Perfecting the Art of Speaking

(UG 3rd, Module I)

 Informative Speaking
• The goal of an informative speech is to educate your audience
about a particular subject, process, event or an idea. As the name
suggests, informative speeches should convey information to the
listeners. The speaker usually instructs and explains how to
execute a particular action.
• In an informative speech, the audience is usually compliant and
willing to listen. The aim is not to change the opinion of your
audience, but to deliver information and data about a topic,
making the audience learned about that particular topic.
• The information provided in an informative speech is not
controversial, but objective and knowledge based and should
teach the audience about something they have little or no
knowledge.
• Examples of informative speech includes delivering a lecture on a
specific topic, demonstrating how to use a software, describing an
educational field trip or providing details about a famous personality.
• However, while delivering or writing an informative speech, there
might be a potential for ‘information overload’. A good speaker will
always structure her/his argument in a way that it can be
summarised within 3-4 points for one session, which can be
discussed in detail.
• If you are very interested in the topic you are discussing, it is easy to
get carried away and deliver way more information than your
audience can process in a single sitting, which might lead to
disinterestedness among your audience. Remember the saying “less
is more.”
 Types of Informative Speaking
• There are four types of informative speeches. They are:
– Descriptive: A descriptive speech generally attempts to create
a vivid mental image of an object, place or a person, without
the help of a picture, in the minds of the audience.
– Demonstrative: A demonstrative speech explains a process or
an activity by providing a step-by-step guide. It is usually
assisted by visual aids, which helps in memorizing.
– Definition: This type of informative speech defines the
meaning and theory of a particular topic or process. It is usually
objective, brief and concise.
– Explanatory: An explanatory speech describes the current state
of a subject, industry or event. For example, the HR explaining
the proceedings of the workplace to a new employee is a form
of explanatory speech. This may also use the help of visual aids.
 Techniques of Informative Speaking
• In order to make our informative speaking more effective and
impactful, we must consider certain key points, tips and
techniques. They are as follows:
– Don't cover too much information. Pick 3-4 ideas. It's
always better to cover less information more thoroughly
than to just recite a long list of information that the
audience won't remember.
– Give examples for each point.
– Summarize your points at the end to increase retention.
– Try to use stories to illustrate your points whenever
possible. Also take help of visual aids.
– Use simple familiar words and be very clear, especially if
you are discussing complicated information.
 Persuasive Speaking
• In a persuasive speech, the goal for the speaker is to convince or
persuade the audience to conform to his or her ideas, beliefs or
opinions. Unlike informative speech, persuasive speaking is
subjective and opinionated.
• In a persuasive speech, the compliancy of the audience is not
granted, as the group, or a part of the group, might or might not
agree with the views of the speaker. But the success of the speech is
measured by the audience’s willingness to consider the viewpoint of
the speaker.
• A persuasive speech might contain a call to action, whereby the
speaker attempts to persuade members of the audience to perform
a certain action, or to convince the audience to adopt a specific
point of view on a certain topic.
• Some examples of persuasive speech include
competitive debates, political speeches, sales pitches
and legal proceedings.
• Due to its subjective nature, the topics of persuasive
speaking are mostly controversial, and there is a scope
for disagreement, fierce debates, or in a worst case
scenario, even hostility. In order to avoid this, the
speaker should use polite, professional and friendly
language while putting his or her opinion on the table,
and the audience should listen to various opinions, even
though they don’t agree with them.
 Types of Persuasion
• A persuasive speech may adapt three modes of persuasion. A
good persuasive speaker utilizes all three of the modes to make
her/his effective. They are:
– Ethos: Ethos denotes the character and credibility of the speaker. It is a
trait assigned to the speaker by the audience. For the audience to be
persuaded, they have to feel that the speaker is a credible and worth
listening to.
– Pathos: Pathos is an appeal to the emotions of the audience. Persuasive
speaking usually contains a lot of emotional appeal in order to persuade
the listeners. Political speeches utilize a lot of pathos to garner votes
from people.
– Logos: Logos is the logical, rational and evidential quality of a
persuasive speech. A speaker must justify his/her claims with logic and
referential evidences in order to make sense and persuade the audience
to believe him/her. This also shows the knowledge of the speaker on the
debated topic.
 Building credibility as a Speaker
• Credibility is the most important quality in a speaker that
determines the success of persuading the audience. If the audience
doesn’t trust or respect you, you are most likely to fail in persuading
them. Here are some ways to build credibility that a good speaker
always adapts.
– Empathize with the audience to demonstrate that you are like them - that
you understand how they feel and what they think. Drawing parallels
between yourself and the audience reduces the distance between you
and them, making your speech that much more persuasive.
– Personal experiences, anecdotes, jokes and observations are good ways to
establish a friendly vibe that’ll appeal to the emotions of the audience.
Making them laugh is a good way to persuade them to listen to you.
– Keep the speech concise. Don’t stretch it longer than 8-10 minutes. Keep a
keen eye on the interest level of the listeners.
– Your presentability and body language is a key factor to make the
audience like you. Dress appropriately for the occasion. Make sure that
your body language is natural, formal yet friendly at the same time.
– Make your points clear and rational. Learn everything you need to know
about the subject in order to tackle any question that you might
receive. Answer your questions politely without disrespecting the
questioner.
– Be consistent. If you have an opinion, stick to it rationally, even if people
doesn’t agree with you. That shows character and determination, which
are qualities people respect. If you change your opinions fast, you’ll lose
credibility.
– Adapt to the audience. This is very important in persuasion. Increase or
decrease the complexity of your arguments based on the knowledge
level or age group of your audience. If it’s a formal setting, do not make
too many jokes or personal comments.