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50 Interesting Informative Speech Topics for College

26 September, 2020

15 minutes read

Author:  Mathieu Johnson

Informative speeches grant speakers a responsible mission of educating people about significant ideas and themes. They’re also about sharing thoughts and opinions on this or that topic, aimed at expanding understanding and providing listeners with relevant insights for further deliberation. Therefore, it’s a particular type of speeches given to put things into sharp focus and offer food for thought. Read up to know which informative speech topics have the most impact.

What is an informative speech?

As mentioned above, it’s a kind of speech that, well, informs the audience about your topic. Sounds simple enough, but simplicity is deceptive, and there are enough secrets behind this science. Specifically, not all people are fully aware of the fact that the “what” question is a key element that needs to be answered, for with informative speeches, you want to choose a topic most likely to be well received.

Of course, you can speak about something you already know, but you can also talk about the topic which is absolutely new to you. In this case, however, you must make sure that the theme will be relatively easy to research and studied before speech delivery. Another important point worth noticing is that organizational requirements and type of information for informative speech usually intertwines with those for an informative essay, for the latter is often an extension of the first.

How to write an informative speech?

So, now it’s time to move from theory to practice and write an informative speech. But where do you start from?

Although there are many different processes involved in the process, we’ll narrow them to essentials to help you better grasp the idea of how a perfect speech should be tailored.

Stage 1. Research and Brainstorming

Think about the topic.

The first and most crucial step is about choosing the right topic. We’ve mentioned before that it’s vital to select the issue you feel free to talk about. However, there are also cases when professors assign a specific task for you. Either way, the point here is to conduct thorough research based on the given or chosen topic.

If you want to explain the history of some company, band or event, for example, make sure to deliver the message clearly, without going here and there. For this, consider talking about particular points which will cover the whole speech and help the audience quickly digest it. Otherwise, your speech will depart from the topic, and listeners will find it challenging to follow your thoughts.

Gather Evidence

Every scholarly work proves its credibility by the inclusion of relevant sources to show both the audience and the instructor that you’ve put enough effort into the work to sound authoritative. This is a great chance to get a good mark, but more importantly, earn trust from listeners. To cite the evidence correctly, you can search for some facts, stats, or numbers in a variety of sources. These include textbooks, books, and encyclopedias (online ones work as well), scholarly articles, reputable news bureaus, and government documents. If these are hard to find for you, think of alternatives, like online journals and magazines. But be careful and don’t use sources from there if they are not credible and reputable. As an example, use The New York Times, The Guardian, Harvard Business Review, SAJE journals, Forbes, etc.

Also, keep in mind that the evidence you’ll use should depend on the subject of your talk. If it’s about science, check scientific publications. If it’s about medicine – embark upon texts on this specific sphere. Finally, don’t forget to create a works cited page at the end of your speech and put all your sources there. Even if your instructor does not specify such a requirement, create a list anyways. This will help you keep references organized, and you will be able to pick a suitable one from the list.

Generate a Nice Thesis

A thesis is the core of impactful speech that tells listeners about its focal points. It also reveals the purpose of your speech and provides the audience with an insight into what the speech is all about. Notably, your thesis should not exceed the length of one-two sentences and be as precise as possible. More so, thesis, like the speech itself, is not about convincing people to take your topic stance immediately. Rather, it’s about informing listeners about significant events or cases which they could analyze and make relevant conclusions themselves. No need to push them or force to change the perspective, just try to be genuine and honest with people you’re talking to. Considering that it’s a scholarly piece of work, there’s no room for appealing to emotions or subjective claims. So in informative speeches, objectivity is the key player.

Informative speech outline

The outline is a skeleton of your speech that briefly explains each of your points. This is basically a list of short sentences which reveal the meaning of your main speech ideas. Remember that this list is not for the audience; it’s for your own use. So the task here is to write about every point in a way you’ll understand. You can also use notecards instead of paper so that it’ll be much easier for you not to get lost in a sea of ideas and organize the speech properly. Tip: include numbers and capital letters for headings, and bullet points or other figures to mark subheadings.

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Stage 2. Writing

Once the sketches are ready and you have a clear understanding of what to speak about, move on straight to writing.

Craft an Engaging Intro

What does engaging stand for in this case? It denotes some speech elements which will be enticing for listeners from the first sentence. It’s a common practice to start speeches with different hooks to call for more people’s attention. There are a plethora of techniques you can use to make an unforgettable first impression: jokes, anecdotes, examples from personal life, interesting statistics, rhetorical questions, quotes of famous people. You can even invent your own attention-grabber which will help you knock down listeners.

Give More Detail in the Main Body

Once you managed to create impact by the introduction and made sure everyone will be eager to listen to you further, you need to expand the explanation of key speech ideas in a well-structured, organized manner. Like in regular life, you start a story from the beginning to the end, while gradually moving from one idea to another. The same goes for informative speech – you need to ensure that the flow of your narration is logical and concise, fully elaborated, and precise. Also, don’t forget about making transitions between sentences. They will make your speech flow naturally, helping the audience to process the information much easier and effortlessly.

Wrap Everything Up in Conclusion

The ending of your informative speech should restate the main idea and the thesis you’ve mentioned in the introduction. There’s no need to say new things that will only confuse your audience. Instead, all the conclusion needs is a nice wrapping of the already stated claims.

So basically you want to review your main points and thereby deliver listeners a message which they will perceive as a major takeaway from what you’ve just told them. However, the introductory part should by no means repeat previous information word by word. It’s just a short restatement that covers up the main points.

Proofread and Edit the Final Version

Once the text is written entirely, it’s a must for you to double check it to avoid possible mistakes. If your informative speech turns out not as informative as expected due to grammatical or lexical errors, you’ll not be taken seriously, which we bet is not the purpose of delivering your talk. So, to prevent casualties from happening, you’ll need to use reliable editing and proofreading tools. Grammarly is an excellent source for this. Its accurate algorithm detects all kinds of mistakes and fixes them on the fly in a matter of seconds. And you can also check the text for plagiarism to make sure that it has no analogs anywhere on the web.

Stage 3. Perfecting Speech Delivery

Memorize your speech.

Half work is done – you have a writing piece. Now it’s time to learn it. Of course, it’ll take you time to do this, but with a little patience and enough time, you can memorize it even faster than expected. Besides, it’s not recommended to learn the speech from A to Z, inside out and upside down by heart. If your instructor is indulgent enough, feel free to memorize your talk in a way that allows you to explain your ideas clearly and consistently. To facilitate the process of learning, you can memorize sentence by sentence until you’re confident. And even if you forget something during delivery, you can always count on the outline that’ll give you a hint on what to talk about next.

Practice Reading Speech Aloud

When the final product is finally ready and polished, you need to concentrate on reading it.

Practice the speech in a mirror, to a friend/relative/pet, or record yourself to trace the tone and intonation. This way, you’ll make sure that your informative speech is brilliant and you deliver it just the way you wanted. Besides, this practice can help you critically evaluate the flaws and correct them before the actual delivery. Have enough time for this, because even experienced speakers always rehearse their speeches. Finally, focus on the way you use gestures, the way you stand and look at the audience, and facial expressions.

List of informative speech topics

There are lots of easy informative speech topics to choose from, but we offer you to review our topics list with some of the most alluring ones to get you started. Let’s examine pro informative topics that’ll help you write a memorable speech.

Topics for informative speech about music

• Frank Sinatra – a beloved father of music
• The drastic evolution of french music
• Deep house – the most popular music style among youngsters
• Why did rock and roll became an epitome of popular dance music
• Why does reggae music most known under the name of Bob Marley
• The psychological and physical benefits of listening to music
• Chill, lounge and electronica has market the era of progressive sound
• The impact of rap music on society at large
• The art of playing the violin
• The evolution of jazz music and its connection to historical movements

Informative speech topics about animals

• Why are so many animals under extinction today and how do we fix it?
• Why dogs are considered as humans best friend?
• The history and evolution of polar bears
• Why does rhinos horn trimming in South Africa still allowed
• How to properly raise chinchillas
• The most dangerous types of dogs on the planet
• Staggering intellectual abilities of elephants baffle even scientists
• How to keep snakes away and save your life
• Different types of butterflies
• The history of bees and their role in the world

Topics for informative speech about global warming

• Patterns in climate change: rising temperatures and flooding
• What Effects does Climate Change have on the Earth and its Inhabitants?
• What are the practical solutions to global warming
• What is global warming and what causes it?
• The future of global warming: dismal predictions and statistics
• Controversial opinions about global warming
• The greenhouse effect as the top one reason of climate change
• The global issue of global warming: what’s next?
• Humans are responsible for the emergence and progress of global warming
• Sanctions against generation of greenhouses: will they ever take place?

Informative speech ideas about sports

• How sports improve human physical and psychological health
• Is golf the game of the past?
• The real life of sport teams: from trainings to furious games
• Can roller skating be considered a kind of sport?
• What’s more dangerous: white water rafting or ice diving?
• The history of sports: whom do we owe respect?
• Hockey 101: gear, playing techniques, team spirit
• Why is boxing the most dangerous type of sports
• The most unusual kinds of sports humans have invented
• The importance and potential threat of football for the world 

Interesting speech topics about food and drinks

• How to bake a cake and not put on weight
• Why does alcohol bring so much trouble to contemporary youth?
• There are no superfoods, the study shows
• Does fast food really cause addiction?
• The secret ingredient of Coca Cola and why you’ll never want to drink it again
• If the fruit diet useful for health?
• Why bananas can save the world
• Eating vegetables and olive oil is a golden ticket to rejuvenation
• What’s the difference between natural and processed foods?
• Why eating pizza is the worst way to get away with cooking

As you can see from the list of topics for speeches, informative speech is a perfect occasion to explore interesting themes in depth and share your knowledge with people who are most likely to learn new things with you. Discovering a variety of topics and writing them on paper is perhaps the most engaging task your instructor has ever assigned you. And if you find it challenging to come with the right idea for a good topic, just send a “ write my speech ” request, and we’ll complete your order in no time.

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A List of 272 Informative Speech Topics: Pick Only Awesome Ideas! [2023]

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Informative speaking is a speech on a completely new issue. Tell your audience something they never knew!

Now that you know what informative speaking is, check out our great informative essay topics list – here you’ll find plenty of great ideas and issues to talk about! For more variety, try using a topic picker , in case nothing on our list caught your attention.

And remember to check your speech draft for vocabulary and grammar mistakes.

• 🔝 Top 10 Topics
• 👨⚕️ Healthcare and Medicine
• 🎼 Topics about Music
• 🤔 Psychology & Mental Health
• 🖥️ Topics for Presentations
• ℹ️ Other Informative Topics
• 📃 Thesis Statement Samples

🗣️ How to Choose an Informative Speech Topic

• ✏️ Frequent Questions

🔝 Top 10 Informative Speech Topics 2023

• Foster care system in the US
• Lunar New Year in different countries
• Social media impact on trends
• What are seasonal strategies?
• Winter and Summer Olympics cost difference
• Disadvantages of student loans
• Carbon footprint of cryptocurrency
• Difference between affirmation and meditation
• Are beauty pageants exploitive?
• How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the tourism industry?

👨‍⚕️ Health Informative Speech Topics

• The impact of sport on mental health
• Technology contribution to healthcare
• Benefits of healthy eating
• Side effects of paracetamol
• Can nasal spray be addictive?
• Is herbal medicine efficient?
• The importance of first aid
• What are the risks of using pain relievers?
• Can chronic diseases be cured?
• How harmful are antibiotics?
• Lifestyle diseases : learning to avoid unhealthy behaviors
• Evidence-based medicine: achieving measurable outcomes with medical interventions
• Medical trials: why vaccines take ten years to develop
• How do natural medicines become drugs?
• Antibiotics: what they can and cannot cure
• Can pain medication do more harm than good?
• Palliative care: when all medicine can do is relieve suffering
• Explain the health issues that develop with age
• Research how one’s immune system develops
• Demonstrate the principles of personal and environmental hygiene
• The variety of healthy lifestyle choices : it is time to take care of yourself
• The connection between health and happiness : playing the “glad” game
• Modern health care: new issues, approaches, and technologies
• Mental hygiene: taking proper care of your brain
• Healthy eating vs. eating disorders: what causes anorexia and bulimia and how to fight both
• Healthy habits and how to acquire them: be careful what you eat
• Healthy child development: new trends and theories
• Germs: health risks related to the lack of hygiene. Discuss the most common adverse outcomes of poor sanitation and what disorders it can cause.
• Natural remedies for cold and cough: safe for adults and children. Focus on common products used to treat cold: honey, herbal tea, chicken soup, etc.
• Birth control: types of emergency contraception. Talk about various forms of emergency contraception and its influence on the reproductive system.
• Practice daily kindness to improve your psychological well-being: developing a grateful approach toward others. Explain how gratefulness and acceptance build compassion and enhance our perception of the world.

• Dehydration : the role of water in our lives. The speech will help the audience understand why fresh water is crucial for our health and emphasize the importance of staying well-hydrated.
• Older adults and depression : symptoms, risks, and prevention. Discuss what symptoms (e.g., mood swings, irritation) indicate a potential depression and how they can be handled (through conversations, counseling, etc.).
• Chronic neck and back pain : what actions should be taken and when you need to see your doctor. Consider using your speech to present different types of neck and back pain and prove that prolonged pain almost always requires professional treatment.
• Heatstroke: first aid, potential risks, and outcomes. Elaborate why heatstrokes are dangerous and how they can affect movement and coordination if untreated.

You’ll find more essay ideas in our health-related topics list .

🎼 Informative Speech Topics about Music

• Is music therapy effective for ASD?
• The effect of classical music on the brain
• How has music technology evolved?
• How does music separate generations?
• 4 elements of musical theatre
• Why does music affect our mood?
• How does cultural context define a music genre?
• Why do movies have background music?
• Health benefits of playing musical instruments
• The similarities in traditional music around the world
• Assess the importance of music in cinema
• From Strauss to nu-metal: tracing the unexpected origins of a genre
• When music is not “musical”: talk about deliberately dissonant or chaotic works
• In what ways does a song change when translated for a different culture?
• Timeless classics: discuss how a composition can hold up for centuries
• Discuss how the electric guitar evolved from lyre
• How is a child’s development affected by listening to music or playing an instrument?
• Discuss songs that function as political statements
• Explore how a subculture can form around a musical genre
• In what ways are songs and art in general affected by copyright laws?
• Musical instruments and character peculiarities: melancholics prefer violins
• The role of music in society : a means to spur creativity or calm people down?
• Music therapy and its effects : another panacea for humankind
• Music as a mixture of art and industry: 21 st century pop culture
• Musical theater as the most unforgettable experience: something you never knew
• The most notable person in music history : changing the world in a moment
• Tendencies in musical genre development in the 21 st century
• Musical expression: definition and the modern interpretation
• The influence of music on infants’ psychological response. Center you discourse around the use of classical and modern music during pregnancy.
• Everybody hurts: how listening to sad music can enhance mood. Present different examples from the media that illustrate why sad music is helpful to our well-being.
• Music, musicians, and brain plasticity. Use recent research on brain plasticity to discuss why early musical training can be beneficial.
• Music is not just entertainment but also a tool for empowerment. Discuss how punk and other genres became tools of self-expression for marginalized groups.

• Prolonged exposure to music via earphones can cause tinnitus and other adverse effects : a speech topic for students. Using various examples, explain how earphones affect hearing acuity in adolescents and adults.
• Getting scientific: what EEG tells us about our brains during music listening. Explain what EEG is and present research that uses it to study human perception of music .
• Music for stroke or brain trauma rehabilitation. With the help of media and research, illustrate how music used in patients undergoing recovery after stroke.
• Classics, pop, and metal: how different types of music affect our mood. Elaborate whether the stereotype about “angry metalheads” is true; don’t forget to discuss pop as a “girly genre” as well.

You can also check out our music essay topics list for more ideas.

🤔 Psychology & Mental Health Informative Speech Topics

• Reliability of personality tests
• How can one learn empathy?
• The mechanisms of social cognition
• Dreams as a way of self-discovery
• The concept of persona and shadow
• Observation as a mental process
• Role of genetics in developing ADHD
• The difference between stress and anxiety
• Why is group therapy effective for depression?
• Cultural differences of nonverbal communication
• Discuss intrinsic vs. external motivation. What makes people do the things they do?
• Why are some things harder to turn into a habit?
• Present the factors affecting the development of one’s personality
• Discuss the biological processes influencing one’s psyche
• What makes some people resist even positive changes?
• Describe how the first impression forms and what influences it
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): its causes and treatments
• What makes it difficult to escape abusive relationships?
• Do opposites really attract? What qualities do people find attractive in others?
• How does positive stress (eustress) help people grow?
• The Mandela effect: explore the phenomenon of several people misremembering objects or events
• Review the qualities that make strong leaders . Are these qualities innate or acquired?
• Explore the motivations behind pathological greed and hoarding disorders
• Discuss the adverse effects of prolonged stress on one’s mental health
• Determine the role of one’s appearance during a job interview
• How does trust form between individuals? Why can it be difficult to regain once it’s been lost?
• Discuss how phobias develop and we can treat and manage them
• Examine the causes and effects of peer pressure. Argue whether it needs to be prevented.
• Assess the effectiveness of group therapy programs
• Explore the sunk cost fallacy. Why can people be irrational in choosing not to abandon failing plans or endeavors?
• Systems that classify personality types . In this speech, you can explain the history of such theories ranging from the four humors to Myers-Briggs personality types. Elaborate on their strengths, weaknesses, and applicability.
• Douglas McGregor’s theories of human motivation. Explain what they mean and how they have come to affect practical management. Argue their validity and applicability in different situations
• Learned helplessness: a psychological effect common to victims of abuse. In this demonstrative speech, you can explain the nature of the phenomenon. How is it acquired? What means of treatment are available? Elaborate on how it can affect one’s life.
• Explore the psychology of perfectionism . How can this motivation lead to adverse outcomes?
• Why are mean people popular? What psychological factors draw people to those who offend and alienate others? Explore the possible evolutionary or biological reasons for this attraction.
• Examine the techniques companies use to make people buy their products. Discuss how it reflects in shop environments, pricing, etc.
• The phenomenon of an online persona. People tend to act in different ways when interacting in-person and online. Describe the psychological reasons for this discrepancy. Focus on how people can respond differently to similar behaviors. How can it lead to misunderstandings? How damaging can these misunderstandings be?
• Emotional and rational decisions. In this speech, discuss how the two can lead to different choices in the same situation. Can we create conditions that encourage one or the other kind of decision? Elaborate on the ethical issues with such manipulation.
• The psychology of attention . Present how objects capture and retain one’s attention. Elaborate on how this knowledge is used for manipulation.
• How altruism affects one’s behavior. In this persuasive speech, explain how cultures encouraged or discouraged selflessness. Discuss the way animals can act altruistically. In conclusion, present how such actions shaped human history.

Don’t forget to check out our list of psychology and communication topics !

🖥️ Informative Presentation Topics

• Cut-up technique in poetry
• The Chinese tea ceremony
• An easy mindfulness technique
• Prevention of California wildfires
• COVID restrictions around the world
• Charter schools: controversies
• Phosphates and water quality
• Wonder Woman as a feminist icon
• Light pollution in the US
• The stages of a business cycle
• Impressive buildings from antiquity to modern day
• Ethics in robotics: self-driving vehicles and robots
• Explore how elements of the military organization are applied in business
• Discuss the social and economic consequences of automation
• Health benefits of yoga and similar practices
• Explain how you can be environmentally conscious in your day-to-day life
• Present the current plans to create an undersea infrastructure. What benefits would this have? What challenges must be overcome?
• Discuss the positive and negative effects of criminalizing an activity
• Review the issues of working across national and cultural borders
• The emerging space tourism industry and its perspectives
• Speak about the healthy balance of diet and exercise
• Explore the use of statistics and analysis in political decision-making
• What are the challenges in translating or adapting poetry?
• News neutrality: discuss the issues with biased or partisan reporting
• Discuss why some countries choose to import foods instead of producing their own
• Examine the dangers of exposing personal information online . What can you do to avoid it?
• Explain the process of launching a vehicle to Earth’s orbit
• How is water reclaimed and purified? Why is access to clean water so important?
• What are the perspectives of augmented reality in learning applications?
• Discuss the applications of remote-controlled technology in a field of your choice
• Medical basics: pathogens. In this informative speech, explain the differences between the common types of pathogens. Focus on critical differences in diagnosis and treatment, as well as common misconceptions.
• The Space Race. Speak about the competitive space exploration by the Soviet Union and the US in the mid-20th century. Elaborate on the major events and their political and scientific consequences. You can also demonstrate the technologies that found use in daily life.
• The air we breathe. Discuss the composition of the air and the elements we need to live. Focus on the effects of pollutants and the breathing mixtures used by divers or astronauts.
• The Christmas truce. In this speech, describe the Christmas truce of 1914, when World War I soldiers left their trenches to exchange greetings and celebrate the holiday with their enemies. Determine the cultural and political significance of this event.
• Service animals. In what ways do animals, besides dogs, help people in various tasks? Discuss both current and historical use of animals. Elaborate on the training and selection, as well as the ethical aspects.
• Public transit vs. personal transport. Compare and contrast these two options. Elaborate on the city planning techniques required to encourage one or the other option.
• City beautification . What’s the role of parks, recreational areas, and monuments in city planning? Focus on their less apparent benefits. Argue for or against preserving natural green spaces within cities.
• The space business. How do individual entrepreneurs turn space exploration into private businesses? Demonstrate the advances made by private space companies. Explain the main legal and ethical issues of private spaceflight.
• Space debris. Assess the danger posed by debris left behind by previous space missions. Demonstrate the measures taken to reduce the accumulation of debris. What are the plans to reduce it in the future?
• Green energy . Discuss the perspectives of environmentally-friendly sources of power. Focus on the current plans for implementing renewable energy sources.

An informative presentation is like a speech with visuals. That’s why it makes sense to choose topics that you can illustrate with graphs and pictures. You can find more ideas in our presentation topics list.

ℹ️ Informative Speech Topics: Other Ideas

Informative speech topics on food and nutrition.

In case you’re looking for essay topics and ideas concerning nutrition , there are plenty of wonderful speeches for you to choose:

• Do superfoods live up to their name? Explore misconceptions about the new trend
• Free, added, and natural sugars: what’s the difference?
• Flavor enhancers: more than MSG. How do they affect nutrition?
• What basic principles do you need to consider when choosing a diet?
• Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins: what they are and what they do
• What do we need vitamins and minerals for?
• How do ethical food choices affect one’s body and the environment?
• Explain how one should eat to be healthy
• Discuss the importance of each daily meal, such as breakfast and dinner
• Explore the nutritional basis behind a traditional cuisine of your choice
• The most exotic food ever: a snapshot of world culture
• Food additives , their effects, and threats: be careful what you eat
• Food chains: mechanisms, efficiency, and revenue
• Providing food security : learning what meals consist of
• Food habits in different countries : learning the peculiarities of etiquette
• Food and nutrition: differences and similarities
• Food resources in impoverished countries: solving the problem
• Steak vs. Salad: how we should reach balance in the daily food intake. Discuss the pros and cons of vegetarian dieting or too frequent consumption of meat.
• Junk food: advantages, risks, and relation to obesity. Talk about the influence of junk food, soda drinks, and sweets on the epidemic of obesity in the USA .
• How corporations shape our food preferences. Explain why branding and marketing are important for shaping our perception of food value.
• Undereating and overeating: how children and adults acquire eating disorders and what needs to be done to overcome them. Using research, discuss the prevalence of bulimia and anorexia in different demographic groups.

• Cereals and soda: our favorite food can directly contribute to unstoppable obesity epidemic. In this speech, you can focus on the current obesity epidemic in the USA and explain how junk food affects our food preferences and health.
• Mediterranean diet : advantages and disadvantages . Prepare a short speech about the Mediterranean diet, its history, and research.
• Going green : how climate change affects food supply and global hunger. During this speech, you should talk to your audience about food shortages and famine caused by natural disasters.
• Food allergies : types, causes, and actions to prevent adverse effects. Indicate different types of food allergies and outline their outcomes on individual health.

By the way, you can easily turn these speech ideas into informative essay writing topics!

A List of Informative Speech Topics: Teaching and Education Issues

In case you’re looking for a couple of informative topics for a presentation on an educational issue , consider the following suggestions:

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• Standardization in education: are equal programs and guidelines for everyone worthwhile?
• How do you make changing schools easier?
• Inverted classroom methodology: can pre-recorded lectures improve education?
• Enumerate the developmental milestones associated with early childhood
• Discuss how making students engaged influences their learning outcomes
• Learn a new language early: how does a child benefit from it?
• Pursuing further education after college: benefits and drawbacks
• Describe the pros and cons of self-education
• Studying abroad: what do you gain from it?
• Discuss what important subjects are omitted from a standard curriculum
• Education in America vs. education in Europe: differences and similarities
• What makes education important: in praise of literacy
• Education and unemployment: the reasonability of studying
• The difference between education and personality development
• Education helps reach the career goals … and shapes them
• Technological advances in promoting a better quality of education
• Current issues in education and the means to solve them
• Education for groups of ESL speakers: challenges and solutions
• Education and poverty: how poverty influences children’s health, performance, and social skills. Using the examples of poor districts and communities, discuss the performance and mental illness of students from these areas.
• Inclusive education: current breakthroughs and challenges . Elaborate on new inclusion techniques that help students with disabilities. Use the examples of the USA and Canada.
• The use of project-based learning to improve student’s performance. Focus your speech on classroom projects and their ability to enhance social skills of students .
• Common Core standards : a 5-minute speech about goals and objectives. Provide a short lecture about the most known CC standards and how local teachers achieve the goals presented there.

• Humorous education: how a good sense of humor can affect the learning environment. Using the examples from professional literature, make a short presentation about teachers who base their instructions and lessons on jokes and wit.
• We are all different, but equal: diversity in education. Explain how students from different ethnic backgrounds affect others’ perception of their culture and what teachers can do to help them.
• Online learning : a science topic about web-based education. Talk about online testing and the gamification of the learning experience.
• Testing is not scary: standard and creative assessment methods for your class . Explain how testing should be modified to improve student’s performance and self-perception.

With these informative speech topics, you’ll always be on top!

Cultural Informative Speech Topics for Students

Culture is an exciting, multi-faceted concept that includes language, art, and customs. There’s so much to explore! Choose one of these interesting topics for your informative speech on culture:

• The challenges of translating literature into different languages
• Describe how culture has changed since the internet made it easier for individuals to contribute
• How a culture develops in small groups, e.g., an office
• Explore the customs of immigrant or expatriate communities
• What things do different cultures interpret in opposite ways?
• Discuss how a nation’s views on certain foods have changed through history
• Speak about the role of pets or livestock in a culture of your choice
• Online culture: does it qualify as a separate culture?
• Explore the agricultural roots behind modern holidays
• Collectivism vs. individualism : how do the civilizations centered on these values differ?
• Discuss the hero’s journey phenomenon as described in J. Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces
• Explain the value of traveling to discover other cultures
• Discuss the coincidental similarities found in otherwise unrelated cultures
• Describe cases when a text is improved by translation
• Demonstrate the interaction between informal speech and language in general
• Transgressions: the cultural mechanism for controlling undesired behavior
• The value of comedy, satire, or parody
• Generational strife: how do individuals respond to culture changing around them?
• Explore the role of dance in the world’s cultures
• Cultural exchange. Discuss things that Americans could learn from other countries. Can you give examples of such exchanges happening in the past?
• Science fiction : the new philosophy. Examine how this genre has evolved into discussing philosophical and ethical issues. Focus on writers such as Philip K. Dick and Isaac Asimov
• Dystopian fiction and political critique. Explore how the dystopian genre critiques ideologies and political structures. Can such texts influence political discourse?
• A heroic figure in history. How do heroes reflect and inform contemporary cultural ideals? Show examples of the hero changing as cultural values shift.
• Modern heroes. Discuss how the contemporary age gave rise to new heroic figures. What values do real and fictional heroic figures embody?
• Lost in adaptation. The same story can be presented in various visual ways. In this speech, discuss how it can change from its original inception to different adaptations. What traits are critical for a story to remain recognizable? Which of them are unique to adaptations in a particular format?
• Culture and technology. Discuss how they influence and shape one another. How did technological innovations alter cultures? In what ways can cultural changes direct the development of new technology?
• Superheroes as modern myths. In this speech, critically examine ancient mythical figures and pop culture’s superheroes . Compare them, noting the similarities and differences.
• How do subcultures form? In this speech, explain the reasons behind the development of subcultures . Then, discuss how subcultures interact with the mainstream and influence it.
• Culture and oppression. Research historical precedents where culture was shaped by attempts to suppress or curtail it. Did these changes originate from subversive texts or other works of art? How did it influence the dominant culture?
• Culture of poverty . People living in poverty in developed countries have been noted to gravitate towards certain behaviors called “culture of poverty.” In this speech, discuss this phenomenon and suggest ways of counteracting it.

Informative Speech Topics: Fun and Easy

Do you want a light-hearted or entertaining topic for your informative speech? Then this section is for you!

