 2015 publication from Inside Higher Ed. From it, you learn about research on the rising costs of textbooks over time, how some students navigate those costs, and something called “open educational resources” (OER) as a strategy for reducing costs. You’ll use lateral reading to follow up on some of the sources linked in the story and do a little more research to fact check this single source. By searching “OER,” you can verify that yes, many universities are turning to open educational resources to combat textbook affordability. Now, you can dive deeper into OERs as a potential solution to the problem.

image of library with books and students at desks

Questioning Selected Source Information

Practicing lateral reading will provide you better insight on what diverse sources say about your argument. Through that process, you’ll likely find multiple relevant sources, but is that source best for your argument? Perhaps, but ask yourself the following questions before integrating others’ ideas or research into your argument:

What’s the date? Remember that timeliness plays a key role in establishing the relevance of your argument to your audience. Although a less timely source may be beneficial, more recent sources are often viewed more credibly and may provide updated information.
Who is the author / who are the authors? Identify the author(s) and determine their credentials. We also recommend “Googling” an author and checking if there are any red flags that may hint at their bias or lack of credibility.
Who is the publisher? Find out about the publisher. There are great, credible publishers (like the Cato Institute), but fringe or for-profit publishers may be providing information that overtly supports a political cause.
Do they cite others’ work? Check out the end of the document for a reference page. If you’re using a source with no references, it’s not automatically “bad,” but a reputable reference page means that the author has evidence to support their insights. It helps establish if that author has done their research, too.
Do others cite the work? Use the lateral reading technique from above to see if other people have cited this work, too. Alternatively, if, as you research, you see the same piece of work over and over, it’s likely seen as a reputable source within that field. So check it out!

It can feel great to find a key piece of information that supports your argument. But a good idea is more than well-written content. To determine if that source is credible, use the questions above to guarantee that you’re selecting the best research for your idea.

Developing a Research Strategy

Think of a research strategy as your personal map. The end destination is the actual speech, and along the way, there are various steps you need to complete to reach your destination: the speech. From the day you receive your speech assignment, the more clearly you map out the steps you need to take leading up to the date when you will give the speech, the easier your speech development process will be. In the rest of this section, we are going to discuss taking notes, time management, determining your research needs, finding your sources, and evaluating your sources.

Take Notes & Keep a Log of Research

Remember: this is a lot of stuff to keep track of. We suggest jotting down notes as you go to keep everything straight. According to a very useful book called The Elements of Library Research by M. W. George, a research log is a “step-by-step account of the process of identifying, obtaining, and evaluating sources for a specific project, similar to a lab note-book in an experimental setting” [2] . In essence, George believes that keeping a log of what you’ve done is very helpful because it can help you keep track of what you’ve read thus far. You can use a good old-fashioned notebook, or if you carry around your laptop or netbook with you, you can always keep it digitally – whatever works best for you.

This may seem obvious, but it is often overlooked. Poor note taking or inaccurate notes can be devastating in the long-term. If you forget to write down all the source information, backtracking and trying to re-search to locate citation information is tedious, time-consuming, and inefficient. Without proper citations, your credibility will diminish. Keeping information without correct citations can have disastrous consequences – as discussed in the chapter on Ethical Implications.

Allotting Time

First and foremost, when starting a new project, no matter how big or small, it is important to seriously consider how much time that project is going to take. To help us discuss the issue of time with regard to preparing your speech, we’re going to examine what the Project Management Institute refers to as the project life cycle or “the phases that connect the beginning of a project to its end” [5] . Often in a public speaking class, the time you have is fairly concrete. You may have two or three weeks between speeches in a semester course or one to two weeks in a quarter course. In either case, from the moment your instructor gives you the assigned speech, the proverbial clock is ticking. With each passing day, you are losing precious time in your speech preparation process. Now, we realize that as a college student you probably have many things vying for your time in life: school, family, jobs, friends, or dating partners. For this reason, you need to really think through how much time it’s going to take you to complete your preparation in terms of both research and speech preparation.

Research Time

The first step that takes a good chunk of your time is researching your speech. Whether you are conducting primary research or relying on secondary research sources, you’re going to be spending a significant amount of time researching.

A good strategy is to devote no more than one-third of your speech preparation time to research (e.g., if you have three weeks before your speech date, your research should be done by the end of the first week). If you are not careful, you could easily end up spending all your time on research and waiting until the last minute to actually prepare your speech, which is highly inadvisable.

Speech Preparation Time

The second task in speech preparation is to sit down and actually develop your speech. During this time period, you will use the information you collected during your research to fully flesh out your ideas into a complete speech. You may be making arguments using the research or creating visual aids. Whatever you need to complete during this time period, you need to give yourself ample time to actually prepare your speech. One common guideline is one to two hours of speech preparation per one minute of actual speaking time.

