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Chapter 15
INFORMATIVE SPEAKING
Most professors assign at least one informative speech, so the chapter begins with guidelines for
analyzing and adapting to the level of understanding the audience brings to the speech. It describes
how to give speeches in several broad categories including demonstrations and instructions,
descriptions, reports, and explanations. The chapter closes with seven guidelines for making
information interesting, relevant, memorable, and understandable.
Chapter Goals
At the end of this chapter, your students should be able to:
•
Analyze your audience’s knowledge of the subject
•
Create several types of informative speeches including demonstrations and instructions,
descriptions, reports, and explanations
•
Follow guidelines to make your informative speeches more effective
Chapter Outline
I.
Speakers should analyze their audience’s knowledge about the topic.
A.
Sometimes the information is new.
1.
Speakers should provide basic introductory facts.
2.
They should define terminology and jargon and explain and describe things clearly.
3.
Give detailed, vivid explanations and descriptions.
4.
They should make links to the audience’s knowledge and compare the topic to
something familiar.
5.
Help audience understand why they should know about your subject.
B.
Some speakers provide supplemental information to an audience already familiar with the
topic.
1.
Speakers should dig deeper and discover less well-known information.
2.
Go beyond the obvious—add details and explanations.
3.
Narrowing the topic to a novel subtopic can increase audience knowledge overall.
C.
Some audiences need a review or an update about a familiar topic.
1.
Speakers should approach these subjects from different angles and perspectives.
2.
Be creative and use supporting material that captures and holds attention.
3.
Humor can make these topics more interesting and engaging.
4.
Present the most updated information; data can be quickly outdated.
D.
Speakers commonly counter misconceptions and misunderstandings.
1.
Prepare for emotional responses, sometimes negative.
2.
Scientific information, especially quantification, may be more convincing.
3.
It is important to define terms carefully.
4.
Highlighting positive aspects of a topic may help counter negative reactions.
II.
There are several types of informative speeches; methods for organizing them includes division
and
classification
.
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A.
Demonstrations and instructions answer the question, “How do you do that?”
1.
Demonstration speeches
show and tell how to do a process or how to use an item.
a.
First, think through all the stages or steps and arrange them in order using the
principle of division.
b.
Second, work on the content of the speech.
c.
Planning visual support is also important.
d.
Timing is essential; the process must be presented in the allotted time frame.
1)
For lengthy processes, supplement a demonstration with a how–to handout.
2)
Or prepare several versions of the item, each at a different stage of completion.
2.
Instructions give tips or guidelines for subjects like conflict resolution or the listening
process.
B.
Descriptions answer the question, “What is it like?”
1.
You can describe an object, place, or event to someone else using the principles of
division or classification.
2.
Listeners are generally more interested in topics close to their daily lives.
3.
Describing places involves providing vivid, precise imagery and visual aids.
4. Describing objects is common.
5. Descriptions of events or occurrences often use chronological or topical patterns.
C.
In a report, speakers tell what they have learned about a person or subject.
1.
Reports about people are generally organized in a chronological, topical, or narrative
pattern; linking the person to the audience’s interests is important.
2.
Reports about issues often present information about current subjects that impact the
lives of individuals or the society as a whole.
a.
This speech is like an investigative report.
b.
Many patterns work well, including pro-con, cause-effect, and problem-solution.
D.
Think of explaining concepts or expository speeches as the “speech to teach.”
1.
Speeches of definition answer the questions, “What is it?” or “What does it mean?”
a.
They are common in educational and workplace settings.
b.
These speeches often have two parts:
1)
The denotative meaning explains the dictionary meaning.
2)
The connotative meaning uses realistic life experiences to clarify and elucidate
the idea.
2.
Explanations or translation speeches put complex or information-dense concepts into
more easily understood words and images.
a.
Break complex concepts into component parts.
b.
Define terminology and avoid technical jargon.
c.
Use analogies to compare the concept to something listeners already understand.
d.
Use detailed examples of concrete situations when possible.
III.
