COMM 2311: Oral Communication Chapter 14 Slide No. Title 1 Title Slide 2 Speaking to Inform 3 Informative Speech 4 Types of Informative Presentations 5 Informative Speech about an Object 6 Informative Speech about a Process 7 Informative Speech about an Event 8 Informative Speech about a Concept 9 Guidelines for Informative Speaking 10 Jargon 11 Description 12 Comparison 13 Contrast 14 Explaining a Concept 15 Explaining a Procedure 16 Personalizing Ideas 17 Blank Chapter 14 Speaking to Inform Communication Principles for a Lifetime By Beebe, Beebe, & Ivy COMM 2311: Oral Communication

Chapter Outline Importance of Speaking to Inform Definition of Speaking to Inform Types of Informative Presentations Strategies for Organizing Your Informative Presentation Making Your Informative Presentation Clear Interesting Memorable

Importance of Speaking To Inform Countless times per day you share information with others People ask for directions You answer questions from a teacher Your competence as a communicator is based on how clearly you can present information to others One survey of teachers and students found that the most important skill taught in a presentational speaking class is how to give an informative presentation

Speaking to Inform To share information with others to enhance their knowledge or understanding of the information, concepts, and ideas present. When you inform someone, you assume the role of the teacher by defining, illustrating, clarifying, or elaborating on the topic

Five Types of Informative Speeches (Presentations) Presentations about objects Presentations about procedures Presentations about people Presentations about events Presentations about ideas

Presentations About Objects A speech about an object may be about anything tangible- anything that you can see or touch. You may want to show the object (or pictures of it) to your audience while you are talking about it. Objects that could form the basis for an interesting presentation might include these topics: The Eiffel Tower Digital cameras A museum

Presentations About Procedures A presentation about a procedure discusses how something works (how blood travels through the circulatory system) or describes a process that produces a particular outcome (how a cocoon turns into a butterfly). how a process is completed or how something can be accomplished (how to make a cake) Presentations about procedures are often presented in workshops or training situations in which people learn skills. Your audience should be able to describe, understand, or perform the procedure that you presented One good way to teach people a skill is to follow the acronym TEACH

More About Procedures T- Tell - describe what you want your listeners to know E- Example - show them an example of how to perform the skill A- Apply- give them an opportunity to apply knowledge by performing the skill C- Coach- provide positive coaching to encourage them H- Help- help them learn by correcting mistakes Include visual aids. Showing people how to do something is almost always more effective than just telling them how to do it Examples of procedures: How to do research using the internet, How to create a webpage How to make a movie How to bake a cake How to plant a garden

Presentations About People A biographical presentation about someone famous or someone you know Talk about key elements of the person’s career, personality, or other significant life features Be selective and brief Examples of topics: Bill Gates President Bush

Presentations About Events Major events that happen in our lives at a point in time Events that you have witnessed or researched Examples of topics: Hurricane Katrina Tsunami in 2004

Presentations About Ideas Presentations about ideas that follow principles, concepts, or theories. Select illustrations, examples and anecdotes that will make the idea interesting to your audience Examples of topics : Civil Rights Global Warming World Trade

Strategies for Organizing your Informative Speech (Presentation) Your audience will understand more information if you organize your ideas logically

Organizing Informative Presentations Chronologically-in order Spatially- describing the layout Complexity- in order of difficulty Topically- the logical divisions of the object

Organizing Presentations About Objects Presentations about objects may be organized topically, a topical pattern is structured around logical divisions of the object your delivering. Here is a sample outline for a speech about an object – nuclear power plants Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about nuclear power plants I. The reactor core The nuclear fuel in the core II. The reactor vessel The walls of the reactor vessel III. The reactor core rods The description and function of the core rods

Organizing Presentations About Objects-continued Presentations about objects can also be organized chronologically. A speaker may talk about the history and development of nuclear power plants The presentation can also be organized spatially, describing the physical layout of the nuclear power plant

Organizing Presentations about Procedures Speeches about procedures are usually organized chronologically, according to the steps involved in the process. Here is a sample outline of a speech about a procedure for making candles in chronological order Specific Purpose: To inform my audience how to make candles I. First you have to buy the materials wax dye II. Secondly, you have to melt the wax and add the dye III. Thirdly, you have to mold the wax

Organizing Presentations About People One way to talk about a person’s life is in chronological order – birth, school, career, family, professional achievements, death. However if you are interested in a specific theme, such as Winston Churchill, master of English prose, you may decide to organize Churchill’s experiences topically. You could first discuss his achievements as a brilliant orator and then trace the origins of his skill to his work in South Africa. Another example is Ghandi: Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about Ghandi I. Spiritual and political leader of India II. Employed ideas of civil disobedience III. Principles he lived by

Organizing Presentations About Events Most speeches about an event follow a chronological order But a presentation about an event can also describe the complex issues or causes behind the event and be organized topically. For example the Civil War: Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the causes of the Civil War I. Political II. Economic III. Social

Organizing Presentations About Ideas Most speeches about ideas are organized topically (by logical subdivisions of the central idea) or according to complexity (from simple ideas to more complex ones) The following is an example of a topically organized presentation about philosophy: Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about philosophy I. Definition of philosophy II. Three branches of the study of philosophy

Guidelines for Making Your Informative Presentation Clear A message is clear when the listener understands it in the way the speaker intended. Be aware of what you intend to communicate, then select appropriate words with appropriate nonverbal cues to express your ideas Adapt your message to your audience. Simplify your ideas easier for your audience to remember Pace your information flow don’t talk to fast, quality vs. quantity Relate new information to old help audience associate your new idea with something that is familiar to them

Guidelines for Making Your Informative Presentation Interesting Present information that relates to your listener’s interests Activity and movement- talk about a story that is action packed Issues and events close to an audience- make it personal Conflict –show 2 sides to the story or topic Use attention catching supporting material Definition, use analogies (comparisons) , describe the process, who, what , why , how

Making Your Informative Presentation Interesting Establish a motive for your audience to listen to you Ask the audience questions Begin with an anecdote (story) Tell them how the information you will be valuable to them Use Word pictures Use words to help the audience visualize the images you are talking about Create interesting presentation (visual) aids Pictures, graphs, posters, colorful charts Use Humor Use humorous quotations Use cartoons

Guidelines for Making Your Informative Presentation Memorable Build in redundancy Repeat words or message Use adult learning principles Give information that they can use immediately, involve them in the learning process, connect information to their lives Reinforce key ideas verbally Say “this is an important point”, raise or lower your voice Reinforce key ideas nonverbally Gestures, point to pictures, accentuate words by making them colorful or italicizing them,