By allowing yourself enough time to prepare your speech, you’re also buffering yourself against a variety of things that can go wrong both in life and with your speech. Let’s face it, life happens. Often events completely outside our control happen, and these events could negatively impact our ability to prepare a good speech. When you give yourself a little time buffer, you’re already insulated from the possible negative effects on your speech if something goes wrong.

The last part of speech preparation is practice. Although some try to say that practice makes perfect, we realize that perfection is never realistic because no one is perfect. We prefer this mantra: “Practice makes permanent.”

And by “practice,” we mean actual rehearsals in which you deliver your speech out loud. Speakers who only script out their speeches or only think through them often forget their thoughts when they stand in front of an audience. Research has shown that when individuals practice, their speech performance in front of an audience is more closely aligned with their practice than people who just think about their speeches. In essence, you need to allow yourself to become comfortable not only with the text of the speech but also with the nonverbal delivery of the speech, so giving yourself plenty of speech preparation time also gives you more practice time. We will discuss speech development and practice further in other chapters.

Total number of magazines published in the US is greater than 10,000 but only about 2,000 have significant circulation. (2005, September 21). Business Wire. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com .
George, M. W. (2008). The elements of library research: What every student needs to know . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, p. 183.
Howard, R. M., & Taggart, A. R. (2010). Research matters . New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 102–103.
Ochman, B. L. (2007, June 29). The top 10 news stories broken by bloggers. TechNewsWorld. [Web log post]. Retrieved July 14, 2011, from http://www.mpdailyfix.com/technewsworld-the-top-10-news-stories-broken-by-bloggers .
Project Management Institute. (2004). A guide to the project management body of knowledge: PMBOK® guide (3rd ed.). Newton Square, PA: Author, p. 19.
Photo by Christina Morillo: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-holding-macbook-1181352/
Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/men-sitting-and-reading-at-library-6334917/

CC LICENSED CONTENT, SHARED PREVIOUSLY

Sections of this chapter were taken from Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers by Mike Caulfield.
Sections of this chapter were adapted from Stand up, Speak Out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking . ISBN: 13: 9781946135254 License: CC BY-NC-SA. Stand up, Speak out by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
Sections of this chapter were adapted from Speak out, Call In: Public Speaking as Advocacy. Speak Out, Call In: Public Speaking as Advocacy by Meggie Mapes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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10 Tips to Improve Public Speaking Skills

Professionals within all industries often need to present ideas and information. Improved public speaking skills can help employees reduce anxiety, improve productivity, and become more valued members of any team.

[Featured Image]: Man wearing a dark suit, red tie, and white shirt leading a panel. The panel includes three men and one woman.

Regardless of the industry, public speaking is one of the most critical professional skills. Speaking comfortably and effectively to a crowd can facilitate formal board presentations and complex explanations to financial backers. It can also help you present ideas to colleagues and teammates.

Everyone can learn the skills needed to feel comfortable when sharing concepts with co-workers or crowds. This is true even if speaking in front of others intimidates you or you’ve never done it before.

By implementing public speaking tips used by the best presenters, you can position yourself to convey important information with confidence. With good public speaking skills and focused effort, you can improve your productivity and become an influential team member.

Give your team access to a catalogue of 8,000+ engaging courses and hands-on Guided Projects to help them develop impactful skills. Learn more about Coursera for Business .

1. Know your audience before preparing your speech.

Employees are more likely to feel comfortable presenting to an audience they know. Knowing the people you are talking to will help you better understand how to craft a message that resonates with them.

Start by identifying their level of understanding of the topic you plan to discuss. This will help you know the amount of background you must cover before going more in-depth. It can also help you choose the right kind of words. If you use industry jargon and acronyms for the general public, you’ll risk confusing them.

Then, as you’re presenting, stay aware of the reactions from your listeners. Adjust accordingly so you can connect with them through your message.

2. Practice, practice, practice.

Even the most seasoned public speaker needs to practice to be effective. Giving a mock presentation of your speech in advance will make it easier to determine if you’ve organized the information cohesively and clearly.

It can help to talk out loud to an imaginary audience or in front of a mirror, but it’s even more effective to practice with the help of a supportive co-worker, friend, or family member as an audience.

3. Use constructive criticism to your advantage.

Whether you’re practicing or giving a presentation, ask for constructive criticism. This feedback includes specific examples and is offered in a good-natured way. If you know someone with your best interests in mind, you’ll likely be more open to their suggestions to enhance your communication.

