Tribute Speech Sample

Don't reinvent the wheel when asked to do a speech. An informative speech provides information about a specific subject to an audience. The aim of an informative speech is to help your audience to understand and to remember the information you are presenting. Students will create a five-minute informative speech on a topic of their choice.  They must make sure the topic is narrow enough to thoroughly be presented within five minutes. 

For example, animals would be too broad of a topic to cover in 5 minutes - a particular breed of animal, such as the Bulldog, might be covered in 5 minutes. Students will select a topic and gather information from multiple sources - they can use books, encyclopedias, database articles, or use the Internet as long as they can prove through a web evaluation that the site is a valid source created by an authority on the subject.

Students will read over their sources and choose three main points that will be covered in the body of their speech. They will then create notecards (according to specific guidelines included in this packet) that support the chosen points and create a working outline with a general and specific purpose statement, a thesis statement, and the three main points with supporting evidence for each point.

Your general purpose in an informative speech is to inform.

Your specific purpose relates to your topic and to the specific information you want to convey.

The specific purpose of a speech is its goal, stated in a complete sentence. If the general purpose of your speech is to inform, then your specific purpose will be a statement of the particular information you will present to the audience.

Example: General purpose in his speech about place-kicking is to inform. His specific purpose could be stated in a complete sentence. “I want to explain the steps in sports-style place-kicking.”

1. Express the specific purpose as a declarative sentence;

2. State the specific purpose precisely. “I want to explain the four steps in soccer-style place-kicking.”;

3. Make sure the specific purpose contains only one idea;

4. Include words in the specific purpose that show your intent. Examples: explain, show, give.