Objects and Phenomena

A third source of ideas for informative speeches consists of objects or phenomena. These speeches explore anything that isn’t human, such as living things (like animals, plants, even entire ecosystems), as well as inanimate objects, such as the Egyptian pyramids, Google Glass, pre-Columbian artifacts, or the Mona Lisa. Objects can also be imaginary things (light sabers) or hypothetical ones (a driverless car) or even entire phenomena (the El Niño wind patterns in the western United States or citizen journalism). Audiences usually find these types of speeches interesting because they captivate the imagination or because they stress a topic that the audience hadn’t previously considered as having an impact on their lives.