An informative speech is one which provides a learning experience for the listener by instructing or by giving information in an interesting manner.
Informative speeches shall be the work of the student.
If a student qualifies for regional or state speech and drama festival or state speech championship and it is found he/she has been guilty of plagiarism, he/she shall be disqualified. Plagiarism shall be defined as a quotation of more than four words without giving the source.
Students should be encouraged to use good informative format: Introduction (attention device, sign-posting/preview of topics, etc.), Body and Conclusion.
Speeches shall not be more than seven (7) minutes in length.
Informative speeches shall be memorized and given without notes. Prompting shall not be allowed. Charts, displays, maps, graphs or any other materials which could be used for demonstration purposes are not permissible.
Informative Tips for Success
Topics need to be something that people walk away from saying “that was really interesting”
Needs to be entertaining—not just informative ☺ You need a topic you can make fun of
Puns are your best friend
Alliterations are your 2nd BFF
Transition themes are nice
Needs interpy sections to “act out”
Gestures need to be planned, ornaments are encouraged
Be risky—but not too much
Oral citations are a must
Follow outline structure
Intro: Hook, background, thesis/preview
Main Body (3 points): Transition themed sentence, topic sentence, back-up for each main point (at least one citation per main point)
Origin, present day, social implications
Theory, practice, social implications
OR: Separate info into any 3 major categories
Note: If social implications are not found in the main body, they can be placed in the conclusion