Your professor assigned an informative speech and you are not totally sure what makes it different from any other class presentation you have given.
This page covers exactly what an informative speech is, what makes one work, the four main types you might be asked to deliver, and how to know which type your assignment actually wants. By the end of this page, you will know what you are being asked to write, and that is the hardest part of getting started.
An informative speech is a speech whose purpose is to teach the audience something they did not know before, without trying to persuade them, sell them anything, or change their behavior. The general purpose is "to inform"; the specific purpose narrows that goal to a particular topic and audience. Informative speeches are classified in two ways, depending on which textbook your course uses: by topic (objects, processes, events, concepts) or by approach (definition, descriptive, explanatory, demonstration).
If you're trying to figure out where informative sits among the other speech types your course might cover (persuasive, demonstrative, special occasion, impromptu), see the types of speeches guide for the full classification.
Quick reference:
The four characteristics that separate working informative speeches from forgettable ones:
Why these matter: Most informative speeches fail in the same predictable ways. They cover too much, they assume the audience already knows what the speaker knows, or they read like a Wikipedia article being recited out loud. These four characteristics are the difference between a speech your audience tolerates and a speech your audience remembers. Everything else, the visual aids, the gestures, the eye contact, comes second to these four.
Most informative speech assignments fall into one of four types. Identifying yours correctly is the difference between a speech that hits the brief and a speech that misses entirely, even when the content is good.
A note on type frameworks. Speech textbooks use two overlapping classifications. The framework below sorts speeches by topic, which the speech is about. Some textbooks instead sort by the approach what the speech takes. The two map onto each other:
By topic (this section) | By approach (alternate framework) |
Speeches about objects | Descriptive speeches |
Speeches about processes | Demonstration speeches (the "how-to" type) |
Speeches about events | Explanatory speeches |
Speeches about concepts | Definition speeches |
If your assignment uses the second framework's vocabulary ("write a definition speech," "deliver a demonstration speech"), use the table to find the matching topic-type below. The substance is the same.
These cover physical things. A specific car, a building, an instrument, an artifact, a tool. The speech describes what the object is, what it is used for, and what makes it significant or distinctive. A five minute speech on the Stradivarius violin would fall here, as would a speech on the Hubble telescope or the standard laboratory microscope.
These speeches work best when the object has a story or some non obvious detail that the audience would not guess. Pure description gets boring fast.
These explain how something works or how something is done. A speech on how vaccines train the immune system, how a bill becomes law, or how sourdough bread rises would all be process speeches. So would any "how to" speech, though some courses separate "how to" demonstration speeches into their own category.
The trap with process speeches is making the steps too granular. The audience cannot remember twelve discrete steps from one speech. Group related steps into three or four phases instead.
These cover something that happened. A historical event, a recent news story, a cultural festival, a personal experience that illustrates something larger. A speech on the 1969 moon landing, the 2008 financial crisis, or the annual Día de los Muertos celebration in Oaxaca would all be event speeches.
The challenge here is moving past "what happened" into "why it mattered." A timeline of events is not a speech; it is a recitation. The speech is the angle on the events.
These cover ideas, theories, principles, or beliefs. The speech might explain what cognitive dissonance is, how the Pareto principle applies in real life, or what existentialism actually claims. Concepts are the trickiest type to deliver because the subject is abstract by nature.
Concept speeches lean heavily on examples. If you are explaining a concept and you have not given the audience three concrete examples by minute three, they have probably stopped following. Examples are not optional in concept speaking; they are the entire delivery mechanism.
Read your assignment prompt carefully. If it names a thing (a tool, a structure, a piece of equipment), it is an object speech. If it names a process or asks "how does X work" or "how do you do X," it is a process speech. If it names something that occurred, it is an event speech. If it names an idea, theory, or principle, it is a concept speech.
If the prompt is genuinely ambiguous and could go either way, pick the type that lets you be most specific in the time you have. Five minutes on a single concept beats five minutes on a sprawling event nine times out of ten.
Still not sure your assignment fits any of these types cleanly? That happens; professors do not always specify, and informative-speech assignments often blend types. If you would rather skip the guesswork, our writers can have informative speech written for you, start to finish. Send us the assignment prompt, your time limit, and your audience, and we will identify the right type and deliver a finished speech you can present.
