Seaber 2
Information Speech
Explanation: Many times in your life you will be asked to convey information to an individual or a group. Perhaps you are a dietician and you’re asked to present a public information session on the nutritional value of the latest fad diets. Similarly, you may be a police officer who is asked to educate a group of elderly citizens on how to dodge financial scams. You could be a lifeguard instructing beginning swimmers on water safety. Perhaps you’re a jeweler educating his/her customers on the way to judge the worth of a gemstone or how to care for their newly purchased stand of pearls. You could even be a scientist educating legislators on the processes involved in creating genetically modified foods. In other words, the possibility that you will present an informational speech to an audience at some point(s) in your lifetime is extremely high. Thus, this lesson will help you prepare for those times in your career or other endeavors.
Assignment: You are to prepare and deliver an informational speech. Your presentation should remain strictly informational—you will not engage in debate or persuasion. For example, should you choose to explain to the class what genetically modified foods are and how they are created, you will not take a stance on the controversy involving the safety concerns surrounding these foods or whether we should allow them to be grown in the open environment. Instead, you will stick to what genetically modified foods are—you will define “genetically modified food” and proceed to explain the scientific process of borrowing a gene from one organism and placing it within another species.
Be particularly careful not to turn this speech into a demonstration speech. Although your speech may contain a small demonstrative component, your main focus will be strictly informational. Likewise, although you may use visual aids and/or other props, you are not required to do so. But should you use props to assist you in conveying information, remember they are doing just that—conveying information, NOT showing your audience “how-to.”
Thus, choose a topic that is conducive to the transmission of information. (Examples of such topics have been covered in class.) Next, organize your informational speech in a manner that will best allow your audience to understand your topic. When preparing this speech, you’ll want to consider your objective (What do I want my audience to know/understand?) in order to derive the best organizational pattern in which you can convey your objective and the most appropriate manner in which you can deliver your presentation.
Finally, you will more than likely want to do some research for this speech. Be sure to get your facts straight so that you are informing and not misinforming! Be sure to use credible sources and follow MLA guidelines for documenting your sources.
Evaluation: You will be evaluated based upon the following criteria, as well as by a
subjective analysis of your overall performance (See Evaluation Sheet, Information Speech for detailed rating criteria):
Delivery: Speaker delivers a well-prepared speech in a polished manner. Diction, annunciation, vocal intonations and volume, eye contact, posture, and gestures as well as overall confidence and style will be evaluated.
Content: Speaker has chosen a topic conducive to the transmission of information. Speaker does not engage in argument/persuasion nor does he/she present a speech that could be considered primarily a how-to speech (See “Assignment” above.) Speaker has adequate and accurate information. Speaker has an attention getting intro and a firm conclusion. Speaker has researched his/her topic, if necessary, to fill in the gaps of his/her knowledge.
Organization: Speech is organized in a fashion that enables the audience to easily grasp the concepts being conveyed. Organization follows a logical, orderly pattern. “Signposts” and transitions are used by the speaker to facilitate the audience’s ability to follow the presentation.
Time Limit: 3 to 8 minutes