463REAL REFERENCE A Study Tool
Describe the goals of informative speaking:
c Use informative speaking to teach the audience
something new (p. 434).
c Gauge what the audience already knows to
determine where to begin (p. 434).
c Find an approach that will engage the audience
(p. 434).
c Explain the subject’s relevance to the audience
(pp. 434–435).
c Present facts and information in an objective, even-
handed way, unlike in a persuasive speech, which is
subjective and presents a point of view (p. 435).
c Speak ethically (pp. 435–436).List and describe each of the eight categories of
informative speeches:
c People: focus on human qualities as well as achieve-
ments (p. 437).
c Places: find new aspects of known places or
describe the unfamiliar (pp. 437–438).
c Objects and phenomena: focus on any nonhuman
topic (p. 438).
c Events: describe noteworthy events in history or
relate a personal experience (pp. 438–439).
c Processes: show how something works or teach
how to do something (p. 440).
c Concepts: explain an abstract idea (p. 440).
c Issues: remain objective to report on a social or
personal problem (pp. 440–441).
c Plans and policies: describe the important dimen-
sions of potential courses of action (p. 441).
Outline the four major approaches to informative
speeches:
c The descriptive presentation paints a mental
picture, portraying places, events, persons, objects,
or processes (p. 442).c Demonstration speeches combine explanatory nar-
ration and physical demonstration (pp. 442–444).
c There are five categories of definitional speeches:
an operational definition defines something by
explaining what it is or what it does; definition by
negation defines something by telling what it is
not; definition by example offers concrete
examples; definition by synonym defines some-
thing with closely related words; definition by
etymology explains the origin of a word or phrase
(pp. 444–445).
c Explanatory speeches answer the question
“Why?” with elucidating explanations, with
quasi-scientific explanations or models, or with
transformative explanations that change precon-
ceptions (pp. 445–447).Employ strategies to make your audience hungry for
information:
c Make listeners curious by personalizing the topic and
contrasting it to what they know (pp. 447–448).
c Present a clear benefit to learning about the topic
(p. 448).
c Stress the topic’s relevance (p. 448).
Structure your speech to make it easy to listen to:
c Devise a clear, logical structure (pp. 449–450).
c Signal your audience when you’re about to say
something important (p. 450).
c Keep it simple (p. 450).
c Relate new ideas to familiar ideas (pp. 452–453).
c Define terms your audience may not know
(p. 453).
c Select interesting examples (pp. 453–454).
c Use strong presentation aids (p. 454).Now that you have finished reading this chapter, you can✁