MMLS ONLINE NOTES

Chapter 4

Meetings and Speaking Skills

 Meetings: succeeding in face-to-face and virtual
meetings
 Speaking to Inform
 Speaking to Persuade
MEETINGS:
SUCCEEDING IN FACE-TO-FACE AND VIRTUAL MEETINGS

Requisites of a Valid Meeting:

1. A meeting must be properly Convened
a) Notice to be sent to every person entitled to attend the meeting
b) Adequate notice drawn a week ahead
c) Notice to be clear and leading- contains all important details

2. It must be properly Constituted

a) The Chairman’s appointment must be valid
b) There must be a quorum to start a meeting
c) Quorum to maintain a meeting

3. It must be properly Conducted

a) Chairman must ensure the business dealt is within the scope of meeting
b) The Chairman must allow the proposal of a legitimate and relevant amendment

Role of Meetings
A well organised, well-aimed and well-led meeting can be extremely effective in many
different contexts.
 Executive decision making; for example, by a group of directors, managers, or
government officials.
 The relaying of decisions and instructions (downward ‘briefings’)
 The provision of advice and information for management planning and decision-making
(upward ‘briefings’ or reporting)
 The participation in problem-solving discussions by consultation with people in different
departments or fields, such as through task force, working party, committee or quality
circle.
 Brainstorming: free exchanges with a view to generate new approaches and ideas.

Purpose of Conducting Meetings

 Ritual: A manager’s ‘ceremonial’ role is acted out in meetings. Often, meetings form the
ritual ending of months of negotiation: the final handshake (such as in an MOU, Memo of
Understanding).
 Communication and Personal Contact: a meeting helps to get to know one another.
Establishing good personal relationship is important in an organisational life.
 ‘Letting off Steam’: There is sometimes a good purpose in having an argumentative
session in which grievances get aired. Disagreement might be seen as a useful way of
generating new ideas.
 Motivation and satisfaction: The fact or at least the illusion, of participation in decisions
may improve individual motivation.
 Representation: Meetings enable the various different interest in a decision to be
represented as ‘equals’
 Relay: meetings can be used to relay decisions, which may be of benefit to the
organisation or to managers.

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 ‘Nailing colours to the mast’ Meetings can also be used to put individuals on the spot in
public (and in the written minutes of the meeting) They can enforce commitment, or at
least indicate where the battle lines are drawn.
 Inspiration. Some meetings can be inspirational, if they are used to persuade, cajole or
encourage a sense of values.
 Unification: Bringing people together underlines the fact that they belong to the same
organisation, and in theory should be working to the same purpose.

Structure of Meetings
A meeting generally conforms or responds to a measure of organisation and procedure.
 There is the chairperson or least an organiser, who guides the proceedings of the meeting
and aims to maintain order. A meeting can hardly function efficiently if everybody talks
at once and nobody listens.
 There is often a sequence of business, or at least of speeches, to express points of view or
reach decisions on the common purpose of the meeting. It is not essential to formalise this
point with an agenda, but meetings usually do have one.
 The purpose of the meeting is achieved by reaching some decision or expression of
opinion at the end of the discussion. In some circumstances this may lead to taking a vote
to determine what is the majority view.

Types of Meetings

An informal meeting, such as might be called from time to time by a department head or
working party, may take the form of a discussion ‘chaired’ by a leader, and informally
documented: notes handed round or taken during the meeting, a summary of arguments and
decisions reached provided afterwards.

Formal meetings, however, are governed by strict rules and conventions (and generate
formal documentation) for the announcement, planning, conduct and recording of the
proceedings. The documents are:
 Notice: the announcement of and ‘invitation’ to the meeting.
 Agenda: the list of items of business to be discussed at the meeting.
 Minutes: the written record of a meeting, approved by those present.

OFFICERS IN THE MEETING

The chairperson
The chairperson of a formal meeting will have complex responsibilities. He or she has to:
 Ensure that correct procedure is observed in convening and constituting the meeting and
in the conduct of the debate. In the event of enquiries or complaints regarding procedure
(points of order) he must give immediate ruling.
 Preserve order and harmony (or at least courtesy), and dealing firmly with irrelevance,
long-windedness, interruptions and improper language.
 Guide the meeting through its business, making sure that each item is valid within the
regulations and stated purpose of the meeting (as expressed by the notice and agenda).
 Make sure that only those entitled to speak do so, and that there is adequate discussion of
each item.

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 Ascertain the ‘sense of the meeting’ (the consensus view or decision of the meeting) by
summing up, or putting the issue to the vote and declaring the result.
 Checking and signing the minutes of the meeting.

