COM101 STRAIGHTERLINE TOPIC 13

DEFINING

We can define by using comparison and contrast, synonyms and antonyms, and even operational definitions

How do you make an informational topic interesting to the audience? Relate your own experiences with the subject. Avoid telling stories of your own experiences with the subject. Maintain the gaps in your listeners' knowledge of your subject. Arousing interest is not important.

Relate your own experiences with the subject.

Before you offer an informative presentation, you need to know:

The intent and goal of informative presentations The kinds of topics that are most appropriate The kinds of immediate behavioral purposes that are appropriate for informative presentations and how to determine if you have fulfilled them

designing informative content:

-Audiences tend to remember and comprehend generalizations and main ideas better than details and specific facts. -Relatively simple words and concrete ideas are significantly easier to retain than are more complex materials. -Humor can make a dull presentation more interesting to an audience, but humor does not seem to increase information retention. -Early remarks about how the presentation will meet the audience's needs can create anticipation and increase the chances that the audience will listen and understand. -Calling for overt audience response, or actual behavior, increases comprehension more than repetition does.

Most common behavioral purposes in an informative presentation encourage listeners to do the following:

-Define words, objects, or concepts -Describe objects, persons, or issues. -Distinguish between different things -Compare and/or contrast items

you can help the audience learn content by following these recommendations on how to organize your presentation:

-Tell an audience what you are going to tell them (forecast), tell them, and tell them what you told them. -Use transitions and signposts to increase understanding. -Tell your audience which points are most important. -Repeat important points for better understanding.

Skills for Informative Speaking

-defining -describing -explaining -narrating -demonstrating

GOALS FOR INFORMATIVE PRESENTATIONS

-increase what your listeners know about a topic -To help your audience learn information that will be useful to them -To clarify complex issues -To demonstrate something useful -To show how things are related in space -to arouse interest in topics that might at first seem uninteresting or boring

rhetorical question

A question asked merely for effect and not requiring an answer

How does the text describe information hunger? A. The speaker creates a need for information in the audience. B. The audience anxiously awaits information from the speaker. C. The speaker has a large appetite for information. D. The audience has a large appetite for information.

A. The speaker creates a need for information in the audience.

Which of the following was NOT cited in the text as one of the special skills of informative speaking? A. changing people's future actions B. defining what a concept is C. describing how something is D. narrating or telling a story

A. changing people's future actions

In a speech explaining how to play drums, Steve uses the table to illustrate various beat patterns. Which informative speaking skill is Steve using? A. demonstrating B. quantifying C. defining D. explaining

A. demonstrating

Which of the following topics would be most appropriate for an informative speech? A. how to perform emergency first aid B. benefits of recycling and why you should recycle C. why you should vote Republican D. why you should avoid alcohol

A. how to perform emergency first aid

Explanation is to idea development as narration is to A. storytelling. B. oral interpretation. C. paraphrasing. D. literary criticism.

A. storytelling.

Which of the following topics suggests an operational definition? A. the construction of a bird cage B. the origins of Unitarianism C. the delights of Jamaica D. descriptions of dogs with accompanying slides

A. the construction of a bird cage

Which of the following is NOT meant by the term information overload? A. the number of words per minute B. material too complex to understand easily C. more material than the audience can absorb D. using mathematical symbols or undefined words the audience does not understand

A. the number of words per minute

44. Which of the following is NOT a purpose of an informative speech? A. to change the minds of the audience members about an issue or idea B. to increase what an audience knows about something C. to improve an audience's understanding of how to use something D. to clarify an audience's ideas about something

A. to change the minds of the audience members about an issue or idea

Which type of learner tends to prefer learning through hearing information? A. kinesthetic B. aural C. solitary D. logical

B. aural

A rhetorical question is a question A. that has no answer. B. for which no answer is expected. C. that the speaker will answer after the speech. D. that appears in the transitions of the speech.

B. for which no answer is expected.

Audiences tend to remember and comprehend ________ better than ________. A. fun and games; courses and disciplines B. generalizations and main points; details and specific facts C. details and specific facts; generalizations and main points D. courses and disciplines; fun and games

B. generalizations and main points; details and specific facts

An important aspect of informative speaking is making your subject ________ the audience. A. easy for B. relevant to C. exquisite for D. bland for

B. relevant to

Which type of learner tends to prefer learning through personal reflection? A. visual B. solitary C. social D. aural

B. solitary

47. Which of the following is the best example of a speech intended to demonstrate something useful? A. Should some street drugs be legalized in the United States? B. How are animals treated on large farms? C. What steps can you take to avoid the flu? D. How are property taxes calculated

C. What steps can you take to avoid the flu?

Which of the following phrases does NOT fit with the immediate behavioral purposes of an informative speech? A. define words, objects, or concepts B. distinguish among different things C. change attitudes, beliefs, and values D. recognize differences or similarities among objects, persons, or issues

C. change attitudes, beliefs, and values

An informative speech does NOT have to be A. meaningful. B. interesting. C. entertaining. D. significant.