• How documentaries affect the perception of historical events
• Explore the history of one sport of your choice
• Discuss popular films that fictionalize or dramatize real-life events
• Determine the psychological reasons why people are drawn to dangerous sports
• Assess the appeal of grand competitions such as the Olympics
• Present the graffiti preserved since AD 79. In what ways are they similar to modern graffiti?
• What are the best unconventional ways of coping with stress ? Review the methods ranging from shouting into a bag to gallows humor.
• What effects do have social networks have on people’s relationships?
• Discuss historical events and figures turned into folklore
• Speak about the representation of mythical creatures in modern media
• The history of cars and the recent developments in their construction
• Outline the current advances in prosthetics technology. What do they enable people to do?
• Discuss tricks used by marketers, such as prices ending in .99
• Review computer programs that play chess and other games. How do they contribute to the research of artificial intelligence and algorithms?
• Describe what makes a song catchy, memorable, and successful
• Assess the challenges of constructing tall buildings
• Rotoscoping: how did it influence the animation industry?
• Discuss inventive ancient solutions to issues in designing buildings, e.g., ventilation
• Present the concept and potential applications of general AI
• The health benefits of hiking or traveling long distances by foot
• From tragedy to comedy. Explore the subject of tone in writing or presentation. In this demonstrative speech, you can show how a minor change can turn a tragic scene into a comedic one.
• Drinking around the world. Discuss the role of alcoholic beverages in the world’s cultures. Focus on customs and rituals associated with the consumption of alcohol.
• Petty competitions. Speak about the lengths people go to compete over a generally insignificant achievement. Mention almanacs like the Guinness World Records. What psychological or social reasons drive people to compete for these records?
• Talking animals. What animals can be taught to mimic human speech? You can discuss whether this constitutes actual communication or just mimicry.
• Expanded fictional universes . Review how subsequent works from other creators expand and develop imaginary worlds. Elaborate on the cultural and artistic influences of this phenomenon. What legal issues are involved in creating a work based on a pre-existing idea?
• Computers in media. Computers have become an element of daily life, yet the media still portrays them as almost magical. In this speech, discuss the common misconceptions that artistic works perpetuate in their presentation of computers and information technology .
• Pets and comfort animals. Explore the importance of pets for one’s mental well-being. Describe situations where animal companionship is prescribed to help with mental health issues. Mention some of the less common comfort animals.
• Pop musicians and their image. Focus on artists who try to shock their audience with their outrageous clothing designs or stage acts. Or, choose the artists who are successful despite their image.
• Charity and volunteer work: pros and cons. Research small groups that were able to cause significant changes. Elaborate on the dangers involved in these activities. Give examples of charities being involved in fraud.
• Working remotely. How did the ability to work remotely change the workplace? Explore the benefits and difficulties of working from home, as well as the challenges of managing a team of employees who don’t share one office space.

📃 Thesis Samples for Informative Speeches

When writing a speech, you’ll need a thesis. It’s one of the most important elements of any text, so take a glance at the thesis statement examples below:

Thesis Statement #1

Because of the increasing impact that the R&B and Indie genres have on the audience, it can be suggested that the main tendency of 21 st century music is going to be a cross between the two.

Just 13.00 10.40/page , and you can get an custom-written academic paper according to your instructions

Thesis Statement #2

Despite the abundance of information concerning the threat of environmental pollution, it is not pollution but a lack of resources that is likely to threaten humankind.

Finally, check out this example of an introduction with a thesis statement:

[…] In the 21 st century, there is hardly a single sci-fi idea that has not been turned into reality yet. Even a seemingly impossible concept of invisibility was finally put into practice. However, despite the numerous achievements of humankind, the ability to turn people or things transparent is but a dream. Nevertheless, with the help of recent developments, the dream is likely to turn into reality in the near future.

The first issue that needs clarifying is the difference between invisibility and transparency. […]

Congratulations – now you’re ready to write the informative speech of your dreams!

Do you find presenting a speech in front of a live audience too challenging? Or perhaps you’re struggling to choose the topic for your informative presentation? Are you looking for interesting and informative speech or presentation ideas to impress your audience?

Here are some helpful tips.

• Think of what topic would be interesting to your target audience. When you are trying to find a topic for an informative speech, think of yourself as a teacher who will instruct the audience about something they don’t know. The informative speech topic should be new and relevant to your audience. In this way, you can be sure that your audience will listen carefully and learn from the information you deliver.
• Choose an informative speech topic you are interested in. It should be something you really care about so that you can convey your enthusiasm to your audience.
• A good idea is to choose a topic that you know a lot about. You will not have to do much research, and the informative speech writing process will be much easier.
• But the best choice of all? Select a topic that is totally new to you! You will need to read and research a lot to gather the necessary information, but you’ll learn a lot from the process.
• You will probably be given a small amount of time to deliver your speech, so avoid topics that are too complex. You will not have enough time to tackle all the relevant issues if your topic is too broad.

• After selecting your topic, brainstorm the subject of your informative speech presentation to be sure you know enough to deliver an impressive speech.
• Make sure there is plenty of material available for you to research. If there is not enough information on your topic, choose another one.
• Keep in mind the three P’s of success in informative speaking: perseverance, preparation, and practice.
• Another good P? Have a positive attitude when you’re delivering your speech!
• Some topics always provide good material for informative speaking, like history, medicine, health, education, law, and science.
• Get help from the internet. You can find many lists of interesting, informative speech topics on the web.

If you still feel that you lack the necessary skills to write a perfect informative essay, look for professional writing help online.

This might be interesting for you:

• Funny Informative Speech Topics and Ideas for Presentation
• Good Informative Speech Topics: How to Get Thunders of Applause
• Social Studies Topics for Your Research Project
• Best Science and Technology Essay Topics to Write About
• Satirical Essay Examples and Best Satire Essay Topics

✏️ Informative Speech Topics FAQ

To pick an appropriate speech topic, decide on the type of your speech first. The subject depends on whether it is a persuasive, informative, inspiring speech, etc. A good topic would correspond to the aim of the presentation. Moreover, it should fascinate you personally.

An informative speech aims to present some facts in a clear and interesting way. It might tell about a place, a person, sometimes even about yourself. To make sure that you have a coherent and structured speech, start with an outline.

A great introduction is crucial to capturing your listeners’ attention. Make sure to start off your presentation in a positive and upbeat manner. The best way to grab attention might be to begin with a (rhetoric) question. Another option is to tell a joke or an anecdote.

Your informative speech should be exciting to listen to. Naturally, it would be annoying to listen to something too specific and unfamiliar to your audience. So the best way to find an interesting topic is to think about the interests of your potential audience.

🔗 References

• The Most Popular TED Talks of All Time
• RAND Reports by Topic
• Brookings Research Topics
• Delivering an Informative Speech
• Informative Speech Sample
• The 31 Literary Devices You Must Know
• 5 Tips on How to Write a Speech Essay
• Rhetorical Situations
• 9 Tips to End a Speech With a Bang
• Preparing a Speech
• Health Topics: NIMH
• Diseases and Conditions: Mayo Clinic
• Health Topics: World Health Organization
• Human Nutrition: Encyclopedia Britannica
• Psychiatry and Mental Health Disorders: Medscape
• What Is Culture: Livescience
• Integrated Studies: Edutopia
• Education Topics: Gale
• How Psychologists Define Attention: Very Well Mind
• Marketing Psychology: 10 Revealing Principles of Human Behavior: HubSpot
• Music Research: NAMM Foundation
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• Share to Twitter
• Share to LinkedIn
• Share to email

Howdy! This is a kind of topic, but I need some guidance from an established blog. Is it tough to set up your own blog? I’m not very technical, but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about creating my own, but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any ideas or suggestions? Thanks

Innuendoes (Aleida)

Hello Joanna, It’s not tough to set up your own blog. You have 2 options here: 1) Easy option – Use any blogging platform – weebly.com, wordpress.com, blogger.com and many many more. 2) Less easy option – Buy hosting, set up everything yourself from scratch. You can read about the process on the Internet, for example here https://websitesetup.org/. Good luck with that, and thanks for stopping by!

Well, we all went to school as kids, and we remember listening to speeches was so boring. Maybe on this website, you could add some topics that perhaps you did as a kid. Or even maybe some questions that you think kids would be on the edge of there seats because they want you to keep talking. Like I am in elementary school, and I am looking at some of these topics, and they are really good I just don’t think they would catch the attention of grade 7 kids in my school. Maybe if you think about my topic, it will make you remember when you were in school. Thanks, Megan 🙂

Dear Megan,

Thank you for writing such useful feedback. Much appreciated for your suggestion. We will definitely take into account it while discussing our content topics.

Thanks again and all the best!

My Speech Class

Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

509 Informative Speech Ideas and Topics

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

How to Choose the Right Informative Topic

Half the battle of presenting a speech or writing an essay is choosing the right topic. Choosing a good informative speech topic or informative essay topic can keep your audience entertained, your reader interested, and your own work process more enjoyable. Here are a few tips to help you choose a topic:

Know your audience or reader: Your informative presentation – whether through speech or essay – should cover a subject not already well known to your audience, but still relevant to them. If you do choose a topic they’re familiar with, then present new and exciting information. Consider the age, knowledge level, and interests of your audience when preparing your informational speech or essay.

Consider your own interests: Think of your own passions and areas of expertise that you think people could benefit from learning more about. Choosing a topic you care about will help your speech or essay be better received. Your passion will keep them engaged and curious to learn more.

Consider length requirements : How much time are you allotted for your informative speech? What is the page requirement for your informative essay? You should be able to thoroughly cover the topic in the amount of time you are given. If you don’t think you have enough knowledge or personal interest to talk about illegal drug use among teens, saving money as a college student, or another informative topic for 20 minutes, you may need to consider a different subject.

The good news is that there are countless options available. Below are lists of informative topics for speeches and essays. Remember that, in order to choose the best informative topic for you, you need to consider your audience, your interests, and your time and length requirements. Then, customize the central idea to suit your situation.

Best 10 Informative Speech Topics

Don’t have time to read our full list of 500+ topic ideas? Here is our list of 10 best informative speech topics.

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• How to adopt a dog
• The history of motorcycles
• The best sales tactics
• The differences between male and female communication
• America’s fastest growing cities
• The importance of education for the economy
• Different stages of poverty
• How to cook vegetarian
• How to keep your skin looking young and wrinkle free
• The different types of poetry

List of Informative Speech Topics

• Communication
• Current Events
• Environment
• Food and Drink
• International Relations
• National Security

Relationships

• Supernatural
• Demonstration
• Easy / Simple
• Interesting
• Legislation
• Pop Culture

10 Animal Informative Speech Topics

• The role of cats throughout history.
• Caring for hermit crabs.
• What are the best pets?
• The lives of ants.
• The different types of tropical fish.
• The different exotic breeds of cats.
• How to raise rabbits.
• The beauty of wolves.
• How to adopt a dog.
• Raising pet snakes.

See this page for a full list of Speech Topics About Animals .

10 Automotive Informative Speech Topics

• Is it better to buy or lease a car?
• How to choose the right tires for your car.
• How to make your car run better.
• What to look for in a new car.
• How to change your car’s oil.
• Dirt bike riding safety tips.
• How to drive a stick shift.
• The history of motorcycles.
• How to change a flat tire.
• The best muscle cars.

14 Business Informative Speech Topics

• Taking your brand to the next level with three easy steps: promoting, advertising and marketing.
• How business owners’ personal characteristics impact their business.
• What is the impact of training and development on employee job performance?
• Leadership styles and their effects on employee productivity.
• Engaged employees result in high retention.
• Developing personal power in an organization.
• Impacts of incentives on employee performance.
• Psychological tactics in marketing.
• How to create a successful brand.
• The importance of accounting research.
• The benefits of enterprise resource planning.
• The benefits of multilevel marketing.
• The best sales tactics.
• How to nail the negotiation in your first meeting.

See this page for a full list of Informative Speech Topics for Business .

8 Communication Informative Speech Topics

• How deaf people talk with emotion.
• The differences between male and female communication.
• How to be a persuasive speaker.
• How to improve your conversation skills.
• Some simple conversation tips.
• What is neural linguistic programming (NLP)?
• Why smiles are contagious.
• How to manage communicative disorders.

4 Current Events Informative Speech Topics

• America’s fastest growing cities.
• The Occupy Wall Street movement.
• Poverty in New York City.
• What is the national happiness rate?

6 Economy Informative Speech Topics

• The history of taxes on carbon dioxide emissions.
• What would be the impact on economic growth if everyone produced their own food?
• The impact of progressive taxation on the provision of social services.
• Economic growth of the People’s Republic of China.
• The effects of price and demand of agricultural products.
• The importance of education for the economy.

10 Education Informative Speech Topics

• How EFL teachers can use the internet as a classroom aid.
• Should teachers and students be friends on social networks?
• Why is our education system only based on theory and not practical knowledge?
• Should students be permitted to eat during classes?
• The importance of formal education for building a successful career.
• The pros and cons of teaching students three languages in school.
• What materials work best in a sandbag for blocking floodwaters?
• Hypnosis: its misconceptions and common uses.
• Learning disabilities and their effects on learning in college.
• Are test scores a good indication of a school’s competency?

See this page for a full list of Informative Persuasive Speech Topics .

10 Environment Informative Speech Topics

• Should politicians bring more pollution to our country?
• What would happen if finite resources were not used wisely?
• Four main reasons for generating genetically modified crops.
• The effect of organic and inorganic fertilizer on maize.
• Are we going to lose the rainforest?
• The best ways to protect the environment.
• Commercial crops and their effect on the water table.
• The environmental impact of a meat based diet.
• Recycling helps mitigate the greenhouse effect.
• Why we should stop global warming.

See this page for a full list of Environmental Informative Speech Topics .

3 Ethics Informative Speech Topics

• Is it sometimes better to tell a lie than to tell the truth?
• Is tolerance the same as love?
• Is hunting morally acceptable?

10 Family Informative Speech Topics

• Adopted children should always have the option to see their biological parents.
• The impact of single parenting and its effects on children.
• The appropriate penalties for parental negligence.
• What it is like being the youngest of a family of 19 kids.
• The importance of the parent-child relationship.
• My father is my hero.
• How to pick a name for your children.
• Cases of domestic violence against men.
• The importance of family.
• The history of foster care.

See this page for a full list of Family Informative Speech Topics . We also have a page with Speech Topics for Kids .

18 Financial Informative Speech Topics

• How banks are getting paid twice for your mortgage.
• How to save money in college.
• How to build credit.
• How to save money on your income taxes.
• How to apply for a credit card.
• The basics of financial aid.
• The importance of saving money.
• How to recognize stock market trends.
• The process of buying a house.
• The basics of internet banking safety.
• The best investment strategies.
• How to live on $5 a day/ Eating well on $5 a day.
• Tips on how do deal with money problems.
• The history of our currency.
• How the US Dollar affects the Euro.
• Debt relief programs.
• Does China have a serious stock market?

9 Food and Drink Informative Speech Topics

• The difference between Gatorade and Powerade.
• How to cook a delicious dinner.
• How to grow your own food.
• The different types of coffee.
• How to cook vegetarian.
• How to make a cocktail.
• The best types of cheese.
• The best exotic fruits.
• How to make Chinese food.

See this page for a full list of Speech Topic Ideas On Food, Drink, and Cooking .

11 Fun Informative Speech Topics

• The history of Valentine’s Day, the celebrations in different cultures.
• Some laugh, but there are many courageous people who overcome stuttering.
• Funny Saint Patricks Day parades, pub decorating, Irish fun runs.
• Differences between apes and monkeys, monkeys in space programs, how they live in groups in the zoo.
• Your hand: what your signature, handwriting and your hand palm lines say about your character.
• Amphibian vehicles – search for information about those rare car-boat vehicles, and you have lots of fun informative speech topics to talk about!
• Cartoons in relation to our Freedom of Speech and Expression principles.
• Show the listeners to your public speaking speech some flags of unknown countries, ask them what nation you mean and explain colors and symbols.
• The extraterrestrial life stories and future theories from French author Jules Verne.
• Etiquette and manners, how to cope with special situations, how to behave at official ceremonies you see enough public speaking speeches spicing humor.
• Fashion styles and dress codes at parties and ceremonies.

See this page for a full list of Fun Informative Speech Topics .

5 Geography Informative Speech Topics

• The antipodes – Places on Earth which are diametrically opposite to each other.
• Cartography – How terrestrial globe spheres are crafted.
• Climatology – Patterns in climate change, like rising temperatures and flooding.
• Coasts – Types of coasts, deltas, sea cliffs and beaches.
• What does the continental drift theory mean in vulcanology?

See this page for a full list of Speech Topics On Geography .

9 Government Informative Speech Topics

• The role of accounting in the control of public expenditures in Nigeria.
• What factors affect community participation in public meetings?
• How difficult is it to run a country of 1.2 billion people?
• Speeding cameras are meant to provide government money.
• Should the President be paid while being in office?
• The Federal government’s separation of powers.
• Journalism is our weapon against corruption.
• How a bill passes in state government.
• The best city planning practices.

10 Health Informative Speech Topics

• Steroids, antibiotics, sprays: are these things hurting us?
• The effects of dissociative identity disorder or multiple personality disorder.
• Bigger isn’t always better: the effect fast food has on America.
• The importance of proper stretching before a workout.
• How to keep your skin looking young and wrinkle free.
• The different types of insomnia.
• The causes and effects of Alzheimer’s disease.
• The psychosocial aspects of organ transplantation.
• Controversial ideas about whooping cough vaccines.
• The reasons why stress and depression should be taken seriously.

See this page for a full list of Informative Speech Topics on Health and Fitness . We also have a page with Medical Topics and Psychology topics.

10 History Informative Speech Topics

• The beauty of ancient Egyptian art.
• The most beautiful paintings in history.
• The history of fashion.
• The history of high heels.
• The history of cosmetic makeup.
• The history of Tibetan burial practices.
• What Olympic events did ancient Greece have?
• The history of swear words and their impact on society.
• Words and their meanings that have changed with time.
• Why dragons perform in Chinese New Year celebrations.

See this page for a full list of History Speech Topics .

16 International Relations Informative Speech Topics

• Economic development and the role of the private sector in reducing poverty in Lesotho.
• Tourism and remittances are the solutions for Tonga’s economic growth.
• The military of the Philippines.
• Is South Africa ready for a female president?
• Can democracy bring stability to Pakistan?
• South Africa is an amazing country.
• The impact of U.S drone strikes.
• The discovery of oil in Equatorial Guinea.
• How to help refugees.
• Why everyone should live in China.
• The status of trade relations in East Africa.
• The effects of the Dowry system in India.
• Sri Lanka after thirty years of war.
• Why Africa is underdeveloped.
• The political system of India.
• The purpose of the United Nations.

2 Language Informative Speech Topics

• English is a link language for many parts of the world.
• The origins of cliches.

6 Literature Informative Speech Topics

• Inside the mind of Edgar Allen Poe.
• How to write a book.
• The three trials of Oscar Wilde.
• The meaning of The House on Mango Street.
• The history of vampires in literature.
• The different types of poetry.

21 Media Informative Speech Topics

• What steps are involved in creating a movie or television show?
• How Spotify hurts new artists.
• The benefits of watching less TV.
• How the media has hurt our body image.
• Books that were turned into terrible movies.
• The benefits of reading a newspaper.
• The basics of photography.
• The history of the Titanic movie.
• Some famous advertising campaigns.
• The effects of misleading advertisements.
• Some important women in the media.
• The best foreign TV shows.
• The benefits of satellite radio.
• The best TV sitcoms.
• Al Jazeera, the largest Arabic news channel is the Middle East.
• How Disney produces and distributes short animated films.
• The amazing stage performance of Christina Aguilera.
• The love life of Jennifer Aniston,
• The story of CNN International reporter, Christiane Amanpour.
• The ten actors who played James Bond.
• Top three worst Woody Allen movies.

9 Music Informative Speech Topics

• The different types of marching bands.
• The history of french horns.
• The history of house music.
• The evolution of rock and roll.
• The beauty of reggae music.
• Music as a “lifestyle”.
• The best electronic dance music.
• How to play the kazoo.
• The beauty of Haitian music.

4 National Security Informative Speech Topics

• How illegal things are smuggled into the country.
• The United States military branches.
• The importance of the Air Force.
• The branches of the military.

10 Politics Informative Speech Topics

• Should the U.S. restrict immigration?
• The benefits of communism.
• The most important women in politics.
• Define the term foreign policy and offer current examples.
• The delicate position of women and children in war torn societies and countries on the globe.
• How issues on oil in Nigeria lift the oil prices worldwide.
• How a free trade agreement works.
• The major environmental problems in Australia.
• National gun control statistics compared to the statistics of other countries.
• The function of the Federal Reserve Board in maintaining a stable financial system.

See this page for a full list of Speech Topics about Politics .

10 Psychology Informative Speech Topics

• The benefits of greeting people.
• Positive thinking is the key to peaceful living.
• The meaning of dreams.
• How to explain child geniuses.
• Difference between empathy and sympathy.
• How to be more sensitive for an emotionally insensitive person.
• How to know a person’s true personality when we are so good at disguise nowadays.
• Secrets about quiet people.
• How to respond or take a compliment.
• Why do people lie and how to deal with that.

See this page for a full list of Psychology Speech Topics .

12 Relationships Informative Speech Topics

• How marriages today differ from marriages from the 60’s.
• The secrets of happy and successful relationships.
• How to choose the right relationship.
• How to get along with your roommate.
• The guidelines for military marriages.
• How to make long distance relationships work.
• The average age to get married.
• How to talk to people when you have nothing to say.
• How to recognize toxic friends.
• Your Brain Falls in Love Not Only Your Heart.
• Who Was and Is Cupid and Co.
• All You Wanted to Know About Engagement.

10 Religion Informative Speech Topics

• A comparison of Genesis and Revelation in the Bible.
• Modern values are violating religious values.
• How Christ is present in our world.
• What percentage of the world’s population are Christians?
• Why worshipping Satan isn’t a bad thing.
• Why the bunny symbolizes Easter.
• God helps those who help themselves.
• A comparison of different religions.
• The history of the Christian church.
• The main principles of Christianity.

See this page for a full list of Speech Topics on Religion and Spirituality .

10 Science Informative Speech Topics

• The difference between an alligator and a crocodile.
• Why whales should not be hunted for food.
• Transhumanism and the evolution of the human race.
• How we can create geniuses.
• Falabella horses are the smallest in the world.
• Why is the colonization of Mars important?
• Albert Einstein’s contributions to science.
• The isolation of nicotinic acid from tobacco.
• The journey to becoming a nuclear physicist.
• Some interesting facts about the human brain.

See this page for a full list of Informative Science Speech Topics .

31 Self-Help Informative Speech Topics

• The difference between boundaries and limits.
• The benefits of affirmation.
• Three goals to strive for in life.
• How to present yourself with confidence.
• Why it’s important to be yourself.
• How to manage your anger.
• How to make a good first impression.
• How to prepare for a job interview.
• Your actions determine your future.
• How to set goals and achieve them.
• How to enhance your public speaking skills.
• How to increase your motivation.
• What makes life meaningful?
• How to take your next big step in life.
• How to construct an argument.
• How to boost your self-esteem.
• How to be happy being single.
• How to avoid procrastination.
• How to improve your manners.
• How to be a good leader.
• The importance of a good attitude.
• How to be more romantic.
• How to break bad habits.
• How to overcome conflict.
• Happiness: The thing we all look for but never really understand.
• What it’s like to be falling in love.
• What is love and what’s not.
• The secret to resolving conflicts.
• Dancing is your secret weapon for happiness and health.
• Things to remember if you don’t want to die with any regrets.

10 School Informative Speech Topics

• Schools should not make money by selling unhealthy candy and soft drinks to students.
• Music with foul language in it should not be allowed at school dances.
• Students should be able to listen to their MP3 players during class.
• Students who commit cyberbullying should be suspended or expelled from school.
• Boys and girls should be taught in separate classrooms.
• Homeschooling produces better results than public schools.
• High School will be the best time of your life.
• Boys are lazier than girls.
• All students should wear school uniform.
• It is possible to Ace your way through High School.

See this page for a full list of School Speech Topics for All Grades .

10 Society Informative Speech Topics

• Why it is bad to judge people by their appearance.
• The lives of isolated indigenous people.
• How to tell someone they are annoying you without being rude.
• How human behavior affects society.
• Left handed people: the underrepresented minority group.
• Is the military a fulfilling career choice for women?
• The effects of discrimination.
• The importance of newspapers in our daily life.
• Do actors and athletes make too much money?
• Why I’m optimistic about our nation’s future.

See this page for a full list of Informative Society Speech Topics .

10 Sport Informative Speech Topics

• Should female students be allowed to play on male sports teams?
• How to do a walking handstand or a cartwheel into the splits.
• Is netball or hockey more dangerous?
• The benefits of sports for all ages.
• Why the spelling bee shouldn’t be on ESPN.
• The worst professional sports teams.
• The importance of sports and games.
• What you should have in your golf bag.
• The history of professional fighting.
• The worst trades in sports history.

See this page for a full list of Informative Sports Speech Topics .

3 Supernatural Informative Speech Topics

• The mystery of the Bermuda triangle.
• The evidence that bigfoot exists.
• The existence of telepathy.

41 Technology Informative Speech Topics

• How roads are built.
• Is wind energy cheap, effective, and practical?
• Why college students should be careful about what they put on social media.
• The uses for artificial intelligence computer networks.
• The danger of putting too much personal information on social networks.
• Modes of communication are constantly changing.
• How has social media impacted our daily lives?
• The line between the human brain and a computer.
• Why technology is a bad thing for growing minds.
• How technology has destroyed human interaction.
• How is text messaging affecting teen literacy?
• The advantages and disadvantages of social media.
• The effects of violent video games on children.
• The decline of interpersonal communication due to technology.
• The difference between hardware and software.
• Antivirus software: beware of malware functions.
• The history of programming languages.
• How voice over IP works.
• What would we do without electricity?
• The benefits of 3D printing.
• The major technological changes since 1990.
• The negative effects of cellphones.
• How to avoid computer viruses.
• The evolution of the internet.
• Computers through the decades.
• How airport biometrics systems work.
• Robots now and in the future.
• How satellites help communication.
• How a water plant operates.
• How watches work.
• The evolution of video games.
• How cellular phones work.
• The evolution of the iPhone.
• How to build a computer.
• How nuclear power works.
• How search engines work.
• How air pressure works.
• The best new technologies.
• The future of electric cars.
• How to practice cyber safety.
• A guide to different social media sites.

15 Travel Informative Speech Topics

• How students can find great vacation bargains.
• The best cruise vacations.
• Famous parliament buildings
• How to test the quality of water when traveling.
• Interesting underground railroad systems in capital cities.
• Investigation shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea.
• The benefits of wind tunnels on transport.
• The discovery of the famous temples in the Maya culture.
• The influence of global warming on Alpine skiing.
• The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
• The Wright Brother’s first flight.
• Totem poles and obelisks are symbols of unity, tradition, and pride.
• What you need to know about the Principality of Andorra.
• Why is there a Titanic replica?
• Why the unsinkable and invincible Titanic sank.

9 Workplace Informative Speech Topics

• The benefits of break time for nursing mothers in the workplace.
• The prevalence of dangerous chemicals in the workplace.
• How to survive working in a restaurant.
• Why underwater welding is dangerous.
• How it is to work in the fast food industry.
• How to get a great internship.
• How to become a comedian.
• The most dangerous jobs.
• What are the fastest growing careers?

List of Informative Essay Topics

14 college informative essay topics.

• Benefits of a college degree
• Crimes on college campuses
• Healthiest foods in the campus cafeteria
• How students can stay safe on a college campus
• How students can use eLibrary Curriculum Edition for research
• How to beat senioritis
• How to find cheap textbooks
• How to pick a major
• How to study for and pass a test
• Saving money as a college student
• The story of how your school was founded
• Ways of preventing college dropout
• Whether binge drinking is a problem on your college campus
• Your favorite club or organization on campus

5 Demonstration Informative Essay Topics

• How to bake a cake
• How to knit a scarf
• How to organize a closet
• How to swing a golf club
• How to train your dog

7 Easy / Simple Informative Essay Topics

• A genre of music
• America’s fastest growing cities
• Breeds of dogs
• How a computer works
• Interesting cultures
• Lesser known presidents
• Natural disasters

9 Education Informative Essay Topics

• How to choose a persuasive speech topic
• How to deliver a funny informative speech
• How to deliver a persuasive speech
• How to maintain audience attention during a speech
• How to win your audience with descriptive speech
• How to write a persuasive essay
• How to write an argumentative essay
• How to write an expository essay
• The difference between a thesis statement and a topic sentence

10 Fun Informative Essay Topics

• An impressive world record
• Fun games to play at the beach.
• The history of ice cream
• The revolution of the selfie
• Ways different cultures celebrate Valentine’s Day
• What do people do when they win the lottery?
• What people don’t know about Disneyland
• What you can learn from grade K students
• What your horoscope means
• Why people get tattoos

6 Funny Informative Essay Topics

• Everything you need to know about skinny jeans
• Funny St. Patrick’s Day parades
• How to be nice to people you don’t like
• How to cheat in poker
• How to look attentive when you’re actually not
• Things you can learn from your pet

See this page for a full list of Funny Informative Speech Topics .

