The success of an informative speech can be measured by the answer to one simple question: “Does the listener learn from the speech?” As an informative speaker, you need to apply basic principles of learning to make your speeches effective. To help your listeners learn and remember your message, you must motivate them by establishing the relevance of your message for their lives, hold their attention throughout your message, and structure your speech so that it is clear and readily understood.
Motivation
To motivate listeners, you must tell them why your message is important to them. We discussed motivation as a factor in audience analysis. Now we consider motivation in terms of giving listeners a reason to learn. Then tie your message to these motives, either through direct statements or through interesting examples or narratives. For example, you might relate a speech on how to interview for a job to the motives of control and independence. You could begin by talking about the problem of finding a good job in today’s marketplace and provide an example that illustrates how a successful interview can make the difference between who gets hired and who does not. As you preview the body of your speech, you might say, “Today, I’m going to describe four factors that can determine whether you get the job of your dreams. First.. . .“ In this case you have given your audience a reason for wanting to listen to the rest of your speech. You have begun the learning process by motivating your listeners.
Helping Your Audience Learn Attention
Once you have established the importance of your message, you must sustain your listeners’ attention throughout your speech. In this section we examine six basic factors that affect attention: intensity, repetition, novelty, activity, contrast, and relevance. We also explain how to use these factors to maintain interest and promote learning.
Intensity. Our eyes are drawn automatically to bright lights, and we turn to investigate loud noises. In public communication, intense language and vivid images can be used to attract and hold attention. You can emphasize a point by supplying examples that magnify its importance. You can also achieve intensity through the use of presentation aids and vocal variety. Note how Stephen Huff holds attention through the intensity of his descriptions of the New Madrid earthquakes that struck the south-central area of the United States in the early nineteenth century:
The Indians tell of the night that lasted for a week and the way the
“Father of Waters”—the Mississippi River—ran backwards. Waterfalls were formed on the river. Islands disappeared. Land that was once in Arkansas—on the west bank of the river—ended up in Tennessee—on the east bank of the river. Church bells chimed as far away as New Orleans and Boston. Cracks up to ten feet wide opened and closed in the earth. Geysers squirted sand fifteen feet into the air. Whole forests sank into the earth as the land turned to quicksand….
Reelfoot Lake—over ten miles long—was formed when the Mississippi River changed its course.
Repetition. Sounds, words, or phrases that are repeated attract our attention and embed themselves in our consciousness. Skillful speakers frequently repeat key words or phrases to stress the importance of points, it help listeners focus on the sequence of ideas, to unify the message, and to help people remember what they have heard.
Repetition is the strategy that underlies alliteration and parallel construction. As we alliteration can lend vividness to the main ideas of informative speeches: “Today, I will discuss how the Mississippi River meanders from Minnesota to the sea.” The repetition of the m sound catches our attention and emphasizes the statement. In like manner, parallel construction can establish a pattern that sticks in your listeners’ minds . For example, repeated questions and answers such as “What is our goal? It is to . . .“ sustain attention through parallel construction.
Novelty. We are attracted to anything new or unusual. A novel phrase can fascinate listeners and hold their attention. James Cardoza found a novel way to describe the magnitude of pollution in this country. After documenting that nineteen million tons of garbage are picked up each year along the beaches of the United States, Jim concluded: “And that’s just the tip of the wasteberg.” His invented word, “wasteberg,” was effective because it reminded listeners of “iceberg,” and that in turn connoted for them the vastness of the problem. Some famous novel expressions in American history that have aroused attention for political programs and philosophies are “New Deal,”“the New Frontier,”“the Great Sodety,”“Star Wars” (Strategic Defense Initiative), and “Contract with America.”
Activity. Our eyes are attracted to moving objects. Gestures, physical movement, and presentation aids can all add activity to your speech. You can also create a sense of activity in a speech by using concrete words, vocal vanety, and a narrative structure that moves your speech along. Note the sense of action and urgency, as well as the invitation to act, in the conclusion of this student’s speech:
I don’t know what you’re going to do, but I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to march right down tomorrow and register to vote. There’s too much at stake not to. Why don’t you join me?
A lively example or an exciting story can also bring a speech to life and
engage your listeners.
Contrast, Opposites attract attention. If you work in a noisy environment and it suddenly becomes quiet, the stillness can seem deafening. Similarly, abrupt changes in vocal pitch or rate of speaking will draw attention. Presenting the pros and cons of a situation creates a sense of conflict and drama that listeners often find arresting. You can also highlight contrasts by speaking of such opposites as life and death, light and dark, or the highs and lows of a situation.
In a speech dramatizing the need to learn more about AIDS, a speaker introduced two or three specific examples with the statement “Let me introduce you to Death.” Then, as the speech moved to the promise of medical research, she said, “Now let me introduce you to Life.” This usage combined repetition and contrast to create a dramatic effect.
Surprise is necessary for contrast to be effective. Once people become accustomed to an established pattern, they no longer think about it. They notice any abrupt, dramatic change from the pattern.
Relevance. Things that are related to our personal needs or interests attract our attention. Research has indicated that sleepers respond with changes in brain-wave patterns when their names are mentioned. Parents have been known to sleep through severe thunderstorms, yet be wakened by the faint sounds of their infant crying. Relevance is essential to public speaking as well.
Allison McEntire created relevance for her agenda-setting speech on smoking advertisements by placing a large jar of cigarette butts on the table by the lectern.
So you think the cigarette advertisers are losing their fight to recruit smokers at American colleges and universities? Here’s what I collected myself in about 45 minutes at noon yesterday, right around the outside of this building. These are our butts. Vanderbilt student butts. Think of all the damaged lungs these represent, right here in this building. The striking relevance of the presentation aid she used made it hard to ignore
her point.

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