Events

Noteworthy occurrences (past and present) are good topics for informative speeches. Our understanding of history is shaped by events—the Revolutionary War, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the Apollo 11 moon landing, the terrorist attacks on September 11, the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the 2013 Boston marathon bombings. At a more intimate level, events of local significance can also make interesting and compelling topics for speeches. For example, you might develop an informative speech about the upcoming student film festival at your campus.

You can also build an informative speech around important, tragic, funny, or instructive events in your personal life—the day you went skydiving, the day you witnessed a flash mob, the death of a close friend, or the birth of your first child. Just remember that these stories of personal events must be ethical and truthful. One of us had a student lie about being in a car that was hit by a drunk driver to infuse some personal spark in an informative speech about California drunk driving laws. Such exaggeration and fabrication are never ethical!

In addition to helping an audience to understand the meaning of personal, local, and historical single events, a speaker can also explore the social significance of collections of events. You might, for example, talk about the significance of dances for Native American tribes, high school football games in your hometown, or the role of weddings, reunions, and funerals in your family.

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YOUR SPEECH doesn’t necessarily have to be about a historical event. The first time you went skydiving can be just as compelling a topic as the first time man walked on the moon. (left) Digital Vision/Getty Images; (right) NASA-KSC