Informative Speech
From your syllabus:
Informative “Description/Explanation” Speech (150 points):
Your speech is worth up to 100 points. Choose a topic that is interesting to you, but one you
don’t know much about yet. This presentation is a 3-5 minute summary of what you learned about the
topic in your research. You should use at least three (3) research sources like news magazines,
newspapers, eyewitness accounts, etc. You should use at least one visual aid during the presentation.
The purpose of the assignment is to effectively choose, organize and communicate factual information
to your specific listening audience using reliable sources.
Your outline is worth up to 50 points. Turn in a copy of a preparation outline on your speaking
day. It should be typed, double spaced, use formal grammar, punctuation, spelling, and outline
structure discussed in class. The main points should be clearly organized and you should provide
evidence to support each main point. Include a reference page using proper APA format.
•
Please print out the speech and outline feedback forms (pages 2-3 of this packet). There will be
a 5 point penalty (each) if you do not have the forms.
•
The key to picking a good topic for this assignment is finding something that truly interests
you. Your enthusiasm will assist in building rapport with the audience. Memorable speeches
have included topics such as Environmentally Sensitive Building Techniques, Identifying
Ravens vs. Crows, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the History of Hip-Hop Music, Tourist
Sights to Visit in Jordan, and the Roots of Civil Disobedience in America. You may also
choose a topic that will work for both this informative and your persuasive speech – just be
sure to keep it to the facts here, and save telling us what we should do for the persuasive
speech.
REQUIRED FOR THIS SPEECH
1. Double-spaced typed outline with feedback forms
2. Use at least three (3) sources to support your main ideas
Cite the sources in-text using APA citation format
Include a reference page that lists each source used in your speech
3. Use at least one visual aid
4. The outline must be detailed enough to create a 3-5 minute speech. Everything in the speech
belongs in the outline
5. The outline must use complete sentences
6. The outline must be your original work.
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Support Materials
Informative Speaking
Guide for Planning an Informative Speech (Description & Explanation)
I. The Introduction
B. Get attention by using one or more of the following choices
An illustration or story
A startling statement
A quotation
A rhetorical question
A reference to the subject
A reference to the occasion (what makes this day unique)
C. Motivate audience interest in your subject by alluding to the practical value of the
information for your audience.
A reason to listen
State topic clearly, but build a sense of curiosity
D. Establish your right to inform (speaker credibility) by
Alluding to any first-hand experience you may have had
Alluding to sources of information you have consulted
E. Provide orienting material by
Previewing main points (signposting)
Defining any technical terms that you will be using
If necessary supplying any background information that would better enable listeners
to understand the information
II. The Body
A. Choose 3-5 main points of equal weight that directly support your specific purpose.
B. Make your information understandable by using an organizational format
Chronological or step-by-step order
Causal
Spatial
Topical
C. Support your main points with appropriate evidence
Factual examples and illustrations
Analogies
Statistics
Testimony
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D. Make your information understandable by using visual aids
Charts, drawings
Objects or models of objects
Diagrams, maps
E. Make your information interesting
By using vivid imagery
Concrete language
Having it at a level appropriate to your audience
Involving something recent, impending, or familiar
F. Use clear transitions between main points
“Now that I’ve explained ____, let me move on to ____.”
III. The Conclusion
A. End the speech appropriately by restating your main points
B. Tie back to something said in the introduction
C. End the speech providing us with a “reason to remember”
A quotation
A story
A comment to arouse interest in further investigation of the topic
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Sample Skeleton of Informative Outline
Title: __________________________________________________________________
General Purpose: ________________________________________________________
Specific Purpose: ________________________________________________________
Thesis Statement: ________________________________________________________
I.
Introduction
A. Attention Getter ___________________________________________________
B. Reason to Listen ___________________________________________________
C. Speaker Credibility _________________________________________________
D. Preview of Main Points ______________________________________________
1. Main Point _____________________________________________________
2. Main Point _____________________________________________________
3. Main Point _____________________________________________________
II. Body
A. (Main Point #1) ____________________________________________________
1.
______________________________________________________________
2.
______________________________________________________________
a.
___________________________________________________________
b.
___________________________________________________________
Transition: ______________________________________________________________
B. (Main Point #2) ____________________________________________________
1.
______________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________
3.
______________________________________________________________
Transition: ______________________________________________________________
C. (Main Point #3) ____________________________________________________
1.
______________________________________________________________
a.
___________________________________________________________
b.
___________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________
a.
___________________________________________________________
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b.
___________________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________
III. Conclusion
A. Restate Topic and Main Points ________________________________________
1. Main Point _____________________________________________________
2. Main Point _____________________________________________________
3. Main Point _____________________________________________________
B. Tie Back to Introduction _____________________________________________
C. Reason to Remember _______________________________________________
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Informative Sample Outline
(Note: this outline was written in 1999 and shows how important it is to use current sources for your
information. Some of the claims may no longer be accurate.)
