More than likely, you will be assigned a persuasive speech. The subject can be anything you have an opinion on. Consider your audience and remember your goal is to convince them to have the same opinion you have. Look for arguments to back your speech up with that are based on facts. Many professors will take the most controversial topics off the table, so you may have to steer clear of topics like abortion, gay marriage, and the death penalty. Instead, look for topics that relate to you and your college. Tuition fees, dorm rules, parking, and curriculum requirements are all topics that your audience may be able to relate to. Do not try to convince them to do something they cannot do, however. The students in your classroom cannot lower tuition, but they can work with student government to iron out a deal with the administration.
Trying to inform your class about things you don't know about leads to more chances to make mistakes, so pick a topic you are already familiar with. If you are a giving a speech to an organization, tell the members about one of the activities you have done. Or inform then about your favorite hobby, such as fishing, hiking, golf, origami, knitting, video games, and cars. You are not doing a how-to or persuasive speech, so just talk about the components of your hobby. Discuss the things you need and what you must consider to have the same hobby. If your hobbies do not inspire an informative speech for you, tell your organization or class about something you learned in another class. If you learned something interesting in your psychology class last week, build on that for your speech. Some of the best informative speeches are on simple topics, too, so do not discount your everyday tasks. Tell your audience about different types of things you encounter everyday. For instance, you can talk about the many different types of crackers and what can be put on each. Informative speeches can literally be about anything.
How-to, or demonstrative, speeches can be about anything you can exhibit inside your classroom. You can demonstrate how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or how to make a website. You can choose a topic that is simple and everyone in the classroom has dealt with, or you can introduce topics that are foreign to your peers. Be sure to pick something you can effectively demonstrate in front of your class, as well as within the allotted time.