Informative Speech
Speech
Guidelines
Ms. Radlinger
200 points KS
The purpose of this speech is to provide the audience with some information they will find, new, interesting,
and useful to include in their store of knowledge. Your speech will:
 provide a clear understanding of the topic being presented.
 arouse the interest of the audience in the topic.
 provide material which is relevant to the lives of the listeners (young adults).
Present accurate and honest information obtained from proper research. Become an “expert” on your topic.
Include lots and lots of anecdotes, examples, illustrations, analogies, facts, anecdotes, summaries,
paraphrases and direct quotes from reliable sources.
Requirements:
Time:
4-5 minutes
Outline
30 second grace period enforced. Any violations will result in the
loss of 20 points. So practice!
Before you speak give me your outline. (Take just the body portion up with you.)
Introduction and conclusion must be memorized!!!!
I. Introduction complete sentences. (three parts – A, B, C)
II. Body
A. Subtopic #1
B. Subtopic #2
C. Subtopic #3
III. Conclusion complete sentences. (three parts- A,B, C)
MEMORIZED
MEMORIZED
Make sure to include all of the following:
 Make sure outline is NOT written completely like and ESSAY!
 Outline numerals with major & minor points listed.
 At least six bits of borrowed information.
 Lead ins (According to…) HIGHLIGHTED and parenthetical documentation (author, page
#) for borrowed information.
 Bibliography proper format (MLA). – must have at least TWO sources!!!!
 Powerpoint includes pictures that compliment the speech. DO NOT put outline on slides.
Effective Language: At least five highlighted and clearly labeled.
(See handout on website)
Visual Aid:
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Powerpoint is required.
Font size should be minimum of 24 pt. or higher
Thicker fonts best = easier to read.
Contrast the background color with the font color
Less is more – do not fill up the page with too much text
Use the “7 rule” – no more than seven bullet points per page and no more than seven words per bullet
Be consistent with capitalization
Make sure the title of your presentation on the first page is in all caps
Add graphics, graphs, pictures etc. that complement your presentation
DO NOT just read the slides
Add more information verbally to the slides.
General Subjects
The list below is
designed to help you
select a topic, but be
aware that many of
these subjects are
broad and would need
to be narrowed for a
classroom speech. For
example, advertising
could be narrowed to
political attack ads or
tobacco ads.
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Abuse of animals
Abuse of children
Abuse of medication
Abuse of spouse
Abuse of the elderly
Academic
dishonesty
Academic freedom
Accidents, aircraft
Accidents, industrial
Accidents, sports
Accidents, traffic
Acid rain
Addiction to drugs
Adoption of children
Adoption of wild
animals
Advertising
Aerobic exercise
intelligence
Agricultural pests
AIDS
Air pollution
Alcohol and drugs
Alternative fuels
Alternative
medicine
Alzheimer’s disease
Amusement parks,
safety
Animal
experimentation
Animal extinction
Animal training
Antioxidants
Antismoking
movement
Anxiety attacks
Architectural design
Assassinations
Assisted suicide
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Asteroids
Back pain
Behavior,
compulsive
Billboards
Biotechnology &
genetics
Bird-watching
Blood banks
Bombings
Caffeine
Cancer
Capital punishment
Cell phone etiquette
Charities
Children and war
Cholesterol
Chronic fatigue
syndrome
Civil liberties
Climatic changes
Cloning
College costs
Common cold
Computer fraud
Computer graphics
Contamination of
water
Coral reef ecology
Cosmetic surgery
Cosmic rays
Cults
Depression, mental
Designated drivers
Diabetes
Dinosaur
discoveries
Disaster victims
DNA fingerprints
Dyslexia
Earth-friendly
products
Electronic books
Endangered species
Environmental
protection
Epidemics
Ethnic cleansing
Euthanasia
False memory
syndrome
Family violence
Famines
Fashion design
Fetal alcohol
syndrome
Firefighting
Flea markets
Folk medicine
Food allergy
Food poisoning
Fossils
Galaxies
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Gambling
Gardening
Generic drugs
Genetic engineering
Geothermal power
Global warming
Government secrecy
Gray wolves
Great Wall of China
Green movement
Growth hormones
Guerrilla warfare
Hallucinations
Harassment, sexual
Hate crimes
Hazing
Headaches
Health foods
Heart transplants
Hemophilia
Herbal medicine
Heredity of disease
High blood pressure
High speed trains
HIV infections
Holistic medicine
Homeless persons
Homeopathy
Homophobia
Homosexuality
Hunting
Hurricanes
Hydrogen as fuel
Hydroponics
Hyperactive children
Hypnotism
Illegal aliens
Illiteracy
Immigrants
Incurable diseases
Indoor air pollution
Industrial diseases
Insect-eating plants
Insects as food
Insomnia
Intelligence tests
Iron deficiency
diseases
Jails, overcrowding
Jet lag
Junk in space
Juvenile delinquents
Kleptomania
Laboratories,
testing
Laser surgery
Lie detectors
Lightning
Limousines
Low-calorie diet
Low-fat diet
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Mafia
Magic
Manic-depression
Marine aquariums
Marine pollution
Marriage customs
Mass murder
Massage
Medicinal plants
Memory techniques
Mental disorders
Meteorites
Midwifery
Migraines
Military weapons
Militias
Motorcycle gangs
Murders, serial
Muscular dystrophy
Mythology
Neo-Nazis
Neanderthals
Nicotine addiction
Obsessivecompulsive disorder
Ocean dumping
Ordination of
women
Organically grown
food
Organized crime
Pesticides
Phobias
Plants, extinction
Polygraphs
Psychiatric drugs
Radiation therapy
Rain forests
Renewable
resources
Robots
Savant syndrome
Schizophrenia
Sea farming
Self-defense
Serotonin
Sleep, research
Smuggling
Soil erosion
Stalking
Steroids
Teenage crime
Terrorism
Tornadoes
Toxic wastes
Volcanoes
Water purification
Weather forecasting
Wind power
Women’s rights
Year-round
education