10 Health Informative Essay Topics

• All about gluten
• Cause-and-effect relationship of air pollution
• Causes of cancer
• How caffeine works
• How stress affects your body
• How to make exercise a habit
• How to quit smoking
• Symptoms of Alzheimer Disease
• Symptoms of depression
• How to get rid of bad habits

6 Hobbies Informative Essay Topics

• Best places for scuba diving
• Choosing your next book to read
• Peace lily care tips
• Professional baseball stadiums
• The history of your favorite sport
• Types of tropical fish

9 Interesting Informative Essay Topics

• Effects of global warming
• Exotic pets
• How to perform an attention-getting first dance at your wedding
• Near-death experiences
• Places to see in northern Nevada
• The biography of Clyde Tombaugh
• The history of a cliche marriage ritual
• What is your dog actually thinking?
• What your handwriting says about you

See this page for a full list of Informative Interesting Speech Topics .

7 Life Informative Essay Topics

• How to drive a stick-shift
• How to pay off your student loans in under 10 years
• How to succeed in multi-level marketing
• The process of buying a car
• Tips for being an effective networker
• Traveling the world for cheap
• Why people lie

7 Legislation Informative Essay Topics

• Fees and taxes for an electric car
• Minimum wage laws
• The history of drinking age rules
• What dogs are affected by breed specific legislation?
• Anti-trust crimes.
• Benefits of pleading guilty.
• Felony penalties for aggravated stalking.

See this page for a full list of Legal Speech Topics .

10 Pop Culture Informative Essay Topics

• A biography of your favorite celebrity
• All about your favorite author
• All about your favorite television show
• Former childhood stars
• History of your favorite product brand
• Instances where the movie is better than the book
• The Miss America pageant
• The pop art movement during the 20th century and the changes it brought about
• What makes a pop sensation
• Your favorite form of public broadcasting

7 Relationships Informative Essay Topics

How to be a good friend

• How to choose your friends
• How to get along with your in-laws
• How to make a marriage work
• How to survive a blind date gone wrong
• The different types of friendships
• The history of online dating

Picking Your Topic

At first glance, an informative speech may seem like the simplest type of presentation . The basis of an informative speech is to introduce a topic to the audience and then describe or explain it . It sounds fairly straightforward, but special care must be given to selecting a topic or the entire speech may not be well received.

Informative speeches can easily become boring for an audience for several reasons. First, the speaker should be sure not to present a topic which is already well known, or the audience will quickly lose interest. The topic should be something the audience has never encountered, or at least include new and exciting information on a familiar topic. Speakers should remember, when preparing the speech, that their own level of interest will become apparent during delivery of the presentation. In other words, if the speaker is bored by the topic, the audience will feel bored as well.

Knowing the audience is a primary factor in choosing an informative speech topic. The speaker should consider the age, knowledge level, subculture, and other demographics of his listeners when preparing the speech. It is important to present information which is neither too elementary nor too difficult for the audience to comprehend. The chosen topic should reflect the interests of the audience, and should be intriguing to them without rehashing information they already know. For example, college students may be interested in a topic on alcohol use, but they are already very familiar with a topic like the dangers of drinking and driving. In this case the speaker might concentrate his topic on the health benefits of red wine. This way, he has chosen a topic which interests the audience, but is likely to present new information which will not bore his listeners.

Finally, speakers should consider time limits when choosing an informative speech topic. A topic should be covered thoroughly enough that the audience feels as if most of their questions on the topic have been answered. On the other hand, a tight time restriction may prevent the speaker from adequately covering a very intricate topic. When time is limited, a subject which requires lengthy explanation should be avoided. The audience should leave an informative speech feeling as if they’ve gained new insight on a topic. It is good if they are interested in doing their own research to learn more about the subject, but they should never leave the presentation feeling confused or unclear about what they have just heard.

Informative Speech Idea In 5 Steps

1. step one – make a list.

Make a short list of your personal interests and informative speech topic ideas. To help you determine your interests on an informative speech topic, think about your favorite objects, products, people, animals, events, places, processes, procedures, concepts, policies, theories, and so on. Answer these important questions:

• Is there something you love to talk about, always have wanted to research?
• What interests you very much, or do you like or love at first glance?
• Do you have developed special skills in personal or professional life?
• What interesting informative topics do you know a lot of or want to know more about?
• What are some personal or professional experiences and skills in certain situations related to your favorite subjects?
• Can you reveal hidden secrets, new perspectives or insights on some topics?

2. Step Two – Analyze Your Audience

Determine the interests and needs of your audience. What do they want to learn? Can you teach them on a subject you like?

3. Step Three – Check Your Interests

Review the short list of your interests and make a decision. Choose the informative speech topic that is also interesting to your audience. Take care of their interests, questions and needs.

4. Step Four – Research and Write

Research  just one new single aspect  of that informative speech idea. Look for valuable or amazing information that surprises your listeners. Fresh data, facts, intelligence, and advice will catch their attention immediately! To help you researching: look for new facts, figures, stories, statistics, surveys, personal experiences, professional experiences, quotations, comparisons and contrasts.

5. Step Five – Add Help Props

Demonstrate steps, stages, pros and cons, and remarkable effects by the use of public speaking software or other visual aids , that display the material you want them to be understood or remembered.

Informative Speeches FAQ

1. Speeches About Objects 2. Speeches About Processes 3. Speeches About Events 4. Speeches About Concepts

An informative speech is one that provides information and educates the audience on a specific topic. An informative speech should help your audience learn, understand, and remember information you are presenting.

1. Know your audience or reader 2. Consider your interests 3. Consider length requirements

You can see this page with speech examples .

Vote of Thanks Examples

613 Original Argumentative Speech Topics Ideas

15 thoughts on “509 Informative Speech Ideas and Topics”

Demonic Possession

Creativity is the Mother of Invention.

1-How to be a good friend: you have to do everything to make them happy, don’t snatch on them

2-How to choose your friends: Choose friends with similar values Choose friends with common goals

3-How to get along with your in-laws:1-Get to know them. … 2-Know your limits. … 3-Keep things cordial. … 4-Put your relationship first

4-How to make a marriage work

5-How to survive a blind date gone wrong 1-Ask open-ended questions. … 2-Tell a funny anecdote. … 3-Let your date talk. … 4-Answer questions fully. … 5-Listen to them carefully.

6-The different types of friendships

7-The history of online dating

the evolution of humans

school doesn’t need to exist

Nice compilations this is helpful

Hamburgers vs hotdogs

Chocolate Caffeine Grass is Greener on the other side April Fools Why teens should have a part time job or not

History of Tobacco

Effects of anxiety on teenage students.

how depression affects people and others around them

peer pressure and its effects on students

Different ways kids handle peer pressure.

depression and how it can effect a students mindset

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Informative Speech Topics

Before we can move on to our primary subject of interest, we’ll let you in on some general information regarding informative speech. Informative speech constitutes the type of speech that conveys data regarding a specific topic. Its primary target is that of assisting the public in acknowledging the data that you convey. In addition to that, it renders an intricate subject easy to comprehend and it offers distinct ideas and viewpoints. Furthermore, it conveys compelling information that is original as well as sought after by the public.

Additionally, informative speeches may comprise items, processes, occurrences as well as different groundbreaking concepts. This does not exclusively comprise the enumeration as it represents the subject draft that any successful speech includes. A speech cannot accomplish the desired target unless it conveys original and factual data.

An informative speech explains the subject that you wish to approach. For example, let’s say that you are required to devise an informative speech on the topic of coffee. First of all, you need to always concentrate on the subject. Consider the properties of coffee, the reasons for which you like this beverage, as well as the impact it exerts on your health. Furthermore, think of the quantity of coffee that you ought to ingest daily if you want to avoid its negative impact on your health. As you reach the conclusion of your speech, you should imaginatively sum up all of the ideas that you have mentioned. This way, your speech will be more compelling.

As you convey the information, it would be a good idea to elaborate on specific subjects while shortening others. In doing so, you ought to acknowledge your public. If you overdo this, you can stray from the essential subject. As such, you need to concentrate on your strategy and topic. Furthermore, you need to be aware of the fact that an informative speech has the sole target of conveying factual information. Therefore, you need to avoid presenting the subject solely from your own perspective, as you would in a convincing speech.

Remember that if you choose to include too many arguments to influence your public, they might not like it. An informative speech must not be polemical or argumentative. There are situations in which it is a splendid idea to include polemical elements. Yo can read more about polemical elements at rhetorical analysis essay topics . However, it is a bad idea to add such elements in the middle of your speech.

For instance, you can write something like “By drinking coffee, I am more motivated to conduct my activities, as it makes me feel less lonely throughout my work. At the beginning of each day, I drink a coffee. This beverage also encourages me to study appropriately. However, coffee can also exert an impact on my health. As such, it must be calculated so I can make sure that I do not exceed the limit”. At this point, you can include more information explaining distinct situations.

Informative speech subjects

Topics related to animals.

• The functions exerted by cats in the course of time
• How to take care of hermit crabs
• Animals that can make great pets
• General information on the way in which ants live
• The distinct species of tropical aquatic animals
• The distinct exotic species of cats
• How to keep a rabbit as a pet
• What makes wolves beautiful animals
• What to do if you want to adopt a dog
• How to keep a snake as a pet
• The way in which oceanic animals lead their lives
• The way in which a dog can be trained
• The reasons for which monkeys are exceptionally skillful when it comes to climbing trees
• The reproduction process of elephants and hippopotamuses
• Is it true that penguins feature long legs?

Topics related to vehicles

• The benefits and drawbacks of purchasing or leasing an automobile
• How to select a suitable set of tires for your automobile
• What to do if you want to increase the functionality of your vehicle
• The features you need to consider when getting a new automobile
• The process of replacing the oil in your vehicle
• Advice on how to be safe when riding a dirt bike
• How to drive a car that features a manual gearbox
• The chronological evolution of motorcycles
• The process of replacing a flat tire
• The most fabulous muscle cars money can buy

Topics related to the field of business

• How your business can evolve to a superior level by employing three simple phases: promoting, advertising and marketing
• The way in which business owners’ individual traits can exert an influence on their company
• The influence exerted by instruction as well as evolution on work efficiency
• Management's approaches and the way in which they impact employee yield
• Engaged workers may lead to a substantial level of retentivity
• The cultivation of individual authority within a company
• The influence exerted by motivators on work efficiency
• Psychological strategies that you can employ in marketing
• The steps that you need to take when you want to build a flourishing business
• The significance of accounting studies
• The advantages of business asset organization
• The advantages of multilevel marketing
• The optimal strategies that one can implement when it comes to sales.

Topics related to communication

• The manner in which deaf people can convey their feelings when speaking
• The discrepancies between men and women regarding communication
• What to do if you want to become a winning spokesperson
• The steps that you need to take if you want to improve your conversational abilities
• A few easy tips regarding communication
• The definition and purpose of neuro linguistic programming (NLP)
• The reasons for which one can regard smiles as contagious
• What to do to deal with communicative disorders

Topics related to current developments

• American towns that are expanding at an incredibly fast pace.
• The purpose and impact of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
• The phenomenon of poverty occurring in Los Angeles.
• The overall level of contentment of the people residing in a specific country.

Topics related to the economy

• The emergence and evolution of fees imposed on carbon dioxide emissions
• In what way would financial progress be influenced if every citizen was able to grow their own nourishment?
• Progressive fees and the influence they exert on the provision of welfare to those in need
• The impacts of the cost and request of the commodities generated by farming and agriculture
• The significance of education in what concerns the financial system

Topics related to the field of education

• The manner in which EFL instructors may use the cyberspace as a classroom assistive instrument
• Is it acceptable for professors and students to become friends on social media?
• The reasons for which the education system relies exclusively on theoretical information and not on practical skills
• Is it right to allow students to eat while attending their classes?
• The significance of certified education for embarking on the path towards a thriving career
• The advantages and disadvantages of learning three different languages in school
• The types of materials that should be placed inside a sandbag for preventing inundations
• The false impressions and frequent use of the technique of hypnosis
• Study impairments as well as the influence they exert on students who attend a university
• Do grades constitute an adequate indicator of the capability of an educational institution?
• ESL students would have a considerable advantage if they were allowed to take national exams in their mother tongue
• Human resources administration in universities
• What you need to do if you want to transfer to a different university
• The accountability of parents as well as students in what concerns education.
• The evolution of special education throughout the last three decades
• The psychological struggle required by insightful writing
• The discrepancies between optical, auditory, and kinesthetic learners
• Collaborative studying in education as implemented in the Philippines system
• The advantages of individual growth camps for students
• The significance of arts as well as languages concerning education
• The way in which dioramas can be used in the field of geography
• Leaving the college campus and moving to your own flat
• Education represents the most efficient instrument of combating poverty
• Ways in which one can enhance the active learning curve
• The reasons for which classes ought to be no longer than forty-five minutes
• Why educational institutions fail to train the student for the outside world
• The advantages of attending online classes
• The impacts of listening to songs while preparing for your classes
• The advantages of using computers in educational institutions
• Ways in which you can regain your excitement for school can be regained
• The advantages of eliminating university taxes
• The advantages of organizing excursions for students
• The most significant elements that influence study efficiency
• The reasons for which attending trips exerts an advantageous influence on education
• Ways in which students can make money
• Ways in which you can release your inner nerd
• Why high school service studying programs are significant
• Why attending college is significant
• Why it is essential to keep campus life under control
• Ways in which you can get discounts as a student
• Professors ought to have higher salaries
• Education constitutes the very essence of our society
• The advantages of higher education
• The harmful impacts of the denationalization of universities
• The essential steps to writing a winning informative paper
• The advantages of benefiting from free school books
• How to find a job on campus while attending college
• Why it is important to value your education
• The most efficient manner of spending your last year of study
• The essentials of obtaining a fellowship
• Why studying mathematics is significant
• The increasing price of education
• Ways in which you can get through your first year of study
• The use of technology in educational institutions
• The impacts of prejudice in schools
• The essential traits of a good student
• The distinct study habits of students
• How the educational system functions in Pakistan
• Ways in which you can get a great result in the GRE
• Ways in which you can detect an educational institution that does not grant diplomas fairly
• How to prevail over your fear of addressing a numerous audience
• The significance of an education in economics

Topics related to the environment

• Is it right to allow legislators to increase the level of pollution in the state?
• The consequences of an inadequate use of our limited natural resources
• The primary motives for producing genetically transformed harvests
• The influence exerted by the utilization of organic as well as non-organic fertilizer on corn
• Is the rainforest on the verge of extinction?
• The most efficient manners of defending our environment
• Commercial harvest as well as the influence they exert on the water we drink
• Ways in which an alimentary regime based primarily on meat can influence our environment
• Recycling aids in diminishing the greenhouse effect
• Reasons for which we ought to put an end to global warming
• It is essential to have a healthy environment
• The influence exerted by the phenomenon of global warming
• Reasons for which it is essential to preserve energy
• The harmful characteristics of a contaminated environment
• The growing trash patch in the Pacific Ocean
• The negative impacts of water contamination
• The impacts of commercial as well as domestic garbage
• The phenomenon of global warming
• The advantages of organic agriculture
• Reasons for which shortage of water constitutes a grave issue
• The pollution of our planet in modern times
• Why it is important to reduce, reutilize and recycle
• The outcomes of the decay of our environment
• The reasons for which people ought to rescue birds
• The reasons for which we ought to save the Ganges
• Ways in which we can recycle particular fabrics

Topics related to moral aspects

• Is it acceptable to lie instead of speaking the truth in certain situations?
• Is acceptance the same thing as affection?
• Is it ethical to hunt wild animals?

Topics related to family

• Adopted kids ought to always be allowed to meet their natural progenitors
• The outcomes of raising children alone and the influence it exerts on them
• The suitable punishments for parental carelessness
• How it feels like to be the oldest brother amongst 15 other siblings
• The significance of the connection between a kid and their parents
• My father as a life model
• How to choose an appropriate name for a kid
• Situations of household brutality against males
• The significance of having a family
• The historical evolution of foster care
• Ways in which a divorce can influence a child’s life
• What to consider when choosing a name for a child
• At what age do infants begin to speak?

Topics related to finances

• Why banks win twice the value of a mortgage
• Ways in which students can save money throughout their years of study
• Ways in which one can build credit
• Ways how one can save money on one's remuneration fees
• Steps to obtaining a credit card
• The essential aspects regarding economic assistance
• Why it is essential to save money
• Ways in which you can identify market tendencies.
• Steps to purchasing a home
• The essential aspects regarding online banking security
• The most favorable investment tactics
• Ways in which you can live on a daily income of $10/How to get a proper meal with only $10 per da

Topics related to ailments and beverages

• The distinctions between Red Bull and Monster
• Ways in which you can prepare a delightful meal
• Ways in which you can cultivate your own food
• The distinct varieties of coffee
• How to prepare a vegan meal
• How to prepare a delicious cocktail
• The tastiest varieties of cheese
• The sweetest exotic fruits
• How to prepare a traditional Chinese meal

Topics related to the government

• The function played by accounting in the regulation of public expenses in the state of Nigeria
• The elements that influence citizens’ involvement in public gatherings
• How hard is it to be in charge of a state where over one billion citizens reside?
• Speeding cameras have the purpose of generating money for the state
• Should state leaders receive salaries for the functions they exert?
• The separation of state authorities as implemented in the federal government
• Journalism constitutes an instrument for combating corruption
• The manner in which the government of a country passes a bill
• The most advantageous city planning procedures

Topics related to health

• Do the substances found in steroids, antibiotics or sprays have a negative impact on our health?
• Dissociative identity disorder or multiple personality disorder and the outcomes on our health
• The outcomes of the consumption of fast food on American citizens
• The significance of adequate stretching before physical exercises
• Ways of preserving a young skin and avoiding wrinkles
• The distinct varieties of insomnia
• The factors and outcomes of Alzheimer
• The psychosocial characteristics of transplants
• Disputable concepts regarding pertussis vaccines
• The motives for which the severity of stress and depression ought to be acknowledged
• The beneficial effects of going on vacation
• The outcomes of alimentary disturbances
• What is Trisomy-21?
• The beneficial effects of transplanting organs from animals to people
• How the organism copes with shock
• How to deal with type 2 diabetes
• The way in which our culture influences organ donation
• Simple advice on averting the onset of AIDS
• The impacts of the celiac illness
• The advantages of not wearing shoes
• The harmful effects of cigarettes
• The advantages of donating organs
• The risks of sending text messages while driving
• Why it is essential to ingest vitamins and minerals
• The nutritive importance of pickles
• Why it is essential to wear a seatbelt
• The impacts of coffee on the organism
• The chronological evolution of Psychology
• Working out helps in the fight against health issues
• Problems that may occur in high-risk gravidity
• Narcissistic personality disorders
• The adverse outcomes of fast food
• The influence that Monsanto exerts on ailments
• The modification of the alimentary regime of US citizens
• The advantages of dark chocolate
• Plastic operations have adverse effects on the skin
• The significance of acknowledging the gravity of anxiety and depression
• The advantages of working out regularly
• The way in which the circulatory system functions
• Ways to ensure a healthy gravidity
• How to rest adequately at night
• The significance of the brain
• The outcomes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• The advantages of stem cell studies
• The advantages of being careful
• Ways to treat and avert hangovers
• Tactics for having a healthy alimentation
• The advantages of a vegan diet
• Spinocerebellar degradation
• Ways to mitigate asthma outbursts
• The advantages of ginger
• What is the Alice in Wonderland syndrome?
• Reasons for which people ought to wash their hands
• The advantages of having friends
• The significance of donating eyes
• The reasons for which obesity frequently occurs in the US
• The significance of childhood cancer acknowledgment
• The function of the Centre for Disease Control
• The issues that the children of drug addicts have to face
• A healthy diet amounts to a healthy life
• How does a migraine occur?
• The outcomes of irradiation
• The impacts of self-inflicted wounds
• The advantages of ingesting magnesium
• The outcomes of anxiety
• Why it is essential to sleep
• Ways to avert pesticides in legumes
• Ways to avert elder mistreatment
• Ways to avert toxic substances in aliments
• The outcomes of autism
• The distinct varieties of birth control
• How does the sensation of itching occur?
• The advantages of drinking tea
• The most efficient natural remedies
• The outcomes of alcoholism
• Ways of putting an end to obesity
• Ways of dealing with mental diseases
• Ways of averting adolescent gravidity
• Ways of ceasing memory loss
• The most efficient healthcare strategies
• Xenophobia as a universal problem

Topics related to history

• Art in ancient Egypt
• The most splendid paintings ever created
• Fashion trends throughout history
• High heels throughout history
• The history of beauty products
• Funeral customs in Tibet
• The ancient Greek Olympics
• The history of insulting terms and their influence on people
• The historical evolution of words and their significances
• Dinosaurs and their extinction
• The function of Jawaharlal Nehru in the autonomy of India
• John F. Kennedy’s presidency and death
• The Great Wall of China and its significance
• The history of American immigration
• The 1988 Yellowstone National Park fire
• Immigrant laborers in the US
• The true emergence of fortune cookies
• The historical evolution of the Native American populations
• The history of the utilization of corpses
• The evolution of comic books in the US
• The historical evolution of sorcery and Wicca
• The historical evolution of antibiotics
• The British governance of South Africa
• The beginning and end of the Second World War
• The history of the English language
• The California gold rush
• The history of Mahatma Gandhi
• The history of Mother Teresa
• The impacts of American colonialism
• The historical evolution of Valentine’s day
• The seven world wonders
• Influential leaders throughout history
• The history of extremist parties
• Moviemaking in the 1900s
• Historical events in the Dominican Republic
• Influential historical figures.
• The history of the Lighthouse of Alexandria
• The feminist movement
• The Alcatraz prison break
• The historical evolution of chalk
• The Assyrian mass homicide
• The use of tobacco throughout history
• Witchery in the 13th century
• The Selma civil rights rally
• The most efficient unplanned inventions
• The first nursery rhymes
• The emergence of the Civil War
• The historical evolution of the Halloween holiday
• The history of the industrial revolution
• The poor law act
• Where do superstitions come from?
• The history of electoral regulations
• The royal family of the United Kingdom
• The emergence of alphabets
• The historical evolution of medicine
• The Libyan nomadic populations
• The American Cold War
• The history of female soldiers
• The history of censorship
• The Great Depression
• Helen Keller
• The soldiers who revealed extraordinary bravery during the Second World War
• The most renowned soldiers of the Civil War
• The chronology of holidays
• The Columbine mass slaughter
• The historical evolution of the Supreme Court
• The historical evolution of miniature trains
• The most renowned diplomatic figures in history
• The most hilarious things ever invented
• The most renowned thefts ever committed
• The most renowned speeches ever uttered
• Glory murders throughout history
• Criminal organizations throughout history
• How people lived in the Dark Ages
• The factors that led to the Afghanistan War
• The evolution of national parks
• The evolution of the Indian civilization
• The evolution of work associations
• The evolution of street gangs
• The most notorious riots that ever occurred
• The evolution of batteries
• The most insane regulations in history

Topics related to international relations

• Financial evolution and the function of the private sector in diminishing destitution in Lesotho
• Tonga may evolve financially if tourism and deliveries are developed
• The Philippine army
• Should the South Africans elect a woman as president?
• Can Pakistan become politically stable if they im0plement democracy?
• South Africa constitutes a remarkable nation
• The outcome of the American drone assaults
• The finding of petroleum in Equatorial Guinea
• Ways in which refugees can find assistance
• Why one ought to consider living in China
• Commercial dealings in East Africa
• The influence exerted by the Dowry system on Indians
• Sri Lanka in the wake of the war that lasted for 30 years
• The reasons for which Africa is an underdeveloped region
• The Indian political system
• The function and target of the UN

Topics related to language

• English constitutes a language that connects a lot of regions all over the world
• The source of stereotypes

Topics related to literature

• The thoughts of Edgar Allan Poe
• Steps to writing a novel
• The three trials of Oscar Wilde
• The message conveyed by The House on Mango Street
• Literary works that approached the subject of vampires
• The distinct varieties of poems

Topics related to media

• How to make a film or a TV series?
• The negative impact of Spotify on emerging singers
• The advantages of watching less television
• The way in which the media has damaged the way in which we perceive our body
• Low-quality films inspired by books
• The advantages of newspapers
• The fundamental principles of photography
• How the Titanic film got made
• The most popular advertisements
• The outcomes of deceptive commercials
• Famous female media figures
• The greatest foreign television series
• The advantages of satellite radio
• The funniest TV comedies

Topics related to music

• The distinct varieties of marching bands
• The evolution of French horns
• The evolution of the house genre
• The history of the rock genre
• Why reggae music is beautiful
• Music as a “way of living”
• The greatest electronic dance bands
• Playing the kazoo
• Why Haitian songs are beautiful

Topics related to national safety

• How contraband takes place
• The US army subsidiaries
• Why the Air Force is important

Topics related to politics

• Should immigration be subjected to limitations?
• The advantages of a communist regime
• The most influential female figures in politics

Topics related to psychology

• The advantages of saying hello to people
• An optimistic mindset is essential to a harmonious existence
• The significance of dreams
• The psychology of child geniuses

Topics related to relationships

• Differences between matrimonies in the 70’s and in modern times
• What it takes to have a cheerful and pleasant relationship
• How to get into a good relationship
• Ways of having a pleasant relationship with your roommate
• Rules regarding army matrimonies
• The key to a successful long-distance relationship
• What is the right age to get married?

Topics related to religion

• Genesis versus Revelation
• The customs of today contravene religious principles
• How Jesus still exists today
• How many people belong to Christianity?
• Reasons for which Satanist cults aren’t bad
• The rabbit as a symbol of Easter
• People who help themselves receive divine assistance
• Similarities and differences between distinct religions
• The evolution of Christianity
• The Christian ground rules
• The chronology of the Bible
• Fascinating facts regarding Noah’s Ark
• The Rastafarian religious movement
• How Christianity was born
• Mormon values

Topics related to science

• Alligators compared to crocodiles
• Why hunting whales ought to be prohibited
• Transhumanism and the history of humanity
• What it means to be a genius
• Falabella – the tiniest horses
• Reasons for colonizing Mars
• Albert Einstein’s achievements
• Isolating nicotine from tobacco
• How to follow a career in nuclear physics
• Fascinating information regarding our brain
• Why human toenails lack hair
• How listening to music influences our brain
• How the brain functions
• Mars used to be similar to the Earth
• The percentage of our brain that is used
• Charles Darwin’s contributions to science
• The most recent findings in astronomy
• The origin of dogs
• The evolution of greyhound dogs
• Insane scientists throughout history
• How to stay alive during a shark attack
• The purification process of bottled water
• The astonishing strength of our mind
• The hunting abilities of cheetahs
• The most efficient techniques of catching butterflies
• How smart are dolphins?
• The necessity of preserving our trees
• The most prominent chemists in 18th century Switzerland
• The evolution of genetic mutations
• The most recent astronomical technology
• The way in which light-radiating diode lamps function
• Tigers as an endangered species
• The significance of oxygen
• Is humanity still undergoing evolution?
• The advantages of wind resistant devices
• The reasons for which bats sleep upside down
• The birth of our planet
• The way in which a galaxy is born
• The best plants that grow indoors
• The process of manufacturing chocolate
• The formation of the Great Lakes
• The utilization of DNA proof
• Body language discloses the most hidden secrets
• The way in which earthquakes are forecast
• Polar bears as an endangered species

Topics related to self-assistance

• Boundaries and restrictions are different things
• The advantages of affirming oneself
• The three fundamental targets one should have in life
• Presenting oneself with self-confidence
• The significance of being yourself
• Anger management
• What to do to make a great first impression
• Steps to getting ready for an interview
• Your activities decide your future
• Ways of enhancing your conversational abilities
• Steps to establishing targets and accomplishing them
• Ways of increasing your oratorical abilities
• Ways of enhancing your determination
• The meaning of our existence
• What to do to advance in life
• Ways of building an argument
• Ways of enhancing your self-respect
• Ways of becoming satisfied with single life
• Ways of averting procrastination
• Ways of improving your behavior
• Ways of becoming a great leader
• Why it is essential to have a positive attitude
• Ways of becoming more passionate
• Ways of overcoming bad habits
• Ways of prevailing over a conflict

Topics related to society

• Why it is not a good idea to judge people according to their looks
• How segregated aboriginal populations live
• How to talk about someone’s flaws without being ill-mannered
• The impact our conduct exerts on society
• Left-handed people: a minority with inadequate representation
• Is the army a fitting career path for females?
• The impacts of prejudice
• Why it is important to read newspapers
• Do actors and sportspersons earn too much?
• Reasons for being hopeful regarding the country’s future
• Reasons for which we regard dogs as our best friends
• Does satisfaction represent an adequate indicator of social advancement?
• The daily responsibilities of a cop
• The advantages of working in a team
• Low-priced locations to go to on a date
• The advantages of taking a paternity leave
• The significance of offering estates to veterans without a place to live
• Violence constitutes a real societal problem
• The entitlements of consumers
• The adequate rules for tipping waiters
• The distinct varieties of individualities
• The way in which fashion trends destroy the youth of our time
• Money does not represent an indicator of fortune
• The harmful impacts of the age of indifference
• The adverse effects of not speaking against aggression
• The feminist movement and its misunderstandings
• Why stores ought to be closed on Sundays
• Does it matter if a person has good looks?
• Ways of improving life in America
• Ways of protecting LGBT young people
• A country of fortune and poverty
• Historical background of Hello Kitty
• Amazing world records
• How the pop-rock genre was born
• How people will live in the future
• Ways of dealing with natural calamities

Topics related to sport

• Would it work to allow women students to be part of sports teams for men?
• Ways of performing a walking handstand or a cartwheel
• Which is a riskier sport: hockey or netball?
• The advantages of engaging in sportive activity at any age
• Reasons for which ESPN ought to remove the spelling bee
• Sports teams with the most unsatisfactory results
• Why is it important to play sports?
• Items that are required to play golf
• The evolution of fighting as a sport
• The most unsuccessful transactions in sports
• Steps to constructing a pinewood derby car
• The most successful athletes in history
• The greatest baseball fields
• “Cheese rolling”
• Most frequent ice hockey wounds
• Historical facts regarding Chicago Bulls
• Why sportive horseback riding is engaging
• The birth of football
• Steps to manufacturing a baseball bat
• Steps to manufacturing fishing lures
• Reasons for the popularity of sports
• Historical facts regarding field hockey
• What it takes to be a successful athlete
• Larry Bird as an NBA star
• The history of curling
• The most popular golf tracks
• Ways of performing a turkey call
• The rules of Canadian football

Topics regarding supernatural events

• The Bermuda Triangle
• Proof regarding the existence of Bigfoot
• Telepathy is real

Topics regarding technology

• Steps to constructing a road
• Is wind power cost-efficient, efficacious and feasible?
• Reasons for which university students ought to be mindful of what they share on Facebook
• The use of A.I.
• Why it is dangerous to include a lot of personal data on social media
• The varieties of communication are perpetually evolving
• Ways in which social media affects our everyday existence
• The difference between our brain and a computer
• Reasons for which technology is harmful to children
• Ways in which technology has ruined human communication
• Ways in which sending text messages can impact the literacy of adolescents
• The pros and cons of social networks
• The influence brutal video games exert on kids
• The deterioration of human interaction as a result of technology
• Hardware versus software
• The evolution of computer programming
• How would we live in the absence of electricity?
• The advantages of 3D printers
• The most groundbreaking technological discoveries of the 2000s
• The harmful impacts of smartphones
• Ways of preventing computer viruses
• The history of the cyberspace
• The history of computers
• The functioning of airport biometrics networks
• The present and future developments in robotics
• Ways in which satellites aid in communication
• The functioning of water plants
• Ways in which watches function
• Historical facts regarding video games
• The functioning of smartphones
• The history of Apple
• Steps to building a PC
• Ways in which nuclear power functions
• How Google functions
• Ways in which air pressure functions
• The most promising recent technologies
• Electric vehicles in the future
• Ways of staying safe online
• Recommendations regarding social networks

Topics related to travel

• How to find excellent holiday deals
• The greatest cruises

Topics related to work

• The advantages of break time for breastfeeding female employees
• Perilous chemical substances found in the workplace
• Ways of coping with restaurant work
• Reasons for which underwater welding is risky
• What it’s like to be a fast food employee
• Ways of getting an excellent internship
• Steps to becoming a stand-up comedian
• The riskiest careers
• The best emerging jobs

What does an informative speech need to contain?

1. Introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion

In most cases, an informative speech needs to include an introduction, some factual body paragraphs as well as a significant and persuasive conclusion. Make sure you stick to the outline while writing each section. More writing tips you can read at classification essay topics .

2. Concise, persuasive and compelling introduction

When writing the introductory section, you need to be concise so that you can seize the interest of the public. As a general rule, an introduction represents a portal to the primary ideas. The manner in which you write the introduction may have an impact on the public. Furthermore, the connection between the speaker and the subject needs to be apparent. Introduce a few fascinating examples that draw the attention of the audience and prevents them from getting bored. Expand your informative speech while concentrating more on the body. Last but not least, you need to ensure that your public will pay attention from the very beginning.

3. Smooth transitions

While presenting your speech, your body ought to coordinate your primary ideas and convey the information. Stick to the time restrictions and present your speech in a comprehensible manner. This way, it will be easy for your public to participate and comprehend.

You ought to ponder on a pleasant and natural manner of conveying your informative speech so that your public liked it. It would be a splendid idea to demonstrate a passionate concern or eagerness for the subject. Make sure to maintain adequate eye contact. As you advance from one idea to the next, you ought to seem comfortable.

4. Keep in mind that you need to sum up the ideas

As you get to the conclusion section, keep in mind that you need to sum up your previous ideas. The primary target of this section is to reiterate your primary ideas. This way, the public will be able to remember them with ease. The conclusion is used to indicate the information and offer closure.

In addition to that, you need to assess and reiterate the universal concepts, novelties or characteristics of your speech. Your conclusion ought to have the same flow as the rest of the speech. Never forget how significant the conclusion of your speech is! Make sure your ending leaves a lasting impression on the public.

Steps to devising an informative speech

Your informative speech ought to include the entirety of the techniques and concepts surrounding the subject. Begin with a broader perspective and persuasive ideas about which you feel comfortable talking.

For example, write about a topic which you like or with which you are familiar. You may also talk about activities in which you’ve been involved. The more you know about the subject, the simpler it will be to devise an adequate informative speech.

Take your time and make sure you feel confident when you convey the information. Make preparations and write down a long list. This way, you’ll have more opportunities for enhancing the information that you enjoy conveying.

For instance, if traveling is your passion, you may have plenty of fascinating trips about which you can talk. This sort of subject is something that you’ll feel confident to approach. Furthermore, you’ll also enjoy the research phase more.

It would be a splendid idea to talk about such subjects. For example, you could talk about your desire to become a writer. However, you might not be very well-informed regarding this topic.

You can reveal this by specifying that you have to study more so that you could accomplish your target. This way, your informative speech and topic will be regarded as influential.

To begin with, inquire about the time limit and concentrate on making sure this limit is respected. Decide on a particular goal so that you could coordinate the interest of the public.

Ponder on how to devise an influential speech. Solely conveying the information is not a wise way of seizing the interest of the public. Talking about aspects that your public is already aware of may be boring. As such, enhance your speech by talking about practical elements as well as your own experiences.

Be explicit regarding the subject and avoid straying from it. Let’s say you want to talk about an animal that lives in a particular locality. Concentrate on the animal itself and do not stray from the topic by including too much information about the locality, as otherwise your speech might be regarded as incoherent. Profound study and comprehension are ways of ensuring that your speech is noteworthy and exciting.

It would be a good idea to concentrate on a specific subject that you can convey with ease. You might encounter difficulties if you attempt to approach a subject with which you aren’t very familiar. It’s best to select a subject you can talk about easily.

Being aware of your topic is amongst the principles of writing an informative speech. Conduct your study with adequate comprehension and sincerity. To do so, make use of reliable materials when writing down your ideas.

During the process of collecting study elements, split the materials that you’ll make use of in your speech. Furthermore, you need to attempt to gain more knowledge regarding your subject. You may be required to reply to questions regarding your subject. As such, make sure you gain the knowledge required to respond to such questions.

For example, let’s say you need to write a speech on American history. If your public poses questions regarding this topic, you ought to be intelligent enough to respond.

After you finalize the study phase, you should discover new elements that increase the efficiency of the speech. Rather than disregarding this aspect, take your time to prepare it. More about this aspect you can read at observation paper examples .

If you need to write a speech on social networks, you’ll comprehend distinct aspects throughout the study process. You might regard social network legends as a fascinating topic. In case you feel more confident talking about this subject, you should approach it. You have conducted a substantial amount of research that enables you to convey the speech fascinatingly.

Ideally, your public will already possess a bit of knowledge regarding the subject. However, you may still provide contextual information about it. Watch out for the shortcuts you utilize when presenting the subject. Unless your assignment states it clearly, avoid making any useless clarifications.

For instance, when talking about a film, your audience will not be interested in finding out about the cast. You are not required to offer a lot of contextual information, as the public is already aware of your subject.

Make a list of the information you wish to present, in a coherent sequence. A “how to” informative speech should comprise the motive for which you want to do something and the manner in which you wish to do it.

For instance, let’s say you want to talk about how to make a cheeseburger. In that case, you ought to present each step that one would need to complete. Furthermore, keep in mind that you need to talk about the way in which the ingredients need to be used to achieve a flawless result. This way, the speech will be more interesting.

It is an excellent idea to expand on the primary ideas to make the speech more fascinating and factual. In most cases, you need to begin your speech by presenting the main ideas in a consecutive or spatial sequence.

This method allows you to convey a practical, factual and compelling speech. For example, a speech entitled “My journey to Africa” should begin with a brief description of Africa. Afterward, discuss your experiences in Africa and finish by summing them up.

The introduction represents the primary pathway towards the speech. It ought to seize the interest of the public and allow them to comprehend your topic. In general, in case your speech is lengthy and intricate, it is necessary to present the ideas you wish to discuss.

It would be a splendid idea to commence the speech with a compelling anecdote or a few citations associated with the subject. Keep in mind that you must not discuss aspects that are beside your subject. By following these guidelines, you’ll be able to establish a sustainable connection between the speech and your public. However, this may not lead to the desired outcome if you begin with a displeasing assertion or a pointless anecdote.

For example, commencing the speech with a statement like “I am a citizen of this world” may be regarded as awkward and your audience may perceive your speech as dull and unimpactful. As such, make use of appropriate statements and speech.

Your conclusion ought to summarize the primary ideas of the speech. At this point, it would be natural and logical to discuss your own viewpoint. The public usually recalls your first and last communications.

As such, make sure you use an appropriate order when conveying your speech. It may be helpful to commence and end the speech with a couple of fundamental memorizing communications. You should try to include the conclusion in the introduction. By creating a full cycle, your public will keep your speech in mind.

For example, let’s say you used a few anecdotes or citations to render your speech compelling. In case your speech regarding a film commenced with a story regarding an actor’s life, your audience may regard it as pointless and inadequate. Therefore, make sure you discuss aspects that are essential and suitable.

Your speech cannot be perfect unless you allocate an adequate amount of time for practicing it. Add or remove some ideas as required. Attempt to deliver the speech while sticking to the time limit. Even if you don’t have any time restrictions, avoid writing a lengthy and dull speech. You may not be aware of this aspect when you present your speech. Therefore, make sure you consider it before the presentation.

In case your speech is about a particular event, make sure you don’t exceed the time limit. The public may regard your speech as dull if you make it too long. Never deliver a half-completed speech! Timing is of the essence!

When delivering the speech in front of your audience, you may attempt to finish it abruptly. You might also be tempted to talk rapidly, which would make it hard for the public to comprehend. To ensure your public is having a good time, you ought to try to slow down. It would be quite practical to record your practice sessions. By doing so, you’ll be able to assess the speech by yourself. To make it efficient, highlight the errors and try to correct them.

You ought to add dramatic breaks to render the speech more compelling. Dramatic breaks can be used to underline specific information, giving the public enough time to ponder on it. To be a great orator and achieve the desired outcomes, use dramatic pauses attentively. You need to be cautious regarding the list of ideas. Take your time to practice the speech after you write down the ideas.

You may be tense about delivering the speech in front of a vast audience. As such, you ought to practice it with a friend. This way, you’ll be able to become more confident. If you’re tense during the presentation, this might ruin your speech. Therefore, it would be wise to get ready for it in front of a friend. Ask them for feedback and focus on rectifying the downsides. In case something goes wrong, fix the errors! By doing so, you’ll feel empowered to present a fascinating speech.

All of these are excellent methods of preparing an informative speech. Stick to our guidelines, and you’ll be able to present a fascinating speech!

Advice regarding your informative speech

At this point, we’ll offer you our advice on how to increase the efficiency of your informative speech.

When delivering the speech in front of a large audience, you’ll probably become tense, which might make you speak fast. Talking fast makes your speech confusing and ordinary. To render your speech comprehensive, attempt to speak slowly and loudly.

Even if you have excellent writing skills, your speech won’t be efficient if you don’t speak in a comprehensible way. In case you mumble, your audience won’t understand you. As such, practice until you can talk in a clear and intelligible manner.

You’re probably a great speaker, but you just aren’t aware of your skills yet. Talk to your family or friends regarding distinct subjects you enjoy. This way, you’ll gain more confidence to address a broad audience.

In case you’re not sure which subject to approach, seek assistance online. There are plenty of sites that list out fascinating subjects. Alternatively, ponder on how you usually spend your time. For example, if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, write a speech on the meals you usually cook.

The outline is essential to write the speech methodically, so you need to be mindful of it. As you write your speech, you might discover that specific ideas from your outline are pointless. You may introduce fundamental ideas and eliminate the unnecessary ones. Seeing as the outline is useful for identifying the fundamental ideas, follow it adequately.

Keep in mind that an informative speech is not the same as a persuasive speech. While an informative speech has the purpose of presenting information, a persuasive speech has the target of convincing the public.

Easy manners of dealing with an informative speech

Ponder on the public. This represents the most challenging element, as the context, forums and subject may differ. Before delivering your speech, assess the public. Who are they? Do you refer to them in the speech? By concentrating on these aspects, you can discover the most appropriate manners of delivering the speech.

In case you want to talk about lung carcinoma, you ought to be aware of its essential characteristics. There may be a public that may not comprehend the scope. As such, commence with the fundamental information. Avoid assuming that the public is aware of the context of the subject. However, you must also avoid presuming they aren’t aware. This represents the primary motive for which it is vital to know your public. Furthermore, it varies according to the circumstances of your speech.

Make use of adequate language. Utilize a language that the public wants to hear. The primary objective of your speech is that of offering helpful knowledge. In case your public doesn’t understand you, your speech is rendered pointless.

It would be best to use a straightforward language. You should attempt to make your speech easy to comprehend. Rather than hurrying to finalize your speech rapidly, you should ponder on how to enlighten your public. If needed, define certain words.

Comprehending the time flow aids in rendering the speech efficient. Your subject ought to be associated with the interest of your public. Explain the importance of your subject and illustrate the primary ideas by introducing a few fascinating examples as well as citations. If you talk about your personal experience, you’ll be able to seize the interest of your public.

If you want to be a great spokesperson, you need to be comprehensible and succinct. Approach straightforward notions, rather than difficult ones. Introducing a lot of examples to demonstrate a single concept may not be a good idea, as your public might regard this approach as dull. Therefore, discuss new concepts and prepare your subject adequately. Furthermore, you ought to offer thorough information. The majority of people regard details and expressive delivery as influential.

During the practice phase, attempt to use audio or visuals. This way, you’ll find it easier to detect errors. Once you pinpoint the error, you’ll be able to rectify it. Furthermore, demo presentations and visual supports represent efficient methods of presenting the speech appropriately.

The ideas presented in this article ought to assist you in writing and presenting a flawless informative speech. In case you need additional help, just get in touch!

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• May 26, 2020
• By Homework Help Global

200 Informative Speech Topics That Work For Any Class

It seems like a lot to think about. The truth is that writing informative speeches can be a tough process. When a lot of your grade is resting on your ability to get this speech done effectively, it’s very easy to lose focus and want to give up entirely. However, if you have the right tools, you can easily write a speech that captivates your audience without caving to that pressure.

In our last blog, we gave you 100 persuasive speech topics you can use for any argumentative speech. Now, we’re going to raise the bar and give you 200 informative speech topics to use in any class you’re taking.

Narrowing Down a Topic

Realistically, you could write a good informative speech or essay about anything. But finding a really good topic that will captivate an audience and be explanatory enough to get your point across is a tough line to throttle.

Think of it like writing a research paper . You have to find a focus. It needs to be something narrow enough that can fit into a coherent speech without limiting your ability to find credible sources and information. This is also important for organization and structure, as you don’t want your speech leading off into different directions that your audience has to try to follow.

According to Lumen Learning , here are some things you can think about when you’re trying to work out an angle or a direction for your topic based on the 5 Ws of problem solving:

● Who does your topic or issue affect?

● Why is this topic important? What are the motives behind exploring it?

● What is the most important point or viewpoint?

● Where is the topic located, or which areas of the world does it impact?

● When did/does this topic occur? Is timeline an important factor?

Keep Things Interesting

The tricky part about coming up with good informative speech topics is trying to be creative and interesting while giving your audience an adequate amount of information. It’s very easy for an informative speech to become boring or uninteresting.

It’s all about understanding your audience. Your topic or subject needs to be relevant to the audience you’re speaking to. For example, if you’re teaching a beginner-level class about a new scientific discovery, you need to make sure you avoid too many scientific and technical terms that your audience won’t understand. Using too much jargon or niche-specific language is the easiest and fastest way to lose your audience’s interest, no matter what subject you’re working with.

Sometimes you’ll be given a specific topic, and in that case your creative freedom can be pretty limited. When that happens and you’re working with a topic that’s far from intriguing, the secret is in your writing and communication.

Get Your Facts Right

When you’re giving an informative speech to an audience, you are giving them information and facts about a particular subject and helping to grow their knowledge about that topic. Therefore, it is extremely important that you make sure you’re giving them reliable, correct, and credible information from reputable, trusted sources. Start with a brainstorm and come up with everything you know off the top of your head about your topic. Then, try to fill in the gaps with research.

Stick to academic journal articles, textbooks, reports, studies, and other peer-reviewed sources to make sure you’re forming a distinct and valid viewpoint that won’t misinform anyone. Check for bias in your sources. For example, if you’re writing an informative speech on the impacts of the meat industry on the environment, don’t rely on sources from a vegan blog. Use scientific research studies that provide hard, true facts that aren’t skewed by one bias or viewpoint.

Use the CARS Checklist when analyzing the validity and reliability of a source:

● C – Credibility (check the author’s credentials and the sources they use)

● A – Accuracy (look for complete information, extensive facts, make sure there aren’t any gaps)

● R – Reasonableness (look for a fair and balanced argument that isn’t biased by opinion)

● S – Support (check the article’s reviews as well as any public support by other experts in the field)

Our Mega List of 200 Informative Speech Topics

Are you ready for this? We’re about to give you an exhaustive list of 200 informative speech topics, broken down by subject area. These carefully selected topics offer a wide range of angles, viewpoints, and even controversial elements that will give you plenty of opportunities to make a compelling and creative academic speech.

This list is sure to help you brainstorm for your speech and give you some inspiration to work with. If not, you can always take a look at our list of effective argumentative essay topics to get even more ideas.

Informative Speech Topics For History and the Humanities

1. Immigration history in America 2. Society and life in the Dark Ages 3. The mystery of Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa painting 4. Burial practices in ancient cultures and societies 5. Sculpture in the Renaissance 6. Fashion in Victorian Britain 7. The assassination of John F. Kennedy 8. Colonization and its impact on the European powers in the Age of Exploration and beyond 9. The Olympics in Ancient Greece 10. Explore the history of tattoos and body art 11. The 1918 Spanish Flu 12. Innovations that came out of the great wars 13. Japanese Kamikaze fighters during World War II 14. Rum running during Prohibition 15. Mahatma Gandhi and Indian apartheid 16. The Salem Witch Trials 17. How escaped slaves communicated along the Underground Railroad 18. The Gold Rush in California and its impact or significance 19. Economic divisions and the Vietnam War 20. The significance of the Stonewall Riots

Interesting Topic Ideas For English and Classic Literature

21. How Shakespeare’s plays helped shape the modern language 22. The history of spirits or the supernatural in classic literature 23. Ernest Hemingway’s narrative on masculinity 24. The practice of banning books and literature from schools 25. Symbolism in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird 26. Depictions of classic literature in modern films 27. Which books that have been published in today’s time would stand as classic literature in the future? 28. The impact of modern technology on literature and publishing 29. How to beat writer’s block 30. Rhetorical analysis of Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech 31. Satire in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice 32. The concept of madness in William Shakespeare’s tragedies 33. Human nature in Plato’s The Republic 34. Feminist theory and the works of Charlotte Perkins Gilman 35. Rationality in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies 36. Common themes in Gothic literature 37. How to define the canons of classic literature 38. War poetry from any time period 39. Depictions of the apocalypse in literature and fiction 40. Common themes in Victorian literature from the 19th century

Intriguing Topics About Current Affairs, Social Issues, and Human Rights

41. What our society has learned from the COVID-19 pandemic 42. Patterns in America’s fastest growing cities 43. Current social movements such as Black Lives Matter or the Occupy Wall Street movement 44. Explore modern protest culture 45. Idolization of celebrities in modern society 46. Social media influencers and Tik Tok stars and their celebrity status among Generation Z 47. Human trafficking in first world countries 48. The concept of universal human rights 49. “Viral” culture in today’s society 50. Generational divisions and tensions between Baby Boomers, Millennials, or Generation Z 51. The role of the United Nations in the interest of global human rights 52. Women’s rights/freedoms in third world countries 53. The United Nations Human Rights Council and its purpose/function 54. Uses of torture to extract information from high-level criminals or terrorists 55. The influence of cultural traditions on human rights in various countries 56. Benefits of social media for collective action in areas where human rights are being contested 57. The influence of Westernization on human rights in other countries 58. Support and guidance for troubled children in the current foster care system 59. The prevalence of child abuse in modern society 60. Racial prejudice in the workplace

Creative Ideas For Film, Music, and Popular Culture

61. Originality in today’s music, movies, or television shows 62. The role of music in social movements 63. Crime scene television – accuracies and inaccuracies 64. The power of satire in comedy 65. How streaming services have changed the film/television or music industry 66. Focus on a music sub-culture and how it has empowered that group of people 67. Domestic violence in the media 68. Censorship issues in music 69. The importance of teaching music in elementary and high schools 70. Modern horror films and “shock value” 71. Religious symbolism in Star Wars 72. Disney princesses and their impact on young girls in society 73. Sexuality and messaging in film and television 74. The impact of a historical musician or musical group and their impact on today’s music 75. Mythology in popular culture 76. Child stars and the problems they face as they age 77. Superhero culture in society 78. The history of jazz music in New Orleans 79. Which popular culture artifacts will archaeologists be studying in the future to learn about our society? 80. The current status of the idea of the “Blockbuster” movie

Politics, Law, and Business-Related Topics

81. How to build a business from scratch 82. The importance of taking an accounting course or program 83. Negative and positive economic potential from the rise in artificial intelligence 84. The strategy behind a carbon tax and its effectiveness in other countries 85. How insurance companies can deal with the potential risks of self-driving cars 86. The role of human relations in fostering strong workplace relationships and productivity 87. Traffic cameras and their impact on society 88. The opioid crisis in America 89. Private prisons in the United States 90. Issues and concerns with cybersecurity and Internet policing 91. Censorship and the Internet 92. Government intervention in family law affairs 93. The process of making amendments to various laws or Constitutional articles 94. Globalization and the influence of capitalism around the world 95. Solutions and ideas the government can implement to curb the issue of homelessness 96. How to determine which political platforms are most important right now 97. The impact of political scandals on certain politicians 98. Issues with the current electoral system in your country 99. The ideal political system in a utilitarian world 100. Capital punishment and its place in today’s society

Inspiration For Your Science, Healthcare, and Medicine Classes

101. Dehydration and the important role water plays in our everyday lives 102. The dangers of refined sugar 103. How human beings can contribute to “going green” 104. Managing chronic pain in a specific area 105. Hybrid vehicles and their impact on the environment 106. Positive and negative impacts of medicinal marijuana 107. LASIK surgery and its long-term benefits and impacts 108. Why certain animal species become endangered or extinct 109. Habit-based diet management techniques 110. Caffeine and its impact on the human body (good and bad) 111. Break down a trending diet (such as paleo, keto, vegan) and explore its nutritional impact on the human body 112. The commodification of organic agriculture 113. Animal testing in science laboratories 114. Energy preservation techniques that promote sustainable living 115. Protecting the future of the rainforest 116. Homeopathy and its validity in the field of healthcare and science 117. Advantages and impacts of solar or wind technologies for power generation 118. The evolution of species and adaptability during the threat of climate change 119. Prominent advancements in chemistry from the 20th and 21st centuries 120. Carbon dating and the process of DNA analysis

Education, University, and College Subjects

121. Showcase the differences between the American education system and the European education system 122. The challenge of teaching digital literacy skills 123. Parental involvement in children’s education 124. Detecting learning disabilities in children as early as possible 125. Benefits and advantages of studying abroad 126. The connection between education and poverty 127. Effective punishments for cyberbullying and bullying in classrooms 128. How to avoid procrastination 129. The connection between education and unemployment 130. Violence and sexual assault on college campuses 131. Hazing practices in college or university 132. The impact of fraternities and sororities in the 21st century 133. How to overcome personal challenges in university 134. The importance of student unions 135. Sexual education systems in elementary schools 136. Teaching tolerance and sensitivity in elementary schools 137. Pros and cons of segregated education systems for children who are mentally disabled or cognitively impaired 138. Caffeine addiction and student life 139. The real cost of attending college and university 140. How energy drinks impact student study habits

The Best Psychology Topics

141. How to deal with eating disorders and body image in young children and/or teens 142. Why the human brain cannot actually multitask efficiently 143. Mental health issues and war veterans 144. The psychology behind marketing and advertising 145. Social media and its impact on mental health 146. Addition and its connection to mental health issues 147. Insomnia and its impact on the human body 148. Phobias in young children or adults 149. Causes and solutions for sleep paralysis 150. Freud’s theories and their relevancy today 151. Solutions and healing processes for the mentally ill through video games 152. Child geniuses and prodigies 153. The psychology behind cults 154. Abnormal psychology: epidemiology, diagnosis, etc. 155. Profile a specific type of therapy and its pros and cons 156. Identifying autism in early states of life 157. Childhood bullying and self-esteem issues or depression 158. Hypnosis as a treatment for addiction 159. The link between physical health and mental illness 160. Child labour and post-traumatic stress disorder

Religion, Culture, and Food Studies Topics

161. The concept of culture shock 162. Extreme foods from different cultures around the world 163. Yoga and meditation practices around the world 164. Explore a religion outside of your own and its core values 165. The cultural connection between food and heritage 166. Social media “foodie” culture 167. How food culture can impact the development of a community or city 168. The relationship between diet and identity 169. Fast food and its impact on American culture 170. The role that food has played in various cultural traditions around the world or within history 171. Solutions that could contribute to ending world hunger 172. The reality of the Separation of Church and State in America 173. Traditions or rituals in various cultures around the world 174. Culture and its influence on law 175. Is there a dominant culture in the United States? What is American culture? 176. Nationalism and religion 177. Religious dominance and narrative pertaining to holidays such as Christmas 178. The history of a specific culture or cultural tradition 179. Gourmet food and social status/divisions 180. The impact of mass media on modern culture

Informative Speech Topics About Sports

181. The brutality of some extreme fighting sports 182. Tourism and the financial impact of the Olympics 183. Values and lessons that can be learned from playing team sports 184. Explore the history of a particular sport 185. Today’s athletic skills compared to those in the previous generation 186. College athletes and corporate sponsorship 187. The educational value of sports 188. Virtual or electronic sports 189. Gender issues in major sports leagues 190. The concept of chess as a sport 191. Physical activity and the process of aging 192. Issues with drug use and major league sports 193. Physical activity and sport as rehabilitation therapy for major injuries 194. The Olympics opening and closing ceremonies 195. Sport and physical activity as a stress relieving tool 196. Divisions and conflicts between sports fans 197. FIFA and the allegations of corruption 198. Salary caps in sports 199. Animal sports and the issues they pose 200. Sports betting and associated legalities

20 BONUS TOPICS: Fun Informative Speech Topics to Use When You Have Unlimited Creative Freedom

Not everyone is lucky enough to get to pick and choose whichever topic they want without any creative limitations. However, on the rare occasion that you do get to talk about any subject you want, here are some funny, interesting, or even controversial topics you can try out.

1. The mystery of the Bermuda Triangle 2. Why money rules the world 3. How remote tribes can continue to exist primitively without the influence of technology 4. The likelihood that Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster are real 5. How to make friends in college or university 6. Did Pluto deserve to be stripped of its status as a planet? 7. The most dangerous or risky careers 8. If people knew they were going to die, would they live differently? 9. The relevance of the Academy Awards in today’s society 10. Things every couple should do before they get married 11. The best April Fool’s Day pranks 12. Online relationships in today’s society 13. How to talk to children about Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and other imaginary creatures 14. Murphy’s Law: how it works or doesn’t work 15. The importance of eating breakfast 16. How to learn lessons from your mistakes 17. The implications of time travel 18. Pros and cons of taking a gap year before college 19. Can wholesome comedians succeed? 20. How to tell if someone is a good person

If These Informative Speech Topics Didn’t Help, You Still Have Options

If you didn’t find a topic on that massive list of informative speech topics, you might be in need of some extra help. Whether you’re just tired of trying to find a starting point or you’ve lost interest in your assignment entirely, we’re here to help you out.

At Homework Help Global , we specialize in helping students write speeches and presentations that captivate any audience and get you the mark you need to succeed in any class. Our highly educated academic writers have extensive experience writing speeches in a variety of fields, and have been writing speeches for years. No matter what subject or deadline you’re working with, our team is eager and ready to help you reach your goals.

Get a free quote now or fill out our online order form to get connected with a speech writer in your subject or field.

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Informative Speech Topics and Ideas: The Ultimate Guide

Before proceeding to the main topic, let us get some idea on Informative speech. Well, it is the type of speech that gives information about a particular subject to audiences.

Its main goal is to help audiences to recognize the information presented by you. Additionally, it makes a complex topic simple to understand providing different opinions and perspectives.

It also provides engaging information which is unique and desired by the audience.

Besides, informative speech can include objects, procedures, events, and other innovative ideas. This does not include the limited list as it is the topic plan that every useful speech contains. Speech can only be handy if it delivers genuine and informative information.

Informative speech describes the topic of your interest. For an instance, if you are giving an informative speech on coffee, focus on the topic.

Think about, what does coffee do, why do you love coffee, and how does it affect your health.

