The goal of informative speaking is to teach an audience something using objective factual information.
Being a successful informative speaker starts with choosing a topic that can engage and educate the audience. We are giving a formal informative speech.
Formal informative speeches occur when an audience has assembled specifically to hear what you have to say. Being invited to speak to a group during a professional meeting, a civic gathering, or a celebration gala brings with it high expectations. Only people who have accomplished or achieved much are asked to serve as keynote speakers, and they usually speak about these experiences.
Informative speeches can emerge from a range of categories, which include objects, people, events, processes, concepts, and issues.
Subjects of informative speaking at the vocational level usually relate to a speaker’s professional experience or expertise.
A broad informative speech topic could be tailored to fit any of these categories. As you draft your specific purpose and thesis statements, think about which category or categories will help you achieve your speech goals, and then use it or them to guide your research. Table 11.1 “Sample Informative Speech Topics by Category” includes an example of how a broad informative subject area like renewable energy can be adapted to each category as well as additional sample topics.
Table 11.1 Sample Informative Speech Topics by Category
| Category | Renewable Energy Example | Other Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Objects | Biomass gasifier | Tarot cards, star-nosed moles, Enterprise 1701-D |
| People | Al Gore | Jennifer Lopez, Bayard Rustin, the Amish |
| Concepts | Sustainability | Machismo, intuition, Wa (social harmony) |
| Events | Earth Day | Pi Day, Take Back the Night, 2012 presidential election |
| Processes | Converting wind to energy | Scrapbooking, animal hybridization, Academy Awards voting |
| Issues | Nuclear safety | Cruise ship safety, identity theft, social networking and privacy |
Speeches about objects convey information about any nonhuman material things. Mechanical objects, animals, plants, and fictional objects are all suitable topics of investigation. Given that this is such a broad category, strive to pick an object that your audience may not be familiar with or highlight novel relevant and interesting facts about a familiar object.
Speeches about people focus on real or fictional individuals who are living or dead. These speeches require in-depth biographical research; an encyclopedia entry is not sufficient. Introduce a new person to the audience or share little-known or surprising information about a person we already know. Although we may already be familiar with the accomplishments of historical figures and leaders, audiences often enjoy learning the “personal side” of their lives.
Speeches about concepts are less concrete than speeches about objects or people, as they focus on ideas or notions that may be abstract or multifaceted. A concept can be familiar to us, like equality, or could literally be a foreign concept like qi (or chi), which is the Chinese conception of the energy that flows through our bodies. Use the strategies discussed in this book for making content relevant and proxemic to your audience to help make abstract concepts more concrete.
Speeches about events focus on past occasions or ongoing occurrences. A particular day in history, an annual observation, or a seldom occurring event can each serve as interesting informative topics. As with speeches about people, it’s important to provide a backstory for the event, but avoid rehashing commonly known information.
Informative speeches about processes provide a step-by-step account of a procedure or natural occurrence. Speakers may walk an audience through, or demonstrate, a series of actions that take place to complete a procedure, such as making homemade cheese. Speakers can also present information about naturally occurring processes like cell division or fermentation.
Informative speeches about processes provide steps of a procedure, such as how to make homemade cheese.
Last, informative speeches about issues provide objective and balanced information about a disputed subject or a matter of concern for society. It is important that speakers view themselves as objective reporters rather than commentators to avoid tipping the balance of the speech from informative to persuasive. Rather than advocating for a particular position, the speaker should seek to teach or raise the awareness of the audience.
Choose a topic for your speech
