NFHS EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING TOPICS
October 2024

Domestic
Closed-Ended

1. Is the increased police presence in American schools negatively impacting education?
2. Will the Apalachee High School shooting have an impact on Georgia voters’ decisions in November?
3. Do average Americans believe the US economy is improving?
4. Should Americans be concerned about the spread of H5N1 Bird Flu this season?
5. In light of the recent problems at meat plants run by Boar’s Head, should the federal government increase its scrutiny of US meat packing facilities?
6. Will the size of their respective campaign war chests make a difference in the outcome of the presidential race?
7. Can Taylor Swift's statements about politics and voting have a measurable impact on the outcome of the November elections?
8. Are America’s colleges and universities making it too difficult to protest?
9. Should the US government block the purchase of US Steel by a Japanese company?
10. Should healthcare reform be a more prominently featured issue in this year’s elections?
11. Can the US afford all of Donald Trump’s proposed tax cuts?
12. Do declining numbers of minority students at elite universities demonstrate that Affirmative Action is necessary?

Domestic
Open-Ended

1. How will Donald Trump’s decision not to participate in an additional presidential debate impact his prospects in the race for the presidency?
2. How significant is the threat of Russian election interference?
3. How important are celebrity endorsements to the presidential election?
4. What steps should the federal government take to address the present housing crisis?
5. What can Boeing do to improve their corporate image in the wake of recent crises?
6. How will increases in tariffs on Chinese goods impact the US economy?
7. What must Mike Johnson do to avert a government shutdown on the eve of the November elections?
8. How will recent decisions by judges overseeing cases against Donald Trump impact his performance in the election?
9. What strategy should New York prosecutors take in retrying Harvey Weinstein?
10. How will the proposed Biden administration restrictions on China’s companies - Temu and Shein - impact the purchasing behavior or American consumers?
11. How would Trump’s proposed privatization of Fannie May and Freddie Mac impact consumers?
12. Which political party has the best chance of securing the votes of senior citizens?
13. How well will state ballot measures to restore or secure abortion rights fare this November?

Foreign
Closed Ended

1. Should Western nations give Ukraine permission to deploy their long-range weapons inside Russia?
2. Will White House support for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council for an African nation make the idea a reality?
3. Should China increase its retirement age?
4. Can France’s new Prime Minister succeed in building a governing coalition?
5. Will Syria be able to unify as a single nation anytime soon?
6. Can Israel and Turkey mend their relations?
7. Is Israel’s war on Gaza moving to the West Bank next?
8. Will the political turmoil in Bangladesh fuel growth in India’s garment industry?
9. If required, could Taiwan successfully repel a Chinese invasion?
10. Should South Korea pursue the development of an independent nuclear weapons program?
11. Has France’s Olympics offered a new model for future hosts?
12. Is Canada’s Conservative Party gaining more support among the country’s voters?
13. Should investors be worried about the Mexican economy under Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration?

Foreign
Open-Ended

1. What steps can the Philippines take to prevent confrontations with China from escalating out of control?
2. What steps can Donald Tusk take to fulfill his promises of improving women’s rights in Poland?
3. How will the success of extremist parties on the right and left in German state elections impact the balance of power at the national level?
4. Why have leftist European politicians turned against migrants?
5. How is Ukraine’s offensive in Kursk impacting Russia’s war strategy?
6. Who will emerge as the next leader of Britain’s Conservative Party?
7. How can Nigeria address its chronic fuel shortages?
8. What steps should world health authorities take to bring MPOX under control?
9. What can Australia do to stimulate the mining industry in their country?
10. What must Muhammad Yunus do to restore political stability in Bangladesh?
11. What steps can Panama and its partners take to plug the dangerous flow of migrants through the Darien Gap?
12. How will Nicolas Maduro’s latest election fraud impact the dictator’s overall grip on power?