A key difference between informative and persuasive speaking is that informative speeches attempt to teach listeners something new, and persuasive speeches, although oftentimes informative, move beyond and attempt to change behavior. There are five types of informative speeches that sometimes overlap during the same presentation: those that report, explain, demonstrate, tell a story, or compare pros and cons of a proposal without taking a position. Competent informative speaking is achieved by considering your audience when choosing a topic, organizing carefully, avoiding information overload, keeping your audience interested, using supporting materials competently, and telling stories well. Show
Visual aids must be both visually interesting and an actual aid to your speech. Sloppy, poorly prepared, and poorly selected visual aids can bring you ridicule and embarrassment. Always choose and prepare your visual aids carefully. Visual aids can clarify complicated points, gain and maintain audience attention, enhance your credibility, improve your delivery, and make your information memorable. You have many types of visual aids to choose from, but make sure that you don't become enamored with the technologically sophisticated and glitzy aids when you aren't well versed in their use. If you do, your speech could be diminished by too much flash and not enough substance. Follow the guidelines for using visual aids. I think that most presentations can be classified as persuasive or informative.These two presentation types can cover quite a range — more entertaining or less, informal or keynote,for example.  What is a persuasive presentation?Some presentations are for the purpose of selling a product or service. Other presentations try to sell an idea. For example, maybe you want approval for a proposal. You might want to persuade people to contribute to a cause. The success of a persuasive presentation is determined by how many people make a purchase or how many people contribute to the cause. For a proposal, success is determined by whether or not you get the approval you need. What is an informative presentation?Many informative presentations are delivered for training or education. There may be a small element of persuasion at the beginning of an educational lecture, for example, as the teacher tries to persuade students that the topic is worth learning about. But mostly the teacher wants the students to understand and remember the content. An informative presentation may be followed by a test or exercise and the success of the presentation may be determined by how well the students do on the test or exercise. Another type of informative presentation is the result of research, such as a presentation at a scientific conference or a market research presentation meant to provide the information a company needs to make a business decision. The success of the presentation would be determined by the outcome of the decision. What do persuasive and informative presentations have in common?There are many characteristics that both types of presentations share:
How are persuasive and informative presentations different?But there are differences, too. I remember listening to a recording of a presentation given by a research scientist at a press conference before a 2009 Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. He wanted the reporters to put a sentence or two about the research on the Transcendental Meditation technique in their articles. (The concert was a benefit to raise funds to teach inner-city children this stress-reducing technique). This highlights that the main difference is obviously the different goal–to persuade or to inform. But how do you change your presentation to match your goal? The two general purposes of speeches this section will discuss are speaking to inform and speaking to persuade. Public speaking students will write and deliver these two types of speeches in this class. It is important to understand the differences before we begin our first LIVE speech, the informative speech. While any topic can be informative or persuasive, the difference is in the speaker’s purpose. To InformSimply put, this is about helping audience members acquire information that they do not already possess. The most important characteristic of informative topics is that the goal is to share knowledge. The goal is not to encourage people to use that knowledge in any specific way. When a speaker starts encouraging people to use knowledge in a specific way, they are no longer informing but persuading. Let’s say you are assigned to inform an audience about a new vaccination program. In an informative speech, the purpose of the speech is to explain to your audience what the program is and how it works. If, however, you start encouraging your audience to participate or not in the vaccination program, you are no longer informing them about the program but rather persuading them to do something. One of the most common mistakes new public speaking students make is to blur the line between informing and persuading. Often times it is difficult for us to just share information without trying to convince others to agree with us or change their behaviors. People are typically opinionated and we like our opinions and want others to agree with us. However, knowledge sharing is an important part of every society. You may be asked to share your knowledge in a class or deliver a presentation to inform colleagues in the workplace. Learning how to deliver informative speeches is a valuable skill. Example Informative SpeechThe following video is an example of an informative speech. Take note of the