Several guidelines make informative speeches more interesting and understandable.
A.
Do an obstacle analysis of the audience; identify what they might find difficult to understand.
B.
Organize materials carefully; build in transitions and other structures that help listeners link
ideas; use discourse consistency, a repetitive style, to help listeners identify and connect ideas.
C.
Personalize material by helping listeners see the connection between the topic and their lives.
D.
Compare what the audience already knows and then move to the unknown.
E.
Choose vocabulary that clarifies, rather than obscures, the ideas.
F.
Build in repetition and redundancy.
1.
Repetition is saying the same thing more than once.
2.
Redundancy is repeating the same idea in different ways.
G.
Strive to be interesting.
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Suggested Videos
The Chinese Valentine’s Day Speech Show the video of the speech outlined at the chapter’s end.
•
Ask questions like these: What do you think the audience already knew about the topic? Did
the speaker do a good job of analyzing the audience’s level of knowledge? Are all the
elements of the introduction and conclusion included? Are they effective? What could
improve? What organizational pattern is used? What other patterns might work, given the
topic? Are the main points clear? Does the speaker use adequate supporting material? What
might she or he add? Subtract? Is the speech interesting?
•
This speech presents information about a Chinese holiday. Have students discuss how well
the speaker analyzed and adapted to the audience’s need to know.
•
Discuss how well the speaker followed the guidelines for informative speaking presented in
the text? (comprehension, analysis, evaluation)
Student Speeches: Choose a student speech from MindTap or the instructor’s resource website.
Use the suggestions given above to guide student discussion.
Television Clips Tape examples of a variety of informative presentations. For demonstrations and
instructions, tape sections of programs that feature cooking, craft, room makeovers, building
projects, etc., found on cable channels like TLC (the Learning Channel), Home & Garden TV
(HGTV), and the Food Network; demonstrations of watercolor and oil painting techniques are
common on daytime public broadcasting channels.
•
Discuss the preparation steps for speeches that demonstrate or provide instructions (pp. 276-
278).
•
Play the clip; have students look for each preparation step.
•
Have them assess effectiveness. Was the project doable for the average viewer? (analysis,
evaluation)
For descriptions, look for shows on the History Channel, the Travel Channel (places), or the
Discovery Channel or Learning Channel (objects, occurrences).
•
Discuss the elements of good descriptive speeches.
•
Show the clip; look for memorable, vivid images and for connections to the audience.
•
Discuss adjustments they must make when they must create word pictures. (For example,
let’s say the topic is the Taj Mahal. What word pictures can they create to describe it?)
For reports, look on the History Channel (reports about people) and on news channels or C-SPAN
(reports about issues). Follow a similar procedure. (comprehension, application, evaluation)
For explanations, tape segments from the Learning Channel or from public broadcast courses.
•
Review the guidelines for speeches about concepts (pp. 201-210).
•
Review the section on comprehensive listening in Chapter 4.
•
Play two clips showing two teachers; have students take notes on each.
•
Compare and contrast the presentations. Evaluate the effectiveness of each speech to teach.
(application, analysis, evaluation)
Discussion Topics
The Importance of Information Globally (p. 201) Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty online
(www.rferl.org) monitors countries that restrict access to the Internet—usually by forcing citizens
to subscribe to a state-run Internet Service Provider (ISP). Several countries are “real enemies of
this new means of communication.” Some totally prevent citizens from Internet access. Others
control one or several ISPs, installing filters blocking access to unsuitable web sites or forcing
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users to officially register with the authorities. For more information on Radio Free Europe, link
to “Historical Account of RFE/RL.” (comprehension)
Ethics in Practice: The Right to Information (p. 207) Ask students to read the feature, and, working
in groups, to answer the discussion questions that follow.
