RESOURCE 8
Informational Speaking – A Template for Presentation
For informational speeches, you should begin by identifying a set of learning objectives that you are attempting to teach the audience. After your presentation, what should be clearer for them? What new understandings will they walk away with? Once you identify your objectives, you will need to determine what context and background information your audience will need before introducing them to new ideas.
12 Tips for Informational Speaking:
During preparation, plan ways to organize your thoughts and manage your time well.
At the start of the speech, use a greeting or hook to connect to the audience.
Frame the relevance of the topic and your unique angle.
Signpost by outlining the purpose of the talk and what you are going to cover.
Introduce each point by posing a rhetorical question.
Make sure your points are clearly distinct from one another.
Provide context and clarify unfamiliar information.
Inspire trust by weaving in statements that demonstrate expertise and experience.
Weave in real-world examples and trustworthy sources.
Transition smoothly from one point to another by including bridge sentences.
Provide a recap or summary of what you have covered.
Conclude by suggesting ways to use the information and why it is significant.
The following template can be used as a guide for organizing content in an informational presentation. While this content will vary depending on the setting, purpose, audience, and other variables involved, you generally want to make sure you include the following elements: 1) stating the purpose and need; 2) providing context (including information about yourself); 3) defining any unfamiliar terms; 4) explaining the relevance to your audience; 5) offering real-world examples to make ideas concrete; and 6) tying everything together with a clear statement about why this information is significant.
| Description | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Describe (or illustrate with a “hook” or vivid example) what we need in the world, what you care about, and the topic you will cover. | “Hi, my name is _________________, and I will be telling you about _______. This topic is particularly important because we need __________________.” |
| 2. | Describe your personal relationship to the topic and establish relevant expertise. | “I have/haven’t always cared about this topic because ________________________.” I became interested in this type of work because ________________________.” |
| 3. | Provide an overview of the objectives of your presentation. | “In this presentation, we will be covering….” “Hopefully, this will be helpful by….” |
| 4. | Open your first point with a question that connects to your first idea. Explain the first idea about the work, journey, or concept (start with the most familiar). | “So, [pose a question that you will then answer]….?” |
| 5. | Clarify any potentially confusing ideas or necessary background information. | “Before telling you more about this work, we need to clarify a few ideas:” |
| 6. | Again, open with a question. Explain the second idea about the work, journey, or concept (provide real-world examples). | “Now, let’s consider the question of…” “For example…..” |
| 7. | Open with a final question. Explain the third idea about the work journey, or concept (connect to something that is relevant to us) | “Finally, [pose another question you will then answer]….?” “This topic is particularly relevant because….” |
| 8. | Tell us why this message is significant and relevant to our lives. | “This topic is significant today because ______________.” “I hope we can use this information to ____________.” |