Informative Speeches
Barry 2010
•Organization is key to communicating
effectively.
•If you don’t organize your information for
your audience, they have trouble
understanding your message, and they feel
disoriented.
•To illustrate this point, let’s hear a
disorganized version of an address by
Robert F. Kennedy.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•It’s a great strategy to organize the
body of a speech first, and then come up
with the introduction and the conclusion.
•Once your body is in place, the intro and
conclusion come more easily.
•If your body is well-organized, you’ll
make listening easier for your audience,
and you’ll also feel more confident.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•Select main points carefully.
•Phrase main points precisely.
•Arrange main points strategically.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•Sometimes, the main points will stem
naturally from your specific purpose or
central idea:
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience
about the major uses of hypnosis
Central Idea: The major uses of hypnosis
today are to control pain in surgery, to help
people stop smoking, and to help students
improve their academic performance.
•What are the main points?
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•Sometimes, you may need to reword main
points in order to limit them.
•Too many main points will disorient your
audience.
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience
about the practice of yoga
Central Idea: Yoga is an ancient practice that
involves proper breathing and the whole
body
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
Main points:
I. Yoga breathing starts with deep inhalation.
II. Yoga breathing requires slow exhalation.
III. Yoga breathing includes prolonged pauses.
IV. Yoga breathing provides many benefits.
V. Yoga postures involve all parts of the body.
VI. Yoga postures increase flexibility.
VII. Yoga postures strengthen muscle tone.
VIII. Yoga postures demand precise movements.
• How can these main points be collapsed into two main
points?
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•chronological order: a method of speech
organization in which the main points
follow a time pattern
•May narrate a series of events in the
order in which they happened.
•May explain a process step by step.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience how the
Great Wall of China was built.
Central Idea: The Great Wall of China was built
in three major stages.
Main Points: I. Building of the Great Wall began
during the Qin dynasty of 221-206 B.C.
II. New sections of the wall were added during
the Han dynasty of 206 B.C.-220 A.D.
III. The Great Wall was completed during the
Ming dynasty of 1368-1644.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the
steps in laser-assisted corrective eye surgery.
Central Idea: There are three main steps in laserassisted corrective eye surgery.
Main Points: I. First, a thin layer is sliced off the
surface of the eye to expose the cornea.
II. Second, an ultraviolet laser is used to reshape
the cornea.
III. Third, the thin layer sliced off at the
beginning of the surgery is reaffixed to the eye.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•spatial order: a method of speech
organization in which the main points
follow a directional pattern
•Points proceed from top to bottom, left
to right, front to back, inside to outside,
east to west, or some other route.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the
structure of a hurricane
Central Idea: A hurricane is made up of three parts
going from inside to outside.
Main Points: I. At the center of a hurricane is a calm,
cloud-free eye.
II. Surrounding the eye is the eyewall, a dense ring of
clouds that produces the most intense wind and
rainfall.
III. Rotating around the eyewall are large bands of
clouds and precipitation called spiral rain bands.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience
about the three major regions of Italy.
Central Idea: Northern, central, and southern
Italy have their own identities and attractions.
Main Points: I. Northern Italy is home to Venice
and its world-famous canals.
II. Central Italy is home to Rome and its
historical treasures.
III. Southern Italy is home to Sicily and its
culinary traditions.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•causal order: a method of speech
organization in which the main points
show a cause-effect relationship
•Will usually only have two points (I’ll
make an exception on your speech for
this).
•Can go in either order: cause to effect,
or effect to cause
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about
the possible causes for the collapse of Mayan
civilization
Central Idea: The causes for the collapse of
Mayan civilization have not yet been fully
explained.
Main Points: I. Mayan civilization flourished for
over a thousand years until 900 A.D., when it
mysteriously began to disintegrate.
II. Scholars have advanced three major
explanations for the causes of this disintegration.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•topical order: a method of speech
organization in which the main points divide
the topic into logical and consistent subtopics
•Some topics do not lend themselves to
chronological, spatial, or causal order, but
must be divided into subtopics.
•This is the most common way to organize a
speech.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the major
kinds of fireworks
Central Idea: The major kinds of fireworks are
skyrockets, Roman candles, pinwheels, and lances.
Main Points: I. Skyrockets explode in the air, producing
the most dramatic effects of all fireworks.
II. Roman candles shoot out separate groups of sparks
and colored flames with a series of booming noises.
III. Pinwheels throw off sparks and flames as they
whirl on the end of a stick.
IV. Lances are thin, colorful fireworks used in ground
displays.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•problem-solution order: a method of
speech organization in which the first
main point deals with the existence of a
problem and the second main point
presents a solution to the problem
•This order is probably only appropriate
for persuasive speeches.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that the
electoral college should be abolished.
Central Idea: Because the electoral college does not
give equal weight to the vote of each citizen, it should
be replaced with direct popular election of the
President.
Main Points: I. The electoral college is a serious
problem in the U.S. political system because it does
not give equal weight to each citizen’s vote in electing
the President.
II. The problem can be solved by abolishing the
electoral college and electing the President by
popular vote.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•Keep main points consistent.
•Keep main points separate.
•Try to use the same pattern of wording
for all main points.
•Balance the amount of time devoted to
main points.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
• Effective example:
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the
achievements of Ida Wells-Barnett
Central Idea: Ida Wells-Barnett was a multitalented
figure in the fight for racial justice.
Main Points: I. As a teacher, Wells-Barnett spoke out
against inferior school facilities for African-American
children.
II. As a journalist, Wells-Barnett campaigned against
lynching.
III. As a civic organizer, Wells-Barnett helped found
the NAACP.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
• Ineffective example:
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the
achievements of Ida Wells-Barnett
Central Idea: Ida Wells-Barnett was a multitalented
figure in the fight for racial justice.
Main Points: I. As a teacher, Wells-Barnett spoke out
against inferior school facilities for African-American
children.
II. As a journalist, Wells-Barnett campaigned against
lynching.
III. In the early 20th century, Wells-Barnett expanded
her activities and the scope of her influence.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•Ineffective example:
Topic: Producing a Broadway play
Main Points:
I. The first step is choosing the play.
II. The second step is selecting the cast.
III. The third step is conducting rehearsals
and then performing the play.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•Effective example:
Topic: Producing a Broadway play
Main Points:
I. The first step is choosing the play.
II. The second step is selecting the cast.
III. The third step is conducting the
rehearsals.
IV. The fourth step is performing the play.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•Ineffective example:
Topic: benefits of exercise
Main Points:
I. Regular exercise increases your endurance.
II. Your sleeping pattern is improved by
regular exercise.
III. It is possible to help control your weight by
regular exercise.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•Ineffective example:
Topic: benefits of exercise
Main Points:
I. Regular exercise increases your endurance.
II. Regular exercise improves your sleeping
pattern.
III. Regular exercise helps control your weight.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•Sometimes it is not possible to keep all
main points parallel; just do the best you
can!
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•Ineffective balance:
• I. 85 percent
• II. 10 percent
• III. 5 percent
These main points should be rebalanced.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
• Effective balance:
• I. 30 percent
• II. 40 percent
• III. 30 percent
Or
• I. 20 percent
• II. 30 percent
• III. 50 percent
These are all obviously main points, and the
time is divided fairly equally.
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas
•Contains three to five main points (two in
some exceptions)
•Main points organized according to
chronological, spatial, causal, topical, or
problem-solution order
•Main points are clearly separate and
consistent (add this to handout!)
•Same pattern of wording used for all main
points
From The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E. Lucas