Types of Informative Speeches (pp. 201-210) Use clips from television shows as described in
Suggested Videos. (application, analysis, evaluation)
Informative Speaking in Africa Direct students to conduct a google search for “Rebecca Lolosoli,” a
Kenyan woman who leads an all-female village of ostracized women, girls running from forced
marriages, and so on. Lolosoli speaks truth to power. (application)
Guidelines for Informative Speaking (pp. 210-211) Show sample speeches and have students
evaluate how well the student followed the guidelines presented here. (analysis, application)
Critical Thinking Exercises
(See p. 212 of the textbook for Critical Thinking Exercises)
Application Exercises
(See pp. 212-213 of the textbook for Application Exercises)
Internet Activities
You can access instructor’s resources at http://www.cengage.com/us/. You will need your instructor’s
access code. Students and instructors may also go to MindTap to find a broad range of resources that
will help students better understand the material in the chapter, complete assignments, and succeed
on tests. MindTap also features speech videos with critical viewing questions, speech outlines, and
transcripts.
Supplemental Resources
•
Teaching Idea 15.1: Informative Speeches on Communication Topics
Teaching Idea 15.1: Informative Speeches on Communication Topics
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Purpose: To increase students’ knowledge of the field of communication by having them do research
and present an informative speech about a communication topic.
Procedure: Introduce students to the various areas of communication. Bring to class your college or
university’s catalog or a list of department offerings; also, bring some sample textbooks from various
sub-disciplines like gender communication or nonverbal communication.
1.
Use the course catalog or a list of department offerings to introduce various sub-disciplines
within the communication field. Read aloud some course titles and write them on the board. For
example, department offerings often include: “Interpersonal Communication,” “Public
Relations,” “Gender Communication,” “Nonverbal Communication,” “Intercultural
Communication,” “Organizational Communication,” and “Mass Media and Popular Culture.”
2.
Then list some possible topics from each sub-discipline. (Or duplicate and distribute the topic
handout that follows.)
2.
Show students how they can use communication textbooks both to find and to develop a topic.
Use a textbook, say from interpersonal communication. (Most professors or departments
receive many unsolicited texts from publishing representatives every year.) Direct students to
the table of contents, and read aloud some of the possible subjects—Johari’s Window,
confirmation or disconfirmation, or friendships, for example. Then turn to the section within
the text that discusses the subject.
•
A topic like Johari’s Window is suitable for a classroom speech, because it provides a
diagram, and the topic is narrowed enough for a student to present in a relatively short
period of time. Topics such as stages of relationships or types of family are already broken
into subtopics which can become the main points of a speech. Students sometimes work on
a subject together; one does stages of relationship build up; another does stages leading to
termination.
4.
Make the sample textbooks available to students to use in their research. I often keep a
bookshelf outside my office and put the texts there, along with a sign out sheet. Another
possibility is to put the books on reserve in the library.
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Handout
Potential Communication Topics
Below you’ll find some sub–disciplines within the broader area of communication studies. Each is followed by a
number of possible topics. Select one of these topics, or find another communication topic of your choosing.
Interpersonal Communication
Stages of relationship development Effective listening
Listening styles Friendships
Response styles Johari’s Window
Intercultural Communication
Barriers to intercultural communication Ethnocentrism
Learning a second language Intercultural friendships
Cultural patterns Intercultural competence
High- and low-context cultural patterns Hofstede’s cultural patterns
Nonverbal Communication
Classifications of touch (types and functions) Olfactory communication (smells)
How we use space and/or territory Eye contact
Dress for success Time as a communication system
Facial expressions Body language (gestures)
Gender Communication
Differences between men’s and women’s speech Gender in other cultures
Nonverbal differences between men and women Sexual harassment
Men’s friendships and women’s friendships Stereotypes of men (or of women)
Family Communication
Disciplining children Sibling communication
The family life cycle Blended families
Characteristics of effective family communication Family types
Mass Media
Research about television violence Media in other countries
Models of mass media communication Six media revolutions
Oprah Winfrey (or another famous personality) Talk radio
Censorship The Oscars
Small Group/Organizational Communication
Communication climates How to write a resume
Handling conflict Interviews: Types of questions
Group roles (task, maintenance, or blocker roles) Types of interviews
Phases of group development Types of public relations work