strategies Andrea Ambam uses to share knowledge about bias in the judicial system. She shares research to support her points. Her opinion is apparent, based on her approach; yet, she does not ask the audience to do anything with the information she shares (a call to action). Additionally, she does not offer a solution to the issue. She simply shares researched information (facts, stats, examples, anecdotes) with her audience. To PersuadeWhen we speak to persuade, we attempt to get listeners to embrace a point of view or to adopt a behavior that they may not have done otherwise. While persuasive speaking includes informing the audience about a topic, a persuasive speech is distinguished by the fact that it includes a call to action for the audience to make some change in their behavior or thinking. Persuasion can address behaviors—observable actions on the part of listeners—and it can also address intangible thought processes in the form of attitudes, values, and beliefs. Behavior change: When the speaker attempts to persuade an audience to change behavior. This may be asking your audience to donate money to a cause, to participate in a recycling program, or to adopt a cat. In these examples, the speaker is asking the audience to do something. Attitude change: An attitude is defined as an individual’s general predisposition toward something as being good or bad, right or wrong, negative or positive. If you believe that dress codes on college campuses are a good idea, you want to give a speech persuading others to adopt a positive attitude toward campus dress codes. Value change: A value refers to an individual’s perception of the usefulness, importance, or worth of something. We can value a college education, we can value technology, and we can value freedom. Values, as a general concept, are fairly ambiguous and tend to be very lofty ideas. Ultimately, what we value in life actually motivates us to engage in a range of behaviors. For example, if you value protecting the environment, you may recycle more of your trash than someone who does not hold this value. If you value family history and heritage, you may be more motivated to spend time with your older relatives and ask them about their early lives than someone who does not hold this value. Belief change: Beliefs are propositions or positions that an individual holds as true or false without positive knowledge or proof. Core beliefs are beliefs that people have actively engaged in and created over the course of their lives (e.g., belief in a higher power, belief in extraterrestrial life forms). Dispositional beliefs the other hand, are beliefs that people have not actively engaged in; they are judgments based on related subjects, which people make when they encounter a proposition. Persuading audiences to change core beliefs is more difficult than persuading audiences to change dispositional beliefs. If you find a topic related to dispositional beliefs, using your speech to help listeners alter their processing of the belief is a realistic possibility. But as a novice public speaker, you are probably best advised to avoid core beliefs. Although core beliefs often appear to be more exciting and interesting than dispositional ones, you are very unlikely to alter anyone’s core beliefs in a five- to ten-minute classroom speech. Example Persuasive SpeechThe following video is an example of a persuasive speech. Ron Finley uses persuasive strategies to convince the audience that planting community gardens can have a positive impact on health and hunger in South Central LA. We will be creating and delivering both an informative and persuasive speech to a live audience this semester. Be sure to have a solid understanding of the differences between the two. Key Takeaways
ReferencesAtwood, C. G. (2009). Knowledge management basics. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press. Hendriks, P. (1999). Why share knowledge? The influence of ICT on the motivation for knowledge sharing. Knowledge and Process Management, 6, 91–100. O’Hair, D., Stewart, R., & Rubenstein, H. (2007). A speaker’s guidebook: Text and reference (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins. Roye, S. (2010). Austan Goolsbee a funny stand-up comedian? Not even close… [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.realfirststeps.com/1184/austan-goolsbee-funny-standup-comedian-close What is the difference between an informative speech and a persuasive speech quizlet?Informative involves teaching your audience something new. Persuasive involves convincing your listeners to change their viewpoint.
What is the main difference between a persuasive text and an informative?The main difference is that an informative essay only presents information in order to explain a certain issue, while a persuasive essay uses information and facts that support a writer's personal opinion. The basic structure of a persuasive essay is more complex and strict than that of an informative essay.
How can you tell the difference between persuade and inform?Key Takeaways
Speaking to inform is sharing knowledge with your audience. Speaking to persuade is attempting to convince your audience to change a behavior, attitude, value, or belief. Any topic can be informative or persuasive.
What element most differentiates an informative speech from a persuasive one?Answer: The informative speech is meant to increase knowledge, whereas the persuasive speech is meant to alter the audiences' attitudes, beliefs, or values. Although informative speeches may contain some elements of persuasion, that is not their primary objective.
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