chapter 14

Speaking to Inform
The McGraw-Hill Companies © 2009 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Informative Speech

Designed to convey
knowledge, understanding

What are the purposes of

informative speech?
The McGraw-Hill Companies © 2009 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.
Informative Speeches
• Objects
• Processes
• Events
• Concepts

The McGraw-Hill Companies © 2009 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.

Speech About Object

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.

The McGraw-Hill Companies © 2009 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.

Speech About Process
A
• process is a systematic series of
actions that leads to a specific result
or product. Speeches about processes
explain how something is made, how
something is done, or how something
works

The McGraw-Hill Companies © 2009 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.

 Speech About Event

The author means event as

“anything that happens or
is regarded as happening.”

The McGraw-Hill Companies © 2009 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.

Speech About Concept

Concepts include beliefs, theories, ideas,

principles, and the like. They are
more abstract than objects, processes, or
events.

The McGraw-Hill Companies © 2009 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.

Informative Speech Guidelines

• Don’t overestimate what

audience knows
• Relate subject directly
to audience

The McGraw-Hill Companies © 2009 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.

Informative Speech Guidelines

• Don’t be too technical

• Avoid abstractions
• Personalize ideas
• Be Creative

The McGraw-Hill Companies © 2009 Stephen E. Lucas. All rights reserved.

 Task for Quiz
1. Speech on describing ‘X’ Event- 300
words max
2. Speech on describing ‘Z’ Process- 300
words max