ABSTRACT
Informative speeches select, arrange, and interpret facts and ideas for audiences. Without this, information is meaningless. This chapter discusses various types of informative speeches, outlines the essential features of informative talks, and then reviews some ways of structuring each type of informative speech. Informative speeches take many forms, depending on the situation and the level of knowledge possessed by listeners. Three of these forms—explanations and lectures, demonstrations, and oral reports—occur so frequently that they merit special attention. They represent three common ways in which people package information. An oral report is a speech that arranges and interprets information gathered in response to a request made by a group. Academic reports, committee reports, and executive reports are examples of oral reports. Speeches that demonstrate a process or technique often follow a natural chronological or spatial pattern.
