Chapter 15
Informative
Speaking
Informative speaking: Introduction
• An informative speech:
– shares information or ideas with audience
– increases understanding and awareness of a
topic
• Try to give listeners new knowledge
• Keep information audience-centered
Informative speaking: An overview
• In this chapter, we will discuss:
– Techniques for informing
– Types of informative speeches
– Developing your informative speech
– Clarifying and simplifying your message
– Sample speech: Rachel Parrish, “Spider Silk:
A Miracle Material Derived from…Goats?”
Techniques for informing:
Definition
• You explain the essence, meaning, or
purpose of something such as:
– an object
– a person or group
– an event
– a process
– an idea or concept
Techniques for informing:
Definition
• Four types of definitions
– Dictionary: presents the meaning of a term
as it appears in a dictionary
– Expert: comes from a credible source in the
field
– Etymological: traces something’s roots in the
same or other languages
– Functional: looks at how something is
applied or how it functions
Techniques for informing:
Definition
Techniques for informing:
Explanation
• Provide analysis of
something to clarify it,
or you trace a line of
causal connections
between events.
• Explanation works well
on speeches that:
– present a process
– trace the emergence of
an event
– illustrate how something
works
Techniques for informing:
Description
• Use words to paint a mental picture.
• Maximum impact with:
– vivid language
– audiovisual aids
– details that evoke audience’s senses
Techniques for informing:
Demonstration
• Goal is to teach how a process or a set of
guidelines works.
• Use physical modeling and verbal elements to
lead audience through process.
• Demonstration requires confidence and practice.
• Demonstrating and repeating is useful to help
audiences retain information.
Techniques for informing:
Demonstration
Techniques for informing:
Narrative
• Present a story that entertains while it informs.
• Base narratives on audience analysis and
support your message.
Tips for techniques of informing
• Tip: Stories can humanize speakers and
improve their credibility, but, as a speaker,
you must practice the stories to sound
natural and unrehearsed.
• Tip: Be audience-centered—it is your job
to get information across to the audience,
so make this as easy as possible for them
by choosing a technique that is
appropriate for them and the topic.
Types of informative speeches:
Objects-inhuman objects
• Types of objects include:
–
–
–
–
Mechanical/technological
Natural
Cultural
Personal objects
• Appropriate techniques:
–
–
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Definition
Explanation
Demonstration
Narrative
Types of informative speeches:
Individuals or groups
• People are
fascinated by
others.
• Ideas for people
include:
– Famous politician
– Famous sports
star, entertainer, or
artist
– An unsung hero
– A tragic figure
Types of informative speeches:
Events
• Notable or
exceptional
occurrences
from the present
or past.
Types of informative speeches:
Processes
• A series of steps or stages
that lead to outcomes
• Informative speeches about
processes can be at the
micro or macro level.
• Walk the audience through
the steps and their
sequence.
Types of informative speeches:
Ideas
• A theory, principle, belief, or value
– Ideas are relatively abstract
– Ideas benefit from “real life” analogies
– Ideas need to connect with the audience’s:
• interests
• level of education
• prior exposure to the idea
Developing your informative
speech
• Consider characteristics of the speaking
situation.
• For class presentations note the
requirements for:
– topic
– content
– format
Developing your informative
speech
• For outside speeches, note:
– the occasion
– forum
– time of presentation
– expected length of presentation
– audience size
Developing your informative
speech: Analyzing your audience
• Examine audience demographics:
–
–
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–
–
–
–
–
–
Age
Ethnicity
Gender
Religion
Sexual orientation
Academic major
Educational background
Political affiliation
Occupation
Developing your informative
speech: Analyzing your audience
• Look for a common ground, such as
shared values and interests.
Developing your informative
speech: Selecting a technique
• Choice of technique helps decide how to
develop main points and supporting
materials.
– For demonstration, consider forum and
audience size.
– For explanation or description, focus on
demographics.
– For narrative, look to common ground issues.
Clarifying and simplifying your
message: Clarity
• Being clear
makes it
easier for
audience to
understand.
Clarifying and simplifying your
message: Simplify
• Keep the
information simple
to help your
audience
understand.
Clarifying and simplifying your
message:
Move from general to specific
• Ask yourself:
– What message do
you want your
audience to take
away?
• Answer can help
you narrow down
your topic
Clarifying and simplifying your
message: Less is more
• Reduce the quantity of information you
present.
Clarifying and simplifying your
message:
Make the complex familiar
• Use definitions
and analogies.
• Avoid jargon
and an
overabundance
of technical
terminology.
Clarifying and simplifying your
message: Use audiovisual aids
• Use
audiovisual
aids to clarify
and simplify
your
message.
Clarifying and simplifying your
message: Reiterate
• Refer to your
message multiple
times, with different
words each time.
Clarifying and simplifying your
message: Repeat
• Use the same
words each
time.
Sample informative speech
• Rachel Parrish, “Spider Silk: A Miracle
Material Derived from…Goats?”
• Read the sample speech with comments
on pgs. 459-464.
– This speech's three main points are:
• the background and unique properties of spider
silk
• the role of the “spider goat” in producing spider silk
• the current and future uses of spider silk
Tips for informative speeches
• Tip: Be audience-centered, choose a topic
that will be new to your audience. Novelty
will help get and keep their attention.
• Tip: To aid in clarity and interest, really
focus on what you hope the audience will
know at the end of the speech. The more
you narrow this focus, the easier it will be
to construct an interesting, informative
speech.