Sample Impromptu Thesis Statements
Below are some thesis statements you can use to develop your speeches. You can agree or disagree with these prompts (most are written to be easily disagreed with). I just want you to be able to develop a focused two point argument. Remember, our focus in this speech is on the refinement of your ability to quickly put together a sound argument that relies on reasonable evidence.
These are very general prompts based on our shared interest in speech and public speaking. You can also come up with your own prompt for practicing. I would recommend that you work with a type of thesis statement you need to speak on outside of this class.
Speech
- Delivery is more important than invention in public speaking.
- Arrangement is more important than style in business presentations.
- A good teacher is almost always a good public speaker.
- People were generally better at public speaking 100 years ago than they are today.
- The prevalence of the television soundbite has significantly hurt the quality of public speeches.
- Certain public speaking traits are nature rather than nurture.
- Public speaking must be learned rather than taught.
- Public speaking should be a requirement at every level of a K-5 (primary) education.
- In the modern era, no single public speech should ever run longer than an hour.
- Public speaking cannot be taught in an online environment.
- Good actors are the best public speakers.
- Saying “um” is one of the worst things a public speaker can do.
Online education
- “Five years from now on the Web for free you’ll be able to find the best lectures in the world. It will be better than any single university.”- Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft (2010)
- Online education is a fad that will soon pass.
- Online education will never replace traditional universities.
- MOOCs should charge a small fee for classes in order to pay for staffing and website development.
- Online courses are better than face-to-face instruction.
- Online course are simply the internet’s answer to textbooks and educational television broadcasting.
- A MOOC's peer review system significantly improves the quality of the courses it’s used in.
- In MOOCs, the lecture videos are more important than the discussion forums.
- Google hangouts are the best answer to online office hours.
Technology
- Computers are the most important technological invention of the 20th Century.
- The internet is as important as the printing press to the global spreading of knowledge.
- Technological advancements have made libraries unnecessary.
- Google should allow users to remove private addresses from their Map database.
- Facebook should not disclose personal information to private industries.
- Microsoft and Apple should give their operating systems to any student enrolled in college free of charge.
Media and Culture
- Print journalism cannot compete effectively against online information.
- Newspapers are no longer the best source of news.
- Bridges are more important than sewer systems to the habitability of a city.
- Musical star search shows (e.g. American Idol, Pop Idol) degrade a country’s quality of music.
- Star Wars is more realistic than Star Trek.