Pirates on the Information Super Highway
Joe Computer
GEO 102: Lynch
October 25, 1999
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General Purpose: To inform.
Specific Purpose: To inform the audience about internet hacking.
Central Idea: To inform my audience about some tools hackers use, how hackers get access to
computers, and what hackers do once they have access to computers.
PIRATES ON THE INFORMATION SUPER HIGHWAY
I.
Introduction
A. (Attention Getter) (Extended Example) A woman cruises the internet doing a little online
shopping. She visits her bank account online to review her balance and then logs off. Little
does she know, her son Johnny had recently and unknowingly downloaded a funny program
that showed dancing bears on his computer screen. What wasn’t so funny was that a hacker
had attached a small file onto that funny program which, when downloaded, could spy on
Johnny’s computer. A few weeks later the woman received a bank statement showing
hundreds of dollars worth of online purchases. She has just become a victim of computer
fraud (Regan, 1999).
B. (Reason to Listen/Topic) This is not by any means a new phenomenon, it has just become
easier for hackers to find targets as people utilize and become more and more dependant on
the internet.
C. (Speaker Credibility) I have received various viruses through emailed programs in the past.
Though I have never been the victim of online theft, I have been extensively researching
computer crime cases for the past couple of weeks.
D. (Thesis and Preview) Tonight I will describe to you one method in which a hacker can rob
you blind.
1. First I will explain some of the tools hackers use.
2. Second, I will show you all how a hacker gets into a victim’s computer.
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3. And third, I will unveil what a hacker could do once inside your computer.
II. Body
A. First let me describe to you the tools a hacker has available to infiltrate your computer.
1. One of the most popular and powerful of the hacker tools is surprisingly easy to obtain.
The program is called “Back Orifice.”
a. This program gives the hacker the ability to virtually hijack your computer and do
anything with it that you would be able to do.
b. Not only can the hacker get to all your files, the hacker can see every keystroke you
type in (Warren, 1999).
2. (Expert Testimony) A Microsoft security expert said, “Back Orifice’s worst attribute is
that it attacks the users not the technology” (as cited in McKay, 1999, p. 56).
3. Still other programs trick users into entering passwords to exit an application, such as
internet email (Wells, 1999).
Transition: Well, we have seen the tools a hacker has at his/her disposal, now let’s see how they get
into your computer.
B. Hackers may use a tactic called social engineering to enter your computer, in other words
they try to trick you into letting them inside. When this id done, the program is called a
Trojan Horse (Harter, 1999).
1. Probably the most popular way of getting the hacker’s program into your computer is
through email attachments (McKay, 1999).
a. You may receive a friendly email offering you a screen saver, a game update, or a
funny program that shows dancing bears.
2. A second popular way for hackers to get into your computer is through infected programs
such as games and internet tools that are downloaded off the internet from unreliable web
sites (McKay, 1999).
Transition: So we have seen how hackers may use a Trojan Horse to trick you into letting them into
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your computer. Now I will explain what a hacker could do once inside.
C. The tools the hackers are equipped with give them the ability to do malicious or fraudulent
acts, depending on your hacker.
1. A mischievous hacker would probably do little harm.
a. They may erase some or all of your computer files (Carlton, 1999).
b. They might install new malicious programs on your computer (Carlton, 1999).
c. The hacker could play hoaxes on you that display obscene messages on your screen
(Carlton, 1999).
d. Or use your computer as a jump off point to propagate their Trojan Horse so it cannot
be traced back to them (Warren, 1999).
2. A more enterprising hacker would probably go for more sensitive information.
a. This kind of hacker would lay in wait for you to enter user names, passwords, and
credit-card numbers by capturing every keystroke you make. This can be very
dangerous if you do any kind of online banking (Warren, 1999).
b. The hacker may now make online purchases or do anything to your bank account you
could do online.
III. Conclusion
A. So tonight I have shared with you all how a hacker steals you money. I first showed you how
the hacker has to choose the right tools, then how the hacker tricks you into letting him/her
into your computer, and finally what the hacker does once inside your computer.
B. Unknown to little Johnny, those little dancing bears would cost his mother a lot of money
(Regan, 1999).
C. I hope the next time you “surf the net” you keep an eye out for the dangers that lurk on the
internet.
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References
Carlton, G. (1999, April 23). Chasing cyberspace crooks: criminals adopt high tech versions of
age-old crimes. Madison Capital Times, p. 1C.
Harter, B (1999, April 15). Internet biking. Wireless Review, p. 14-21.
McKay, N. (1999, July 30). Wired on Friday – from Las Vegas. Irish Times, p. 56.
Regan, T. (1999, October 7). Putting the dancing pigs in their cyber-pen. Christian Science
Monitor, p. 18.
Warren, D (1999). Back Orifice Information Center. Available:
www.ozemail.com.au/~dwarren/backorifice/questandansw.html. Accessed October 22,
1999.
Wells, M. (1999, September 8). Second security breach as Microsoft fails to plug gap in e-mail.
The Scotsman, p. 22.
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