INFORMATIVE SPEAKING

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INFORMATIVE SPEAKING

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Look for the image throughout the chapter for online video activities at bedfordstmartins.com/speakup.

image Effective informative speakers share accessible, understandable information in a compelling way.image

Suppose you have a work-study job at the campus health center. In the interest of campus health, your school has arranged for free influenza inoculations to be administered to students on campus in the coming weeks. The center director has asked you to deliver a brief presentation at the student union to inform students about the program.

An informative presentation teaches the audience something and increases listeners’ understanding, awareness, or sensitivity to your topic. Your speech might include information about the way the flu spreads, its symptoms, and the dangers it poses, particularly in people under the age of twenty-four.1 It would be helpful to talk about simple measures students can take to prevent the spread of the flu, especially among students who live in dense campus housing, as well as those who commute from homes shared with young children or pregnant women. You could also present information about the vaccine itself: whether it is a live virus or a “dead” one, how it is administered (an injection versus an inhaler), and any potential side effects. Finally, you’d need to go over the logistics of your school’s program: where and when the shots will be given, what information students will need to provide to the professionals administering the shots, and how to go about getting an appointment.

Your goal should be to provide all the information students will need to decide whether or not they want to get the shot, as well as how to go about getting it if they decide to do so. Though the presentation is primarily informative, it may also contain a bit of persuasive power. You are, after all, pressing what you believe to be an important health concern, and hoping that students, armed with good information, will opt to take advantage of the program.

In this chapter, we take a close look at informative speaking. First, we examine specific techniques for informing. Next, we consider the common types of informative speaking. Finally, we address how to develop an informative speech, including strategies for analyzing your audience and simplifying complex information in your presentation.