Qualities of a Chairperson
There are a number of recognised qualities of a good chairperson.
 The chairperson has to be able to give immediate ruling points of dispute or doubt, the
chair should have:
- sound knowledge of the relevant regulations
- an ability to make up his mind without dithering
- skills in communicating his ruling clearly, but tactfully and in a courteous manner.
 The chairperson has to be, and be seen to be, impartial, giving all parties a reasonable
opportunity to express their views, including any minority interests at the meeting.

The Secretary
The secretary is the administrative support for the meeting. Duties of a secretary may include:
 fixing the date and time of the meeting
 choosing and preparing the location of the meeting
 preparing and issuing various documents
 assisting the chairman to take down notes
 preparing minutes, acting on and communicating decisions.

The Quorum
A minimum number of persons called a quorum must be present, usually throughout the
meeting. By definition, a meeting usually requires at least two individuals to be present.

THE REGULATIONS OF A MEETING

Convening the Meeting: Notice

A formal meeting must be convened, otherwise it is not a proper meeting and its proceedings
may be invalid on that account. There are two ways of calling together a meeting.
 Automatically, without initiating action by the organiser on each occasion. If a meeting is
one of a series or cycle of similar gatherings, it may be simply be held at pre-arranged
dates and times and in the same place. A club, for example, may adopt the practice of
holding a meeting of members at the clubhouse at 10am on the first Saturday of each
month. Everyone knows that there will be such a meeting and it is unnecessary to issue a
notice on each occasion.
 By issuing a notice of each meeting

The notice of meeting will be prepared in advance and circulated in the form of a
memorandum (memo).

The agenda of the meeting is often included with the notice, to give participants a guide to
the business to be discussed and the preparations they will need to make. The minutes of the
previous meeting may also be attached so that any objection or queries relating to them may
be prepared in advance of the present meeting.

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 To: The Annual Dinner Committee
From: Lau, secretary
Subject: Notice of meeting
The next meeting for the Annual Dinner Committee will be held at the
Conference Room on Thursday, 22 May 2003 at 9 a.m.
Agenda: reports from the different units on the preparation for the annual
dinner.
Attached is the minutes of the previous meeting for your perusal.
Lau

Agenda of the Meeting

For a formal meeting, the agenda will usually contain the following elements:
 Membership: this is an optional item, which allows the chair to introduce new members
or allude to retirements or resignations.
 Apologies for absence: once the meeting has been declared open, apologies sent to the
secretary by members unable to attend are read out.
 Minutes of the last meeting. The previous minutes are read out, or have more probably
been sent in advance to the members. It is then considered whether or not the wording of
those minutes is accurate in fact and implication, and a true record of the meeting. If so,
the chair signs the minutes as approved; if not, amendments may be made.
The minutes may be signed by the chairperson without discussion, if the members
have already seen the minutes and they are fairly routine and cause no difficulties.
The minutes are then said to have been ‘taken as read’ and signed.
 Matters arising: if a situation has developed or action taken in response to the previous
meeting, the fact should be reported. This item should not be an excuse for disputes to be
re-opened.
 Fresh business: this may include plans to be made, reports to be delivered and discussed,
or particular proposals to be debated and decided on. The chairperson should avoid a
lengthy list of matters, which will allow only superficial coverage of each – or a very long
meeting. It will be up to the chairperson to decide whether to get routine business ‘out of
the way’ first or whether to tackle complex/important matters early, while the members
are fresh.
 Any other business (AOB): if the topic has been overlooked, or has risen between the
drafting of the agenda and the meeting, it may be dealt with at this point. AOB should not
be considered an excuse to spring items on an unprepared meeting. If the matter is
sufficiently important, it may be carried over to the next meeting.
 Date of the next meeting: the meeting is then formally declared closed.

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Chairperson’s Agenda
The Chairperson’s agenda is slightly different from the one circulated to the members.
 Each item on the agenda is followed by brief notes such as, information updates,
background detail, explanations etc.
 This means that the chairperson is fully prepared to provide all necessary information to
the meeting, and can also conduct the proceedings with tact and authority.

Chairperson’s agenda may be illustrated as follows:

Chairperson’s Agenda

For the meeting held at the Conference room on Thursday, 22 May 2003 at 9 a.m.

1. Membership:
Mr Sim would be the addition to the stage management team

2. Apologies for absence:

Ms tan is on medical leave.

