5 - Informative Speech

• Informative speech


  Conveys knowledge - a task that every person engages in every day in some form or another
• Informative speech


  • Intends to educate the audience on a particular subject
  • Gives information to others to enhance understanding or knowledge of the concepts and ideas presented
  • The speaker defines, illustrates, or elaborates on a topic
  • Information that is useful or interesting is shared with the audience
• Goals of an informative speech

  • Speaking to enhance understanding
  • Speaking to ignite and maintain interest
  • Speaking to be remembered
• Types of informative speeches

  • Explanatory
  • Descriptive
  • Definition
  • Demonstrative
• Explanatory speech


  Clarifies an issue or subject through concrete illustrations and examples
• Descriptive speech


  Creates a vivid picture in the audience's mind regarding a person, an object, an event, a place, or an animal
• Definition speech


  Gives and clarifies the meaning, theory, or philosophy of a specific topic
• Demonstration speech


  Explains or illustrates how something is done
• Strategies to enhance understanding

  • Speak with clarity
  • Do not present too much information too quickly
  • Unlock unfamiliar ideas or complex processes
  • Use presentation aids
• Speaking with clarity


  Expressing ideas so the audience accurately understands the intended message
• Audiences can comprehend only so much information. If you present too much information, your listeners won't understand all the details.
• Unlocking unfamiliar ideas or complex processes


  Using analogies, metaphors, and vivid descriptions to demystify complex concepts or processes
• Presentation aids


  Tools that help communicate ideas more effectively than words alone can
• Strategies to keep the audience engaged

  • Ignite interest
  • Tell a story
  • Personalize content
  • Inject humor
  • Present relevant information
  • Use suspense
• Igniting interest


  Finding creative ways to get the listeners to pay attention, such as a striking statement or a rhetorical question
• Telling a story


  Using good stories with exciting characters and riveting plots to fascinate listeners
• Personalizing content


  Giving a human face to a topic to make it more interesting and tangible for the audience
• Injecting humor


  Using humor to draw attention to a subject or point, but ensuring it is relevant and in good taste
• Presenting relevant information


  Providing the audience with a good reason why they should listen, by adapting the message to the people who will be in the audience
• Using suspense


  Adding twists or novel interpretations to make a tedious but essential message enjoyable, and maintaining the audience's attention by creating mystery or suspense