You may need 3 minute presentation topics for school or clubs. Here are a few to get you going. First a few thoughts on giving these short speeches.
How long is a three-minute speech
First of all, how long is a 3-minute speech? Most people speak at around 150 words a minute. Some speakers are a little faster some are a bit slower. So initially, you should be looking for about 500 words. If you’re toastmaster or MC is rigorous on time, you may need to lose a few words. Be prepared to edit.
How to find ideas for 3 minute presentation topics
Always be thinking about speech topics. Even when you are socialising, 3 minute presentation topics may pop into your head due to the conversations that you are having. When you are reading books or newspapers, consider the topic and opinion. How do these views differ from your own? Could you see yourself talking about this subject for three minutes?
When you have a topic, how do you start to write?
Usually, you will have a starting point for your speech. You may have read or heard somebody expressing an opinion and felt the need to elaborate. Put some time into reading and researching. Look for facts, quotes and opinions from experts.
Ensure you have a fair understanding of your topic and its issues. There may not be a question-and-answer session when you speak. But, people may stop you afterwards and express their opinions. You must come across as an expert in your subject. Do not appear shallow when allowed to discuss issues not included but related to your speech. You may come across someone with a deeper understanding of the issues than you. So, make sure you are well briefed.
Look for fresh angles
Your topic is unlikely to be new. A speaker will almost certainly have used it in the past. Your audience may have heard someone speak on the same topic before. Try to find a fresh angle. Relevant news or a current affair may lead you down a different pathway.
Remember, most 3 minute presentation topics are not new. For example, health service funding is a common topic. A good speaker will find something new even with a used subject. Try and be one of these outliers.
Ask yourself a question
You will see that many of the titles that follow are questions. Asking yourself a question to get you going is a good tactic. You can always change the title later. Begin with questioning your topic. Make sure you challenge it both positively and negatively. Build up some opinions and facts and go from there.
3-minute presentation topics
- Could we survive without technology?
- Does making people laugh make you likeable?
- Can you rise to the top without good communication skills?
- How I picked myself up after a personal disaster
- Three things you must never forget to do when interviewed
- How I decided on my dream career
- I am happier now than when I was younger! Here’s why!
- Have good manners disappeared since the millennium?
- Is social media making us more connected or less?
- Why I chose to have a dog and not be a dad
- My most embarrassing moment and how I dealt with it
- Cyberbullying and how to deal with it
- Can the human race survive indefinitely?
- How to make the best profile picture
- Five ways in which becoming Vegan changed my life
- We all lie, but how good are we?
- What I wish I could tell my teenage self now
- Should fast food be banned?
- Can you secure your company’s data?
- Could I go back to being young again?
- Coping with addiction, how I gave up smoking
- Can we have a democracy when only half the population votes?
- Is a premiership footballer worth their money?
- How much time should you spend on personal fitness?
- Can you invest in the stock market successfully, or is it luck?
- Do we need three meals a day?
- Is organic food better for you?
- Three things you need to know before choosing a career
- How to learn life lessons even during a disaster
- Does mediation work?
- If I won the lottery today, would it make me happy?
- Do intelligent people have more common sense?
- Does good always conquer evil?
- What characteristics make a good doctor:
- How you can improve your memory with one simple trick
- How do you know when to change jobs?
- Should you teach your child to drive?
- How to help children use credit cards responsibly
- Benefits of removing caffeine from your diet
- The evolution of the mobile phone
- Do computer games help children develop?
- Is a college degree necessary?
- Can you fake confidence?
- Why I avoid social media
- Did humankind go to the moon?
- Is it possible to read someone’s mind?
- What is a healthy diet?
- How to make chocolate chip cookies
- How to buy a house in your twenties
- What to expect when your first baby arrives
- How to cope with home and career
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many 3 minute presentation topics on which you can speak for a short time. If you feel a subject would look thin with only three minutes to speak, avoid it. Sometimes three minutes doesn’t do the subject justice. But, most titles can yield a short coherent speech. The idea is not to talk extensively but to make just a few salient points.
Remember the idea of the central thesis. The thesis is the most important or main idea in your talk. If you speak for three minutes, this central idea may be your only point. Back up your topic with facts, quotes and anecdotes; you may find your three minutes are up.
Have a good opening which highlights your topic and thesis. Establish your central theme, and support it before giving a solid closing. You will find that once you have written the opening and closing, there is little time for the rest of your talk.
Three minutes is a brief period so make sure every sentence counts. Write your speech out word for word and be ruthless with your edit. You may need as little as four hundred words to deliver your address. Keep asking yourself, do I need this sentence? What does it add? Will it help persuade my audience?