Also, to get rid of the health effect how much coffee do you need to drink per day. You can also conclude by summarizing all these things in a creative way. This makes your speech more interesting.

When you present, you might like to expand some topics or reduce the others. Here, you should be sensitive to your audience and think too much like this can distract the topic.

So focus on your plan and subject. Keep in mind, informative speech just to inform audiences. Do not pick up the topic based on your view as it is a convincing speech.

Remember, too much argumentative speech attempting to influence might take your audiences away.

These kinds of speech are polemical and are wrongly argumentative. You can also find places and time to make an appropriate polemical speech. But, it is not good to include it in the middle of the speech.

You can mention like “Coffee encourages me to work, giving me company during the work. I start my day with a cup of coffee.

It also inspires me to carry out research well. Yet, it can affect my health as well. So, I need to be conscious and drink coffee to the limit”. You can add more here describing different circumstances.

Table of Contents

Informative Speech Topics in History:

Informative speech topics in health and medicine:, informative speech topics in teaching, education, and students:, informative speech topics in music:, informative speech topics in food:, informative speech topics on environment:, informative speech topics in technology:, informative speech topics on economy:, informative speech topics in life:, other informative speech topics, 1. introduction, body, and conclusion, 2. clear, influential, and grabbing introduction, 3. seamless transitions, 4. do not forget to summarize at last, sample of informative speech, a) note list of wide-ranging subject area corresponding your knowledge and expertise, b) focus on the subject area relevant you don’t know yet but would love to, c) pick up the particular purpose of your speech, d) from the list of your topics, pick the one you can express clearly, a) carry out the initial research, b) think about how your research might change your topic, a) think about your audiences earlier than writing the speech, b) summarize your speech, c) elaborate the key points to make it interesting, d) write an introduction, e) write conclusion, a) make sufficient time to practice your speech, b) practice slowing down, c) if possible practice your speech with your friends, 1) make sure you do not speak fast, 2) practice speaking clearly and comprehensibly, 3) speak with your parents and friends, 4) get help from the internet, 5) carry out the outline properly, 6) understand the difference between persuasive and informative speech, 1) the audiences, 2) languages, 4) try to become clear and concise, 5) use audio or visuals if possible, informative speech topics.

• The Great Depression
• Famous riots
• The British Royal Family
• Women in the military
• Unique funeral customs across the world
• The origin of alphabets
• The history of tobacco use
• The evolution of marriage
• Top secret government experiments
• The most fascinating accidental inventions
• History of witchcraft
•      The history of language
• History of beauty products
•  The Industrial Revolution
• The Middle Ages
• How did the Olympics come to be?
• Albert Einstein’s Contributions to Science
• Helen Keller’s Life
• History of art and expression
• Civil disobedience
• Why do we celebrate Valentine’s day?
• Where did fortune cookies come from
• A look into World wars
• Understanding cults
• Evolution of comic books
• Most exciting prison breaks of history
• Why have street gangs been so prevalent?
• Life and Works of Mahatma Gandhi
• Most shocking murders the world has seen
• Evolution of immigration in the US
• Life and Works of Mother Teresa
• People Who Changed the World
• How the Earth was formed
• How antibiotics came to be
• The history of greyhound dogs
• Different philosophical perspectives
• Evolution of movies
• How Modern art came to be
• Understanding Millenials and Gen-Z
• History of Superstitions
• History of Genocide
• Indian Culture
• Haitian Music
• The trucking industry
• The 80’s: more than just denim and hairdos
• The funniest inventions ever
• An analysis of smoking in movies through the years
• Women in space
• World’s most wanted criminals
• Most ridiculous laws throughout history
• Medicines from nature
• Memory loss
• How the brain works
• Mental illnesses
• Fast food culture
• Basic first aid
• Lucid dreams
• Organ donation
• Medicinal properties of ginger
• Why I am better than you: A look into Narcissistic Disorder
•  Are home remedies actually worth it?
• How DNA testing changed the world
• How vitamins can enrich your everyday life
• Why you need to stretch before your workout
• Different personality disorders
• The true horror of chemical warfare
•  How makeup affects your skin
• Birth control and its negative effects
• Leaps made by stem cell research
• Signs of early on-set Alzheimers
• How vaccines work
• How to avoid wrinkles
• Understanding insomnia
• Understanding addiction
• How nicotine deteriorates your life
• Herbs as medicine
• Life as a child of a drug addict
• Why do we itch?
• Botox: the good and the bad
• Human cadavers – history of, uses of
• How to have a better memory
• DNA evidence.
• The intelligence of dolphins
• Is dark chocolate healthy?
• Importance of vitamins and minerals
• Pros and cons of LASIK surgery
• Weight Issues.
• Teen pregnancy
• How stress can cripple your health
• How a vegan diet can better your life
• Why understanding health is vital to your weight loss journey
• Unique medical conditions
• Crazy things people have done on an adrenaline rush
• Why does our body crave danger?
• How to make an income while a student
• How to survive freshman year
• How to take the GRE
• How to get a student job on campus
• How to save money while in college
• Virtual learning and its impact on Modern Education
• Education and its role in unemployment
• Great vacation bargains for students
• Ethnic diversity for a more open learning experience
• What to do in your senior year
• Why do you need a college degree?
• Moving out of the dorm to an apartment off-campus
• Freebies and discounts for students
• How to pay off your student loans in 10 years
• Graduation checklist
• How to pick a major you care about
• The evolution of testing
• The basics of financial aid
•  How to get that great internship
• Current issues in education and what we can do about them
• Basics of getting a fellowship
• Learning disabilities teachers should be aware of
• Banned books
• Why travel is beneficial to education.
• Diploma mills
• Poverty and its impact on students
• A look at the different testing methods
• Online learning: A breakthrough in Modern Education
• What to do on spring break?
• Is homeschooling an effective learning method?
• The history of your favorite musical group
• How music has changed the world
• What music has been to society
• Classical and Modern Music: A comparison
• The benefits of Music Therapy
• Music and its effects on mood
• Music and its effects on plant growth
• Music and its effects on the psychological response of infants
• The impact your favorite artist has had in the music world
• The evolution of music
• How different genres of music promote empowerment through self-expression
• Modern earphones and tinnitus
• Music and devotion explained through the life of an artist
• How our brain reacts to music
• How music can be used in rehabilitation
• Does our music tastes define our personality?
• What really makes a rockstar?
• Strangest musical instruments across the world
• Food additives: What are they and how they affect us
• Food etiquettes across different countries
• The food crisis
• We are what we eat
• Culinary modernism
• The most exotic foods you can eat
• Different types of coffee
• Can peanut butter and jelly get any better than it is?
• Understanding the food chain
• Understanding food allergies
•      Understanding nutrition
• Playing matchmaker: Condiments in foods
• Baking your own bread
• Wedding cakes: The bigger the better?
• How to plan a diet that works
• How to make the perfect cocktail
• A quick guide to wine tasting
• Junk food: More than just a packet of chips
• Food disorders: What we can do to help
• What is better than sliced bread?
• How branding is shaping our perception of food
• Cereal, soda, and obesity
• Eggs: the most versatile food
• How to go green in our eating habits
• A practical guide to balanced eating
• Are superfoods all that they claim to be?
• How to master herbs and spices
• How to make your own pasta
• How to pair your wine with your food?
• How to plan a culinary itinerary?
• Ocean pollution and how serious the issue has become
• Organic agriculture: Why the switch is worth it
• The true impact of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Pollution laws and who it is actually protecting
• Is it over for coal?
• Plant species that have gone extinct
• Animal species that have gone extinct
• Our environment is dying and here’s why
• Water shortage across the globe
• How much of what we eat is pesticides and insecticides?
• Domestic wastes and how to better manage it
• What we can do to protect our environment?
• COVID-19 as a blessing to Mother Nature
• How a meat-based diest impacts the environment
• How to preserve finite resources?
• How we are contributing to global pollution
• How Global Warming is coming for us
• How corporations are destroying our environment
• Are rainforests going extinct?
• Genetically modified crops: Boon or curse?
• How would life adjust without electricity?
• 3D printers have been a game-changer
• Evolution of computer programming
• Gadgets I love most
• Useful websites
• The internet as a boon or curse for human interaction
• How Google became the widespread power that is is
• Choosing a digital camera
• New technologies
• Biometrics: New development or a threat to biological data?
• Pros and cons of going electric
• How do 3D glasses work?
• Violence and Video Games: Is this still a thing?
• Evolution of content consumption
• How to stay safe online?
• How the content we consume makes us
• How to start a good personal inventory
• How search engines work
• Social Networking
• The Evolution of video games
• VR gaming: Blurring the line of reality
• The downside of smartphones
• Pros and Cons of Smartphones
• Is freedom of speech real over the Internet?
• How technology has compromised our safety
• Are blogs the new diaries?
• How to build better credit
• What you need to know about online banking security
• Is your money safe?
• Taxing the rich: Is that the solution?
• The best investment tactics
• How to beat the market
• How to get a credit card
• Price hike in the agricultural field
• Where does our currency come from?
• The ever-increasing cost of education
• How education affects economy
• Economic impacts of people growing their own foods
•      Why you need to save money
• How to eat well on just $5 a day?
• The budgeting secret you’ve needed all your life
• How to get along with your roommate
• Some inexpensive places to take your date
• What to do when your roommate moves out
• Being Confident.
• Believing in Yourself.
• Breaking Bad Habits.
• Being Optimistic in Life.
• Being a Positive Talker.
• Types of birth control
• How to fall for the right person
• Choosing the right tires for your car
• How to perform a magic trick
• How a single parent upbringing affects the child
• How to build your own brand?
• How to achieve Goals
• How Does Self-motivation Work?
• Different leadership styles and how they help employee productivity
• Handling Responsibility
• Importance of Discipline
• Importance of Meditation
• Powerful Communication
• The most dangerous jobs
• Should assisted suicide be legalized?
• The secret for a lasting marriage
• How to grow your own home garden
• How to retain good employees
• How to recognize toxic behaviors
• How to master negotiations
• Become a more persuasive speaker
• The benefits of reading every day
• Differences in male and female communication
• Muscle cars
• Antique collecting
• Dog training
• My first job
• Overcoming conflict
• Favorite place
• My favorite food
• Prohibition
• Airplane stunts
• Model railroading
• Roadside attractions
• Multi-Level marketing
• Why are smiles contagious
• Is it love or simply a habit?
• Interesting world records
• Favorite TV Shows
• The Welfare system
• City planning
• Reality TV shows
• Coin collecting
• Ice cream making
• Reality of a dream
• What winners do to win?
• Near-death experiences
• The beauty of wolves
• Funeral oration
• Pesticide use in agriculture
• How to change a flat tire
• How to drive a stick shift

What to include in informative speech?

Know what to include in an informative speech.

Usually, an informative speech contains an introduction, an informative body, and a meaningful and convincing conclusion. You have to follow the format one after another.

While working on the introduction part, you have to be clean to draw the attention of the audience. Generally, an introduction is a gateway to the key points.

The way you present the introduction part of the speech can influence the audience. It should have a clear relationship between the presenter and the topic.

Add some interesting example that attracts them and does not get bored. Focusing more on the body, develop the speech. Make sure your audiences will listen with an interest from the start.

While delivering an informative speech, the body should harmonize the main points. It must also present the information. Better follow the given time limit and convey information in an understandable way. This makes the audience convenient to engage and understand.

You need to think about a comfortable and natural way of presenting the speech. This way your speech gets appreciated by the audience. Here, the presenter should reveal a vibrant interest or desire for the topic. Keep the correct eye contact. The advancement from one point to another should not look uncomfortable.

In the conclusion part, do not forget to summarize your previous points. The main goal of the conclusion is to end with the main points of the speech. This will set your information in the mind of audiences. The ending should be the medium speaker signals the speech is heading towards an end.

Besides, analyze and repeat the most projecting ideas, innovations, or features of the speech. You should conclude the speech in a similar flow used during the speech. The essential thing to note down is that ending the speech is important. It needs to take the attention of the audience until the last hour.

For your ease, here are some samples that can be helpful for efficient informative speech.

How to write informative speech?

1) pick up the the topic.

The informative speech should cover all the procedures and ideas focusing on the topic. Better to start with a larger image and convincing points that you are confident to speak on.

For an instance, work on the subjects that you usually do or love to do. You can also include the activities that you have been practicing for years. The more you understand the topic, the easier it will be to carry out the useful speech.

Spend some time on the speech that builds up the confidence to deliver the speech. Prepare and come with a long-tail list. This benefits you with more choices to improve the speech that you love to present.

For example, if you like traveling, you might have lots of interesting travel experiences. You will feel comfortable speaking on that topic. Also, you love researching more on the topic of your interest.

Better include these kinds of topics in the list of your subject area. For an instance, you can say that you want to become a tech blogger. But you might not know much about the subject.

You can show it, saying you need to research more on the topic to pursue your aim. This makes your speech and subject influential.

First of all, find out the time you take to cover the topic and focus on completing the speech within the allocated time.

Pick up the particular purpose of the speech to direct the attention of your audience.

Think about making your speech influential. Only delivering the important speech is not going to help to attract your audiences.

Delivering the thing that your audiences already know might bore them. So make it interesting including the practical things and add your experience as well.

Be precise with the topic, do not move away from the topic. Suppose, you are speaking on the National animal of a country.

Focus on the topic of national animals, do not divert your speech explaining more about the country. Your speech may look meaningless.

Deep research and understanding of the topic make your speech more remarkable and appealing.

Better focus on a particular topic that you can express without too much work. If you try to speak about an unfamiliar topic, you might be in trouble later. Better pick up the topic workable for you to speak.

2) Research on the topic

One of the rules to write an informative speech is -Know your subject. Carry out your research with proper understanding and honesty. You can do this by utilizing trustworthy resources to write the notes.

While gathering research elements, divide the resources that you will use in the speech. Also, try to learn more about the subject area related to the topic. You may have to respond to the queries about the speech topic. Better learn the things that are helpful to answer the queries.

For an instance, you are speaking about European culture. If the audience asks about it, you should be smart enough to answer to the query.

Once you complete your research, find something new that makes your speech more effective. Instead of ignoring it, take some time to prepare it.

When preparing an informative speech on social media, you understand different things during the research. You may find the research on Social media Myth more interesting. If you have more confidence to speak on the social media myths, you can pursue it. You have done lots of research that makes you able to deliver the speech in an interesting way.

3) About writing the speech

It is ideal to expect your audiences are a little familiar with your topic. Keeping in mind, you may still deliver the background information of the related topic. Beware of the shortcuts you use while explaining the topic. Until your task says otherwise, do not rush to clarify anything.

Nobody desires to know about the actors and actresses when you are giving a speech in the movie. You do not need to provide lots of background information as they are already familiar with the topic.

List out the information you are willing to include and keep it in logical order. To carry out how to informative speech, including the reason for what you are doing and how you do it will be fine.

For example, if your speech is on preparing hamburgers, you should explain every step you carry out. Additionally, do not forget to explain how you use the ingredient for the perfect result. This makes your speech interesting.

Better elaborate on the main points to make your informative speech more interesting and informative. The common method to carry out the speech is to emerge with the key points. These key points for a speech should be in sequential order or spatial order.

This procedure helps to give a useful, informative, and engaging speech. For an instance, start the speech on My trip to Lumbini with a short introduction of Lumbini. Then, your experience while visiting Lumbini and conclude with summarizing them.

The introduction is the main gateway to your speech. It should take the attention of audiences and let them understand what you are talking about. Usually, if your speech is long or complicated, make sure to provide the points you aim to cover.

Better start the speech with interesting jokes or quotes related to your topic. Make sure you will not speak out of the topic. This will be useful to build a strong connection between your speech and the audience. Yet, it might go wrong if you prefer unpleasant statements or meaningless jokes.

For an instance, starting the speech as “I just came from the universe” might sound weird. This can make your speech boring and unimpressive. Better try some relevant sentences and speech.

The conclusion should sum up the key points of your speech. Better conclude the speech with your opinion. The audience usually remembers the first and last things they hear.

Thus, be sure, you are in the right sequence to deliver your message to your audiences. It will help to start and conclude your speech with some essential memorizing messages.

Attempt to put your conclusion into the introduction. Emerging with a complete circle provides will make your speech in the heart of your audience.

For an instance, you used some precise jokes or quotes making the speech impressive. If your movie speech started with a story about an actor struggling to make his career.  

It might sound useless and inappropriate with the topic. So, talk about the thing that is necessary and appropriate.

4) Practicing your speech

Practice makes us perfect so make enough time to practice your speech. Include or cut off the points as necessary.

Try completing your speech in the precise time. Even if you are not assigned the time limitation, do not make the speech long and boring. You might not know this while delivering the speech. Better think about it earlier than you give the speech.

If you are speaking for some event, be sure that it does not cross the time limitation. Audiences might get your speech boring if you take a too long time or you may have to end with an incomplete speech. So, be sure that it works according to the time.

While presenting in a mass of people, you might f try to end the speech instantly. You may also speak quickly and in that way, audiences might not understand you.

To be sure the audiences enjoy what you present, attempt to slow down. Better use, video recorder while practicing. This way you can analyze your speech by yourself. It will be effective if you point out the mistakes and work to fix that.

Try to include dramatic pauses to make your speech more attractive. Dramatic pauses can strike a particular bit of information providing the audience time to reflect.

Best speakers use them carefully with great consequence. You have to be alert about the list of information. Make some time to practice after you list out the information.

You might be nervous to present in front of a huge mass of people. So, try practicing in front of your friend. This makes you able to build confidence.

Being nervous will mess up your speech. Better prepare well by working with your friends. Get feedback from them as an audience and work on the drawbacks. If you go with the wrong plan then recover from the mistake. This gives you the strength to deliver an interesting speech.

So, these are some effective ways to write informative speeches. Following these points will help to deliver an interesting speech.

Tips for Informative Speech

Now, let us proceed towards the tips to make your informative speech more efficient

While presenting in front of lots of people, it is likely to get nervous. When you get nervous, you try to complete the speech by talking quickly.

This might make the speech confusing and unimpressive. Think about it, while practicing try to slow down and make your speech clear and loud.

Even if you are good at writing the speech, it will not be effective unless you speak clearly. If you mumble while speaking, it might sound unclear. So, practice more and more until you speak clearly and comprehensibly.

You are most likely good at informative speech but you might not realize that. You can speak with your parents and friends about different topics of your interest. This builds up your confidence to speak in public.

If you are having a problem deciding on the topic of your speech, get help from the internet. There, you can find lots of websites with a list of prospective and interesting topics.

Or else, you can also think about the time you spend the most. For an instance, you spend most of your time cooking.  Talk about cooking the dishes that you are proficient at.

Your outline plays a significant role to help you take your speech in an organized way. Yet, you should not take it lightly.

When you work on the speech, you might get that some points mentioned in the outline is unnecessary. You can add essential points and remove the points which you do not need. As outline helps to find necessary points, do it properly.

Persuasive and informative speeches are two different things. You should know that. Persuasive speech is convincing while informative speech gives information about a particular topic.

Simple ways to approach an informative speech

Think about your audience. This is the most challenging as the speaking circumstances, forums, and topics can vary. Before presenting the speech, analyze who your audiences are? Why are they present in your speech? Focusing on these details, you can explore the best ways to present your speech.

If you are speaking about lung cancer, you should know its basics as well. Some audiences might not understand the depth.

So start your speech from the basics. Do not presume that audiences are familiar with the background of your topic. Again, do not assume they do not know. This is the main reason, knowing the audience is essential. Besides, it depends on the situation of the speech.

Use proper language. Speak the language that audiences desire to listen to. You deliver the speech with the goal to provide useful information to the audience.

If audiences do not understand what you speak, the speech becomes useless. The main target of an informative speech is to give knowledge about a particular topic.

If you can explain well the topic in simple language better use it. Try to make the speech simple and understandable.

Do not rush to complete the speech quickly. Instead, think about educating your audiences with your speech. Explain the term if necessary.

Understanding the time flow of the speech will be helpful to make your speech effective. Speakers should create a link between their topic and the interest of audiences.

Here describe the significance of the topic. Also, express the main points with some interesting examples and quotes.

A speaker confessing their own experience encourages the audiences to share the same interest.

To become a good speaker, you have to be clear and concise at first. Spend lots of time on simple concepts instead of the harder ones.

Since giving many examples to prove a single point might not work well. This way your audiences may find your speech boring.

Better, explore some new ideas and prepare the topic well. Try to provide detailed information. Most of the audience gets influenced by details and descriptive presentation.

Try practicing using audio or visuals if possible. They help to find out your mistake. You can improve after you know where the mistake is.

Additionally, informative speech can be effective with demo presentation and visual support. So, using them properly helps to deliver your speech in a proper way.

The above-mentioned topics and tips for informative speech should help you prepare and deliver a powerful informative speech. If you have any suggestions or feedback, please let me know in the comment below.

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11.1 Informative Speeches

Learning objectives.

• Identify common topic categories for informative speeches.
• Identify strategies for researching and supporting informative speeches.
• Explain the different methods of informing.
• Employ strategies for effective informative speaking, including avoiding persuasion, avoiding information overload, and engaging the audience.

Many people would rather go see an impassioned political speech or a comedic monologue than a lecture. Although informative speaking may not be the most exciting form of public speaking, it is the most common. Reports, lectures, training seminars, and demonstrations are all examples of informative speaking. That means you are more likely to give and listen to informative speeches in a variety of contexts. Some organizations, like consulting firms, and career fields, like training and development, are solely aimed at conveying information. College alumni have reported that out of many different speech skills, informative speaking is most important (Verderber, 1991). Since your exposure to informative speaking is inevitable, why not learn how to be a better producer and consumer of informative messages?

Creating an Informative Speech

As you’ll recall from Chapter 9 “Preparing a Speech” , speaking to inform is one of the three possible general purposes for public speaking. The goal of informative speaking is to teach an audience something using objective factual information. Interestingly, informative speaking is a newcomer in the world of public speaking theorizing and instruction, which began thousands of years ago with the ancient Greeks (Olbricht, 1968). Ancient philosophers and statesmen like Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian conceived of public speaking as rhetoric, which is inherently persuasive. During that time, and until the 1800s, almost all speaking was argumentative. Teaching and instruction were performed as debates, and even fields like science and medicine relied on argumentative reasoning instead of factual claims.

Until the 1800s, even scientific fields and medicine relied on teaching that was based on debate and argument rather than the informative-based instruction that is used today.

Monash University – Surgery Workshop 2012 – CC BY-NC 2.0.

While most instruction is now verbal, for most of modern history, people learned by doing rather than listening, as apprenticeships were much more common than classroom-based instruction. So what facilitated the change from argumentative and demonstrative teaching to verbal and informative teaching? One reason for this change was the democratization of information. Technical information used to be jealously protected by individuals, families, or guilds. Now society generally believes that information should be shared and made available to all. The increasing complexity of fields of knowledge and professions also increased the need for informative speaking. Now one must learn a history or backstory before actually engaging with a subject or trade. Finally, much of the information that has built up over time has become commonly accepted; therefore much of the history or background information isn’t disputed and can now be shared in an informative rather than argumentative way.

Choosing an Informative Speech Topic

Being a successful informative speaker starts with choosing a topic that can engage and educate the audience. Your topic choices may be influenced by the level at which you are speaking. Informative speaking usually happens at one of three levels: formal, vocational, and impromptu (Verderber, 1991). Formal informative speeches occur when an audience has assembled specifically to hear what you have to say. Being invited to speak to a group during a professional meeting, a civic gathering, or a celebration gala brings with it high expectations. Only people who have accomplished or achieved much are asked to serve as keynote speakers, and they usually speak about these experiences. Many more people deliver informative speeches at the vocational level, as part of their careers. Teachers like me spend many hours lecturing, which is a common form of informative speaking. In addition, human resources professionals give presentations about changes in policy and provide training for new employees, technicians in factories convey machine specifications and safety procedures, and servers describe how a dish is prepared in their restaurant. Last, we all convey information daily in our regular interactions. When we give a freshman directions to a campus building, summarize the latest episode of American Idol for our friend who missed it, or explain a local custom to an international student, we are engaging in impromptu informative speaking.

Whether at the formal, vocational, or impromptu level, informative speeches can emerge from a range of categories, which include objects, people, events, processes, concepts, and issues. An extended speech at the formal level may include subject matter from several of these categories, while a speech at the vocational level may convey detailed information about a process, concept, or issue relevant to a specific career.

Subjects of informative speaking at the vocational level usually relate to a speaker’s professional experience or expertise.

Peter Long – Business Meeting – CC BY 2.0.

Since we don’t have time to research or organize content for impromptu informative speaking, these speeches may provide a less detailed summary of a topic within one of these categories. A broad informative speech topic could be tailored to fit any of these categories. As you draft your specific purpose and thesis statements, think about which category or categories will help you achieve your speech goals, and then use it or them to guide your research. Table 11.1 “Sample Informative Speech Topics by Category” includes an example of how a broad informative subject area like renewable energy can be adapted to each category as well as additional sample topics.

Table 11.1 Sample Informative Speech Topics by Category

Speeches about objects convey information about any nonhuman material things. Mechanical objects, animals, plants, and fictional objects are all suitable topics of investigation. Given that this is such a broad category, strive to pick an object that your audience may not be familiar with or highlight novel relevant and interesting facts about a familiar object.

Speeches about people focus on real or fictional individuals who are living or dead. These speeches require in-depth biographical research; an encyclopedia entry is not sufficient. Introduce a new person to the audience or share little-known or surprising information about a person we already know. Although we may already be familiar with the accomplishments of historical figures and leaders, audiences often enjoy learning the “personal side” of their lives.

Speeches about concepts are less concrete than speeches about objects or people, as they focus on ideas or notions that may be abstract or multifaceted. A concept can be familiar to us, like equality, or could literally be a foreign concept like qi (or chi ), which is the Chinese conception of the energy that flows through our bodies. Use the strategies discussed in this book for making content relevant and proxemic to your audience to help make abstract concepts more concrete.

Speeches about events focus on past occasions or ongoing occurrences. A particular day in history, an annual observation, or a seldom occurring event can each serve as interesting informative topics. As with speeches about people, it’s important to provide a backstory for the event, but avoid rehashing commonly known information.

Informative speeches about processes provide a step-by-step account of a procedure or natural occurrence. Speakers may walk an audience through, or demonstrate, a series of actions that take place to complete a procedure, such as making homemade cheese. Speakers can also present information about naturally occurring processes like cell division or fermentation.

Informative speeches about processes provide steps of a procedure, such as how to make homemade cheese.

Joel Kramer – curdle – CC BY 2.0.

Last, informative speeches about issues provide objective and balanced information about a disputed subject or a matter of concern for society. It is important that speakers view themselves as objective reporters rather than commentators to avoid tipping the balance of the speech from informative to persuasive. Rather than advocating for a particular position, the speaker should seek to teach or raise the awareness of the audience.

Researching an Informative Speech Topic

Having sharp research skills is a fundamental part of being a good informative speaker. Since informative speaking is supposed to convey factual information, speakers should take care to find sources that are objective, balanced, and credible. Periodicals, books, newspapers, and credible websites can all be useful sources for informative speeches, and you can use the guidelines for evaluating supporting materials discussed in Chapter 9 “Preparing a Speech” to determine the best information to include in your speech. Aside from finding credible and objective sources, informative speakers also need to take time to find engaging information. This is where sharp research skills are needed to cut through all the typical information that comes up in the research process to find novel information. Novel information is atypical or unexpected, but it takes more skill and effort to locate. Even seemingly boring informative speech topics like the history of coupons can be brought to life with information that defies the audience’s expectations. A student recently delivered an engaging speech about coupons by informing us that coupons have been around for 125 years, are most frequently used by wealthier and more educated households, and that a coupon fraud committed by an Italian American businessman named Charles Ponzi was the basis for the term Ponzi scheme , which is still commonly used today.

As a teacher, I can attest to the challenges of keeping an audience engaged during an informative presentation. While it’s frustrating to look out at my audience of students and see glazed-over eyes peering back at me, I also know that it is my responsibility to choose interesting information and convey it in a way that’s engaging. Even though the core content of what I teach hasn’t change dramatically over the years, I constantly challenge myself to bring that core information to life through application and example. As we learned earlier, finding proxemic and relevant information and examples is typically a good way to be engaging. The basic information may not change quickly, but the way people use it and the way it relates to our lives changes. Finding current, relevant examples and finding novel information are both difficult, since you, as the researcher, probably don’t know this information exists.

Here is where good research skills become necessary to be a good informative speaker. Using advice from Chapter 9 “Preparing a Speech” should help you begin to navigate through the seas of information to find hidden treasure that excites you and will in turn excite your audience.

To avoid boring an audience, effective informative speakers possess good research skills and the ability to translate information to be engaging and relevant for an audience.

Niall Kennedy – Sleep – CC BY-NC 2.0.

As was mentioned earlier, the goal for informative speaking is to teach your audience. An audience is much more likely to remain engaged when they are actively learning. This is like a balancing act. You want your audience to be challenged enough by the information you are presenting to be interested, but not so challenged that they become overwhelmed and shut down. You should take care to consider how much information your audience already knows about a topic. Be aware that speakers who are very familiar with their speech topic tend to overestimate their audience’s knowledge about the topic. It’s better to engage your topic at a level slightly below your audience’s knowledge level than above. Most people won’t be bored by a brief review, but many people become lost and give up listening if they can’t connect to the information right away or feel it’s over their heads.

