Speaking to Inform
The primary goal of an informative speech is to do this.
Increase the audience’s knowledge or understanding of a topic.
Using someone else's words or ideas without giving them credit is called this.
Plagiarism.
This part of an introduction is designed to immediately capture the audience's interest.
Attention getter.
A speech explaining events in the order in which they happened uses this organizational pattern.
Chronological.
Looking directly at members of your audience rather than constantly looking at your notes is called this.
Eye contact.
True or False: An informative speaker should try to convince the audience to agree with their position.
False. That is persuasion.
When using information from another source in a speech, a speaker should do this.
Provide an oral citation / give credit to the source.
This part of the introduction tells the audience the main ideas that will be discussed.
Preview of main points.
A speech organized according to different locations or areas uses this organizational pattern.
Spatial.
Changing your pitch, volume, rate, and tone helps prevent this delivery problem.
Monotone delivery.
Your classmate wants to give an informative speech titled “The Most Haunted Places in South Carolina.” They plan to spend the entire speech listing 15 different locations and one fact about each. What advice would you give them to make the speech more effective?
Narrow the information to a few key locations so they can explain each one with enough detail for the audience to understand and remember.
student finds a statistic on social media and immediately puts it into their speech without checking where it came from. What should the student have done first?
Verified the information using a credible/reliable source.
“As a nursing student who has spent the past semester studying patient safety, I have seen how easily medication errors can occur.” Which part of an introduction does this demonstrate?
Establishing speaker credibility.
A student organizes a speech about college stress into academic stress, financial stress, and social stress. Which organizational pattern is being used?
Topical.
This delivery style involves preparing and practicing your speech but delivering it conversationally rather than memorizing or reading it word-for-word.
Extemporaneous speaking.
A speaker is giving a presentation about artificial intelligence but repeatedly uses technical terms the audience doesn't understand. What important principle of informative speaking is the speaker overlooking?
Adapting the information to the audience / making the information clear and understandable.
A speaker discovers a statistic that supports their topic but intentionally leaves out information that changes the meaning of the statistic. Ethical or unethical? Why?
Unethical. The speaker is misleading the audience by taking information out of context.
A speaker has a strong attention-getter and clearly introduces the topic, but the audience is left wondering, “Why should I listen to this person?” What is missing from the introduction?
A statement establishing the speaker’s credibility.
A speech first explains how sleep deprivation affects the brain and then explains the behaviors that contribute to sleep deprivation. What type of organizational relationship is the speaker using?
Cause-and-effect.
Marcus knows his material, but he speaks extremely quickly because he's nervous. Give two things he could do to improve his delivery.
Examples include intentionally slowing his speaking rate, pausing between ideas, breathing, practicing aloud, or marking pauses in his speaking notes.
A student says, “Today I will explain how social media algorithms determine what content appears in your feed and why everyone should delete TikTok.” What problem does this create for an informative speech?
The speech shifts from informing to persuading by advocating a particular action or viewpoint.
Your research reveals credible evidence that contradicts something you planned to say in your speech. What is the most ethical response?
Revise the speech so the information presented is accurate rather than ignoring or misrepresenting the evidence.
A student ends a speech by saying, “So...yeah. That's basically everything I found. Any questions?” Name two things the student could add to create a stronger conclusion.
Any two: signal the ending, summarize/reinforce main points, restate the central idea/thesis, or provide a memorable closing statement.
A student is explaining Disney World by discussing Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Another student suggests organizing the speech chronologically. Which structure makes more sense and why?
Topical, because the speech is divided into logical categories/parks rather than events occurring over time.
During her speech, Jasmine stands facing the PowerPoint screen and reads every bullet aloud. Identify three delivery problems she should correct before her next speech.
Examples: face the audience, increase eye contact, stop reading slides word-for-word, use slides as visual support rather than a script, speak more conversationally, and use appropriate gestures/movement.