The purpose of an informative speech is to leave the audience knowing something they did not know before, and ideally caring enough about it to remember it. That is the entire brief.
It is worth saying what an informative speech is not, because the most common mistake students make is drifting into other speech types without realizing it.
Quick comparison across the four major speech purposes:
Speech type | Goal | Audience leaves with | Key indicator |
Informative | Teach | New understanding | "And that's how X works" |
Persuasive | Convince | A changed view or action | "And that's why we should X" |
Entertainment | Engage and amuse | A good time | Humor or storytelling carries the brief |
Special occasion | Mark a moment | Shared significance | Toasts, eulogies, acceptance speeches |
The prose distinctions matter when you're checking your draft, so:
If you find your draft slipping into any of these other categories, pull it back. Teaching is the only goal.
Every informative speech, regardless of type, follows the same three part structure: introduction, body, and conclusion. The proportions vary by length, but the structure does not.
The Introduction (about 10 to 15% of total time)The introduction does four things, in order. It grabs attention, establishes why the audience should care, tells them who you are or why you can speak on this, and previews where the speech is going. Attention grabbers can be a startling statistic, a brief story, a question (used sparingly), or a vivid image. Whatever you choose, it must connect to your topic. A clever opener that does not tie into the speech is a clever opener that confuses the audience. The "why should you care" part is critical, and most students skip it. The audience is not automatically interested in your topic. Tell them, in one sentence, why this matters to them specifically. The preview is a one-sentence roadmap. "Today, I will cover what an informative speech is, the four main types, and how to identify which type your assignment wants." It feels redundant to write, but it is not redundant for the audience to hear. They need the map. The Body (about 70 to 80% of total time)The body covers your two to four main points. Two to four. Not seven, not ten. The audience cannot hold ten things in working memory while you speak. Each main point gets supporting material: examples, statistics, expert quotes, brief stories, or analogies. Specific is always better than general. "Studies show" is weaker than "a 2019 study at Stanford involving 1,200 students showed." If you cannot get specific, find better sources. Transitions between main points are the single most underrated element of speech writing. "Now that we have looked at X, let us turn to Y" feels obvious when you write it but it is exactly what the audience needs to hear to follow you. Without transitions, the speech feels like a list of paragraphs read aloud. For a deeper walkthrough of how to structure each section, including templates for introductions, body transitions, and conclusions, see our guide to building an informative speech outline. It covers the formatting that most professors expect and includes a fillable template you can adapt. The Conclusion (about 10 to 15% of total time)The conclusion does three things. It signals that you are wrapping up ("to bring this together"), it summarizes the main points briefly, and it ends on a memorable closing line. The most common conclusion mistake is trailing off. Students hit their main points and then mumble "yeah, so, that is informative speeches, thank you." The audience needs a real ending. A callback to your opener, a final striking image, a clear takeaway sentence, anything that signals "this is the end" with intention. Never introduce new information in the conclusion. If it was important enough to say, it belonged in the body. |
You have got the concept down, what an informative speech is, what type yours probably is, and how it should be structured. Writing one that actually holds attention for five to eight minutes is where most students stall, especially under a tight deadline. Get informative speech written today, and we will deliver a complete, structured draft within 24 hours, fully sourced, formatted to your assignment requirements, and ready to present.
Topic choice usually matters more than execution. A great speech on a boring topic is harder to deliver than an okay speech on a fascinating one, because the audience starts disengaging on the boring topic.
The best informative speech topics share three qualities:
For a full list of informative speech topics organized by category, audience level, and time limit, our informative speech topics cover more than 200+ ideas with notes on which ones work best for short speeches versus longer ones.
Reading about informative speeches only gets you so far. Seeing one done well, with the structure visible and the choices marked up, is much faster.
For full length informative speech examples covering different types and lengths, with annotations on what each example does well and where it could be tighter, see our collection of informative speech examples.
A few patterns show up in almost every informative speech that does not land. Watch for these in your draft.
Once the writing is solid, delivery is mostly about practice. The four moves that matter most for an informative speech, specifically:
For the full delivery playbook, including pacing, body language, handling nerves, and recovery moves, see speech delivery tips.
