Random topic generator, for any talk or page.

A random topic generator hands you a subject when your own mind goes blank. This one has 664 topics written for this page, in eight types: impromptu, informative and persuasive speeches, essays, debate claims, conversation starters, writing prompts and discussion questions. You can filter by level, from middle school to the workplace, and by how long the topic should take, then press New topic.

How to use the random topic generator

1. Pick a Type on the right, or leave it on Any type.
2. Pick a Level: Middle school, High school, College, Adult or Workplace.
3. Pick a Length: About 1 minute, About 3 minutes or 5 minutes or more. A topic marked 1 minute is simple and personal. A 5 minute topic needs more to say.
4. Choose How many topics you want at once, from 1 to 10. Type a word in Contains the word to narrow the list, such as team or school.
5. Press New topic, or press Space. Use Copy to copy it, or Save on a card to keep it in Favourites.
6. To practise a talk, set Prep time and Speaking time and press Start timer.

What is in each type

Levels overlap. Many topics suit more than one level, so the card lists every level a topic fits. By level, the list has 199 topics for middle school, 549 for high school, 240 for college, 201 for adults and 138 for the workplace, and some topics count in several of those.

Practising an impromptu speech

Choose Impromptu speech, press New topic, and set a Prep time. Prep time gives the speaker quiet time to think. A beep marks the end of prep, and the Speaking time starts at once. The clock counts down in large numbers, shows 30 seconds left on longer talks, and turns red in the last 10 seconds. Press Pause or Resume as needed. A simple plan that fits any topic is point, reason, example, point: say your answer, say why, give one short story or example, and finish by repeating the answer.

Debate claims and picking a side

Every debate topic is written as a claim, such as Homework helps students learn. Either side can argue it, and none has a right answer. Press Pick a side on a debate card and the page chooses For or Against with your browser's secure random numbers, so nobody can say the choice was rigged. The list avoids party politics, elections and religion, so a classroom or a team can use it without picking a fight.

No repeats until the list is used up

Topics are dealt from a shuffled deck, so you do not see the same one twice until every topic that matches your filters has come up. The line under the filters shows how many match and how many you have seen. When the deck runs out, the page tells you and shuffles it again. Press Shuffle the list again to start over any time.

Tips for classes and teams

• Set How many to 3 and ask each speaker to choose one. That is a common impromptu contest format.
• Set it to 10 and press Copy to paste a set of topics into a worksheet or a chat.
• Press Copy link to these filters to share the same type, level and length with a class.
• Use the spin the wheel to pick who speaks first, and the online timer when you need several clocks.

Common problems

• No topic matches. Clear the Contains the word box, or change the type or level.
• The length did not match. For some mixes no topic has that exact length, so the page shows the nearest length and says so under the filters.
• Favourites are gone. They live in this browser. Clearing site data or using a private window removes them, so download them as a text file to keep a copy.

To turn a topic into a script, try the speech writer, rehearse it with the teleprompter, or check the length of your draft with the word counter. For single random words, use the random word generator.