Real Communication An Introduction

444 Part 4  Public Speaking

Demonstration speeches answer “how” questions—how to use a Roku, how

to bake a pie crust, how to salsa dance—by showing an audience the way

something works. In this case, Peggy used a combination of explanatory narra-

tion and physical demonstration to show how she whips up baked apple pork

chops, pear and gorgonzola salad, and chocolate hazelnut quesadillas as easily

as we make grilled cheese, all the while making use of props, models, and other

visual aids.

The key to delivering an effective demonstration speech is to begin with a

clear statement of purpose and to follow a very straightforward organizational

pattern. In most cases, a chronological pattern works best for a demonstration,

with the process broken down into a number of steps that are presented in order

of completion. The following steps in the process of decorative painting tech-

niques illustrate a demonstration speech in chronological order. You can imagine

the speaker showing each of the three methods.

To demonstrate how to liven up a room with faux paint, you can use

three popular types of decorative wall painting: color washing, sponging on,

and ragging off.

Color washing hides flaws in the wall and gives it a textured look.

First, paint your wall a base color. Next, with short strokes, brush

one or more glaze colors loosely over the contrasting base color (show

photographs).

The sponging-on technique gives the wall depth and texture with a

variable pattern. Apply two or more coats of paint—satin, flat, semigloss, or

gloss—on your wall. After the base coat dries, apply a glaze coat using a sea

sponge (show sea sponge and photograph).

Ragging off gives the wall a delicate, evenly textured appearance. Apply

two base coats of two colors. While the second color is still wet, use a clean

dry rag wrapped around a paint roller, and roll it across the wall (demon-

strate technique).^2

Definition

Most informative speeches require that the speaker define a term or clarify

an idea at some point (see “Clarifying Concepts” in the next section for more

discussion). For some topics, however, the entire speech is focused on defini-

tions. The main goal of definitional speeches is to provide answers to “what”

questions. Such questions as “What is torture?” and “What is marriage?” have

prompted heated debate in the halls of Congress (and elsewhere) in recent years,

making it clear that an entire speech could easily be devoted to defining such

complex ideas. When you define something, you identify its essential qualities

and meaning. Following are various ways to do this, and a definitional speech

often incorporates more than one of these techniques.

(^2) We thank Daniel Bernard and Cory Cunningham and their students for contributing
the examples featured in this discussion.
CONNECT
When offering definitions,
competent speakers
remember that words have
connotative meanings—
emotional meanings—for
people (Chapter 3). Con-
sider the words marriage
and torture. Even if you
offer clear dictionary
definitions of these terms,
your audience may have
strong attitudes about
them that are influenced by
their cultural backgrounds.
As an informative speaker,
you should be aware of
the power of connotative
meanings while not trying
to persuade people to feel
differently about terms.