You now know what an informative speech is, what type yours probably is, and what one looks like when it is structured well. The actual writing, picking the right examples, getting the transitions right, and hitting your time limit without rushing, is where the real work starts. If you would rather not spend your week on it, send us your topic, your time limit, and a copy of the assignment prompt. We will write informative speech with CollegeEssay.org writers and have it back to you in under 24 hours, ready to present.
The general purpose of an informative speech is to inform; that's the broad category your speech falls into.
The specific purpose narrows that to your exact goal: who you're informing, about what, and what you want them to know by the end.
Example: General purpose to inform. Specific purpose to inform my classmates about how the first email was sent in 1971 and why it shaped the internet protocols we still use. College rhetoric assignments usually grade you on whether you can state both clearly before drafting.
Five common patterns:
Optional but often expected. Demonstration speeches almost always need visual aids (slides, props, physical demonstrations). Object speeches benefit from images. Process speeches benefit from diagrams. Concept and definition speeches can work without aids, but slides with quotes, statistics, or simple visuals usually help.
Three rules if you use them: don't read from your slides, don't put your full script on slides (5 to 7 words per line max), and rehearse with the aids in place props that worked in your bedroom often misbehave on stage.
Whatever your assignment specifies. The most common classroom length is 5 to 7 minutes. Shorter assignments (2 to 4 minutes) need a tighter focus on one main point with two supports, not three main points. Longer assignments (8 to 15 minutes) allow more development per main point but the same three-part structure. The structure proportions stay consistent regardless of length: introduction at 10 to 15%, body at 70 to 80%, conclusion at 10 to 15%
Yes. Some textbooks expand the four-type framework to six types by adding people (biographical informative speeches) and issues (current-events explainers without taking sides).
A biographical speech on a scientist or historical figure is a person's speech. An explainer on how a current policy works without arguing for or against it is an issue speech. Both fit the informative purpose, teaching the audience something they didn't know without crossing into persuasive territory.
Trying to cover too much. The single most reliable failure mode. A 5-minute speech on social media will be a blur. A 5-minute speech on (how Instagram's algorithm decides what you see) can actually teach the audience something. If your topic outline has more than four main points, the audience will not be able to follow your speech. Cut to two or three main points, develop each one with concrete examples, and leave the audience with one clear takeaway.
Yes. Three worth watching for structure rather than content: Carl Sagan's (Pale Blue Dot) reflection (a concept speech that uses a single specific image to anchor a much bigger idea), Hans Rosling's TED talks on global health statistics (process and concept speeches that show how to make data emotionally legible), and Neil deGrasse Tyson's various lectures (definition speeches that move from familiar to unfamiliar without losing the audience).
Watch each once for feel, then rewatch with the transcript open and mark where the speaker introduces a main point and where they transition. The structure is more portable than the words.
Briefly. (A 2014 study at Oxford, or researchers at Harvard have run studies) is enough to name the source, name the rough date if relevant, and move on. Don't read the full APA citation aloud. Don't say (according to Smith et al. (2019), which examined…). The audience needs credibility cues, not bibliography format. Save the formal citations for the written outline you submit.
A demonstration speech shows how to do something step-by-step, often with visual aids (how to perform CPR, how to make sourdough bread). It's a sub-type of informative speech focused on process. A definition speech defines a concept; a descriptive speech paints a picture; an explanatory speech explains how or why. All four are informative.
Yes. The thesis is one sentence that states what the audience will learn by the end. It usually lands in the introduction, after the hook but before the preview of main points. Without one, the speech feels like a list of facts rather than an argument-free claim.
John K. Verified
Author
John K. is a seasoned speech and debate specialist with a strong academic background in communication and rhetoric. He holds a Master’s degree in Communication Studies, with a focus on persuasive speaking and argumentation. Over the years, he has coached students, professionals, and competitive debaters to craft impactful speeches and winning arguments. Known for his practical approach and audience-centered strategies, John regularly conducts training sessions, judges debate competitions, and contributes expert insights to educational platforms. His work spans speech writing, debate preparation, and public speaking coaching, making him a trusted resource for anyone looking to communicate with clarity and confidence.
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