Being good at public speaking is one of the most valuable skills nowadays. Whether you are a salesman, teacher, or online creator, public speech can increase your income, grow your business, boost your sales, or be otherwise beneficial for you. Informative speech guidelines might be helpful for students of middle school, high school, and college as well.
To leave a good impression with your public speech, you should prepare it beforehand. In this article, you can learn about writing an informative speech outline. Here you can find informative speech outlining tips, an informative speech outline template, and 3 examples.
💬 What Is an Informative Speech?
An informative speech serves as a way to deliver information to your audience. A good speech can grab listeners’ attention and make them interested in your topic, no matter if you are talking about a country, cyberbullying, artificial intelligence, or any other topic.
The three main characteristics of a good informative speech are:
- Accuracy. Make sure to check all the facts that you are going to mention. The information you convey has to be up-to-date and complete. Although it might be a common, well-known fact that doesn’t need any proof, you should provide new possible theories too.
- Clarity. You should present your speech in a way your audience can keep up with you. Your speech should be organized logically and have clear word choices. Don’t make it sound too formal. Remember to elaborate on some facts as your audience might not be so familiar with the topic as you are.
- Interest. Your speech should also be interesting for your listeners. It might not be easy if your topic is narrow-focused. In that case, try to connect your topic with something that everyone is familiar with. However, do not make your topic sound too basic.
A Good Informative Speech: The Key to Success
Here are the elements you can add to your informative speech.
- First of all, try to use a range of descriptive instruments such as demonstrations, definitions, precise details, etc. By doing that, you can integrate with your audience more. Your listeners will absorb the information better if they are not bored, so try these instruments to grab their attention.
- Another challenge is to make a complex issue easy to understand. Try to break down your topic as easy-to-understand as possible. Remember that the information you present is new to your audience, so avoid using complicated terminology and try to explain the information from different points of view.
- Last but not least is relying more on information than on rhetorical devices. Pathos, commonly used in persuasive speeches, does not suit here, so try to avoid it. Instead, provide more facts and examples.
📑 Informative Speech Outline & Its Parts
Outlining is an essential part of an informative speech preparation. Here’s a sample outline template.
You can find more details for each of the parts below.
Informative Speech Introduction
Here are the elements of a successful introduction.
- An opening statement. Here, you should grab the audience’s attention by stating your topic and making it sound engaging and reliable. You can also provide a sneak peek of your main points.
- Attention getters. To make your speech more engaging, you can use attention grabbers. Some of them are:
- A rhetorical question. Ask your listeners a question that can make them think about your topic.
- A story. Explain your topic by telling a story to make it easier to understand.
- A hook. Surprise your audience by wearing something unusual or doing something they would not expect.
- A visual element, imagery, song. Try to visualize your topic as much as you can. For example, if you are talking about some device, try to bring it with you.
- A quote. Think of a famous person your audience is familiar with, and try to quote them.
- Logical orientation. State your thesis. The thesis statement should let your audience know what your speech will be about. In the thesis statement, include the points you are going to make in your speech. Make it simple and clear. Make sure to provide some background information if needed.
- Psychological orientation. Try to make your listeners relate to your topic by showing them its importance. Don’t forget to show them your proficiency in the subject.
Informative Speech Body
The body part should include:
- Main points
- Subpoints
- Supporting details
Try to state the most persuasive points first and move on to the less persuasive ones next.
Each of your main points should be one sentence long. Try to match it with your thesis and your main topic by using the exact words. The main point should have at least two subpoints. Most of the time, three main points are the best option for an informative speech.
Your subpoint can include:
- Specific examples
- Facts
- Quotes
- Statistics
- Stories
These supporting details can help your listener learn the information more efficiently.
Try not to use too many rhetorical devices in the body part. However, metaphors can be helpful if you need to highlight or visualize something.
For example, if you are giving an informative speech about revenue growth, you can illustrate it through the growth of plants.
Another metaphor example is to illustrate a company through a ship where everyone has their responsibilities to make the ship go.
Informative Speech Conclusion
Your conclusion should summarize your main points. Try rephrasing them, do not just state your points again. You should also restate your thesis statement in your conclusion.
Make sure not to add any additional points in the conclusion part. The conclusion serves as the closing part of your speech, so do not confuse your listeners with any new information. Instead, use phrases such as “in conclusion” or “to sum up” to let your audience know that your speech is coming to an end.
It is better to write your introduction and conclusion at the same time to match them and make these two parts complement each other.
🤓 Informative Speech Topics
Having trouble finding a topic for your informative essay? Look no further! We’ve compiled a list of fresh and engaging topics you can use for your paper.
📝 Informative Speech Outline Template & Examples
As we’ve learned what elements an informative speech should include, let’s look at the informative speech outline template.
- Introduction
- An opening statement
- Attention getter
- Thesis statement
- Body
- First main point
- First subpoint
- First supporting detail
- Second supporting detail
- Second subpoint
- First supporting detail
- Second supporting detail
- Second main point
- First subpoint
- First supporting detail
- Second supporting detail
- Second subpoint
- First supporting detail
- Second supporting detail
- Third main point
- First subpoint
- First supporting detail
- Second supporting detail
- Second subpoint
- First supporting detail
- Second supporting detail
- Conclusion
- Main points summary
- Thesis restatement
Informative Speech Outline on Stress
Here’s our example of an informative speech outline on stress.