C. entertaining.

Which of the following is an effective strategy for describing? A. use of Roman numerals B. use of statistics C. use of metaphors D. use of chronology

C. use of metaphors

Which of the following comments provides the best example of extrinsic motivation? A. "Because I have always wanted to be a priest, I study hardest in my philosophy and rhetoric classes." B. "I work because I love to work and cannot imagine being any different." C. "I had children—well, had children more or less by accident, not because I planned for it or anything." D. "Because my employer said our raises would be based on it, I am increasing my number of contract reports."

D. "Because my employer said our raises would be based on it, I am increasing my number of contract reports."

If you want to clarify something while also arousing interest, which informative speaking skill should you rely on? A. demonstrating B. quantifying C. defining D. explaining

D. explaining

The skills for informative presentations include

Defining meanings for an audience Describing by using specific, concrete language Explaining by clarifying and simplifying complex ideas Narrating by using stories to illustrate your ideas Demonstrating by showing a process or procedure to your audience

Which of the following is not a guideline to follow when choosing the content of your presentation? Use relatively simple words, because they are easier to understand. Tell the audience early in your presentation how the topic is related to them, so that they will choose to listen. Develop as many main ideas and use as many details as possible to make the presentation interesting. Ask for overt responses from audience members to increase comprehension.

Develop as many main ideas and use as many details as possible to make the presentation interesting.

_______ simplify or clarify ideas while stimulating audience attention, and_______shows the audience what you are explaining. Explanations; demonstrating Definitions; narrating Descriptions; demonstrating Narrations; defining

Explanations; demonstrating

The strategies for informing others include

Generating information hunger, an audience need for the information Achieving information relevance by relating information to the audience Using extrinsic motivation, reasons outside the presentation itself for understanding the presentation's content

Shaping the informative content requires

Limiting the number of main points Limiting the number of generalizations Selecting language the audience can understand Using specifics to illustrate an abstract idea Including humor or wit when appropriate Revealing how the information meets audience needs Avoiding information overload Organizing content for greater understanding

Two important questions for the informative speaker are these:

What do you want your audience to know or do as a result of your presentation? How will you know whether you are successful?

metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

Imagery

a figure of speech that arouses the senses and stimulates your synapses to see, hear, and feel what the words are saying

extrinsic motivation

a method of making information relevant by providing the audience with reasons outside the presentation itself for listening to the content of the presentation

information hunger

audience desire, created by a speaker, to learn information

contrast

clarifies by showing differences

antonym

defines an idea by opposition

operational definition

defines by explaining a process

synonym

defines by using a word similar in meaning to the one you are trying to define

The first step in planning your presentation should be asking a few people questions after the presentation is complete. teaching or informing your audience. determining what objectives you want your audience to meet. surveying the audience.

determining what objectives you want your audience to meet.

Which is not an appropriate topic for an informative presentation? CPR techniques animals and their positive effects on the elderly wedding traditions everyone should donate blood

everyone should donate blood

explanation

explaining an idea in words the audience can understand. simplifies or clarifies an idea while arousing audience interest.

In a speech that is already interesting, the addition of humor improves the audience's perception of the speaker's authoritativeness. Choose one: True False

false

If audiences are able to describe information or define words related to your topic during and after a presentation, you have successfully accomplished your demonstration. immediate behavioral purposes. imagery. information overload.

immediate behavioral purposes.

The goal of informative presentations is to induce change in the audience. discourage the audience from taking action. increase an audience's knowledge or understanding of a topic. identify a problem and determine a solution.

increase an audience's knowledge or understanding of a topic.

Asking rhetorical questions and arousing curiosity are two ways a speaker can create behavioral purposes. topics for informative speeches. persuasive messages. information hunger

information hunger

When you are presenting information to an audience, your topic's importance, novelty, and usefulness constitute a key factor known as information relevance. information hunger. informative content. information overload.

information relevance.

The results of your informative presentation will remain unknown, however, unless you make them behavioral; that is, your presentation should result in change you can _________________________.

observe.

demonstrating

showing the audience what you are explaining.

comparison

shows the similarity between something well known and something less known.

immediate behavioral purposes

the actions you expect from an audience during and immediately after a presentation.

information relevance

the importance, novelty, and usefulness of the information to the audience

informative content

the main points and subpoints, illustrations, and examples used to clarify and inform

narrating

the oral presentation and interpretation of a story, a description, or an event. -In a presentation, narration includes Page 333the dramatic reading of some lines from a play, a poem, or another piece of literature; -the voice-over on a series of slides or a silent film to illustrate a point

complexity

the speaker uses language or ideas that are beyond the capacity of the audience to understand

information overload

the state of being overwhelmed by the amount of information one takes in

Among the skills for informative speaking are defining, describing, explaining, and narrating. Choose one: True False

true

An operational definition reveals what something is by how it works, how it is made, or what it consists of. Choose one: True False

true

Explanation involves analyzing, deconstructing, or dissecting something. Choose one: True False

true

Research tends to support the old saying that "You should tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em; tell 'em; and tell 'em what you told 'em." Choose one: True False

true

When organizing the content of your presentation, you should keep the topic a mystery until the body of the speech. use transitions to increase understanding. let the audience decide which points are the most important. avoid repeating important points, so that the audience isn't bored.

use transitions to increase understanding.