A good informative speech leaves the audience thinking long after the speech is done. Try to include some practical “takeaways” in your speech. I’ve learned many interesting and useful things from the informative speeches my students have done. Some of the takeaways are more like trivia information that is interesting to share—for example, how prohibition led to the creation of NASCAR. Other takeaways are more practical and useful—for example, how to get wine stains out of clothing and carpet or explanations of various types of student financial aid.

Organizing and Supporting an Informative Speech

You can already see that informing isn’t as easy as we may initially think. To effectively teach, a speaker must present quality information in an organized and accessible way. Once you have chosen an informative speech topic and put your research skills to the test in order to locate novel and engaging information, it’s time to organize and support your speech.

Organizational Patterns

Three organizational patterns that are particularly useful for informative speaking are topical, chronological, and spatial. As you’ll recall, to organize a speech topically, you break a larger topic down into logical subdivisions. An informative speech about labor unions could focus on unions in three different areas of employment, three historically significant strikes, or three significant legal/legislative decisions. Speeches organized chronologically trace the development of a topic or overview the steps in a process. An informative speech could trace the rise of the economic crisis in Greece or explain the steps in creating a home compost pile. Speeches organized spatially convey the layout or physical characteristics of a location or concept. An informative speech about the layout of a fire station or an astrology wheel would follow a spatial organization pattern.

Methods of Informing

Types of and strategies for incorporating supporting material into speeches are discussed in Chapter 9 “Preparing a Speech” , but there are some specific ways to go about developing ideas within informative speeches. Speakers often inform an audience using definitions, descriptions, demonstrations, and explanations. It is likely that a speaker will combine these methods of informing within one speech, but a speech can also be primarily organized using one of these methods.

Informing through Definition

Informing through definition entails defining concepts clearly and concisely and is an important skill for informative speaking. There are several ways a speaker can inform through definition: synonyms and antonyms, use or function, example, and etymology (Verderber, 1991). Defining a concept using a synonym or an antonym is a short and effective way to convey meaning. Synonyms are words that have the same or similar meanings, and antonyms are words that have opposite meanings. In a speech about how to effectively inform an audience, I would claim that using concrete words helps keep an audience engaged. I could enhance your understanding of what concrete means by defining it with synonyms like tangible and relatable . Or I could define concrete using antonyms like abstract and theoretical .

Identifying the use or function of an object, item, or idea is also a short way of defining. We may think we already know the use and function of most of the things we interact with regularly. This is true in obvious cases like cars, elevators, and smartphones. But there are many objects and ideas that we may rely on and interact with but not know the use or function. For example, QR codes (or quick response codes) are popping up in magazines, at airports, and even on t-shirts (Vuong, 2011). Many people may notice them but not know what they do. As a speaker, you could define QR codes by their function by informing the audience that QR codes allow businesses, organizations, and individuals to get information to consumers/receivers through a barcode-like format that can be easily scanned by most smartphones.

An informative speaker could teach audience members about QR codes by defining them based on their use or function.

Douglas Muth – My QR Code – CC BY-SA 2.0.

A speaker can also define a topic using examples, which are cited cases that are representative of a larger concept. In an informative speech about anachronisms in movies and literature, a speaker might provide the following examples: the film Titanic shows people on lifeboats using flashlights to look for survivors from the sunken ship (such flashlights weren’t invented until two years later) (The Past in Pictures, 2012); Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar includes a reference to a clock, even though no mechanical clocks existed during Caesar’s time (Scholasticus K., 2012). Examples are a good way to repackage information that’s already been presented to help an audience retain and understand the content of a speech. Later we’ll learn more about how repackaging information enhances informative speaking.

Etymology refers to the history of a word. Defining by etymology entails providing an overview of how a word came to its current meaning. The Oxford English Dictionary is the best source for finding etymology and often contains interesting facts that can be presented as novel information to better engage your audience. For example, the word assassin , which refers to a person who intentionally murders another, literally means “hashish-eater” and comes from the Arabic word hashshashin . The current meaning emerged during the Crusades as a result of the practices of a sect of Muslims who would get high on hashish before killing Christian leaders—in essence, assassinating them (Oxford English Dictionary Online, 2012).

Informing through Description

As the saying goes, “Pictures are worth a thousand words.” Informing through description entails creating verbal pictures for your audience. Description is also an important part of informative speeches that use a spatial organizational pattern, since you need to convey the layout of a space or concept. Good descriptions are based on good observations, as they convey what is taken in through the senses and answer these type of questions: What did that look like? Smell like? Sound like? Feel like? Taste like? If descriptions are vivid and well written, they can actually invoke a sensory reaction in your audience. Just as your mouth probably begins to salivate when I suggest that you imagine biting into a fresh, bright yellow, freshly cut, juicy lemon wedge, so can your audience be transported to a setting or situation through your descriptions. I once had a student set up his speech about the history of streaking by using the following description: “Imagine that you are walking across campus to your evening class. You look up to see a parade of hundreds upon hundreds of your naked peers jogging by wearing little more than shoes.”

Informing through Demonstration

When informing through demonstration , a speaker gives verbal directions about how to do something while also physically demonstrating the steps. Early morning infomercials are good examples of demonstrative speaking, even though they are also trying to persuade us to buy their “miracle product.” Whether straightforward or complex, it’s crucial that a speaker be familiar with the content of their speech and the physical steps necessary for the demonstration. Speaking while completing a task requires advanced psycho-motor skills that most people can’t wing and therefore need to practice. Tasks suddenly become much more difficult than we expect when we have an audience. Have you ever had to type while people are reading along with you? Even though we type all the time, even one extra set of eyes seems to make our fingers more clumsy than usual.

Television chefs are excellent examples of speakers who frequently inform through demonstration. While many of them make the process of speaking while cooking look effortless, it took much practice over many years to make viewers think it is effortless.

Television chefs inform through demonstration. Although they make it seem easy, it is complex and difficult.

Gordonramsaysubmissions – gordon ramsay 7 – CC BY 2.0.

Part of this practice also involves meeting time limits. Since television segments are limited and chefs may be demonstrating and speaking live, they have to be able to adapt as needed. Demonstration speeches are notorious for going over time, especially if speakers haven’t practiced with their visual aids / props. Be prepared to condense or edit as needed to meet your time limit. The reality competition show The Next Food Network Star captures these difficulties, as many experienced cooks who have the content knowledge and know how to physically complete their tasks fall apart when faced with a camera challenge because they just assumed they could speak and cook at the same time.

Tips for Demonstration Speeches

• Include personal stories and connections to the topic, in addition to the “how-to” information, to help engage your audience.
• Ask for audience volunteers (if appropriate) to make the demonstration more interactive.
• Include a question-and-answer period at the end (if possible) so audience members can ask questions and seek clarification.
• Follow an orderly progression. Do not skip around or backtrack when reviewing the steps.
• Use clear signposts like first , second , and third .
• Use orienting material like internal previews and reviews, and transitions.
• Group steps together in categories, if needed, to help make the information more digestible.
• Assess the nonverbal feedback of your audience. Review or slow down if audience members look lost or confused.
• Practice with your visual aids / props many times. Things suddenly become more difficult and complicated than you expect when an audience is present.
• Practice for time and have contingency plans if you need to edit some information out to avoid going over your time limit.

Informing through Explanation

Informing through explanation entails sharing how something works, how something came to be, or why something happened. This method of informing may be useful when a topic is too complex or abstract to demonstrate. When presenting complex information make sure to break the topic up into manageable units, avoid information overload, and include examples that make the content relevant to the audience. Informing through explanation works well with speeches about processes, events, and issues. For example, a speaker could explain the context surrounding the Lincoln-Douglas debates or the process that takes place during presidential primaries.

“Getting Plugged In”

TED Talks as a Model of Effective Informative Speaking

Over the past few years, I have heard more and more public speaking teachers mention their use of TED speeches in their classes. What started in 1984 as a conference to gather people involved in Technology, Entertainment, and Design has now turned into a worldwide phenomenon that is known for its excellent speeches and presentations, many of which are informative in nature. [1] The motto of TED is “Ideas worth spreading,” which is in keeping with the role that we should occupy as informative speakers. We should choose topics that are worth speaking about and then work to present them in such a way that audience members leave with “take-away” information that is informative and useful. TED fits in with the purpose of the “Getting Plugged In” feature in this book because it has been technology focused from the start. For example, Andrew Blum’s speech focuses on the infrastructure of the Internet, and Pranav Mistry’s speech focuses on a new technology he developed that allows for more interaction between the physical world and the world of data. Even speakers who don’t focus on technology still skillfully use technology in their presentations, as is the case with David Gallo’s speech about exotic underwater life. Here are links to all these speeches:

• Andrew Blum’s speech: What Is the Internet, Really? http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_blum_what_is_the_internet_really.html
• Pranav Mistry’s speech: The Thrilling Potential of Sixth Sense Technology. http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html
• David Gallo’s speech: Underwater Astonishments. http://www.ted.com/talks/david_gallo_shows_underwater_astonishments.html
• What can you learn from the TED model and/or TED speakers that will help you be a better informative speaker?
• In what innovative and/or informative ways do the speakers reference or incorporate technology in their speeches?

Effective Informative Speaking

There are several challenges to overcome to be an effective informative speaker. They include avoiding persuasion, avoiding information overload, and engaging your audience.

Avoiding Persuasion

We should avoid thinking of informing and persuading as dichotomous, meaning that it’s either one or the other. It’s more accurate to think of informing and persuading as two poles on a continuum, as in Figure 11.1 “Continuum of Informing and Persuading” (Olbricht, 1968). Most persuasive speeches rely on some degree of informing to substantiate the reasoning. And informative speeches, although meant to secure the understanding of an audience, may influence audience members’ beliefs, attitudes, values, or behaviors.

Figure 11.1 Continuum of Informing and Persuading

Speakers can look to three areas to help determine if their speech is more informative or persuasive: speaker purpose, function of information, and audience perception (Verderber, 1991). First, for informative speaking, a speaker’s purpose should be to create understanding by sharing objective, factual information. Specific purpose and thesis statements help establish a speaker’s goal and purpose and can serve as useful reference points to keep a speech on track. When reviewing your specific purpose and thesis statement, look for words like should / shouldn’t , good / bad , and right / wrong , as these often indicate a persuasive slant in the speech.

Second, information should function to clarify and explain in an informative speech. Supporting materials shouldn’t function to prove a thesis or to provide reasons for an audience to accept the thesis, as they do in persuasive speeches. Although informative messages can end up influencing the thoughts or behaviors of audience members, that shouldn’t be the goal.

Third, an audience’s perception of the information and the speaker helps determine whether a speech is classified as informative or persuasive. The audience must perceive that the information being presented is not controversial or disputed, which will lead audience members to view the information as factual. The audience must also accept the speaker as a credible source of information. Being prepared, citing credible sources, and engaging the audience help establish a speaker’s credibility. Last, an audience must perceive the speaker to be trustworthy and not have a hidden agenda. Avoiding persuasion is a common challenge for informative speakers, but it is something to consider, as violating the speaking occasion may be perceived as unethical by the audience. Be aware of the overall tone of your speech by reviewing your specific purpose and thesis to make sure your speech isn’t tipping from informative to persuasive.

Words like should / shouldn’t , good / bad , and right / wrong in a specific purpose and/or thesis statement often indicate that the speaker’s purpose is tipping from informative to persuasive.

Hans Splinter – balance – CC BY-ND 2.0.

Avoiding Information Overload

Many informative speakers have a tendency to pack a ten-minute speech with as much information as possible. This can result in information overload , which is a barrier to effective listening that occurs when a speech contains more information than an audience can process. Editing can be a difficult task, but it’s an important skill to hone, because you will be editing more than you think. Whether it’s reading through an e-mail before you send it, condensing a report down to an executive summary, or figuring out how to fit a client’s message on the front page of a brochure, you will have to learn how to discern what information is best to keep and what can be thrown out. In speaking, being a discerning editor is useful because it helps avoid information overload. While a receiver may not be attracted to a brochure that’s covered in text, they could take the time to read it, and reread it, if necessary. Audience members cannot conduct their own review while listening to a speaker live. Unlike readers, audience members can’t review words over and over (Verderber, 1991). Therefore competent speakers, especially informative speakers who are trying to teach their audience something, should adapt their message to a listening audience. To help avoid information overload, adapt your message to make it more listenable.

Although the results vary, research shows that people only remember a portion of a message days or even hours after receiving it (Janusik, 2012). If you spend 100 percent of your speech introducing new information, you have wasted approximately 30 percent of your time and your audience’s time. Information overload is a barrier to effective listening, and as good speakers, we should be aware of the limitations of listening and compensate for that in our speech preparation and presentation. I recommend that my students follow a guideline that suggests spending no more than 30 percent of your speech introducing new material and 70 percent of your speech repackaging that information. I specifically use the word repackaging and not repeating . Simply repeating the same information would also be a barrier to effective listening, since people would just get bored. Repackaging will help ensure that your audience retains most of the key information in the speech. Even if they don’t remember every example, they will remember the main underlying point.

Avoiding information overload requires a speaker to be a good translator of information. To be a good translator, you can compare an unfamiliar concept with something familiar, give examples from real life, connect your information to current events or popular culture, or supplement supporting material like statistics with related translations of that information. These are just some of the strategies a good speaker can use. While translating information is important for any oral presentation, it is especially important when conveying technical information. Being able to translate complex or technical information for a lay audience leads to more effective informing, because the audience feels like they are being addressed on their level and don’t feel lost or “talked down to.” The History Channel show The Universe provides excellent examples of informative speakers who act as good translators. The scientists and experts featured on the show are masters of translating technical information, like physics, into concrete examples that most people can relate to based on their everyday experiences.

Comparing the turbulent formation of the solar system to the collisions of bumper bars and spinning rides at an amusement park makes the content more concrete.

Alexander Svensson – Ferris Wheel – CC BY 2.0.

Following the guidelines established in Chapter 9 “Preparing a Speech” for organizing a speech can also help a speaker avoid information overload. Good speakers build in repetition and redundancy to make their content more memorable and their speech more consumable. Preview statements, section transitions, and review statements are some examples of orienting material that helps focus an audience’s attention and facilitates the process of informing (Verderber, 1991).

Engaging Your Audience

As a speaker, you are competing for the attention of your audience against other internal and external stimuli. Getting an audience engaged and then keeping their attention is a challenge for any speaker, but it can be especially difficult when speaking to inform. As was discussed earlier, once you are in the professional world, you will most likely be speaking informatively about topics related to your experience and expertise. Some speakers fall into the trap of thinking that their content knowledge is enough to sustain them through an informative speech or that their position in an organization means that an audience will listen to them and appreciate their information despite their delivery. Content expertise is not enough to be an effective speaker. A person must also have speaking expertise (Verderber, 1991). Effective speakers, even renowned experts, must still translate their wealth of content knowledge into information that is suited for oral transmission, audience centered, and well organized. I’m sure we’re all familiar with the stereotype of the absentminded professor or the genius who thinks elegantly in his or her head but can’t convey that same elegance verbally. Having well-researched and organized supporting material is an important part of effective informative speaking, but having good content is not enough.

Audience members are more likely to stay engaged with a speaker they view as credible. So complementing good supporting material with a practiced and fluent delivery increases credibility and audience engagement. In addition, as we discussed earlier, good informative speakers act as translators of information. Repackaging information into concrete familiar examples is also a strategy for making your speech more engaging. Understanding relies on being able to apply incoming information to life experiences.

Repackaging information is also a good way to appeal to different learning styles, as you can present the same content in various ways, which helps reiterate a point. While this strategy is useful with any speech, since the goal of informing is teaching, it makes sense to include a focus on learning within your audience adaptation. There are three main learning styles that help determine how people most effectively receive and process information: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (Fleming, 2012). Visual learners respond well to information presented via visual aids, so repackage information using text, graphics, charts and other media. Public speaking is a good way to present information for auditory learners who process information well when they hear it. Kinesthetic learners are tactile; they like to learn through movement and “doing.” Asking for volunteers to help with a demonstration, if appropriate, is a way to involve kinesthetic learners in your speech. You can also have an interactive review activity at the end of a speech, much like many teachers incorporate an activity after a lesson to reinforce the material.

“Getting Real”

Technical Speaking

People who work in technical fields, like engineers and information technology professionals, often think they will be spared the task of public speaking. This is not the case, however, and there is actually a branch of communication studies that addresses public speaking matters for “techies.” The field of technical communication focuses on how messages can be translated from expert to lay audiences. I actually taught a public speaking class for engineering students, and they basically had to deliver speeches about the things they were working on in a way that I could understand. I ended up learning a lot more about jet propulsion and hybrid car engines than I ever expected!

Have you ever been completely lost when reading an instruction manual for some new product you purchased? Have you ever had difficulty following the instructions of someone who was trying to help you with a technical matter? If so, you’ve experienced some of the challenges associated with technical speaking. There are many careers where technical speaking skills are needed. According to the Society for Technical Communication, communicating about specialized or technical topics, communicating by using technology, and providing instructions about how to do something are all examples of technical speaking (Society for Technical Communication, 2012). People with technical speaking skills offer much to organizations and businesses. They help make information more useable and accessible to customers, clients, and employees. They can help reduce costs to a business by reducing unnecessary work that results from misunderstandings of instructions, by providing clear information that allows customers to use products without training or technical support and by making general information put out by a company more user friendly. Technical speakers are dedicated to producing messages that are concise, clear, and coherent (Society for Technical Communication, 2012). Such skills are used in the following careers: technical writers and editors, technical illustrators, visual designers, web designers, customer service representatives, salespeople, spokespeople, and many more.

• What communication skills that you’ve learned about in the book so far do you think would be important for a technical speaker?
• Identify instances in which you have engaged in technical speaking or received information from a technical speaker. Based on what you have learned in this chapter, were the speakers effective or not, and why?

Sample Informative Speech

Title: Going Green in the World of Education

General purpose: To inform

Specific purpose: By the end of my speech, the audience will be able to describe some ways in which schools are going green.

Thesis statement: The green movement has transformed school buildings, how teachers teach, and the environment in which students learn.

Introduction

Attention getter: Did you know that attending or working at a green school can lead students and teachers to have less health problems? Did you know that allowing more daylight into school buildings increases academic performance and can lessen attention and concentration challenges? Well, the research I will cite in my speech supports both of these claims, and these are just two of the many reasons why more schools, both grade schools and colleges, are going green.

Introduction of topic: Today, I’m going to inform you about the green movement that is affecting many schools.

Credibility and relevance: Because of my own desire to go into the field of education, I decided to research how schools are going green in the United States. But it’s not just current and/or future teachers that will be affected by this trend. As students at Eastern Illinois University, you are already asked to make “greener” choices. Whether it’s the little signs in the dorm rooms that ask you to turn off your lights when you leave the room, the reusable water bottles that were given out on move-in day, or even our new Renewable Energy Center, the list goes on and on. Additionally, younger people in our lives, whether they be future children or younger siblings or relatives, will likely be affected by this continuing trend.

Preview statement: In order to better understand what makes a “green school,” we need to learn about how K–12 schools are going green, how college campuses are going green, and how these changes affect students and teachers.

Transition: I’ll begin with how K–12 schools are going green.

• In order to garner support for green initiatives, the article recommends that local leaders like superintendents, mayors, and college administrators become involved in the green movement.
• Once local leaders are involved, the community, students, parents, faculty, and staff can be involved by serving on a task force, hosting a summit or conference, and implementing lessons about sustainability into everyday conversations and school curriculum.
• The US Green Building Council’s website also includes a tool kit with a lot of information about how to “green” existing schools.
• For example, Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins, Colorado, was built in 2006 and received LEED certification because it has automatic light sensors to conserve electricity and uses wind energy to offset nonrenewable energy use.
• To conserve water, the school uses a pond for irrigation, has artificial turf on athletic fields, and installed low-flow toilets and faucets.
• According to the 2006 report by certified energy manager Gregory Kats titled “Greening America’s Schools,” a LEED certified school uses 30–50 percent less energy, 30 percent less water, and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent compared to a conventional school.
• Many new building materials, carpeting, and furniture contain chemicals that are released into the air, which reduces indoor air quality.
• So green schools purposefully purchase materials that are low in these chemicals.
• Natural light and fresh air have also been shown to promote a healthier learning environment, so green buildings allow more daylight in and include functioning windows.

Transition: As you can see, K–12 schools are becoming greener; college campuses are also starting to go green.

• According to the Sturm College of Law’s website, the building was designed to use 40 percent less energy than a conventional building through the use of movement-sensor lighting; high-performance insulation in the walls, floors, and roof; and infrared sensors on water faucets and toilets.
• Electric car recharging stations were also included in the parking garage, and the building has extra bike racks and even showers that students and faculty can use to freshen up if they bike or walk to school or work.
• Some of the dining halls on campus have gone “trayless,” which according to a 2009 article by Calder in the journal Independent School has the potential to dramatically reduce the amount of water and chemical use, since there are no longer trays to wash, and also helps reduce food waste since people take less food without a tray.
• The Renewable Energy Center uses slow-burn technology to use wood chips that are a byproduct of the lumber industry that would normally be discarded.
• This helps reduce our dependency on our old coal-fired power plant, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
• The project was the first known power plant to be registered with the US Green Building Council and is on track to receive LEED certification.

Transition: All these efforts to go green in K–12 schools and on college campuses will obviously affect students and teachers at the schools.

• Many schools are literally going green by including more green spaces such as recreation areas, gardens, and greenhouses, which according to a 2010 article in the Journal of Environmental Education by University of Colorado professor Susan Strife has been shown to benefit a child’s cognitive skills, especially in the areas of increased concentration and attention capacity.
• Additionally, the report I cited earlier, “Greening America’s Schools,” states that the improved air quality in green schools can lead to a 38 percent reduction in asthma incidents and that students in “green schools” had 51 percent less chance of catching a cold or the flu compared to children in conventional schools.
• The report “Greening America’s Schools” notes that a recent synthesis of fifty-three studies found that more daylight in the school building leads to higher academic achievement.
• The report also provides data that show how the healthier environment in green schools leads to better attendance and that in Washington, DC, and Chicago, schools improved their performance on standardized tests by 3–4 percent.
• According to the article in Education Week that I cited earlier, the Sustainability Education Clearinghouse is a free online tool that provides K–12 educators with the ability to share sustainability-oriented lesson ideas.
• The Center for Green Schools also provides resources for all levels of teachers, from kindergarten to college, that can be used in the classroom.
• The report “Greening America’s Schools” claims that the overall improved working environment that a green school provides leads to higher teacher retention and less teacher turnover.
• Just as students see health benefits from green schools, so do teachers, as the same report shows that teachers in these schools get sick less, resulting in a decrease of sick days by 7 percent.

Transition to conclusion and summary of importance: In summary, the going-green era has impacted every aspect of education in our school systems.

Review of main points: From K–12 schools to college campuses like ours, to the students and teachers in the schools, the green movement is changing the way we think about education and our environment.

Closing statement: As Glenn Cook, the editor in chief of the American School Board Journal , states on the Center for Green Schools’s website, “The green schools movement is the biggest thing to happen to education since the introduction of technology to the classroom.”

Ash, K. (2011). “Green schools” benefit budgets and students, report says. Education Week , 30 (32), 10.

Calder, W. (2009). Go green, save green. Independent School , 68 (4), 90–93.

The Center for Green Schools. (n.d.). K–12: How. Retrieved from http://www.centerforgreenschools.org/main-nav/k-12/buildings.aspx

Eastern Illinois University. (n.d.). Renewable Energy Center. Retrieved from http://www.eiu.edu/sustainability/eiu_renewable.php

Kats, G. (2006). Greening America’s schools: Costs and benefits. A Capital E Report. Retrieved from http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=2908

Strife, S. (2010). Reflecting on environmental education: Where is our place in the green movement? Journal of Environmental Education , 41 (3), 179–191. doi:10.1080/00958960903295233

Sturm College of Law. (n.d.). About DU law: Building green. Retrieved from http://www.law.du.edu/index.php/about/building-green

USGBC. (n.d.). About us. US Green Building Council . Retrieved from https://new.usgbc.org/about

Key Takeaways

• Getting integrated: Informative speaking is likely the type of public speaking we will most often deliver and be audience to in our lives. Informative speaking is an important part of academic, professional, personal, and civic contexts.
• Informative speeches teach an audience through objective factual information and can emerge from one or more of the following categories: objects, people, concepts, events, processes, and issues.
• Effective informative speaking requires good research skills, as speakers must include novel information, relevant and proxemic examples, and “take-away” information that audience members will find engaging and useful.

The four primary methods of informing are through definition, description, demonstration, or explanation.

• Informing through definition entails defining concepts clearly and concisely using synonyms and antonyms, use or function, example, or etymology.
• Informing through description entails creating detailed verbal pictures for your audience.
• Informing through demonstration entails sharing verbal directions about how to do something while also physically demonstrating the steps.
• Informing through explanation entails sharing how something works, how something came to be, or why something happened.
• An effective informative speaker should avoid persuasion by reviewing the language used in the specific purpose and thesis statements, using objective supporting material, and appearing trustworthy to the audience.
• An effective informative speaker should avoid information overload by repackaging information and building in repetition and orienting material like reviews and previews.
• An effective informative speaker engages the audience by translating information into relevant and concrete examples that appeal to different learning styles.
• Getting integrated: How might you use informative speaking in each of the following contexts: academic, professional, personal, and civic?
• Brainstorm potential topics for your informative speech and identify which topic category each idea falls into. Are there any risks of persuading for the topics you listed? If so, how can you avoid persuasion if you choose that topic?
• Of the four methods of informing (through definition, description, demonstration, or explanation), which do you think is most effective for you? Why?

Fleming, N., “The VARK Helpsheets,” accessed March 6, 2012, http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=helpsheets .

Janusik, L., “Listening Facts,” accessed March 6, 2012, http://d1025403.site.myhosting.com/files.listen.org/Facts.htm .

Olbricht, T. H., Informative Speaking (Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1968), 1–12.

Oxford English Dictionary Online, accessed March 6, 2012, http://www.oed.com .

The Past in Pictures, “Teaching Using Movies: Anachronisms!” accessed March 6, 2012, http://www.thepastinthepictures.wildelearning.co.uk/Introductoryunit!.htm .

Scholasticus K, “Anachronism Examples in Literature,” February 2, 2012, accessed March 6, 2012, http://www.buzzle.com/articles/anachronism-examples-in-literature.html .

Society for Technical Communication, “Defining Technical Communication,” accessed March 6, 2012, http://www.stc.org/about-stc/the-profession-all-about-technical-communication/defining-tc .

Verderber, R., Essentials of Informative Speaking: Theory and Contexts (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1991), 3.

Vuong, A., “Wanna Read That QR Code? Get the Smartphone App,” The Denver Post , April 18, 2011, accessed March 6, 2012, http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_17868932 .

• “About TED,” accessed October 23, 2012, http://www.ted.com/pages/about . ↵

Communication in the Real World Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Informative Speeches — Types, Topics, and Examples

What is an informative speech?

An informative speech uses descriptions, demonstrations, and strong detail to explain a person, place, or subject. An informative speech makes a complex topic easier to understand and focuses on delivering information, rather than providing a persuasive argument.

Types of informative speeches

The most common types of informative speeches are definition, explanation, description, and demonstration.

A definition speech explains a concept, theory, or philosophy about which the audience knows little. The purpose of the speech is to inform the audience so they understand the main aspects of the subject matter.

An explanatory speech presents information on the state of a given topic. The purpose is to provide a specific viewpoint on the chosen subject. Speakers typically incorporate a visual of data and/or statistics.

The speaker of a descriptive speech provides audiences with a detailed and vivid description of an activity, person, place, or object using elaborate imagery to make the subject matter memorable.

A demonstrative speech explains how to perform a particular task or carry out a process. These speeches often demonstrate the following:

How to do something

How to make something

How to fix something

How something works

How to write an informative speech

Regardless of the type, every informative speech should include an introduction, a hook, background information, a thesis, the main points, and a conclusion.

Introduction

An attention grabber or hook draws in the audience and sets the tone for the speech. The technique the speaker uses should reflect the subject matter in some way (i.e., if the topic is serious in nature, do not open with a joke). Therefore, when choosing an attention grabber, consider the following:

What’s the topic of the speech?

What’s the occasion?

Who’s the audience?

What’s the purpose of the speech?

Common Attention Grabbers (Hooks)

Ask a question that allows the audience to respond in a non-verbal way (e.g., a poll question where they can simply raise their hands) or ask a rhetorical question that makes the audience think of the topic in a certain way yet requires no response.

Incorporate a well-known quote that introduces the topic. Using the words of a celebrated individual gives credibility and authority to the information in the speech.

Offer a startling statement or information about the topic, which is typically done using data or statistics. The statement should surprise the audience in some way.

Provide a brief anecdote that relates to the topic in some way.

Present a “what if” scenario that connects to the subject matter of the speech.

Identify the importance of the speech’s topic.

Starting a speech with a humorous statement often makes the audience more comfortable with the speaker.

Include any background information pertinent to the topic that the audience needs to know to understand the speech in its entirety.

The thesis statement shares the central purpose of the speech.

Demonstrate

Preview the main ideas that will help accomplish the central purpose. Typically, informational speeches will have an average of three main ideas.

Body paragraphs

Apply the following to each main idea (body) :

Identify the main idea ( NOTE: The main points of a demonstration speech would be the individual steps.)