3. Minutes of the last meeting

4. Matters arising:
Item 2: Ms June has agreed to present the prizes at this year’s annual dinner

5. Progress in organising the dinner

The only contentious area in the secretary’s report is likely to be the section on catering, as
the GMR has very strong views on the proposal to provide alcohol (as discussed several
times)

6. Any other business

7. Date of next meeting – 11 June 2003 at the Conference room.

Conduct of Meeting
A meeting, which has been properly convened, may only proceed to business if it has:
 a chairperson
 enough quorum

Motions and Resolutions

Each item of business is to be put before the meeting in the form of a proposal. Example:
“To receive the annual accounts for the year ended…”
“To receive the report of the Marketing Director.”

The proposal put to a meeting is called a motion. It should have someone to propose it and
another to second it (although this is not essential). If a decision is decided, the motion has to
be put to a vote. If it is ‘carried’ (or approved) the motion becomes a resolution (or decision).

The original motion is sometimes amended (or altered) in the course of debate and may then
be carried in the meeting as a ‘substantive motion’. An amendment is a proposal to alter a
motion, which has been put before a meeting, but has not been put to the vote. Any
amendment made must be agreed by the meeting. An amendment, which simply adds words
to the original motion, is called an addendum.

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 Checklist: Motion

A motion:

 is a proposal out to the meeting for action, decision or consideration.

 becomes a resolution when carried, and is recorded in the minutes as the final
decision on the point which it covers.

It must:

 Begin with a word ‘that’. Example: …that X should be…

 Be positive rather than negative. Example: there is no point in resolving the
problem since it shouldn’t be done in any case…
 Be within the scope of the business indicated in the notice of the meeting.

Adjournment
An adjournment is an interruption of the proceedings of a meeting before they have been
completed. It may be:
 an adjournment of a particular debate, to be resumed later in the same meeting or
 an adjournment of the meeting itself, with a view to its resumption at some later date.

However, it is not possible to postpone or cancel a formal meeting, once a notice to convene
it has been issued. If there are reasons for not holding it at the appointed time, the correct
procedure is to hold the meeting but propose a motion for an adjournment before any
business is done. The secretary may issue an advance notice to members that the adjournment
will be proposed, so that they do not waste time by coming to the meeting.

The debate
If there is more than one item in the agenda, and each is to be considered and voted
separately, the chairperson’s task is to guide the meeting through a sequence of short debates.

 In a debate, the chairperson has to:

- keep the meeting to the agenda unless the meeting agrees on some variation. However,
the topic should only be discussed when the motion is properly put to the meeting.
- preserve order in the meeting so that the business can proceed smoothly. Only one
person may address at the meeting. If more than one person indicates that he or she wants
to speak by rising in his place or raising a hand, the Chairperson will decide who is to
speak next and usually call on him by his name. The others must wait for their turn. If
opinion at the meeting is sharply divided, it may be tactful to call on speakers from each
side in turn, so that neither side appears to be obtaining an unfair amount of time and
attention.

 Speakers must address the chairperson. if individuals start heckling, interrupting or

arguing themselves, the meeting will degenerate into a brawl. If a speaker begins to
address an opponent (“I challenge Mr Lee to say…”) he should be reminded that all
speeches should be addressed to the Chairperson (“Mr Chairman, I urge the meeting
to…”)

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 Interruptions must be controlled. If someone seeks to intervene in the debate, he must be
told to wait until it is his turn to speak, or until the relevant motion comes before the
meeting.

 A point of order is an objection to the Chairperson about an alleged irregularity in the

convening, constitution or conduct of the meeting including the breach of the regulations
and also the use of improper or offensive language. Points of order are designed to ensure
that the regulations are observed, so that
- the proceedings of the meeting cannot be disputed later as invalid
- the members are protected from any attempt to manipulate procedures (by giving
inadequate notice or voting without the right to do so, or adjourning without the
meeting’s consent).

 As a general rule no one may speak more than once in a debate on a particular subject.
There are three main exceptions.
- the person who propose a motion is sometimes permitted to reply to the debate before
the vote is taken.
- The Chairperson may request a speaker to give an explanation.
- Anyone may raise a point of order at any time, even interrupting the speaker.
The Chairperson may find it tactful to allow a person who has no right to speak a brief
opportunity to make his point.

 The chairperson may have to cut short the debate (since there could be a number of
remaining items on the agenda) if he considers that every point of view has had enough of
an airing. The Chairperson may call on the person who made the proposal to reply to the
debate or sum it up him or herself.

Checklist: accepted rules of debate

 The motion should be seconded, but it is not essential.

