10.3 Informative Presentations
Sometimes informative speaking is done as the sole purpose of the presentation and sometimes information is conveyed at the beginning of a persuasive speech to clarify or “scope” a topic for the audience, and to prepare an audience for the subsequent persuasive message. Information also plays a role in many types of special occasion speeches where the background and experience of an individual, organization or occurrence is relevant in helping the audience understand.
Speaking to inform may fall into one of several categories. The presentation to inform may be an explanation, a report, a description, or a demonstration. Each type of informative presentation is described below.
Explanation: Presentations that clarify a topic (process, a thing, an event, etc.) are explanatory in nature. Explanation uses precise terms and detailed description, sometimes with images for clarification, to help the audience create a mental image of the content. Giving details of how an electric vehicle engine operates would be an example of an explanation. Figures of speech such as the use of metaphor, simile, analogy, etc. may also be used.
Report: In your career, you may be called upon to give an informative report where you communicate status, trends, or relationships that pertain to a specific topic. The informative report is a speech where you organize your information around key events, discoveries, or technical data and provide context and illustration for your audience. They may naturally wonder, “Why are sales up (or down)?” or “What is the product leader in your lineup?” and you need to anticipate their perspective and present the key information that relates to your topic.
Description: Have you ever listened to a coworker tell you about their recent work trip and found the details of the event fascinating? Describing information requires an emphasis on language that is vivid, captures attention, and excites the imagination. Your audience will be drawn to your effective use of color, descriptive language, and visual aids. An informative speech that focuses on the description will be visual in many ways. Use your imagination to understand your audience members’ perspective: how would you like to have someone describe the topic to you?
Demonstration: A demonstration speech focuses on clearly showing a process and telling the audience important details about each step so that they can imitate, repeat, or do the action themselves. Consider the visual aids or supplies you will need. Think of ways you can incorporate physical demonstrations into your presentation. For instance, if the speech is about how liquid nitrogen can be used to freeze in the process of making ice cream, include an experiment showing this process in your speech.
Considering each step of your presentation and focusing on how to simplify it, you can understand how the audience might grasp the new information and how you can best help them. Be mindful of the desired outcome; for example, will your listeners be able to do the task themselves? Finally, account for anticipated audience response, and budget additional time for repetition and clarification.
This section is adapted from Informative and Persuasive Presentations by Jordan Smith available at Communication@Work – Simple Book Publishing licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