Provide evidence to support the main idea

Explain how the evidence supports the main idea/central purpose

Transition to the next main idea

Review or restate the thesis and the main points presented throughout the speech.

Much like the attention grabber, the closing statement should interest the audience. Some of the more common techniques include a challenge, a rhetorical question, or restating relevant information:

Provide the audience with a challenge or call to action to apply the presented information to real life.

Detail the benefit of the information.

Close with an anecdote or brief story that illustrates the main points.

Leave the audience with a rhetorical question to ponder after the speech has concluded.

Detail the relevance of the presented information.

Before speech writing, brainstorm a list of informative speech topic ideas. The right topic depends on the type of speech, but good topics can range from video games to disabilities and electric cars to healthcare and mental health.

Informative speech topics

Some common informative essay topics for each type of informational speech include the following:

Informative speech examples

The following list identifies famous informational speeches:

“Duties of American Citizenship” by Theodore Roosevelt

“Duty, Honor, Country” by General Douglas MacArthur

“Strength and Dignity” by Theodore Roosevelt

Explanation

“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” by Patrick Henry

“The Decision to Go to the Moon” by John F. Kennedy

“We Shall Fight on the Beaches” by Winston Churchill

Description

“I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Pearl Harbor Address” by Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“Luckiest Man” by Lou Gehrig

Demonstration

The Way to Cook with Julia Child

This Old House with Bob Vila

Bill Nye the Science Guy with Bill Nye

Learning Objectives

• Define Informative Speaking
• Identify Types of Informative Speeches
• Explain guidelines for Developing an Informative Speech

Has someone provided you information and afterward you thought, “what were they talking about?” or “why does this matter to me?” We, too, have found ourselves dazed and confused after an informational presentation or an exchange in a meeting.

“What?” we ask ourselves, often in response to information that: a) we already knew, b) is confusingly presented, or c) doesn’t seem applicable to us. In these instances, the information was ineffectively presented. Perhaps it wasn’t clear. Perhaps it was disorganized. Perhaps it was not adapted to meet you as the recipient.

Gathering and understanding new information is a part of becoming critical thinkers, so effective information sharing through informative speaking can be a powerful and important tool. In this chapter, we chart informative speaking and provide guidelines for approaching and preparing an informative speech. Let’s start with the purpose and goal.

What is an Informative Speech?

The purpose of an informative speech is to share information that: a) increases audience understanding around a topic, b) provides an alternative, and/or c) raises awareness. You might, for example, give an informative speech that raises awareness about the increase in Kansas tornadoes over the past 15 years. Alternatively, you may increase your audience’s understanding about your city’s housing code changes. In each of these examples, you are selecting a topic and relevant content that would be useful for the audience to know.

Basically, an informative speech conveys knowledge— a task that every person engages in every day in some form or another. Whether giving someone who is lost directions, explaining the specials of the day as a server, or describing the plot of a movie to friends, people engage in daily forms of information sharing. When done well, information can provide a new perspective or increase our knowledge around a topic.

Despite the everyday nature of information sharing, approaching an informative speech can be slightly daunting. As the speaker, you are responsible for identifying an argument that is worthwhile—and in the age of globalization and access to digital information, there’s a lot of stuff to sort through and choose from.

The key to an effective informative speech is identifying what information your audience needs. Why, for example, would it be important for your audience to know about major climate changes in Kansas? Does the audience already know? Would it benefit them? Remember that all information may not be relevant to all audiences. You may decide that sharing the city’s changes to housing codes isn’t particularly useful for an audience that doesn’t reside in the affected neighborhoods. In other words: information is not equal in all contexts, so your job as a speaker is to advocate for meaningful, teachable content. When you select that content to share with an audience – an action that can provide alternatives and expand viewpoints—you are advocating for the relevance and timeliness of that informative topic.

Through information sharing, however, you are not taking a particular side or providing the audience with a call to action. While informative speeches advocate for novel ideas, they do not explicitly attempt to convince the audience that one thing is better than another—it doesn’t attempt to persuade (which we’ll cover in the next chapter). This can be a tricky distinction and one that you should attend to. Even if you are informing the audience about differences in views on controversial topics, you should simply and clearly explain each side of the issue.

Understanding the types of informative speeches may help as you work on selecting information that doesn’t persuade.

“Can’t We Find all the Information We Need on the Internet?

  We often hear, “If we can find anything on the Internet now, why bother to give an informative speech?” The answer lies in the unique relationship between audience and speaker found in the public speaking context. The speaker can choose to present information that is of most value to the audience.

Secondly, the speaker is not just overloading the audience with data. As we have mentioned before, that’s not really a good idea because audiences cannot remember great amounts of data and facts after listening. The focus of the content is what matters. This is where the specific purpose and central idea come into play.

Third, although we have stressed that the informative speech is fact-based and does not have the purpose of persuasion, information still has an indirect effect on someone. If a classmate gives a speech on correctly using the Heimlich Maneuver to help a choking victim, the side effect (and probably desired result) is that the audience would use it when confronted with the situation.

Types of Informative Speeches

Understanding types of informative speech that you will give can help you to figure out the best way to organize, research, and prepare. While the topics to choose for informative speeches are nearly limitless, they can generally be pared down into four broad types: description, definition, explanation, or demonstration.

Speeches that Describe

Speeches of description provide a clear, vivid, and memorable picture of a person, place, thing, idea, or alternative. In this category, your goal is to effectively describe your topic in ways that allow the audience to visualize that idea. Put differently: you place the audience in the scene of the topic.

Suppose you are an archaeologist (some of you likely are). This approach would be appropriate if you wanted to highlight a recent discovery in your field – you might describe a key finding from a dig site that advances the scientific perspective on evolution. The speech would attempt to place the audience at the dig site by describing how the finding was uncovered, the artifact itself, etc. Describing information can help simplify content for an audience that is unfamiliar with an archaeological perspective.

If you opt to provide information to an audience about alternatives, describing the differences in each alternative can be an effective application of descriptive speeches. June, for example, is celebrated as LGBTQ Pride month throughout the United States. After doing research and brainstorming, you may realize that there are a plethora of Pride events and gatherings throughout your city, and you want to provide your audience with that information. Describing the different venues and events might allow audiences to understand what each alternative event experience might provide.

For any topic that you approach descriptively, ask yourself:

• Have I effectively described this idea for an audience that may be unfamiliar with the information?
• Can I revisit the language and be more vivid?
• Am I describing information that’s related to my thesis statement?
• How can I use descriptive language that intrigues the audiences and relates this information to their lives?

Speeches that Define

Definitional speeches provide the meaning of an idea to the audience. Definitional speeches are helpful to clarify or simplify concepts, theories, or ideas that an audience may be otherwise unfamiliar.

For example, one of our authors has the tattoo “advocate feminism.”

“What does that mean?” she’s often asked. If we take a definitional approach, she would work to define and outline feminism, perhaps by providing the origin of the word or defining different feminist movements. While “advocate feminism” may appear persuasive, definitional informative speeches allow speakers to identify components of an idea that are based in information-sharing rather than asking the audience to change their perspective.

A common approach to selecting a definitional speech topic is to trace the history or origin of an idea (like feminism), an object, person, or theory.

If you’re a mathematician, for example, you might opt for a definitional speech that focuses on a contemporary mathematical theory. Because the perspective may seem abstract, a definitional approach can simply that abstraction by defining what it is for the audience.

For any topic that takes a definitional approach, ask:

• Have I provided definitional support in a way that’s clear to my audience?
• Have I defined all key parts of my topic? Have I over-defined? (In other words, is my speech just a list of definitions?)
• Is my speech too abstract? Have I provided examples and placed these definitions in contexts that my audience can connect with?

Speeches that Explain

Speeches of explanation detail processes or how something works, often explaining an otherwise complex, abstract, or unfamiliar idea to the audience. This approach is common in industry-settings or professional contexts where a speaker needs to explain the process, data, or results of a study or program.

Explanatory speeches provide audiences with a behind-the-scenes look at information. Interested in philosophy? An explanatory speech may be appropriate to help audiences wade through a current philosophical perspective that you find fascinating. Interested in the United States criminal justice system? You could report on current body camera policies.

Teaching is a great example of explanatory speeches because teachers regularly explain assignments, protocols, policies, rubrics, etc. A teacher’s main goal is to clarify expectations by using language that’s appropriate to the audience—their students!

Think back to our opening topic example about changes in city codes around housing. An explanatory approach would work to explain how those changes occurred, detail the code changes to the audience, and/or explain how the changes would affect their neighborhoods.

For explanatory speech topics, ask yourself:

• Have I effectively explained all components of the topic?
• Are my explanations effectively translated to the audience and context?
• Do my explanations detail how and why this information is relevant to the audience?

Speeches that Demonstrate

Speeches of demonstration are, well, you guessed it: speeches that demonstrate how something is done for the audience. These can be fun because they allow you to teach the audience something cool and interesting.

Demonstration speeches are commonly called “how to” speeches because they show the audience how to do something. These speeches require you to provide steps that will help your audience understand how to accomplish a specific task or process—bake cookies, for example. After a speech on how to verify information that’s found on memes, for example, the audience members could probably do it on their own.

However, these speeches can be tricky because a) the audience may be familiar with your demonstration, or b) the limited time can constrain what you’re able to demonstrate. If you want to demonstrate how to bake cookies, for example, your audience may be familiar with that process. The demonstration may lack uniqueness or novelty, especially if audiences are more confident turning on YouTube. It may also be difficult to provide all the necessary steps in the space or context that you’re speaking. If you’re an experienced baker, you may know that determining when the cookies are done can be a difficult part of the process, but your classroom space likely doesn’t facilitate the inclusion of that step.

Ask yourself:

• Does this information require a demonstration (i.e. is a demonstrative speech the best approach)?
• Am I able to outline all the steps in the time provided?
• Have I adequately outlined all the steps?
• What materials do I need to bring to guarantee the success of the demonstration in the space that I’ve been given to speak?

Section Summary

While we have provided categories to assist in understanding types of informative speeches, your topic may require adopting tactics from more than one approach.

Consider “recidivism” in the criminal justice system – the likelihood for a person to re-offend after being convicted of a crime. If you were interested in informing your audience about recidivism, you would likely need to define recidivism – a term that may be unfamiliar to some – and explain how recidivism occurs in the context of the prison system. Alternatively, you could take a descriptive approach – after defining recidivism – and describe one person’s experience going through the system.

As you begin to develop your topic, these 4 types of informative speeches can help direct your preparation and identify your specific purpose statement. Your goal, in general, is to inform, but your specific purpose will be to define, demonstrate, explain, and/or describe.

Guidelines for Selecting and Developing Your Informative Speech

Now that you have a better understanding of the informative speech types, let’s talk specifically about developing your own informative speech: from topic selection through a completed outline.

We know what you’re thinking: “We’ve already covered how to select, write, and organize arguments.” While, yes, we did discuss general approaches to these processes in Part 2 on arguments, a refresher always helps. Below, we focus on guidelines for developing your informative speeches, specifically.

Pick a Focused and Unique Topic

First, pick an informative topic that is narrow and novel. Your speech emanates and builds from your topic, and your goal should be picking a thesis statement that is focused and unique to your audience.

A large misconception about informative speeches is that bigger and broader is better. Oftentimes, topics that are super broad happen for two reasons:

• As the speaker, you believe that a broader topic will require less research. You might believe that you can brainstorm and research 5 minutes of information on a topic quickly, but if you investigate the topic, that research is often overwhelming because of the breadth of information. For example, suppose that you selected “to describe the Civil War for my audience” as your specific purpose. The Civil War was, conservatively speaking, four years long, resulted in over 750,000 casualties, and arguably changed the course of human history. A typical college library has hundreds of books dealing with the Civil War. It’s a myth, then, that broader topics mean less research. (Also: research is cool, so try to hone your research skills, not avoid them.)
• The speaker uses their first topic idea or concept that seems interesting. When you find a topic that sparks your interest, it’s tempting to keep that idea as-is. You may want to select the Civil War because you’re interested in learning more about a key moment in U.S. history. Great! We encourage you to research, learn, and explore – but it’s unlikely that you have time to cover all facets of the topic with any depth. It’s OK to use the first topic that sparks your interest, but it’s likely that the topic will be too broad.

Instead, limit and narrow your topic. “How do we do that?” you might be wondering.

Like we mentioned in Chapter 3, brainstorming will allow you to map what information you already know about an argument or topic.

The questions in Figure 12.2 can aid you in narrowing your topic and identifying an insight that’s unique to your audience. We often refer to this as the “ funnel approach ” – or starting broad and moving downward to a more specific idea. The Civil War is a broad, umbrella topic, and you could use research and the lateral approach (as introduced in Chapter 4) to funnel toward, for example, focusing on a key person that’s often left out of history.

While all the questions in Figure 12.2 are important, the last question – “is this information unique to my audience?” – is key. Think about “unique” topics in two ways:

• A topic is unique if the audience is unfamiliar with the idea. You may, for example, inform your audience about a new Climate Change technology that a local non-profit was launching. In this case, the entire topic is unique and the audience will learn something new. They’re unfamiliar with the tech.
• Second, a topic is unique if it provides novelty. There are times when your audience will know about the topic generally, but that doesn’t automatically eliminate that idea; instead, ask: can I provide or approach this topic in a new or unfamiliar way? For example, “organ donation” is a common informative speech topic, but it often lacks novelty because speakers include general information that is already known by the audience. That doesn’t prohibit “organ donation” as a topic, but it means speakers should approach the topic by finding information that is novel and fresh.

Let’s talk through an extended example. Malcolm Gladwell (2019) in his podcast, “Revisionist History,” provides an interesting informative perspective about the Boston Tea Party. At first glance, “Boston Tea Party” seems pretty broad for a topic, and it’s likely that many of Gladwell’s audience is already familiar with the Boston Tea Party, so the idea appears too big and lacking novelty. Gladwell, however, narrows the topic by focusing on smuggling practices that facilitated the event. We won’t spoil the episode, but he masterfully narrows down a broad idea to provide listeners with a fresh and unfamiliar perspective.

Pick a Clear Structure

After selecting a topic, you’ll begin expanding your informative argument, identifying an organizational pattern, and writing the outline. As you begin a working outline, the structure will play an important role in writing a successful speech. By structure, we mean 3 things: the outline structure, the argument structure, and the citation structure. Pay attention to all 3 during the speech development stage.

Organizational Structure

First, ask yourself, “what organizational pattern fits my specific purpose and/or working thesis statement?”

For topics that are broad, the information may be applicable to any of the organizational patterns that we outlined in Chapter 6. If your information is easily manipulated into multiple organizational patterns, we’d suggest asking, “can I make this more focused?” or, “how do I want to present this information?”

If you’re confident in your working thesis statement, begin to gather information and research. As you do, think about how that information might fit into organizational patterns and how those patterns provide opportunities or constraints for your topic.

Consider our opening example about housing code changes in a city. You could approach this chronologically and map the linear progression of changes to the city code. Alternatively, you could use a categorical pattern and compare how the housing codes will affect different neighborhoods. These are both possibilities – it just depends on the kind of story you want to tell the audience.

Argument Structure

Working on a clear structure doesn’t stop with the organizational pattern, however. Be attuned to the argument structure within your main points.

Even with informative speeches, claims, evidence, and warrants should still be integrated. For example, one main point on a demonstrative baking speech might read:

• Claim: Bake cookies for approximately 10 minutes for chewy yet crunchy cookies.
• Evidence : In 2019, Stacy Smith of Bakers Forever tested different times for baking cookies, finding that 10 minutes was the sweet spot.
• Warrant : A reputable baker, Stacy’s research does the work for us! Rather than open the oven every few seconds, we can be confident that a 10-minute cookie will result in the perfect consistency.

Warrants can play a particularly important role in an informative speech. A warrant – or connection between the claim and evidence – isn’t always persuasive. Instead, utilize warrants to detail why that information should matter for the audience. If it’s helpful, you can think of the warrant as the link between the claim, evidence, and audience .

Being clear in your argument structure can also aid in narrowing your topic. It’s common for informative speakers to realize, “Woah! I have way too many claims here. I need to add more supporting materials and explanations, but I won’t have time. I need to narrow this topic down.”

As you work on your outline, it’s imperative that your claims are accompanied by their appropriate argumentative companions: evidence and warrants.

Citation Structure

Finally, citations – both written and spoken – are part of a clear informative speech structure.

As you strengthen your ability to write arguments, continue to integrate proper references. Ask yourself: “Have I given credit to this evidence in the outline and reference page?” “Have I rehearsed my oral citations?”

Part of answering these questions is being appraised of the proper citation structure that’s required – APA, or MLA, for example. If you aren’t properly integrating that structure, you aren’t properly citing the research that supports your topic.

Provide Accurate, Clear, and Interesting Information

A good informative speech conveys accurate information to the audience in a way that is clear and that keeps the listener interested in the topic. Achieving all three of these goals—accuracy, clarity, and interest—is the key to being an effective speaker. If information is inaccurate, unclear, or uninteresting, it will be of limited usefulness to the audience.

Part of being accurate is making sure that your information is current. Even if you know a great deal about your topic, you will need to verify the accuracy and completeness of what you know, especially if it is medical or scientific information. Most people understand that technology changes rapidly, so you need to update your information almost constantly. The same is true for topics that, on the surface, may seem to require less updating. For example, the Civil War occurred over 150 years ago, but contemporary research still offers new and emerging theories about the causes of the war and key individuals who may have been left out of common history books. Even with a topic that seems to be unchanging, carefully check the information to be sure it’s accurate and up to date.

Second, be clear. Like we’ve discussed, make sure you’re avoiding jargon or complicated information that the audience may not understand. Remember that informative speeches are meant to increase the audience’s understanding, and if the language, evidence, or examples are too complex, it’s unlikely to achieve that goal.

Third, be interesting! What defines “interesting?” In approaching the informative speech, you should keep in mind the overall principle that the audience is asking, “what’s in it for me?” The audience is either consciously or unconsciously wondering “What’s in this topic for me? How can I use this information? Of what value is this speech content to me? Why should I listen to it?” A good way to answer this question for others is to answer it for yourself. Why do you find your topic interesting? Work outward from there. You might consider it one of the jobs of the introduction to directly or indirectly answer this question. If you can’t, then you need to think about your topic and why you are addressing it. If it’s only because the topic is interesting to you, you are missing the point.

Accuracy, clarity, and interest are incredibly important. It can be tempting to approach informative speaking with the attitude that “I’m just reporting facts that other people have stated,” but we want to minimize that approach. You are gathering information and crafting an interesting narrative around the importance of that idea – that’s a difficult but worthwhile skill.

Remember the 3 C’s: Constitutive, Contextual, Cultural

Finally, when developing your informative speech, ask yourself, am I representing information in ways that acknowledge that communication is constitutive, contextual, and cultural?

It’s common to believe that reporting knowledge or “facts” could never result in unethical communication or representations. After all, it’s not persuasive! But information sharing is not neutral, even in informative speaking, so we must consider how our communication represents others.

You may decide, for example, to provide your audience with information on a cultural practice that differs from their own, and that can be great! However, if you aren’t part of that culture, be careful in how you represent those practices to others and work to avoid appropriating or reducing complex cultural beliefs or practices.

In sum, your speeches are part of world-making. The language that you use to describe, define, explain, or demonstrate an idea is impactful to your audience.

Learning how to give informative speeches will serve you well in your college career and your future work. Keep in mind the principles in this chapter but also those of the previous chapters: relating to the informational needs of the audience, using clear structure, and incorporating interesting and attention-getting supporting evidence.

Speak Out, Call In: Public Speaking as Advocacy Copyright © 2019 by Meggie Mapes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Informative Speaking

In this guide, you can learn about the purposes and types of informative speeches, about writing and delivering informative speeches, and about the parts of informative speeches.

Purposes of Informative Speaking

Informative speaking offers you an opportunity to practice your researching, writing, organizing, and speaking skills. You will learn how to discover and present information clearly. If you take the time to thoroughly research and understand your topic, to create a clearly organized speech, and to practice an enthusiastic, dynamic style of delivery, you can be an effective "teacher" during your informative speech. Finally, you will get a chance to practice a type of speaking you will undoubtedly use later in your professional career.

The purpose of the informative speech is to provide interesting, useful, and unique information to your audience. By dedicating yourself to the goals of providing information and appealing to your audience, you can take a positive step toward succeeding in your efforts as an informative speaker.

Major Types of Informative Speeches

In this guide, we focus on informative speeches about:

These categories provide an effective method of organizing and evaluating informative speeches. Although they are not absolute, these categories provide a useful starting point for work on your speech.

In general, you will use four major types of informative speeches. While you can classify informative speeches many ways, the speech you deliver will fit into one of four major categories.

Speeches about Objects

Speeches about objects focus on things existing in the world. Objects include, among other things, people, places, animals, or products.

Because you are speaking under time constraints, you cannot discuss any topic in its entirety. Instead, limit your speech to a focused discussion of some aspect of your topic.

Some example topics for speeches about objects include: the Central Intelligence Agency, tombstones, surgical lasers, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the pituitary gland, and lemmings.

To focus these topics, you could give a speech about Franklin Delano Roosevelt and efforts to conceal how he suffered from polio while he was in office. Or, a speech about tombstones could focus on the creation and original designs of grave markers.

Speeches about Processes

Speeches about processes focus on patterns of action. One type of speech about processes, the demonstration speech, teaches people "how-to" perform a process. More frequently, however, you will use process speeches to explain a process in broader terms. This way, the audience is more likely to understand the importance or the context of the process.

A speech about how milk is pasteurized would not teach the audience how to milk cows. Rather, this speech could help audience members understand the process by making explicit connections between patterns of action (the pasteurization process) and outcomes (a safe milk supply).

Other examples of speeches about processes include: how the Internet works (not "how to work the Internet"), how to construct a good informative speech, and how to research the job market. As with any speech, be sure to limit your discussion to information you can explain clearly and completely within time constraints.

Speeches about Events

Speeches about events focus on things that happened, are happening, or will happen. When speaking about an event, remember to relate the topic to your audience. A speech chronicling history is informative, but you should adapt the information to your audience and provide them with some way to use the information. As always, limit your focus to those aspects of an event that can be adequately discussed within the time limitations of your assignment.

Examples of speeches about events include: the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, Groundhog's Day, the Battle of the Bulge, the World Series, and the 2000 Presidential Elections.

Speeches about Concepts

Speeches about concepts focus on beliefs, ideas, and theories. While speeches about objects, processes, and events are fairly concrete, speeches about concepts are more abstract. Take care to be clear and understandable when creating and presenting a speech about a concept. When selecting a concept, remember you are crafting an informative speech. Often, speeches about concepts take on a persuasive tone. Focus your efforts toward providing unbiased information and refrain from making arguments. Because concepts can be vague and involved, limit your speech to aspects that can be readily explained and understood within the time limits.

Some examples of topics for concept speeches include: democracy, Taoism, principles of feminism, the philosophy of non-violent protest, and the Big Bang theory.

Strategies for Selecting a Topic

In many cases, circumstances will dictate the topic of your speech. However, if the topic has not been assigned or if you are having difficulty figuring out how to frame your topic as an informative speech,the following may be useful.

Begin by thinking of your interests. If you have always loved art, contemplate possible topics dealing with famous artists, art works, or different types of art. If you are employed, think of aspects of your job or aspects of your employer's business that would be interesting to talk about. While you cannot substitute personal experience for detailed research, your own experience can supplement your research and add vitality to your presentation. Choose one of the items below to learn more about selecting a topic.

Learn More about an Unfamiliar Topic

You may benefit more by selecting an unfamiliar topic that interests you. You can challenge yourself by choosing a topic you'd like to learn about and to help others understand it. If the Buddhist religion has always been an interesting and mysterious topic to you, research the topic and create a speech that offers an understandable introduction to the religion. Remember to adapt Buddhism to your audience and tell them why you think this information is useful to them. By taking this approach, you can learn something new and learn how to synthesize new information for your audience.

Think about Previous Classes

You might find a topic by thinking of classes you have taken. Think back to concepts covered in those classes and consider whether they would serve as unique, interesting, and enlightening topics for the informative speech. In astronomy, you learned about red giants. In history, you learned about Napoleon. In political science, you learned about The Federalist Papers. Past classes serve as rich resources for informative speech topics. If you make this choice, use your class notes and textbook as a starting point. To fully develop the content, you will need to do extensive research and perhaps even a few interviews.

Talk to Others

Topic selection does not have to be an individual effort. Spend time talking about potential topics with classmates or friends. This method can be extremely effective because other people can stimulate further ideas when you get stuck. When you use this method, always keep the basic requirements and the audience in mind. Just because you and your friend think home-brew is a great topic does not mean it will enthrall your audience or impress your instructor. While you talk with your classmates or friends, jot notes about potential topics and create a master list when you exhaust the possibilities. From this list, choose a topic with intellectual merit, originality, and potential to entertain while informing.

Framing a Thesis Statement

Once you settle on a topic, you need to frame a thesis statement. Framing a thesis statement allows you to narrow your topic, and in turns allows you to focus your research in this specific area, saving you time and trouble in the process.

Selecting a topic and focusing it into a thesis statement can be a difficult process. Fortunately, a number of useful strategies are available to you.

Thesis Statement Purpose

The thesis statement is crucial for clearly communicating your topic and purpose to the audience. Be sure to make the statement clear, concise, and easy to remember. Deliver it to the audience and use verbal and nonverbal illustrations to make it stand out.

Strategies For Framing a Thesis Statement

Focus on a specific aspect of your topic and phrase the thesis statement in one clear, concise, complete sentence, focusing on the audience. This sentence sets a goal for the speech. For example, in a speech about art, the thesis statement might be: "The purpose of this speech is to inform my audience about the early works of Vincent van Gogh." This statement establishes that the speech will inform the audience about the early works of one great artist. The thesis statement is worded conversationally and included in the delivery of the speech.

Thesis Statement and Audience

The thesis appears in the introduction of the speech so that the audience immediately realizes the speaker's topic and goal. Whatever the topic may be, you should attempt to create a clear, focused thesis statement that stands out and could be repeated by every member of your audience. It is important to refer to the audience in the thesis statement; when you look back at the thesis for direction, or when the audience hears the thesis, it should be clear that the most important goal of your speech is to inform the audience about your topic. While the focus and pressure will be on you as a speaker, you should always remember that the audience is the reason for presenting a public speech.

Avoid being too trivial or basic for the average audience member. At the same time, avoid being too technical for the average audience member. Be sure to use specific, concrete terms that clearly establish the focus of your speech.

Thesis Statement and Delivery

When creating the thesis statement, be sure to use a full sentence and frame that sentence as a statement, not as a question. The full sentence, "The purpose of this speech is to inform my audience about the early works of Vincent van Gogh," provides clear direction for the speech, whereas the fragment "van Gogh" says very little about the purpose of the speech. Similarly, the question "Who was Vincent van Gogh?" does not adequately indicate the direction the speech will take or what the speaker hopes to accomplish.

If you limit your thesis statement to one distinct aspect of the larger topic, you are more likely to be understood and to meet the time constraints.

Researching Your Topic

As you begin to work on your informative speech, you will find that you need to gather additional information. Your instructor will most likely require that you locate relevant materials in the library and cite those materials in your speech. In this section, we discuss the process of researching your topic and thesis.

Conducting research for a major informative speech can be a daunting task. In this section, we discuss a number of strategies and techniques that you can use to gather and organize source materials for your speech.

Gathering Materials

Gathering materials can be a daunting task. You may want to do some research before you choose a topic. Once you have a topic, you have many options for finding information. You can conduct interviews, write or call for information from a clearinghouse or public relations office, and consult books, magazines, journals, newspapers, television and radio programs, and government documents. The library will probably be your primary source of information. You can use many of the libraries databases or talk to a reference librarian to learn how to conduct efficient research.

Taking Notes

While doing your research, you may want to carry notecards. When you come across a useful passage, copy the source and the information onto the notecard or copy and paste the information. You should maintain a working bibliography as you research so you always know which sources you have consulted and so the process of writing citations into the speech and creating the bibliography will be easier. You'll need to determine what information-recording strategies work best for you. Talk to other students, instructors, and librarians to get tips on conducting efficient research. Spend time refining your system and you will soon be able to focus on the information instead of the record-keeping tasks.

Citing Sources Within Your Speech

Consult with your instructor to determine how much research/source information should be included in your speech. Realize that a source citation within your speech is defined as a reference to or quotation from material you have gathered during your research and an acknowledgement of the source. For example, within your speech you might say: "As John W. Bobbitt said in the December 22, 1993, edition of the Denver Post , 'Ouch!'" In this case, you have included a direct quotation and provided the source of the quotation. If you do not quote someone, you might say: "After the first week of the 1995 baseball season, attendance was down 13.5% from 1994. This statistic appeared in the May 7, 1995, edition of the Denver Post ." Whatever the case, whenever you use someone else's ideas, thoughts, or words, you must provide a source citation to give proper credit to the creator of the information. Failure to cite sources can be interpreted as plagiarism which is a serious offense. Upon review of the specific case, plagiarism can result in failure of the assignment, the course, or even dismissal from the University. Take care to cite your sources and give credit where it is due.

Creating Your Bibliography

As with all aspects of your speech, be sure to check with your instructor to get specific details about the assignment.

