Chapter 15 Informative Speaking 437People
If there’s one subject that fascinates most people, it’s other people. That’s why
we might sneak a peek at In Touch Weekly or The National Enquirer when we’re
stuck in line at the grocery store (even if we’re not that interested in the latest
gossip about the Kardashian sisters). It’s why you don’t rush to end the conversa-
tion when your mother says, “You’ll never guess what happened to your cousin
Leah.” The life of another person can certainly make for an interesting informa-
tive speech topic. You might lean toward giving a speech about someone who
is famous (or infamous)—indeed, audiences are usually receptive to learning
about someone who is famous simply because they revere or worship celebrity
(Atkinson & Dougherty, 2006; Spitzberg & Cupach, 2008). On the other hand,
an obscure but interesting person, such as Dr. Catherine Hamlin (who provided
free medical care to young women in Ethiopia), can also be a great speech topic.
The key to giving a successful speech about another person is to focus on the
person’s human qualities as well as his or her achievements. In addition, you should
show not merely what these people did but also why and how they did it. In other
words, give your audience a real sense of who they are or were. To meet this goal,
your speech should include anecdotes, quotes, and stories that show the motiva-
tions behind their actions. Chapter 12 offers help in adding these speech supports.
Places
Like people, places can be interesting and compelling topics for an informative
speech. You might focus on an inspired description of a real but perhaps unfa-
miliar place (the surface of Mars, the Arctic tundra) or even a fictional one (The
Wall from Game of Thrones or the desert of Tatooine in Star Wars). Even a very
familiar place offers opportunities to provide audiences with some new informa-
tion. For example, you might investigate the oldest building on your campus or
in your town and detail some of its history in your speech. This will allow you
Your audience is an impor-
tant variable to consider
as you choose your topic.
Your goal in an informative
presentation is to meet the
audience’s informational
needs, so you must un-
derstand their knowledge
and interests. Before you
decide to inform your audi-
ence about backyard gar-
dening, solicit information
about your listeners using
the strategies in Chapter 12
(pp. 341–346). If you learn
that most of your audience
members live in apart-
ments, they probably won’t
care about gardening in a
backyard they don’t have.Your audience is animpoCONNECT
FROM LEGENDARY
movie stars to historic natural
disasters, you can develop
a compelling informative
speech on virtually anything
(or anyone!). (top left) Getty Images;
(top right) © Columbia Pictures/courtesy
Everett Collection; (bottom left) imago
stock&people/Newscom; (bottom right)
TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images