 Only one person at a time may address the meeting on the motion before it.
 The chair decides on the order in which members are to speak.
 Speakers address themselves to the Chairperson, not directly to others.
 All present should defer to rulings by the Chairperson
 The business should be taken in the order in which it appears on the agenda, but the
meeting may propose and agree to alter the order of business.
 Each person present may only speak once, but the person who proposed a motion is
allowed to reply
 The Chairperson decides whether an amendment may be accepted for debate.
 The Chairperson may take a point of order at any time, for immediate decision.

Voting
It is the means by which participants in a formal meeting inform the chairperson of their
decision with regard to a motion. There are methods of voting and they are the:
 Showing of hands. At the invitation of the Chairperson, those ‘in favour’ raise their hand
and ‘Those against’ would do the same, and the Chairperson declares the result by the
count of hands raised. This is a ‘one man, one vote’ system.

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 Having a poll. Each person entitled to vote does so in writing indicating the number of
votes, which he is entitled to cast. This is not necessarily ‘one man, one vote’.
 Having a ballot. This is similar to the vote but the individual voting paper is put into a
ballot box so that it can be counted later.
 A division. Those present rise from their place and walk to separate ‘lobbies’ where their
numbers are counted by ‘tellers’ and reported to the Chairperson. (a method used in the
synod of the Church of England)
Once the Chairperson declared the results, it should be entered in the minutes. Once the item
of business is concluded, it cannot be raised again, nor the debate re-opened, in the same
meeting.

Minutes
It is a written record of a meeting and it is extremely important if it is to be an effective
means of communication in an organisation. The function of the minutes is to:
- be a point of reference
- check on ill-considered contributions

Format of Minutes
The format varies but the following is the common components in a minute.
1. Start with the time and place of the meeting
2. List those present
3. Work through the items on the agenda by using numbers, headings and giving spacing
and indentation so as to help readers refer to it easily.
4. Get the names and designations of speakers right, and make sure that each reported
statement is clearly attributed to the appropriate individual.
5. Use a wide right-hand margin labelled ‘Action’ and make notes in this margin the name
of individuals to whom the follow-up action has been delegated.
6. Finish with the Chairperson’s signature, name and designation.

The following is a sample minutes of a meeting:

Minutes of Out Bound School Club Meeting

St. John High

Date : 8 APRIL 2013

Time : 9.00 am
Venue : Conference Room

Present:
1. Ms Lyn Chong – (Chairperson)
2. Mr. Allen Koo – (Secretary)
3. Mr. Rama Chandran – (Treasurer)
4. Mdm Tengku Lydia Tengku Ahmad
5. Mr Rahmat Roslan

Absent:-
1. Mr Oh Beng See (with apology)

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Minutes of Meeting

No. Matters Action/Notification

1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absent were received from Mr Oh and Mr Rahmat
2. Minutes of the last meeting
The minutes of the last meeting were read and signed as a true and fair record.
3. Matters arising from the minutes
There were no matters arising
4. Updates on the destination
4.1 It was resolved that the Medan destination was cancelled.
4.2 There are other destinations: Mdm Tengku Lydia
Tengku Ahmad
Sarawak
 Package by MAS (2N/3D)
o Highest rate: RM470
o Lowest rate: RM438
o Have to pay extra RM200 if we want to go to Gunung
Gading.
 Package by Air Asia
 Agency
Phuket
 By train will take up till 14 hours of travelling in the 2 nd class
coach. The lowest rate will be RM72.
 By bus will need 440 per pax.
 Flight will cost RM500++.
 By bus to Haadyai then to Phuket will need 500 to 600 per pax.
 All together, the trip to Phuket will take about 5 ½ days.
5. The Odds of the Trip
It was resolved that the trip would be facing the following factors:
4.3 Long Journey
4.4 SARS
4.5 Financial constraints
4.6 UPSR (14 Sept – 18 Sept 2013)
6. Other Options
Another destination is Pulau Tioman. The trip will be for 3D/2N and the cost is Mr Rahmat Roslan
only RM290.
7. Final Destination
Everybody agreed that the destination for the family trip will be Pulau Tioman.
8. Any Other Business
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 am. The
date of next meeting is scheduled for 20 April 2013.

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 Prepared by: Approved by:

…………………… ………………………
Allen Koo Lyn Chong
Secretary Chairperson

Common Meeting Terminologies:

adjourn - to hold a meeting over until a later date.

agenda - literally means ‘things to be done’, but commonly used to describe the agenda paper
which, lists the items of business to be discussed at a meeting. It lists items in the order in
which they are to be taken.
minutes - the written record of the business transacted at the meeting; resolution minutes
record only decisions reached, while narrative minutes provide a record of the decision
making process.
motion - a proposal put forward for discussion and decision at a meeting.
quorum - the minimum number of people entitled to be present at a meeting, which the
regulations require to be present so that the business of the meeting may be transacted
validly.
resolution - although the word “motion” and “resolution” are often used indiscriminately,
resolution is a proposal which has been accepted by the meeting.
amendments - a proposal to alter a motion which has been submitted to a meeting e.g. by
adding, inserting or deleting of the original words.

