NFGS_ch6.1_lecppt.pptx

1. Chapter 6.1
Understanding Informative
Speaking
Copyright © 2022 W. W. Norton & Company

2. Introduction
• Informative speaking is the most common type of presentation
• An informative presentation is efficient and effective when it
gains and maintains audience attention, is well organized and
well rehearsed, uses a variety of supporting material, is delivered
expressively and confidently, and encourages audience
involvement
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3. What Is an Informative Presentation?
• Informative presentations provide new information, explain
complex concepts and processes, and/or clarify and correct
misunderstood information
• It may be difficult to determine the difference between an
informative presentation and a persuasive presentation, as most
informative presentations contain an element of persuasion
• Your purpose clearly divides the line between informative and
persuasive presentations
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4. Informative Speaking Guidelines
• Gain and maintain audience attention
• To build an impressive informative presentation:
• Include a value step
• Avoid information overload
• Employ sensory images
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5. Include a Value Step (1 of 2)
• A value step explains why your message should matter to your
audience and the benefits it can have:
• Social benefits
• Communal benefits
• Physical benefits
• Psychological benefits
• Intellectual benefits
• Economic benefits
• Professional benefits
• Begin your search for a value step is through audience analysis
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6. Include a Value Step (2 of 2)
Following two examples identify several reasons why audience
members may be motivated to listen to and remember what you
say about the selected topic area
TOPIC: Combating fire ants
POSSIBLE
VALUE STEPS:
Prevents painful, dangerous stings (physical)
Preserves gardens (economic)
Protects pets and local wildlife (communal)
TOPIC: Reading music
POSSIBLE
VALUE STEPS:
Helps you become a better musician or more appreciative
audience member (professional and psychological)
Helps you understand the complexity of musical
compositions (intellectual)
Helps you talk about music with other music lovers
(social)
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7. Avoid Information Overload (1 of 2)
• Information overload describes the stress that occurs when you try
to process, understand, and remember everything you hear and
see
• Narrow the scope of your purpose and topic
• Make sure your purpose statement is specific, achievable, and
relevant and your key points and supporting material directly
support and advance a specific, achievable, and relevant purpose
• Remember to “Keep it simple, speaker” and apply the Rule of Three
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8. Avoid Information Overload (2 of 2)
LISTENER: I heard your presentation on the new employee evaluation
plan.
SPEAKER: What do you remember about what I said?
LISTENER: Well, you went through the plan page by page, explaining
how the new provisions would apply.
SPEAKER: What was one of the new provisions?
LISTENER: Well ... there was something about new forms to be filed
with human resources, I think. I don't know- I'll look it up when I have
to use it.
• Here, the speaker should make sure that all employees already
have a copy of the evaluation plan
• The audience could ask questions or look up the information later,
if necessary
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9. Employ Sensory Images
• Effective speakers make informative presentations more
interesting and memorable by using language that evokes a
sensory experience
• Find ways to apply each of the five senses to your topic:
• Sight: A thick brown cookie with visible chips
• Sound: A cookie that doesn’t snap when it’s broken
• Taste: A sweet cookie dough mixed with strong chocolate
• Smell: A cookie with a mouth-watering smell during and after
baking
• Touch: A soft and chewy cookie
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10. Two Types of Informative Presentations (1 of 3)
• Effective informative presentations require a clear purpose,
interesting information, and a logical organizational pattern
• Informative speaking also requires a sound strategy that matches
your informative purpose and content to audience characteristics,
interests, attitudes, and needs
• Reporting new information creates or increases audience
awareness about an object, person, event, or procedure
• Explaining complex ideas enhances or deepens audience
understanding about a difficult term, a complex phenomenon, or a
frequently misunderstood idea or concept
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11. Two Types of Informative Presentations (2 of 3)
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12. Two Types of Informative Presentations (3 of 3)
REPORTING NEW INFORMATION AND EXPLAINING COMPLEX IDEAS
Goal: To report new information Goal: To explain complex ideas
• A recipe for chocolate cake
• Directions to the nearest airport
• A report about a city council
meeting
• Baseball trivia
• A short biography of Charles
Darwin
• The principles of baking
• The architectural requirements of
modern airports
• An in-depth analysis of a proposed bill
• Detailed analysis of last year's World
Series
• A description of natural selection
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13. Conclusion
• You’ll make informative presentations more often than any other
• To improve the quality of your informative presentation and
merit a positive response from your audience:
• Put a value step near the beginning of your presentation
• Minimize information overload
• Use sensory images
• Determine whether you will be reporting new information or
explaining a complex idea
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14. Credits
This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter 6.1.
For more resources, please visit The Norton Field Guide to Speaking:
http://digital.wwnorton.com/nfgspeaking.
Copyright © 2022 W. W. Norton & Company