Chapter 16
Speeches to Inform
Section 1: Speeches that Instruct,
Inform, and Clarify
Types of Informative Speeches
public lecture – person is invited to lecture
as result of special interest or expertise.
status report – knowledgeable person gives
report to group indicating what has been
accomplished so far and what plans exist
for the future.
briefing – telling group about
changes in policy or procedure.
fireside chat – group leader addresses
concerns, worries, and issues of the
moment. (Franklin Roosevelt below)
chalk talk – speaker relies on visual aid to show
something to the group.
– Many informative speeches are followed by Q
& A session.
The Six Cs of Informative Speaking
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Be Clear
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Be Concise
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avoid redundancy
don’t be too wordy
choose the best word for the meaning you intend
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Tell the audience how many points you will make and then use words like “first”,
“second”, “third”, so they will know when you are finished
Advance organizers – statements that forecast what the audience can expect
Have a plan (outline) and use transitions so your audience can follow
Be Complete
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Be Correct
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check & double-check your facts
identify your sources
Be Concrete
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define new words to audience
make distinctions (what something is and what it is not)
be specific rather than general
talk about people, places, and things rather than general ideas
give concrete examples of what you’re talking about
Connect
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analyze your audience
use a checklist
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how many people will be present? What will be the ages of most of the people in the
audience? Will the audience be mostly male, female, or mixed?
What are their interests, attitudes, and beliefs?
What do they know about the subject?
What is their attitude toward it?
cultural literacy – the information that an average American citizen can be expected
to know
Turning a Subject into a Speech
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Find a Subject
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Personal Experience
Observations
Surveys
Narrow Your Subject
Limit
Limit
Limit
Limit
your
your
your
your
subject
subject
subject
subject
State Your Thesis
in time
in space
in extent
using the principle of divide and conquer
thesis – a positive statement about your topic
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Topics
Thesis
Teenagers and fads
The slang teenagers use often comes from the latest popular movies.
Healthy lifestyles
Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables each day can dramatically reduce
your chances of getting cancer.
Famous musicians
Beethoven’s hearing loss may actually have helped him compose music.
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Support Your Thesis
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Facts
Everyone loves a story
Quotable quotes
Defining your terms
Descriptions
Audio and Visual Aids
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Two-Dimensional Visual Aids
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Photographs, Drawings, and Cartoons
Graphic Representations
Chalkboard aids
Handouts
Projections
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Overhead projector
Slides
Videotape
Three-Dimensional Visual Aids
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Models
Cutaways
Sound Recordings
Guidelines for Using Aids
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be sure the aid is large enough to be seen or loud enough to be heard
be sure the aid contributes to the idea being presented. If you can get along
without it, don’t use it. It takes time away from the rest of your presentation.
don’t stand in front of the aid.
talk to your listeners, not to the visual aid.
keep any visual aid out of sight until you are ready to use it, and then put it away
again when you have finished.
don’t overdo a good thing. A long succession of slides or charts can become
boring.
remember Murphy’s Law – if something can go wrong, it will. Have a backup plan
in case your equipment fails
Practice, practice, practice.
Pop Quiz
1.
2.
3.
List the five types of informative
speeches.
List the six Cs of informative speaking.
List four ways to narrow your speech
subject.