An informative speech is one that aims to inform the audience about a specific subject. Speeches that explain the circumstances of a topic and speeches that advise the audience about how to conduct an action are two examples of informative speeches.
What is the Purpose of an Informative Speech?
The main aim of an informative speech is to educate the audience about a subject that they are unfamiliar with. It may show how to use a new type of program, explain a new scientific concept, illustrate an archaeologist’s exploration, or include information about a person of interest that the audience needs to learn more about.
The subjects discussed in an informative speech can assist the listener in better understanding a subject and remembering what they have heard.
The purpose of this style of speech isn’t to persuade the audience to agree with the speaker.
Instead, the facts must be set out in front of the audience so that they can make an informed decision or learn more about a topic that interests them.
It is, however, important for the speaker to consider how this knowledge would be delivered. Pathos, which is an appeal to the audience’s feelings and an important component of convincing speeches, should be used less in informative speeches. An informative speech, on the other hand, might rely on visual aids to provide the audience with a visual representation of important information contained in the speech.
Providing details in various formats during the speech increases the probability that the listener can remember what is said.
The Different Types of Informative Speeches
The four main types of informative speeches include definition, descriptive, demonstrative, and explanatory speeches. We explain all these types of speeches here.
A speech that tells the audience is called an informative speech. As should be obvious, this broad description shows that there are many ways to educate an audience. As a result, there are several different styles of informative speeches. Description, descriptive, explanatory, and demonstrative speeches are the most common styles of informative speeches.
(i) Definition informative speech
A concept speech describes the context, theory, or ideology of a particular subject to an audience that is possibly unfamiliar with it. The topics may be broad, such as a sport, or narrow, such as a specific individual. The primary aim of this speech is to educate the audience so that they are aware of the key points concerning this subject.
(ii) Demonstrative informative speech
A presentation speech demonstrates how to perform a task. You’ve probably heard a demonstration speech if you’ve ever sat through a lecture where a teacher demonstrated how to make a bibliography. A how-to speech, like most informative speeches, would likely use visual illustrations to show the audience how to progress from stage to step in a specific task. Visualizations help the audience remember what each move looks like, raising their chances of remembering the speech’s overall information.
(iii) Explanatory informative speech
An explanatory speech might describe the current state of a subject. Consider the types of speeches given at industry conferences as an example. The speaker’s aim in these speeches is to educate the audience about a specific aspect of the industry. Visualizations are often used to provide the listener with a visual representation of the data or figures presented in the expression. This is one method of condensing highly nuanced details into a package that the viewer can easily remember.
(iv) Descriptive informative speech
A descriptive speech paints a vivid picture in the mind of the listener of an object, human, animal, or place. A descriptive speech may be used by an archaeologist who has discovered a new temple in South America or a paleontologist who thinks they have discovered a new dinosaur to tell an interested audience about their latest findings.
As any of these styles demonstrates, there are several ways to convey a specific collection of information in a voice. Consider what you want the audience to know about your subject when deciding what kind of informative speech to write and deliver.
Subjects of Informative Speeches
Informative speeches can address a wide range of topics as long as they can be addressed without persuading or changing the audience’s views.
There are a variety of topics that can be included in informative speeches. Informative speeches will be college lectures about a historical event or a historical figure.
An actor or actress, the field of advertising, a classic film, the history of Dracula, social networking websites, and what causes volcanoes are all examples of topics for an informative speech.
Examples of informative speech topics:
| Category | Renewable Energy Example | Other Examples |
| Objects | Biomass gasifier | Tarot cards, star-nosed moles, Enterprise 1701-D |
| People | Al Gore | Jennifer Lopez, Bayard Rustin, the Amish |
| Concepts | Sustainability | Machismo, intuition, Wa (social harmony) |
| Events | Earth Day | Pi Day, Take Back the Night, 2012 presidential election |
| Processes | Converting wind to energy | Scrapbooking, animal hybridization, Academy Awards voting |
| Issues | Nuclear safety | Cruise ship safety, identity theft, social networking and privacy |
A table about informative speech topics
Each of these examples lends itself to a variety of different types of data. An informative speech about a specific actor or actress, for example, will most likely begin with a description of who the person is and what films or plays they have appeared in. Incorporating popular pictures or clips from works into a presentation will help the audience remember facts about a specific individual.
A how-it-happens speech, which is similar to a how-to speech, about the causes of a volcano could be called an informative speech. A model volcano may be used in a speech about volcanoes, with the model’s working compared to real-world processes.
More technical topics, such as the field of advertising, necessitate more technical knowledge and industry-specific data. Visualizations, such as bar graphs or photographs, are particularly useful in technical subjects, but they are useful in all informative speeches.
The choice of visual aids is determined by the details that the speaker wishes to convey to the audience. A bar graph, for example, will be useful in a speech about the financial developments in political ads over the last ten years.
A speech educating the audience of how political ads have evolved over time, on the other hand, would benefit from real marketing campaigns.
It is important to stick to the basic facts of the topic in order to distinguish an informative speech from other forms of speeches. When stating the key ideas of the subject, no personal prejudices, unsubstantiated facts, or public opinion should be included. The aim is not to provide the speaker’s opinion, but to inform the audience on the truth. When preparing an informative speech, consider the topic thoroughly and remove any possible comments that could be perceived as prejudiced or persuasive.