Four Types of Informative Speeches
The last part of chapter 14 is a bit confusing as it attempts to categorize the
different approaches to Informative Speaking. For our purposes, we will
assign Informative Speeches to the following four (4) types, and this is to
REPLACE pages 337-344. Use these, and NOT the ones in the text, to
guide you in the development of the Informative Speech.
4 Types of Informative Speeches
1) Descriptive – in the most general sense, you are trying to get the
audience to experience something through you. There are 2
approaches to do this:
a) the “real” speech- this is the description of a real, tangible, and
physical that is so vivid and precise that the audience can
picture it in their mind. The subject could be a place, an object,
a person, etc and is described so clearly that the audience can
accurately visualize it.
b) The “mood” speech- this is where you attempt to convey just
how a particular emotion or feeling feels; and the successful
mood speech has the audience actually experiencing that
emotional state. For instance, when answering the question
“How does it feel when you are depressed?” the speaker does
not simply list other synonymous labels for depression such as
‘down’, ‘bummed’, ‘low’, but focuses instead upon the
physiological ( weak, listless), mental (slower thinking,
confusion), psychological( joyless, hating self), social( rejected,
friendless) aspects. A good contemporary example is the TV ad
about ADHD that likens this condition to trying to watch TV
with the channels changing every second while showing a
rapidly changing TV in the background. Mood speeches are
difficult to maintain and develop as the entire speech, and are
used many times as a segment of a “report” speech on that
topic.
2) Report – the Report speech is a vastly different speech from the mood
speech in that it deals with hard facts and precise data in a very
analytical way. It also can be used in a myriad of ways: the life cycle
of a flea, a biography of a person, a report giving information about a
culture, country, religion, event, medical condition, etc. Even topics
of some controversy can be informative in this category:
compare/contrast prescription & generic drugs, the legal history of
Roe v. Wade, pros/cons of legalizing prostitution/pot/gambling;
school uniforms. The over-riding goal here is to remain fair and
objective, the audience should not be able to tell what the speaker’s
personal position on the topic happens to be. It is unethical to hide a
persuasive agenda under the auspices of an Informative speech, so
avoid “I want to inform you why prostitution should be legal” and/or
“…so you can see that since the ‘pros’ greatly outweigh the ‘cons’ we
should do this…” or to limit the discussion to only the ‘pros’ (or
‘cons’) without fairly and honestly including the ‘cons’ (or ‘pros’).
3) Explanation- the speech of Explanation defines a process. This is
NOT a “how to” speech; it explains how and/or why some process
occurs. This is very much like a tour guide at the mint telling their
group how coins are made. This is a more intellectual approach to a
process- how diamonds are formed, how the AIDS virus invades Thelper cells, how wood becomes petrified, the water cycle,
photosynthesis, how microwaves cook food, any surgical procedure,
how the brain stores memories, how viruses infect computers, what
makes a curveball curve- the list is endless. Think of all the processes
you understand, any of them have the potential to be a good
explanation speech.
4) Instruction – this IS the traditional “How to” speech, and this is where
the process is actually performed, or we are taught how to do it. This
has a ‘hands-on’ feel to it: how to write a good resume, how to save
money/gas/time, how to pack for a vacation, how to debug your
computer, how to throw a curveball. Sometimes the process can
easily be demonstrated within the time limits of a speech; other
processes my take longer than the allotted time. If that is the case,
then have the successive steps/stages pre-done so you can move easily
form one to the next. The audience really doesn’t need to watch you
slice six carrots for a salad instead have all of them pre-sliced and just
demonstrate a few cuts and then move on, nor do we need to wait
until the paint dries. Take a hint from the professionals that do the
hobby/craft/cooking shows on TV, a bit of careful planning
beforehand can result in a polished presentation of even a very
complex process.
These are the categories of Informative Speaking. You do not have to
stay within just one type, they can be combined as you see fit. For
example, in speech that is primarily Explanation, there may be a section
where you need to Describe what something looks like and there may be
some elements of Report if you discuss the history of it.
There is an easy way to consolidate the points of the text with these 4
types of informative speeches. Think of the categories listed in the text
as general topic areas from which an Informative Speech topic could be
found. Once a topic has been selected, then its development can be
guided and focused by the 4 types of informative speeches. For example,
one might choose to do a speech about a person (Salvador Dali); it could
be Descriptive (describing his physical attributes) or a Report (a
biographical speech about his life) or an Explanation (how he created his
works) or even some combination of these. The topic is, in all of these
cases, ‘a person’ but it has the potential for different types of
development; all leading to very different types of speeches.
INFORMATIVE SPEAKING
TOPIC
AREAS
TYPES of
SPEECHES
People
Objects
Places
Events
Processes
Concepts
Conditions
Issues
Descriptive
real
mood
Report
Explanation
Instruction