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Chapter 16
Informative Speaking
CHAPTER OUTCOMES
• Explain the functions and specific purposes of informative speeches
• Examine the key differences between informative and persuasive speaking
• Describe the four major types of informative speeches
• Learn the guidelines for preparing informative speeches
CHAPTER OUTLINE
WHAT IS INFORMATIVE SPEAKING?
Anytime you want to help an audience better understand a topic, you are speaking to inform.
As a student, many of the course lectures you attend (in person and online) fall into this
category. But informative presentations happen in other places—like meetings at work, “how-
• Informative speeches educate your audience about a topic, demonstrate how something
works, tell stories about events or people, or explain similarities and differences between
things or ideas.
• The first step is to think about how you’ll adapt the talk to your audience. This includes
determining your speech’s function and its specific purpose and knowing how informative
speeches differ from persuasive ones.
FUNCTIONS OF INFORMATIVE SPEECHES
• Informative presentations serve one of two functions:
2. Provide an in-depth explanation of a topic.
• The function of your speech will depend on what you discover about your listeners’
information needs during your audience analysis. Understanding your listeners’ prior
knowledge about the topic and other characteristics about them will help you determine
your specific purpose.
SPECIFIC PURPOSES FOR INFORMATIVE SPEECHES
• After determining the information needs of your audience, it’s time to write out your
specific purpose statement, one complete sentence that summarizes your goal for the speech
that will help you narrow your topic and keep you focused as you research and compose
your speech and form the basis of your speech thesis.
INFORMATIVE VERSUS PERSUASIVE SPEAKING
• When you’re developing your specific purpose statement, it can be easy to confuse
informative speaking with persuasive speaking. Although both types of speeches are
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developed using the five steps in speech preparation, there are important differences
between the two:
○ Informative and persuasive speaking have different goals.
▪ When informing an audience, you want your listeners to understand the topic better.
▪ When persuading an audience, your goal is to reinforce or change your listeners’
○ When preparing an informative talk, you must keep a neutral point of view as you
investigate and compose your presentation. Maintaining a neutral stance when you’re
speaking informatively can be challenging, especially if your presentation is going to
cover an issue that you feel strongly about.
○ Avoid making motivational appeals to your listeners’ emotions. Connect with your
audience by using interesting supporting materials; keep reminding yourself that your
purpose is to inform, not persuade.
• Informative and persuasive presentations have two clear similarities:
○ When you’re speaking to inform, you thoroughly investigate your topic and present the
TYPES OF INFORMATIVE SPEECHES
When determining your topic and specific purpose for an informative speech, you should also
consider an additional aspect: your approach. Not all informative presentations work in the
same way. Sometimes you may want to explain something or demonstrate how it works. Other
times, you’ll share a story about an event or draw comparisons between things.
• There are various ways of making an informative presentation. Knowing what these are can
EXPOSITORY PRESENTATIONS
• In an expository presentation, you define a term, explain a concept, or describe an object
or a place to your audience.
○ A topical pattern is the most common way expository presentations are organized.
○ Use clear, straightforward language. For a technical subject that’s unfamiliar to your
audience, don’t use a lot of specialized vocabulary or acronyms.
PROCESS OR DEMONSTRATION PRESENTATIONS
• In process or demonstration presentations you will either explain how something works
or show your audience how to do something. Because processes and activities take place
over time, a chronological pattern is often the best organizational structure for this type of
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○ Avoid moving too quickly through each step. Slow down the pace of your delivery by
using internal summaries. This type of repetition also supports your listeners’ ability to
remember the information later.
NARRATIVE PRESENTATIONS
• Narrative presentations are when you describe an event or tell a story about a person. The
best narrative presentations tell a good story that captures and holds listeners’ interest and
attention. A chronological pattern of organization usually works best for this kind of speech
because it enables you to lay out a sequence of events. For the most effective narrative
presentations
COMPARISON/CONTRAST PRESENTATIONS
• Comparison/Contrast presentations are speeches that present the similarities and
differences between ideas, things, events, or people. A topical pattern of organization works
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well for most comparison/contrast speeches because it helps you focus on how the features
or characteristics of the things you’re comparing are similar and different. For the most
effective narrative presentations:
• Start by identifying what you’ll be comparing or contrasting.
GUIDELINES FOR INFORMATIVE SPEAKING
The type of informative speech you prepare is determined by the situation, your specific
purpose, and the information needs of the audience. Although the type may vary, there are
CHOOSE A TOPIC YOU CARE ABOUT
• Picking a topic you care about keeps you motivated as you prepare your speech. It also
helps you come across as more animated and passionate in your speech delivery.
CAPTURE—AND HOLD—YOUR LISTENERS’ ATTENTION
• Capture attention by relating your message to your audience’s own needs and interests
rather than messages they may consider unimportant. Create messages that connect with
your listeners’ interests:
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○ Start with a compelling introduction to your speech.
○ Explain how your audience will benefit from the information you’re about to share.
USE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE
• Use an oral language style to make your informative presentation more engaging.
• This language style creates a sense of immediacy with your audience, helps them quickly
MAKE YOUR SPEECH UNDERSTANDABLE
HELP YOUR AUDIENCE REMEMBER YOUR MESSAGE
• Many things can interfere with an audience’s ability to pay attention to and retain the
information you share with them. To help your audience pay attention and remember your
message, try the following strategies:
○ Organize your ideas. When you show listeners how ideas go together, they’ll be more
likely to remember them. Using connectives in your speech can further help your
audience see how your main points are related.
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○ Limit your main points. They are the key statements or principles that support the speech
thesis. As you prepare your informative speech, try to limit your main points to between
three and five. Too many more, and the audience might have trouble following and
remembering your line of thinking.
CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Of the four types of informative speeches discussed in your textbook, which one do
you think would be the easiest for you to prepare and present, and which would be
the hardest? Explain your answer.
• Discuss the four types of informative speeches with your class and explain that each
student will feel more comfortable with different types. Encourage them to consider
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2. Discuss the differences between an informative speech and a persuasive speech. Why
is it important to understand this difference?
• Have students share their answers and discuss them. Many students have a difficult
time with the distinction between the two. To further explore this concept, ask students
3. Of the four techniques listed in your textbook to help your audience remember the
information in an informative speech, which technique do you think would be most
effective? Why?
• Allow students to share their answers and then discuss how important it is to use as
4. Why do think it is important to choose a speech topic you care about? List two
examples of topics that you care about and think would make good speeches.
• Discuss with students the importance of bringing passion and emotion into their
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5. Explain the two functions of an informative speech. Give an example of a topic for
each.
• Have students share their examples of topics and then discuss the importance of
VIDEO SCENARIOS
HOW TO COMMUNICATE: RESPONDING TO AUDIENCE QUESTIONS
This video feature shows students competent communication skills in action based on the
scenario following. The first video illustrates an ideal outcome, whereas the What if?
challenges prompt them to apply their own skills to times when their communication partner is
more difficult. To access the videos, go to macmillanhighered.com/choicesconnections2e.
Assign students to watch the videos and answer the questions before class, and then they can
1. Have a few questions prepared. To deal with any awkward silence when you open for
questions, have a few questions ready to ask (and answer) yourself to get things started.
Taking this first step can encourage a quiet audience to open up.
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2. Actively listen to questions. Repeat questions to ensure you understand them, and for the
3. Involve your audience. Make eye contact with the person asking the question, but
4. Be brief and complete with your answers. Look for opportunities to refer back to key
points in your speech. If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so.
5. Stick to a time limit. Give the audience your contact information in case they want to
follow up with additional questions. Have a prepared closing remark that ends the
question-and-answer period on a positive note.
You might say, “That’s all the time we have. Let me close by saying what a pleasure it has
been. . . .”
Instructor Note: Online, students will be asked a multiple-choice question after the first
video. For Chapter 16, it’s the following:
Why does the speaker make eye contact with the entire audience—not just the person who
made the inquiry—when answering questions?
A. To convey immediacy*
B. To maintain power over the audience
Wrong answer: Incorrect. When answering questions from the audience, you still want to
convey immediacy with all listeners by maintaining eye contact, which will keep them
WHAT IF?
This section challenges students to adapt their skills and communication plans when things
don’t work out as shown previously. Students will view two videos. In each video, the
encounter becomes challenging, and students must choose how they would respond based on
the open-ended question.
1. When a listener takes over and keeps asking questions, how would you handle it? For
example, the listener says, “I also want to ask if you need some kind of legal permission
to post a video. Also, what if I get a store’s name in the scene? Or what about . . . ?”
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2. How can you respond competently when an audience member questions the sources cited
during your speech, such as “You said there’s ‘research’ that predicts which videos are
likely to go viral, right?”
You might say, “I understand that it sounds unbelievable, but I do have copies of the
research to support this claim. If you like, I will be happy to email you a copy. Just see me
after the talk, and I’ll take your email address.”
• Discuss with students the importance of always being prepared and able to support
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. DIY Demonstration Presentation
1. Select an episode of a DIY-type television show. Examples can be found on Netflix,
the DIY, HGTV, and Food Network channels.
2. Show an episode of the DIY show to the class, and then ask students to identify the
following:
a. Did the speaker provide enough information in each step?
b. Could they easily identify the steps as they were being made?
c. Did the speaker use any visual aids? If so, were they effective?
2. Host a Story Slam
Goal: To give students an opportunity to improve their narrative presentation skills
Time: 60 minutes
1. Select a theme for your story slam. I suggest visiting The Moth Web site at
http://themoth.org/ to review previous themes and find one that your students would
find interesting.
2. In advance of your selected story slam date, give students the theme of the story slam
and assign writing the story as homework. In addition, ask students to visit The Moth
4. Take a silent vote to determine who wins the story slam, or bring in guest judges for
3. There’s a Fine Line
Goal: To help students understand the differences between informative and persuasive
speeches
Time: 25 minutes
1. Select a transcript of three or four clearly persuasive speeches and make several
copies of each.
3. Explain that each group needs to construct an informative speech using the
4. Have each group present their “new” speech or simply discuss the changes each
group decided to make and have them read excerpts as examples.
4. Informative Speech Oscars
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Goal: To help students recognize the components of an effective informative speech
Time: 60 minutes
2. Explain that each group has 20 minutes to find the video of a person giving an
informative speech online that they would like to nominate for an Oscar.
4. Once all videos have been viewed, have students vote on the Oscar winner. Discuss
why they chose this particular speech as the winner.
5. You Grade It!
Goal: To help students understand the criteria that will be used to judge their informative
speeches
Time: 30 minutes
2. Select three examples of informative speeches. I would not suggest selecting
professional or famous speeches.
4. Discuss the results and identify how they can use this form to help them prepare their
informative speeches.
MEDIA RESOURCES
1. The History Place: Great Speeches Collection
2. Ellen DeGeneres at Tulane’s 2009 Commencement Speech
Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres’s 9-minute commencement speech at
Tulane University provides a great example of how effective and inspirational a speech
3. Bill Gates Talks About Africa at Stanford
Philanthropist and former chief executive of Microsoft, Bill Gates, discusses his
4. Awesome Stories
The Awesome Stories Web site has an extensive collection of videos of narratives with
5. Pamela Meyer: “How to Spot a Liar”
Author Pamela Meyer’s 19-minute informative speech on ways to spot deception and