Meditation As a Way to Reduce Stress: Informative Speech Outline Sample
- Introduction
- An opening statement: Everyone has experienced stress over certain things in life.
- Attention getter: Have you ever tried to reduce your stress yourself?
- Thesis statement: Meditation is an effective way to reduce stress because it can help you overcome emotional and physical problems.
- Body
- First main point: First of all, meditation can maintain your emotional well-being.
- First subpoint: Meditation has positive effects on reducing anxiety.
- Second subpoint: Meditation can help cure depression.
- Second main point: Meditation helps with various medical conditions.
- First subpoint: You can treat your headaches by meditating.
- Second subpoint: Meditation helps with insomnia and nightmares.
- Third main point: There are many different types of meditations, so everyone can find something that works for them.
- First subpoint: Yoga meditation can help you focus on the moment and think less about your busy life.
- Second subpoint: Mantra meditation focuses your attention on repeating a calming phrase, word, or thought.
- Conclusion
- Main points summary: To sum up, meditation can reduce your stress and improve your mind and body in many different ways.
- Thesis restatement: So, you should try meditating if you want to get rid of your stress and control your mental and physical well-being.
Informative Speech Outline on Bullying
Here’s an informative speech outline on bullying.
Managing Workplace Bullying: Informative Speech Outline Sample
- Introduction
- An opening statement: Workplace bullying is a harmful behavior directed at one person at the workplace.
- Attention getter: Have you ever witnessed workplace bullying and didn’t know what to do?
- Thesis statement: We can manage workplace bullying by reporting the bullying immediately and offering support to the victim.
- Body
- First main point: If you have witnessed bullying, you should report it to the management right away.
- First subpoint: Being silent about these incidents only contributes to workplace bullying.
- Second subpoint: The victims can be more confident about speaking up if they see someone else doing it too.
- Second main point: Supporting the victims can make them feel safer at work.
- First subpoint: Even small support such as going to the HR together with the victim can make a big difference.
- Second subpoint: Acting as a witness to prove the bullying can contribute to its settlement.
- Third main point: Listening to the victims is also a way to stop bullying.
- First subpoint: The victims of workplace bullying might feel better if they have someone to talk to.
- Second subpoint: The victims might ask you to stay close to them so that you can reduce the chances of possible bullying.
- Conclusion
- Main points summary: So, if you become a bullying witness, do not hesitate to report it and talk about it with the victim.
- Thesis restatement: Talking about the problem with the victims and the management can stop workplace bullying.
Informative Speech on Dreams Outline
Take a look at our informative speech about dreams outline.
Why Do We Dream?
- Introduction
- An opening statement: Dreams are an essential part of our lives. They can tell you a lot about yourself and your thoughts.
- Attention getter: Have you ever thought about the importance of sleep? Why do we sometimes have weird dreams that are somehow connected to our reality?
- Thesis statement: Dreams serve us to help process our thoughts and emotions, unite our memories, and show our true desires.
- Body
- First main point: If you have witnessed bullying, you should report it to the management right away.
- First subpoint: Being silent about these incidents only contributes to workplace bullying.
- Second subpoint: The victims can be more confident about speaking up if they see someone else doing it too.
- Second main point: Dreams help unite your memories to keep your mind stable.
- First subpoint: If you dream about a person you don’t know, you have met or seen this person at some point in your life before.
- Second subpoint: Like that, dreams help us process different pieces of information we learn every day by showing us images and other random thoughts.
- Third main point: Dreams can show your actual desires.
- First subpoint: Dreams can process your thoughts and emotions to show you actual images of your deepest desires.
- Second subpoint: However, they can also show your wishes through some hidden images.
- Conclusion
- Main points summary: In conclusion, we have dreams for multiple reasons, such as processing the information we learn daily, our thoughts, and our desires.
- Thesis restatement: You can learn more about yourself through your dreams.
😃 Preparing an Informative Speech: Extra Tips
Here are some extra tips to make your speech even more outstanding.
Do you have any other tips you want to share? Tell us about your ideas for an informative speech outline in the comments section below!
❓ Informative Speech Outline: FAQ
What is the purpose of an informative speech?
Informative speech serves to let your audience gain new skills by sharing your ideas, knowledge, and experience. It is also a way to impact your listeners and change their perception of your topic.
How to start an informative speech?
Start your informative speech with the introduction. Make an opening statement about your topic and try to incorporate attention getters to engage your reader. Make sure to state a clear and simple thesis and provide some background information if needed.
How to conclude an informative speech?
The conclusion of your informative speech should summarize all the main points you have made during your speech. You should also restate your thesis statement. You can add words like “in conclusion” to prepare your audience for the end. Do not add any new information to your conclusion.
How to give an informative speech?
To give an informative speech, you should prepare an outline first. Your speech should consist of the introduction, body, and conclusion. It is better to provide at least three main points with two subpoints to each of them. Try to make your speech as engaging as possible.