Public Speaking

Chapter

15

This ChapTer Will

help You

• Analyze your audi-
ence’s knowledge
of your subject

• Create several
types of informative
speeches, including
demonstrations
and instructions,
descriptions, reports,
and explanations

• Follow guidelines that
make your informative
speeches more
effective

OBVIOUSLY, THE WORLD is awash in information, and vast amounts of data

are cheaply and quickly distributed globally. Most people are happy to have

information distributed through so many channels, but are we better informed

as a result?^1 Think about it. How much of the information you hear affects you

personally? What’s vital to know, and what’s trivial? What information helps

you live better, and what’s simply interesting or distracting? It’s easy to feel

overwhelmed unless someone relates the material to our lives and helps us

integrate new information with old. Then we can make sense of our world and

use our knowledge to make wise decisions.^2

Informative speakers can fulfill an important cultural role by sorting through

facts and data to create speeches that help audiences know more or understand

a subject better. Here are a few examples:

Review the

chapter

Learning

Objectives

and Start

with a quick

warm-up

activity.

Informative Speaking

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