Impromptu Speech Topics: Fun Questions

Speaker 1:

If you could be any animal, what would you be?

If you could give adults advice about teenagers, what would you tell them?

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Speaker 2:

If you could have one wish granted, what would it be?

Is your life more like a comedy, game show, or a drama?

What is your biggest pet peeve?

Speaker 3:

If you could have dinner with anybody, who would you pick?

What color best describes your personality?

What would you do with a million dollars?

Speaker 4:

If you had a machine that would take you anywhere, where would you go?

At your last meal, what would you eat?

If you were president, what is something you would do?

Speaker 5:

If they were going to make a movie of your life, what celebrity would play you?

If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring one thing with you, what would you take?

What songs would be on the soundtrack of your life?

Impromptu Speech Topics: Objects
Speaker 1 / Speaker 2 / Speaker 3 / Speaker 4 / Speaker 5
Pillow
Bubble Gum
Monster
Socks / Hairspray
Cell Phone
Ice Cream
Bling Bling / Karate
Mustache
Goldfish
Clock / Coffee
Window
Keys
Balloon / iPad
Trash
Pancakes
Mirror
Impromptu Speech Topics: Abstract Ideas/Concepts
Speaker 1 / Speaker 2 / Speaker 3 / Speaker 4 / Speaker 5
Love
Stress
Tolerance
Failure / Peace
Grief
Opportunity
Fear / Respect
Waste
Kindness
Ignorance / Friendship
Anger
Dedication
Beauty / Hope
Isolation
Motivation
Adventure

Famous People Prompts

Update these prompts as needed to keep the choices current with people whom your students will know. These lists were designed to provide choices across a variety of professions in each column (celebrity, political figures balanced across parties, fictional character, athlete, business person, and then a final random person). They also were designed to balance gender and ethnicity so that students see representation across the social spectrum. More choices were provided than normal because students will sometimes complain that they don’t know anything about anybody on their list. So, good to give a greater number of choices when doing a famous people prompt.

Impromptu Speech Topics: People
Speaker 1 / Speaker 2 / Speaker 3 / Speaker 4 / Speaker 5
Justin Bieber
Sonya Sotomayor
Frodo Baggins
Serena Williams
Steve Jobs
Dr. Seuss / Miley Cyrus
Barack Obama
SpongeBob
J. J. Watt
Mark Zuckerberg
Shakira / Beyoncé
Greg Abbott
Katniss
Jeremy Lin
Bill Gates
Taylor Swift / Lady Gaga
Ted Cruz
Hermione Granger
José Altuve
Oprah Winfrey
Vin Diesel / Pharrell Williams
Malala Yousafzai
Tooth Fairy
Danica Patrick
Walt Disney
Albert Einstein

Impromptu Speech Topics: QUOTES

SPEAKER 1

  • Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”
  • Proverb: “Honey is sweet. But the bee stings.”
  • Albert Einstein: “Logic can take you from point A to point B, but imagination can take you anywhere.”
  • Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

SPEAKER 2

  • Mother Teresa: “We cannot do great things – only small things with great love.”
  • Thomas Jefferson: “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”
  • Hockey player Wayne Gretsky: “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.”
  • Former President Theodore Roosevelt: “The only person who never makes a mistake is the one who never does anything.”

SPEAKER 3

  • Entertainer Mary Tyler Moore: “You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.”
  • Walt Disney: “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
  • Author J. W. Eagan : “Never judge a book by its movie.”
  • Mark Twain: “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

SPEAKER 4

  • Author Erica Jong: “The trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.”
  • Proverb: “Empty vessels make the most noise.”
  • Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt: “Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
  • Historian Edmund Burke: “Evil flourishes when good men stay silent.”

SPEAKER 5

  • Philosopher: Voltaire: “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.”
  • Oprah Winfrey: “Only surround yourself with people who will lift you higher.”
  • Author Mark Twain: “The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.”
  • Professor Ellie Katz: “The world is your playground. Why aren’t you playing?”