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SPC-1608 - Zimmerman

Choosing Your Topic

An informative speech provides factual, unbiased information on a topic. Your goal is to educate the audience, not to persuade. Informative speech topics can be broadly categorized into four types:

  • Objects - anything visible, tangible, or stable in form
    • can be a thing, a place, or a person
  • Processes - a systematic series of actions that leads to a result or product, including:
    • explaining steps or instructions so the audience will understand how the process works 
    • explaining steps or instructions so the audience will be able to perform the process
  • Events - anything that happens or is regarded as happening 
    • can be a common event such as playing a sport or a specific event such as WWII
  • Concepts - a belief, theory, idea, principle, or other abstract idea

Researching Your Topic

Using outside research will add credibility to you and your speech as well as provide the audience with guidance on where to seek further, more in-depth information on the topic.