Informative – The Teaching Speech

The purpose of the informative speech is to share knowledge.

An informative speech gives, rather than asks or takes.

Different types of informative speech:

1. A demonstration speech – shows the audience how to do something, or how something works.
For example: how to make cinnamon rolls, play guitar, or swing dance.
2. A descriptive speech – helps the audience form a clear idea about something “real” for example:
History, Art or Science.
3. An explanatory speech – helps the audience understand something more abstract. For example:
concepts, ideas, and philosophies.

Visual Aids – can help immensely in building understanding and allows visual/kinesetic learners to
connect more powerfully with the speech. Some basic rules of visual aids:

1. Must be visible – watch size, distance from audience, glare etc.

2. Must be neat – sloppy visual aids are worse than nothing. They reduce credibility.
3. Must be purposeful – choose visual aids because they enhance understanding. Do not just have
something for the sake of having something.
4. Will compete with you for the audience’s attention – so cover till ready to use and then, cover
again when not needed. Do not use handouts until the end of the speech. At any given time 80% of
audience will be reading handout, and not listening to you. Do not give handouts to the audience
because this guarantees that at some point every single audience member will tune you out.
5. Practice with your visual aids. Murphy’s Law applies triple to visual aids, practice with them so
you know what they will do, and you can compensate.
6. Speak to the audience, not to the visual aids.

Speech design – here are some possible ways you can organize your speech. Remember, a logical
organizational pattern helps the audience better understand and remember.

1. Spatial – describe a place or locate a topic within some physical arrangement. Proceed
systematically in a logical sequence – take the listener on a journey. For example: history of
western migration, world, national or local.
2. Historical – like spatial, but situates the topic in time; for example: past, present, future or 1700’s,
1800’s or 1900’s.
3. Categorical – some things fall naturally into categories. Use no more than 3 to 5 categories. For
example: income tax, property or sales. Begin and end with the most important category. The first
should grab audience’s attention and the last provide climax.
4. Comparison/Contrast – helps better understand something unknown by comparing it to
something known; for example: rugby versus football.
5. Sequential – steps in a process you are describing. Works especially well for demonstration
speeches, but can be used for any speeches. Present steps in order that they naturally occur; for
example: pick a pumpkin, get a sharp knife, clean and cut off the top and carve a face into the
pumpkin.
6. Causation – explain the topic in terms of cause and effect. Good for speeches that seek to answer
the question “why?” For example: carbon emissions and global warming.