Real Communication An Introduction

434

After you have finished

reading this chapter,

you will be able to

Describe the goals of

informative speaking

List and describe each

of the eight categories of

informative speeches

Outline the four major

approaches to

informative speeches

Employ strategies to

make your audience

hungry for information

Structure your speech to

make it easy to listen to

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chapter

outcomes

ike Neil deGrasse Tyson, the best informative speakers share information,

teach us something new, or help us understand an idea. Clearly, Tyson has

a talent for informative presentations. He knows how to analyze his audience

members and tailor his presentations to engage them quickly. He organizes his

information clearly and efficiently so that listeners can learn it with ease. And he

presents information in an honest and ethical manner. In this chapter, we’ll take

a look at how you can use these same techniques to deliver competent informa-

tive speeches in any situation.

The Goals of Informative Speaking

As you’ll recall from Chapter 12, the purpose of informative speaking is to

increase the audience’s understanding or knowledge; put more simply, the

objective is for your audience to learn something. But to be a truly effective

informative speaker, your presentation must not only fill your listeners’ infor-

mational needs but also do so with respect for their opinions, backgrounds, and

experiences. In addition, you want to be objective, focusing on informing (not

persuading) your audience, and ethical. In this section, we examine these goals

and investigate ways that you can ensure that your speech remains true to them

at every phase of development and delivery.

Meeting the Audience’s Informational Needs

Effective speakers engage their listeners because they have made the effort to

understand the needs of their audience members. In informative speaking, the

object is for your audience to learn something new, so you want to avoid deliver-

ing a long list of facts that are already common knowledge. Understanding your

listeners’ needs also involves choosing an appropriate topic and making that

topic relevant to your listeners. Let’s take a look at these points using “malware”

as an example.

c Gauge what the audience already knows. Estimating the knowledge level of

the audience helps determine where to begin, how much information to

share, and at what level of difficulty the audience can understand and still

maintain interest. If your goal is to inform an audience of fellow students

about malware, for instance, you might assume that they have some experi-

ence with annoying computer viruses but that they may not know how to

detect or remove malware from their own computers. In that case, your tasks

would involve describing the types of malware (like Trojan horse viruses,

adware, spyware, and so on), the functions of malware (for hackers), steps to

prevent malware from disrupting their lives, and what to do if their comput-

ers are affected.

c Decide on an appropriate approach to the topic. Involving your listeners

through the appropriate use of language and presentation aids gives them

the impression that you have fine-tuned the speech just for them. You might

present the story of the 2012 security breach at the City College of San

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