Actuation speech topics can focus on healthy living and patient care. In topics about healthy living, speakers can motivate people to lose weight, begin a fitness program, eat healthy, shop farmers' markets, grow garden vegetables, buy organic products and take vitamins. Speakers can explain how each of these topics helps the environment, gives us more energy and lowers the risk for diabetes, cholesterol, cancer and heart disease. Topics about patient care can include physician-assisted suicide, stem cell research and abortion. Great actuation speeches can move audiences to action based on religious, political or ethical beliefs.
Persuading audiences and moving them to action on such subjects as homelessness, poverty, the war on drugs and capital punishment often evoke strong opinions. Speakers may also choose to use research and data to show trends and how much the government and nonprofit organizations spend on helping people. These speeches often work best with presenters including personal stories of triumph and struggle; for instance, how a speaker overcame a drug addiction, was vindicated in a capital punishment case or rose out of poverty to become successful.
Making people care enough to believe in a particular political candidate or political philosophy can be the basis of an outstanding actuation speech. Regardless of their political viewpoints, speakers must assemble why people should believe them, disassemble the opposite viewpoint and convince people how better their lives will be should they join their cause. Actuation speeches should hit key points, but remind audiences that everyone will not agree with everything a particular candidate or party stands for; therefore, people should join a cause because they believe in a majority of the opinion.
Actuation speeches on the environment can center on helping the environment, and government intervention such as policy and regulation. Speakers can point out how recycling, biking to work, using public transportation and using eco-friendly energy sources such as solar, wind and hydroelectric power all help the environment. Speakers can show the benefits that include cutting carbon emissions and making people healthier. Topics can also move people to action by convincing legislators to pass environmentally friendly laws to stop businesses from exploiting landscapes or to help all interested parties work together.