Constructive criticism can be challenging to accept. Take time before responding to avoid being defensive or taking the feedback personally. Integrate the ideas in a way that will help you improve your presentation next time. Always thank the person for providing their thoughts.

4. Make it your own.

Connecting with an audience can happen more easily when you're being yourself. Let your personality shine through as you convey your message. Be authentic and appropriate—include humour when it can facilitate your work rather than detract from it.

If you're using a PowerPoint presentation, ensure the text and the pictures highlight your character and expertise. Include short and focused personal stories to illustrate your points. Add your contact information at the end of the presentation so people can follow up with you afterward.

5. Connect with your audience with a personal story.

Including personal stories or anecdotes in your professional presentations can effectively communicate your message to your audience. This is demonstrated successfully on the TED Talk stage.

When TED Speakers take the stage, they often begin with a short, personal tale. This structure helps them connect with the audience, share their passion for what they're about to discuss or explain their expertise.

To add this kind of personal touch to your presentation, make sure what you share directly connects with the topic at hand. If you think someone will not easily understand the point of the personal story, omit it.

6. Make eye contact and avoid reading from a script.

Practice does more than ensure your presentation is structured and can provide the required messages. It also helps you feel comfortable enough with your material to relax on stage physically. Also, you’re more likely to connect with those around you when you make eye contact.

Presenters can use other methods to stay on track. If you have paper notes, only use an outline with a few words to remind you about what you wish to cover. Never rely on verbatim notes. If you're using an audio-visual aid like a PowerPoint presentation, use your slides as the cues instead.

When you look at the people in the crowd, you’ll also be able to determine whether they understand your main points or if you’ll need to clarify them further.

7. Use the stage to your advantage.

Before the presentation, gather information about where you’ll be physically speaking. Check that your PowerPoint presentation can work with the provided equipment. Make sure you know the room's setup. Ask about time constraints, whether people will eat during your talk, and what kind of microphone you’ll use.

Then, when you’re on stage, own the space. Walk to different areas to make eye contact with other audience members.

Be aware of your body language. Let your arms hang loosely. Stand with excellent posture, with your back straightened, and smile. Gain control over any nervous gestures—such as thrusting your hands in your pockets or scratching your head—so they don’t distract from your message.

8. Have coping skills in place for when nerves hit.

Despite your preparation, it’s normal to be still overcome with nerves at some point in your presentation. When this happens, take a deep breath. No one expects you to be perfect.

Work on gaining perspective before any problems that may arise, and strive for connection with your audience, not perfectionism. Humour can help ease tense moments and remind those listening that you are a human just like them.

9. Record and evaluate yourself speaking.

Co-workers and friends can help provide feedback, but you can help yourself. When you make a presentation, position your phone to video record yourself so you can watch it later. You may be surprised by your nervous habits or awkward phrasing and could even find new ways to improve the readability of your PowerPoint slides.

You can record yourself directly through the software if you're giving the presentation online through a video platform like Zoom. Use this technology to improve your skills to be even more effective next time and avoid ruminating on mistakes. Stay positive.

10. Make a lasting impression with a strong conclusion.

Just as experts encourage speakers to grab their audience’s attention within the first 30 seconds of their presentations, it’s also wise to create a solid ending to any presentation. This closing can include things like these:

A call to action (CTA) that encourages listeners to take the next step

A memorable quote that inspires or illustrates a point from your presentation

A personal story that demonstrates why this issue is so important to you

A summary of the most important takeaways

Once you conclude your presentation, remember to thank the audience for their time. If you have time, you can invite questions and answer them from the stage. If organizers have limited your time, offer to answer questions afterward.

The importance of developing your public speaking skills

Public speaking skills are helpful for growth in various facets of life. Beyond setting a foundation for advancement in your career, the ability to speak comfortably and effectively in public can help you:

Strengthen team-building and collaboration.

Share your ideas and offer solutions to work-related problems.

Earn esteem with employers and co-workers alike.

Create connections that can lead to new professional opportunities.

Become a better listener to provide the same respect you wish for yourself during presentations.

The benefits of these skills transfer easily to other areas of life. Improve your relationships along with your professional success through clear and effective communication.

Improving public speaking skills can take time. The key to confidence is a willingness to practice tips from experts, such as those who follow and embrace the temporary discomfort that accompanies developing any new skill.

Next steps for success

Apply these public speaking tips to improve your ability to execute a presentation confidently. Refine your skills further by practicing and learning from those who can demonstrate their success in public speaking.

Join a public speaking support group.

Toastmasters International , a nonprofit organization with chapters worldwide, aims to teach people public speaking and leadership skills. Members practice giving speeches and overcoming shyness and anxiety with regular online and in-person meetings.

