Essentials of Human Communication
Tenth Edition
Chapter 13
The Informative Speech
Figure 13.1 In Preview: Some
Guidelines for Informative Speaking
Guidelines for Informative Speaking
(1 of 4)
Focus on Your Audience
• Center speech around audience’s needs/interests
Limit the Information
• Don’t overload the audience
• Expand the depth of your information (not breadth)
Guidelines for Informative Speaking
(2 of 4)
Adjust the Level of Complexity
• The level of knowledge of the audience
• The time available
• The purpose you hope to achieve
• The topic
Guidelines for Informative Speaking
(3 of 4)
Relate New Information to Old
• Helps listeners learn and retain
Vary the Levels of Abstraction
• High abstraction = very general
• Low abstraction = very specific
• Combine both types
Guidelines for Informative Speaking
(4 of 4)
Make the Information Easy to Remember
• Repeat or restate important points
• Use guide phrases
• Use internal summary transitions
• Pattern your messages
• Focus your audience’s attention
Figure 13.3 In Preview: Three Types
of Informative Speeches
Three Types of Informative Speeches
(1 of 3)
Speeches of Description
• Explains an object, person, event or process
• Examples:
• The structure of the brain
• The components of a computer system
• How to create a blog
• Thesis and main points; support; organization
Three Types of Informative Speeches
(2 of 3)
Speeches of Definition
• Defining a term, defining a system or theory, or
pinpointing similarities and/or differences among
terms or systems
• Examples:
• What is a smart card?
• What are major beliefs in Confucianism?
• How does Facebook differ from Twitter?
• Thesis and main points; support; organization
Three Types of Informative Speeches
(3 of 3)
Speeches of Demonstration
• How to do something or how something operates
• Examples:
• How to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
• How perception works
• Thesis and main points; support; organization
Supporting Materials (1 of 5)
Examples, Illustrations, and Narratives
• An example is a relatively brief specific instance
• An illustration is a longer and more detailed example
• A narrative is longer still and is presented in form of
an anecdote or brief story
• All may be factual or imaginary
Supporting Materials (2 of 5)
Testimony
• Form of supporting material consisting of experts’
opinions or witnesses’ accounts
• Can paraphrase or quote directly
Supporting Materials (3 of 5)
Numerical Data
• Useful for supporting a wide variety of statements
• Suggestions for using numerical data of any kind:
• Make the numbers easy to remember
• Clarify your meaning using numbers
• Connect numbers to something familiar
• Reinforce your numerical data
• Use numbers in moderation
• Stress reliability and currency
Supporting Materials (4 of 5)
Definitions
• Explanations of terms and concepts that may not be
familiar to your listeners
• Ways to incorporate definitions:
• Define by etymology or linguistic development
• Define by authority
• Define by negotiation
• Define by actual object or by a picture or model
• Define by operations
Supporting Materials (5 of 5)
Additional Forms of Support
• Quotations
• Comparisons and contrasts
• Statements of fact or a series of facts
• Repetition and restatement
Presentation Aids (1 of 6)
Learning Objective 13.4 Describe the varied types of presentation aids, their uses and
abuses.
Presentation Aids
• Visual or auditory means for clarifying ideas
• Benefits of using aids:
• Help you gain and maintain interest
• Add clarity
• Reinforce message
• Contribute to credibility and confidence
• Reduce apprehension
• Offer evidence
Figure 13.4 Diagram Example
Presentation Aids (2 of 6)
Types of Presentation Aids
• Object being discussed
• Models
• Diagrams
• Graphs
• Pie graph
• Bar graph
• Line graph
• Picture graph
Figure 13.5
3-Dimensional Pie Graph Example
Source: DeSilver, D. “Growth from Asia Drives
Surge in U.S. Foreign Students.” © 2015 Pew
Research Center. Accessed January 9, 2016.
Figure 13.6 Bar Graph Example
SOURCE: Data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Figure 13.7 Line Graph Example
SOURCE: Data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Figure 13.8 Picture Graph Example
SOURCE: Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“NICS Firearm Background Checks.”
For long description, see slide 41, Appendix F
Presentation Aids (3 of 6)
Types of Presentation Aids continued
• Tables
• Infographics
• Maps
• People
• Photographs
Figure 13.9 Table Example
SOURCE: The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012. Columbia University Press.
For long description, see slide 42, Appendix G
Presentation Aids (4 of 6)
Types of Presentation Aids continued
• Audio materials
• Videos
• Presentation software
• PowerPoint, Prezi, Keynote, Google Slides
Figure 13.10
Infographic
Example
SOURCE “Infographic Example.” Based on
The Genographic Project.
For long description, see slide 43, Appendix H
Presentation Aids (5 of 6)
Guidelines for Creating and Using Presentation Aids
• Presentation Software Guidelines
• Use templates provided by software
• Use consistent typeface, size, and color
• Be brief and simple
• Use colors for contrast
• Use only aids you really need
• Use charts and tables when appropriate
• Anticipate questions
Figure 13.11 A Simple Slide
SOURCE: Microsoft® Windows®, and Microsoft Office® are Registered Trademarks of the
Microsoft Corporation in the U.S.A. and other countries. This Book is not Sponsored or
Endorsed by or Affiliated with the Microsoft Corporation.
Presentation Aids (6 of 6)
Guidelines for Creating and Using Presentation Aids
continued
• Using Presentation Aids
• Know your aids intimately
• Avoid talking to your aid
• Stress relevance
• Show aid only when relevant
• Ensure clarity for audience
• Rehearse with aids incorporated into presentation
• Check equipment before speech
• Anticipate technical problems
Figure 13.12 A Slide with Speaker’s Notes
The software allows you to make notes easily which
you can use as guides during your presentation.
SOURCE: Microsoft® Windows®, and Microsoft Office® are Registered Trademarks of the
Microsoft Corporation in the U.S.A. and other countries. This Book Is Not Sponsored or Endorsed
by or Affiliated with the Microsoft Corporation.