Problem
You will choose a topic for your informative speaking by placing it into a thesis statement after you brain storm your ideas.
At the end of this unit you will be able to choose a topic and begin the process of researching it and placing it and outline it.
Step one: Choose a topic you know and are interested in discussing with a general audience...a general audience is one that incorporates lots of perspectives and experiences so your goal is to SPEAK TO A GENERAL AUDIENCE not a specific one because that would potentially categorize your listeners into area they may not belong like if I said toady I am here to inform you how to clean out your coffee roasters.....issue is that not all of you are coffee roasters so I can't assume that.
A quick reference definition of informative speaking is where a speaker provides his or her audience with something new, interesting or beneficial that the audience can gain insight and knowledge about...speaker is usually the expert on the topic being discussed.
Here is the process
a) Brain storm ideas about what you like and know about do not try to speak about topics that are trendy or you know little about or you feel you have strong opinions on but not much experience with
b) Take your topic from general to specific with the intended goal of having your topic end up in the middle of the general and specific
Topic to brainstorm is Coffee
What about coffee? Lets brain storm ideas remember choose a topic that you know and like and then come up with as many ideas as you can about that topic see below
a) Starbucks
b) Water
c) Brewing
d) Roasting
e) Coffee plantations
f) Coffee origins
g) Flower/seed
h) Production
i) Consumption
j) Green Beans
k) Fruit
From my list I need to decide what would not be too general or too specific so I have to put into my thesis...Im always looking at my brain storming list to determine my topic.
Today I am here to inform you about coffee (this is too general) because it does not have enough depth or direction to the conversation amongst a general audience they will all derive their own conclusions about the topic and non coffee drinkers will not be interested so that will not work
Today I am here to inform you about how to clean out your coffee roaster after each roasting session...(this is too specific) because not everyone in a general audience roasts coffee so that would be best suited for a specific audience so that will not work.
Today I am here to inform you about the origins of coffee.