TYPES OF SPEECH ACCORDING TO PURPOSE

Deciding on the Purpose of Speech

Along with choosing the topic, you need to determine the general purpose
of your speech. Usually, it will fall into the following categories—to inform, to
persuade, to entertain, to stimulate, and to actuate.

A. Informative Speech

Types
There are many ways to classify informative speeches. Here, we focus on
the four kinds of informative speeches you are most likely to give to your
speech class. (1) speeches about objects; (2) speeches about processes; (3)
speeches about events; and (4) speeches about concepts.

1. Speeches about Objects. As the word is used here, "objects" include

anything that is visible, tangible, and stable in form. Objects may have
moving parts or be alive; they may include places, structures, animals, even
people.

Examples:
The Ruins of Vigan, the Underground River, the Bible, the Internet, cell
phones, the human brain, fax machines, the West Philippine Sea, Miss
Universe 2015, Leonardo da Vinci.

You will not have time to tell your classmate everything about any of these
subjects. Instead, you will choose a specific purpose that focuses on one
aspect of your subject. The following are examples of good specific purpose
statements for informative speeches:

To inform my audience what to look for when buying a cell phone.

To inform my audience of the major achievements of Leonardo da Vinci.

To inform my audience of the worldwide telecast of Miss Universe 2015.

To inform my audience about the anatomy of human brain.

To inform my audience of the major features of the Ruins of Vigan/the

Underground River in Palawan.
 2. Speeches about Processes. Explaining a process explains how something
is done. The purpose is to describe a method or operation so that the
intended audience will understand what is done, what is carried out by man,
by a machine, or by nature.

Explaining a process carried out by man:

How steel is made up from iron, how glass how diamonds are mined.

Explaining a process carried out by machines include:

How a clock works, how a Xerox copier works, how a gasoline engine
operates.

Explaining a process carried out by nature includes:

How sound waves are transmitted, how rust is formed, how food is digested,
how earthquake happens.

To inform my audience of the basic steps in the practice of Yoga.

To inform my audience of the common methods used by stage magicians to

perform their tricks.

To inform my audience how paper money is made and coins are minted.

To inform my audience how plywood is made.

3. Speeches about Events. Dictionary defines event as anything that happens

or regarded as happening. By this definition, the following are examples of
suitable subjects for informative speeches about events:

The Edsa Revolution

Pinatubo erruption

Euthanasia

Gay marriage

Aldubnation

Yolanda
 Storm

Mamasapano Massacre

Leukemia

Visit of Pope Francis

To inform my audience of the three major causes of stock market crash.

To inform my audience of Edsa Bloodless Revolution in 1985.

To inform my audience why so many lives were lost when the "unsinkable"
ocean liner, Titanic, sank.

To inform my audience of the major kinds of sleep related disorder.

4. Speeches about Concepts. Concepts include beliefs, theories, ideas,

principles, and the like. They are more (ESP) conservatism, existentialism,
confucianism, abstract than objects, processes, or events. The following are
some examples: utopianism, extrasensory perception communism, theories of
evolution, feminism, Taoism.

Examples:

To inform my audience about the psychological concept of self-actualization.

To inform my audience about the major principles of feminism.

To inform my audience about the basic concepts of astrology.

To inform my audience about the arguments for and against joint custody of
children in the event of legal separation/divorce.