Generally, the bibliography includes only those sources you cited during the speech. Don't pad the bibliography with every source you read, saw on the shelf, or heard of from friends. When you create the bibliography, you should simply go through your complete sentence outline and list each source you cite. This is also a good way to check if you have included enough reference material within the speech. You will need to alphabetize the bibiography by authors last name and include the following information: author's name, article title, publication title, volume, date, page number(s). You may need to include additional information; you need to talk with your instructor to confirm the required bibliographical format.

Some Cautions

When doing research, use caution in choosing your sources. You need to determine which sources are more credible than others and attempt to use a wide variety of materials. The broader the scope of your research, the more impressive and believable your information. You should draw from different sources (e.g., a variety of magazines-- Time, Newsweek, US News & World Report, National Review, Mother Jones ) as well as different types of sources (i.e., use interviews, newspapers, periodicals, and books instead of just newspapers). The greater your variety, the more apparent your hard work and effort will be. Solid research skills result in increased credibility and effectiveness for the speaker.

Structuring an Informative Speech

Typically, informative speeches have three parts:

Introduction

In this section, we discuss the three parts of an informative speech, calling attention to specific elements that can enhance the effectiveness of your speech. As a speaker, you will want to create a clear structure for your speech. In this section, you will find discussions of the major parts of the informative speech.

The introduction sets the tone of the entire speech. The introduction should be brief and to-the-point as it accomplishes these several important tasks. Typically, there are six main components of an effective introduction:

Attention Getters

Thesis statement, audience adaptation, credibility statement, transition to the body.

As in any social situation, your audience makes strong assumptions about you during the first eight or ten seconds of your speech. For this reason, you need to start solidly and launch the topic clearly. Focus your efforts on completing these tasks and moving on to the real information (the body) of the speech. Typically, there are six main components of an effective introduction. These tasks do not have to be handled in this order, but this layout often yields the best results.

The attention-getter is designed to intrigue the audience members and to motivate them to listen attentively for the next several minutes. There are infinite possibilities for attention-getting devices. Some of the more common devices include using a story, a rhetorical question, or a quotation. While any of these devices can be effective, it is important for you to spend time strategizing, creating, and practicing the attention-getter.

Most importantly, an attention-getter should create curiosity in the minds of your listeners and convince them that the speech will be interesting and useful. The wording of your attention-getter should be refined and practiced. Be sure to consider the mood/tone of your speech; determine the appropriateness of humor, emotion, aggressiveness, etc. Not only should the words get the audiences attention, but your delivery should be smooth and confident to let the audience know that you are a skilled speaker who is prepared for this speech.

The crowd was wild. The music was booming. The sun was shining. The cash registers were ringing.

This story-like re-creation of the scene at a Farm Aid concert serves to engage the audience and causes them to think about the situation you are describing. Touching stories or stories that make audience members feel involved with the topic serve as good attention-getters. You should tell a story with feeling and deliver it directly to the audience instead of reading it off your notecards.

Example Text : One dark summer night in 1849, a young woman in her 20's left Bucktown, Maryland, and followed the North Star. What was her name? Harriet Tubman. She went back some 19 times to rescue her fellow slaves. And as James Blockson relates in a 1984 issue of National Geographic , by the end of her career, she had a $40,000.00 price on her head. This was quite a compliment from her enemies (Blockson 22).

Rhetorical Question

Rhetorical questions are questions designed to arouse curiosity without requiring an answer. Either the answer will be obvious, or if it isn't apparent, the question will arouse curiosity until the presentation provides the answer.

An example of a rhetorical question to gain the audiences attention for a speech about fly-fishing is, "Have you ever stood in a freezing river at 5 o'clock in the morning by choice?"

Example Text: Have you ever heard of a railroad with no tracks, with secret stations, and whose conductors were considered criminals?

A quotation from a famous person or from an expert on your topic can gain the attention of the audience. The use of a quotation immediately launches you into the speech and focuses the audience on your topic area. If it is from a well-known source, cite the author first. If the source is obscure, begin with the quote itself.

Example Text : "No day dawns for the slave, nor is it looked for. It is all night--night forever . . . ." (Pause) This quote was taken from Jermain Loguen, a fugitive who was the son of his Tennessee master and a slave woman.

Unusual Statement

Making a statement that is unusual to the ears of your listeners is another possibility for gaining their attention.

Example Text : "Follow the drinking gourd. That's what I said, friend, follow the drinking gourd." This phrase was used by slaves as a coded message to mean the Big Dipper, which revealed the North Star, and pointed toward freedom.

You might chose to use tasteful humor which relates to the topic as an effective way to attract the audience both to you and the subject at hand.

Example Text : "I'm feeling boxed in." [PAUSE] I'm not sure, but these may have been Henry "Box" Brown's very words after being placed on his head inside a box which measured 3 feet by 2 feet by 2 1\2 feet for what seemed to him like "an hour and a half." He was shipped by Adams Express to freedom in Philadelphia (Brown 60,92; Still 10).

Shocking Statistic

Another possibility to consider is the use of a factual statistic intended to grab your listener's attention. As you research the topic you've picked, keep your eyes open for statistics that will have impact.

Example Text : Today, John Elway's talents are worth millions, but in 1840 the price of a human life, a slave, was worth $1,000.00.

Example Text : Today I'd like to tell you about the Underground Railroad.

In your introduction, you need to adapt your speech to your audience. To keep audience members interested, tell them why your topic is important to them. To accomplish this task, you need to undertake audience analysis prior to creating the speech. Figure out who your audience members are, what things are important to them, what their biases may be, and what types of subjects/issues appeal to them. In the context of this class, some of your audience analysis is provided for you--most of your listeners are college students, so it is likely that they place some value on education, most of them are probably not bathing in money, and they live in Colorado. Consider these traits when you determine how to adapt to your audience.

As you research and write your speech, take note of references to issues that should be important to your audience. Include statements about aspects of your speech that you think will be of special interest to the audience in the introduction. By accomplishing this task, you give your listeners specific things with which they can identify. Audience adaptation will be included throughout the speech, but an effective introduction requires meaningful adaptation of the topic to the audience.

You need to find ways to get the members of your audience involved early in the speech. The following are some possible options to connect your speech to your audience:

Reference to the Occasion

Consider how the occasion itself might present an opportunity to heighten audience receptivity. Remind your listeners of an important date just passed or coming soon.

Example Text : This January will mark the 130th anniversary of a "giant interracial rally" organized by William Still which helped to end streetcar segregation in the city of Philadelphia (Katz i).

Reference to the Previous Speaker

Another possibility is to refer to a previous speaker to capitalize on the good will which already has been established or to build on the information presented.

Example Text : As Alice pointed out last week in her speech on the Olympic games of the ancient world, history can provide us with fascinating lessons.

The credibility statement establishes your qualifications as a speaker. You should come up with reasons why you are someone to listen to on this topic. Why do you have special knowledge or understanding of this topic? What can the audience learn from you that they couldn't learn from someone else? Credibility statements can refer to your extensive research on a topic, your life-long interest in an issue, your personal experience with a thing, or your desire to better the lives of your listeners by sifting through the topic and providing the crucial information.

Remember that Aristotle said that credibility, or ethos, consists of good sense, goodwill, and good moral character. Create the feeling that you possess these qualities by creatively stating that you are well-educated about the topic (good sense), that you want to help each member of the audience (goodwill), and that you are a decent person who can be trusted (good moral character). Once you establish your credibility, the audience is more likely to listen to you as something of an expert and to consider what you say to be the truth. It is often effective to include further references to your credibility throughout the speech by subtly referring to the traits mentioned above.

Show your listeners that you are qualified to speak by making a specific reference to a helpful resource. This is one way to demonstrate competence.

Example Text : In doing research for this topic, I came across an account written by one of these heroes that has deepened my understanding of the institution of slavery. Frederick Douglass', My Bondage and My Freedom, is the account of a man whose master's kindness made his slavery only more unbearable.

Your listeners want to believe that you have their best interests in mind. In the case of an informative speech, it is enough to assure them that this will be an interesting speech and that you, yourself, are enthusiastic about the topic.

Example Text : I hope you'll enjoy hearing about the heroism of the Underground Railroad as much as I have enjoyed preparing for this speech.

Preview the Main Points

The preview informs the audience about the speech's main points. You should preview every main body point and identify each as a separate piece of the body. The purpose of this preview is to let the audience members prepare themselves for the flow of the speech; therefore, you should word the preview clearly and concisely. Attempt to use parallel structure for each part of the preview and avoid delving into the main point; simply tell the audience what the main point will be about in general.

Use the preview to briefly establish your structure and then move on. Let the audience get a taste of how you will divide the topic and fulfill the thesis and then move on. This important tool will reinforce the information in the minds of your listeners. Here are two examples of a preview:

Simply identify the main points of the speech. Cover them in the same order that they will appear in the body of the presentation.

For example, the preview for a speech about kites organized topically might take this form: "First, I will inform you about the invention of the kite. Then, I will explain the evolution of the kite. Third, I will introduce you to the different types of kites. Finally, I will inform you about various uses for kites." Notice that this preview avoids digressions (e.g., listing the various uses for kites); you will take care of the deeper information within the body of the speech.

Example Text : I'll tell you about motivations and means of escape employed by fugitive slaves.

Chronological

For example, the preview for a speech about the Pony Express organized chronologically might take this form: "I'll talk about the Pony Express in three parts. First, its origins, second, its heyday, and third, how it came to an end." Notice that this preview avoids digressions (e.g., listing the reasons why the Pony Express came to an end); you will cover the deeper information within the body of the speech.

Example Text : I'll talk about it in three parts. First, its origins, second, its heyday, and third, how it came to an end.

After you accomplish the first five components of the introduction, you should make a clean transition to the body of the speech. Use this transition to signal a change and prepare the audience to begin processing specific topical information. You should round out the introduction, reinforce the excitement and interest that you created in the audience during the introduction, and slide into the first main body point.

Strategic organization helps increase the clarity and effectiveness of your speech. Four key issues are discussed in this section:

Organizational Patterns

Connective devices, references to outside research.

The body contains the bulk of information in your speech and needs to be clearly organized. Without clear organization, the audience will probably forget your information, main points, perhaps even your thesis. Some simple strategies will help you create a clear, memorable speech. Below are the four key issues used in organizing a speech.

Once you settle on a topic, you should decide which aspects of that topic are of greatest importance for your speech. These aspects become your main points. While there is no rule about how many main points should appear in the body of the speech, most students go with three main points. You must have at least two main points; aside from that rule, you should select your main points based on the importance of the information and the time limitations. Be sure to include whatever information is necessary for the audience to understand your topic. Also, be sure to synthesize the information so it fits into the assigned time frame. As you choose your main points, try to give each point equal attention within the speech. If you pick three main points, each point should take up roughly one-third of the body section of your speech.

There are four basic patterns of organization for an informative speech.

• Chronological order
• Spatial order
• Causal order
• Topical order

There are four basic patterns of organization for an informative speech. You can choose any of these patterns based on which pattern serves the needs of your speech.

Chronological Order

A speech organized chronologically has main points oriented toward time. For example, a speech about the Farm Aid benefit concert could have main points organized chronologically. The first main point focuses on the creation of the event; the second main point focuses on the planning stages; the third point focuses on the actual performance/concert; and the fourth point focuses on donations and assistance that resulted from the entire process. In this format, you discuss main points in an order that could be followed on a calendar or a clock.

Spatial Order

A speech organized spatially has main points oriented toward space or a directional pattern. The Farm Aid speech's body could be organized in spatial order. The first main point discusses the New York branch of the organization; the second main point discusses the Midwest branch; the third main point discusses the California branch of Farm Aid. In this format, you discuss main points in an order that could be traced on a map.

Causal Order

A speech organized causally has main points oriented toward cause and effect. The main points of a Farm Aid speech organized causally could look like this: the first main point informs about problems on farms and the need for monetary assistance; the second main point discusses the creation and implementation of the Farm Aid program. In this format, you discuss main points in an order that alerts the audience to a problem or circumstance and then tells the audience what action resulted from the original circumstance.

Topical Order

A speech organized topically has main points organized more randomly by sub-topics. The Farm Aid speech could be organized topically: the first main point discusses Farm Aid administrators; the second main point discusses performers; the third main point discusses sponsors; the fourth main point discusses audiences. In this format, you discuss main points in a more random order that labels specific aspects of the topic and addresses them in separate categories. Most speeches that are not organized chronologically, spatially, or causally are organized topically.

Within the body of your speech, you need clear internal structure. Connectives are devices used to create a clear flow between ideas and points within the body of your speech--they serve to tie the speech together. There are four main types of connective devices:

Transitions

Internal previews, internal summaries.

Within the body of your speech, you need clear internal structure. Think of connectives as hooks and ladders for the audience to use when moving from point-to-point within the body of your speech. These devices help re-focus the minds of audience members and remind them of which main point your information is supporting. The four main types of connective devices are:

Transitions are brief statements that tell the audience to shift gears between ideas. Transitions serve as the glue that holds the speech together and allow the audience to predict where the next portion of the speech will go. For example, once you have previewed your main points and you want to move from the introduction to the body of the Farm Aid speech, you might say: "To gain an adequate understanding of the intricacies of this philanthropic group, we need to look at some specific information about Farm Aid. We'll begin by looking at the administrative branch of this massive fund-raising organization."

Internal previews are used to preview the parts of a main point. Internal previews are more focused than, but serve the same purpose as, the preview you will use in the introduction of the speech. For example, you might create an internal preview for the complex main point dealing with Farm Aid performers: "In examining the Farm Aid performers, we must acknowledge the presence of entertainers from different genres of music--country and western, rhythm and blues, rock, and pop." The internal preview provides specific information for the audience if a main point is complex or potentially confusing.

Internal summaries are the reverse of internal previews. Internal summaries restate specific parts of a main point. To internally summarize the main point dealing with Farm Aid performers, you might say: "You now know what types of people perform at the Farm Aid benefit concerts. The entertainers come from a wide range of musical genres--country and western, rhythm and blues, rock, and pop." When using both internal previews and internal summaries, be sure to stylize the language in each so you do not become redundant.

Signposts are brief statements that remind the audience where you are within the speech. If you have a long point, you may want to remind the audience of what main point you are on: "Continuing my discussion of Farm Aid performers . . . "

When organizing the body of your speech, you will integrate several references to your research. The purpose of the informative speech is to allow you and the audience to learn something new about a topic. Additionally, source citations add credibility to your ideas. If you know a lot about rock climbing and you cite several sources who confirm your knowledge, the audience is likely to see you as a credible speaker who provides ample support for ideas.

Without these references, your speech is more like a story or a chance for you to say a few things you know. To complete this assignment satisfactorily, you must use source citations. Consult your textbook and instructor for specific information on how much supporting material you should use and about the appropriate style for source citations.

While the conclusion should be brief and tight, it has a few specific tasks to accomplish:

Re-assert/Reinforce the Thesis

Review the main points, close effectively.

Take a deep breath! If you made it to the conclusion, you are on the brink of finishing. Below are the tasks you should complete in your conclusion:

When making the transition to the conclusion, attempt to make clear distinctions (verbally and nonverbally) that you are now wrapping up the information and providing final comments about the topic. Refer back to the thesis from the introduction with wording that calls the original thesis into memory. Assert that you have accomplished the goals of your thesis statement and create the feeling that audience members who actively considered your information are now equipped with an understanding of your topic. Reinforce whatever mood/tone you chose for the speech and attempt to create a big picture of the speech.

Within the conclusion, re-state the main points of the speech. Since you have used parallel wording for your main points in the introduction and body, don't break that consistency in the conclusion. Frame the review so the audience will be reminded of the preview and the developed discussion of each main point. After the review, you may want to create a statement about why those main points fulfilled the goals of the speech.

Finish strongly. When you close your speech, craft statements that reinforce the message and leave the audience with a clear feeling about what was accomplished with your speech. You might finalize the adaptation by discussing the benefits of listening to the speech and explaining what you think audience members can do with the information.

Remember to maintain an informative tone for this speech. You should not persuade about beliefs or positions; rather, you should persuade the audience that the speech was worthwhile and useful. For greatest effect, create a closing line or paragraph that is artistic and effective. Much like the attention-getter, the closing line needs to be refined and practiced. Your close should stick with the audience and leave them interested in your topic. Take time to work on writing the close well and attempt to memorize it so you can directly address the audience and leave them thinking of you as a well-prepared, confident speaker.

Outlining an Informative Speech

Two types of outlines can help you prepare to deliver your speech. The complete sentence outline provides a useful means of checking the organization and content of your speech. The speaking outline is an essential aid for delivering your speech. In this section, we discuss both types of outlines.

Two types of outlines can help you prepare to deliver your speech. The complete sentence outline provides a useful means of checking the organization and content of your speech. The speaking outline is an essential aid for delivering your speech.

The Complete Sentence Outline

A complete sentence outline may not be required for your presentation. The following information is useful, however, in helping you prepare your speech.

The complete sentence outline helps you organize your material and thoughts and it serves as an excellent copy for editing the speech. The complete sentence outline is just what it sounds like: an outline format including every complete sentence (not fragments or keywords) that will be delivered during your speech.

Writing the Outline

You should create headings for the introduction, body, and conclusion and clearly signal shifts between these main speech parts on the outline. Use standard outline format. For instance, you can use Roman numerals, letters, and numbers to label the parts of the outline. Organize the information so the major headings contain general information and the sub-headings become more specific as they descend. Think of the outline as a funnel: you should make broad, general claims at the top of each part of the outline and then tighten the information until you have exhausted the point. Do this with each section of the outline. Be sure to consult with your instructor about specific aspects of the outline and refer to your course book for further information and examples.

Using the Outline

If you use this outline as it is designed to be used, you will benefit from it. You should start the outline well before your speech day and give yourself plenty of time to revise it. Attempt to have the final, clean copies ready two or three days ahead of time, so you can spend a day or two before your speech working on delivery. Prepare the outline as if it were a final term paper.

The Speaking Outline

Depending upon the assignment and the instructor, you may use a speaking outline during your presentation. The following information will be helpful in preparing your speech through the use of a speaking outline.

This outline should be on notecards and should be a bare bones outline taken from the complete sentence outline. Think of the speaking outline as train tracks to guide you through the speech.

Many speakers find it helpful to highlight certain words/passages or to use different colors for different parts of the speech. You will probably want to write out long or cumbersome quotations along with your source citation. Many times, the hardest passages to learn are those you did not write but were spoken by someone else. Avoid the temptation to over-do the speaking outline; many speakers write too much on the cards and their grades suffer because they read from the cards.

The best strategy for becoming comfortable with a speaking outline is preparation. You should prepare well ahead of time and spend time working with the notecards and memorizing key sections of your speech (the introduction and conclusion, in particular). Try to become comfortable with the extemporaneous style of speaking. You should be able to look at a few keywords on your outline and deliver eloquent sentences because you are so familiar with your material. You should spend approximately 80% of your speech making eye-contact with your audience.

Delivering an Informative Speech

For many speakers, delivery is the most intimidating aspect of public speaking. Although there is no known cure for nervousness, you can make yourself much more comfortable by following a few basic delivery guidelines. In this section, we discuss those guidelines.

The Five-Step Method for Improving Delivery

• Read aloud your full-sentence outline. Listen to what you are saying and adjust your language to achieve a good, clear, simple sentence structure.
• Practice the speech repeatedly from the speaking outline. Become comfortable with your keywords to the point that what you say takes the form of an easy, natural conversation.
• Practice the speech aloud...rehearse it until you are confident you have mastered the ideas you want to present. Do not be concerned about "getting it just right." Once you know the content, you will find the way that is most comfortable for you.
• Practice in front of a mirror, tape record your practice, and/or present your speech to a friend. You are looking for feedback on rate of delivery, volume, pitch, non-verbal cues (gestures, card-usage, etc.), and eye-contact.
• Do a dress rehearsal of the speech under conditions as close as possible to those of the actual speech. Practice the speech a day or two before in a classroom. Be sure to incorporate as many elements as possible in the dress rehearsal...especially visual aids.

It should be clear that coping with anxiety over delivering a speech requires significant advanced preparation. The speech needs to be completed several days beforehand so that you can effectively employ this five-step plan.

Citation Information

Thad Anderson and Ron Tajchman. (1994-2023). Informative Speaking. The WAC Clearinghouse. Colorado State University. Available at https://wac.colostate.edu/repository/resources/writing/guides/.

Copyright Information

Copyright © 1994-2023 Colorado State University and/or this site's authors, developers, and contributors . Some material displayed on this site is used with permission.

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Sports Informative Speech Topics

Sports informative speech topics , informative speech sports topics, informative speech topics sports, sport informative speech topics, informative speech topics for athletes.

Sports Informative Speech Topics : There are times you want to write an informative speech about sports and don’t know which topic to choose.

Today we are going to look at informative speech topics about sports that are going to give you an idea of some of the issues that you can address.

Below is a comprehensive list of informative speech topics for sports.

1. Security measures were put in place in Qatar as they hosted the FIFA world cup.

2. EPL before and after Covid 19.

3. The secret behind Eliud Kipchoge’s record-breaking win in the Berlin marathon.

4. The undefeated NFL Teams.

5. Covid-19 measures during the world cup in Qatar 2022.

6. The best footballers you might miss in the world cup 2027.

7. Top 5 NBA teams .

8. How to make fishing lures.

9. How to relax your horse at equestrian tournaments.

10. Illegal steroids and unethical athlete behavior

11. Individual endurance practices require extra motivation and the ultimate self-discipline help.

12. International arbitration rules.

Read: Sports Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

1. Biological and technical factors that influence a positive outcome.

2. Common Injuries In Ice Hockey

3. Determine your strategy by analyzing a videotape of your ice hockey competitors.

4. Effective bodybuilding workouts and weight training methods.

5. Famous athletes in history and their causative mockery quotes.

6. How baseball bats are made.

7. How Canadian football is played.

8. How Larry Bird became an NBA legend.

9. How the Greeks organized their Ancient Olympics.

10. How the Olympic bidding process works at the IOC.

11. How to build a pinewood derby car.

12. How to coach and train a racing horse to obey your commands and set a winning mood.

13. How to increase your strength speed, staying power, and toughness.

14. How to make a turkey call.

Read:   Sports Persuasive Speech Topics

1. Is Rugby A Dangerous Sport

2. Learn to achieve dominance over one another in mixed martial arts classes.

3. Should Female Students Play On Sports Teams Meant For Males?

4. Simple mental preparation techniques for difficult mind games like Chess, Checkers, and Go.

5. Some common ice hockey injuries.

6. Squash instructions and personal coaching tips.

7. Technical university scientists can enhance performances.

8. The best professional baseball stadiums.

9. The best sports players of all time.

10. The effect of a crowded stadium on the performance of athletic men and women.

11. The Essence Of Games And Sports

Read: Argumentative Essay Topics About Sports

12. The excitement of competitive horseback riding.

13. The Formula 1 schedule and ranking methods.

14. The Growth Of Professional Wrestling

15. The History And Growth Of Field Hockey

16. The history of field hockey.

17. The history of the Chicago Bulls.

18. The Importance Of Sports For Students Of All Ages

19. The Most Terrible Professional Sports Teams

20. The origins of soccer.

21. The sport of “cheese rolling”.

22. The sport of curling.

Read:   Topics For An Informative Speech

23. The strange subjective perception of a Formula 1 driver in his seat on a racing circuit.

24. The world’s most famous golf courses.

25. Volunteer as a community softball team fund-raiser.

26. What Should You Carry When Going To A Golf Tournament?

27. What do winners do to win.

28. Where Did Soccer Begin?

29. Why sports are so popular.

30. World’s Most Famous Football Stadiums

Find: Informative Speeches Examples

1. Why there is fewer media coverage for women’s sports

2. Homophobia in sports

3. Cases of fatal injuries in American Football

4. Findings from FIFA’s sudden death report

5. LGBT in the sports

6. Diet for athletes

7. Head injuries in Rugby

8. Sexual harassment in the sporting world

9. Corruption cases in sports

10. How sports betting is affecting the economy in developing countries

11. Paralympics and its benefits

12. Effects of pandemics on sports

13. Winter Olympics vs Summer Olympics

14. Technology in Football

Read: Informative Speech Topics About Music

1. The best athlete players of all time.

2. The origin of the Chicago marathon.

3. The effects of a crowded stadium on the performance of athletic men and women.

4. The most competitive marathons in the world.

5. Usain Bolt and his strategy to become the world’s fastest man.

6. Eliud Kipchoge: First person to run a marathon in under 2 hours.

7. Doping cases in athletics.

8. The best diet for athletes.

9. How to become a successful athlete.

10. Importance of wearing proper athletic footwear.

Betty is a qualified teacher with a Bachelor of Education (Arts). In addition, she is a registered Certified Public Accountant. She has been teaching and offering part-time accounting services for the last 10 years. She is passionate about education, accounting, writing, and traveling.

Persuasive Speech

Motivational Speech Topics

Easy and Effective Motivational Speech Topics

Published on: Dec 8, 2018

Last updated on: Jan 23, 2023

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Preparing a motivational speech is an interesting yet challenging task. You have to go through the  persuasive speech  writing process before being able to deliver a motivational speech. To deliver a successful motivational speech you must possess the essentials to be able to influence others.

Finding the inspiration and courage to motivate others, itself is a difficult task. It is impossible to motivate others if you are not motivated. Hence, you need to make sure that whatever you write in your motivational speech, every word must come from the heart.

The first thing that you are going to need to write an effective motivational speech is a good motivational topic. For your convenience, we have compiled a list of simple, easy, effective as well as good motivational topics.

This list of motivational speech topics contains topics for all academic levels and also for professionals. Dive into the blog and check out the list and choose the best topic for your speech.

A good motivational speech topic is an essential element to deliver an influential and successful motivational speech. Take a look at our list of motivational  persuasive speech topics  for students and professionals.

Motivational Speech Topics for Middle School Students

• The more your study, the more you learn
• Healthy eating has several benefits
• Early to bed and early to rise, make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise
• You need to open your eyes to conquer the dreams you have watched with closed eyes
• There is a whole new world to win for those who dare to dream
• I want to become an astronaut
• The day I will graduate from college
• Being a winner
• My future is in my hands
• Dear Dad, I will make you proud

Motivational Speech Topics for High School Students

• If you get control over your tongue, you can control the world
• Think positive, act positive
• Meditation brings positive thinking
• In order to conquer the world, you need to be disciplined
• One day I’m going to land on the moon
• In order to be successful, you need to follow the rules and regulation
• Parents need to understand their kids during their teenage
• We should do more charity
• Effective ways of communication
• Patience, patience, and patience

Great Motivational Speech Topics for College Students

• Unity, faith and discipline, the key to success
• Girls can also ask boys out
• Set your goals, break the bad habits, and win the world
• Happiness can’t be measured
• If you were born poor, that was not your fault, but if you’ll die poor, that’ll be your fault
• Supportive teams and environments can bring a positive change
• Academic achievements boost the self-confidence
• We need to have a balanced social life, professional and personal life
• J. K. Rowling is my role model
• We should help each other

Motivational Speech Topics for Employees

• Women should be encouraged to work
• Women in combat strengthen armed forces
• Hard work always pays off
• Housewives should be paid for house chores
• Time management plays a great role in self-growth
• Good employees should get bonus rewards for their performance
• A word of appreciation from bosses motivates the team to perform better
• Work hard until you get satisfied with your designation
• Women should have the right to pursue their career after marriage
• Both men and women employees should be paid equally

Motivational Speech Topics for Teachers

• The teaching profession should be equal to the other great professions
• Teachers can bring a huge change by producing leaders from their class
• Do your job to the very best of your ability
• Teachers need to build a strong relationship with students for student’s well being
• Teachers should handle nil students with care
• We need to motivate people to choose teaching as a profession
• Teachers can change lives
• The teaching profession should be paid equally as other professions
• Be proactive, it's all you need to achieve success
• Enjoying the moment is important than clicking the pictures

Funny Motivational Speech Topics

• The truth will set you off but first, it will kick your ass
• Starting a golf club after retirement is not a waste of time
• Women look like a robot after getting the botox injections
• “Work hard in high school the rest is easy”, it's a trap, don't fall for it
• Dogs are more loyal than humans
• Eat chewing gums and get a flat face
• Life is too short to take stress, eat bad and less sleep
• People never die of starvation but often of indigestion
• Craziness should count as originality
• An egg is a way for a chicken to get another chicken

Persuasive Motivational Speech Topics

• Learn to deal with the challenges of contemporary life
• Life is too short to wear boring clothes
• Love at first sight really doesn’t exist
• Drinking diet coke will help you lose weight
• Laugh while you still have teeth
• Before social media, people had a real-life
• Why cinderella's shoes fall off in the first place if it perfectly fits in the end
• Marry the person who gives you the same feeling you get when you see your food coming, at a restaurant
• Sometimes the best answer is not giving an answer
• The Internet has killed the communication

5-minute Motivational Speech Topics

• A short writing guide for beginners
• Chasing an idle dream is a good habit
• How to make fun of your life
• How to maintain a long-distance friendship
• Meditation types and what we can learn from them
• Same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt kids
• Plastic surgery should only be used by the victim of an accident
• Drugs testing on animals should be limited
• Religion and politics should be separate
• Humour is the best way to resolve conflicts

Public speaking makes you nervous?

Can’t come up with a strong motivational speech on your own?

Fret no more as you are in the right place.

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Cathy A. (Literature, Marketing)

Cathy has been been working as an author on our platform for over five years now. She has a Masters degree in mass communication and is well-versed in the art of writing. Cathy is a professional who takes her work seriously and is widely appreciated by clients for her excellent writing skills.

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