Attend public speaking events.

If your town or city offers events with speakers on various topics, consider these opportunities to learn. When watching others give presentations, use a critical eye to learn what works and what doesn’t. Ask yourself why you enjoyed or didn’t enjoy the lecture beyond the topic at hand.

Watch videos of effective public speaking.

Finally, you can enjoy the same learning experience of in-person lectures by watching videos of influential public speakers. TED Talks are an online collection of presentations on various topics, including science, entertainment, and business. Watch as many as you can and use the best speakers as mentors to improve your confidence and success in public speaking.

Take the next steps

Online public speaking courses provide opportunities to improve communication skills from the comfort of your home or office. Take the Introduction to Public Speaking Course or Dynamic Public Speaking Specialization offered by the University of Washington on Coursera to gain confidence as you learn presentation and public speaking skills.

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Fewer than 1% of federal criminal defendants were acquitted in 2022

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty this week to federal criminal charges related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents after his departure from the White House in 2021. The unprecedented charges against Trump and his subsequent plea raise the question: How common is it for defendants in federal criminal cases to plead not guilty, go to trial and ultimately be acquitted?

The U.S. Justice Department’s indictment of former President Donald Trump, and his subsequent plea of not guilty, prompted Pew Research Center to examine how many defendants in federal criminal cases are acquitted in a typical year. The analysis builds on an earlier Center analysis that examined trial and acquittal rates in federal and state courts.

All statistics cited in this analysis come from the Judicial Business 2022 report by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Information about the total number of defendants in federal criminal cases in the United States, as well as how their cases ended, is drawn from Table D-4 . Information about defendants in the Southern District of Florida is drawn from Table D-7 and Table D-9 .

The statistics in this analysis include all defendants charged in U.S. district courts with felonies and serious misdemeanors, as well as some defendants charged with petty offenses. They do not include federal defendants whose cases were handled by magistrate judges or the much broader universe of defendants in state courts. Defendants who enter pleas of “no contest,” in which they accept criminal punishment but do not admit guilt, are also excluded.

This analysis is based on the 2022 federal fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2021, and ended Sept. 30, 2022.

In fiscal year 2022, only 290 of 71,954 defendants in federal criminal cases – about 0.4% – went to trial and were acquitted, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of the latest available statistics from the federal judiciary . Another 1,379 went to trial and were found guilty (1.9%).

A chart that shows trials are rare in the federal criminal justice system, and acquittals are even rarer.

The overwhelming majority of defendants in federal criminal cases that year did not go to trial at all. About nine-in-ten (89.5%) pleaded guilty, while another 8.2% had their case dismissed at some point in the judicial process, according to the data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

These statistics include all defendants charged in U.S. district courts with felonies and serious misdemeanors, as well as some defendants charged with petty offenses. They do not include federal defendants whose cases were handled by magistrate judges or the much broader universe of defendants in state courts. Defendants who entered pleas of “no contest,” in which they accept criminal punishment but do not admit guilt, are also excluded. The 2022 federal fiscal year began Oct. 1, 2021, and ended Sept. 30, 2022.

The U.S. Justice Department indicted Trump earlier this month on 37 counts relating to seven criminal charges : willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheme to conceal, and false statements and representations.

Trump’s case is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where acquittal rates look similar to the national average. In fiscal 2022, only 12 of 1,944 total defendants in the Southern District of Florida – about 0.6% – were acquitted at trial. As was the case nationally, the vast majority of defendants in Florida’s Southern District (86.2%) pleaded guilty that year, while 10.7% had their cases dismissed.

It’s not clear from the federal judiciary’s statistics how many other defendants nationally or in the Southern District of Florida faced the same or similar charges that Trump is facing or how those cases ended.

Broadly speaking, however, the charges against Trump are rare . In fiscal 2022, more than eight-in-ten federal criminal defendants in the United States faced charges related to one of four other broad categories of crime: drug offenses (31%), immigration offenses (25%), firearms and explosives offenses (16%) or property offenses (11%). In Florida’s Southern District, too, more than eight-in-ten defendants faced charges related to these four categories.

Trump, of course, is not a typical federal defendant. He is the first former president ever to face federal criminal charges and is running for president again in 2024. The federal case against Trump is still in its early stages, and it’s unclear when – or whether – it will proceed to trial.

Criminal Justice
Donald Trump
Federal Government

John Gramlich is an associate director at Pew Research Center

What the data says about crime in the U.S.

8 facts about black lives matter, #blacklivesmatter turns 10, support for the black lives matter movement has dropped considerably from its peak in 2020, before release of video showing tyre nichols’ beating, public views of police conduct had improved modestly, most popular.

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ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

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