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Elements of Effective Persuasive Speaking
Ethos, Pathos, Logos
The Roman orator Cicero identified five elements of persuasive speaking: (1) inventing or
discovering evidence and arguments, (2) organizing them, (3) styling them artistically, (4)
memorizing them, and finally, (5) delivering them skillfully.

The Roman theorist Quintillion said, “A persuader has to be a ‘good man’ as well as a good
speaker.”
Aristotle defined rhetoric as the faculty of observing the available means of persuasion in any
given case.
Aristotle was a remarkable teacher. His father had been a court physician, so Aristotle received
the finest education. He studied with Plato for twenty years and was then selected by
Alexander the Great to be the secretary of education. Aristotle developed a fantastic cataloging
system and used the methods of Platonic dialogue. He became the first great librarian and
researcher of Greece. Developing his expertise in researching assisted him in writing a book
called Rhetoric, which is the single most important work on the study of speech making.
Aristotle also developed a theory called artistic proofs or appeals. The three major types of
artistic proofs are described below.
1. Ethos is charisma and credibility. The audience perceives all people in some way, so the
ultimate perception would be to have ethos: honesty, knowledge, experience, and a sense of
humor. Aristotle labeled these qualities “reputation.” After ethos is achieved, additional
characteristics, such as voice quality, word choices, eye contact, and gestures become more
familiar.
For example, some public figures like Rosanne Barr, Howard Stern, and Dennis Rodman
intentionally offend their audiences. They seem to have no interest in achieving ethos or a “good
reputation.” On the other hand, Maya Angelou, Bill Cosby, and Stephen Covey have a presence
about them that instills confidence and admiration from almost everyone they encounter. These
people have all of the traits that create ethos, or “credibility” and “charisma.”
2. Pathos is completely related to the emotions. It creates strong appeal to the passionate side
of our human nature. An example of persuading through pathos is the McDonald’s commercial
that shows a young boy in the starting blocks at a track meet and then shows him running as an
adult Olympian and looking back into the face of the child he was. Persuasion through pathos
appeals to the love of our families and other emotional and psychological attachments; it
follows the motto “Reach Out and Touch Someone.” The question that you should ask yourself
is this: “What is the emotional state of the audience or of the individual that I am trying to
reach?”
If you are speaking to a group of recovering alcoholics or abuse victims or anyone who has
experienced the loss of a loved one, you can reach out to them through your own personal
experiences. What is created between the two communicators is pathos.
3. Logos appeals to the rational part of a human being. When speakers rely on logos, he or she
uses things like testimony, statistics, data, and examples to persuade. The audience then has
the opportunity to process this information and draw some conclusions.
So how does the persuader fit into all of this? The persuader must have ethos, using powerful
language, eye contact, and strategically planned gestures. Also, the persuader must assess
pathos, or the emotional state of the audience and then give reassurance to the audience that
he or she is credible and connected to the emotions of the audience. Lastly, the persuader must
use logos and appeal to the rational sides of his or her listeners. This enables the audience to be
able to predict the outcome or come to a conclusion.

The Psychology of Persuasion

To persuade your audience, you have to believe in yourself and believe in your topic. The
following suggestions are taken from Michael and Suzanne Osborn’s book Public Speaking. Let’s
discuss each one in detail.
1. Arouse attention with an effective introduction.
2. Involve listeners by relating your message to their interests and needs.
3. Ensure understanding by defining complex terms, using concrete examples, and
organizing your material clearly.
4. Build your persuasive efforts on a base of solid information.
5. Be sure your listeners know how to carry out your proposal.
6. Help the audience remember your message by using vivid word pictures and a striking
conclusion.
7. Ask for a public commitment from your listeners. Give them something to do that
starts them on the path to change.
8. Ensure enduring change by stirring deep feelings and connecting them with powerful
reasons.
1. Arouse attention with an effective introduction
Again we must look at the introduction as a grabber. You need to use questions, quotes,
humor, or enticing statements that will make your audience think. Also, you must consider the
audience and ask yourself, “Where do they stand on this issue right now?” And you might ask
yourself, “Will the audience be divided? Is this a controversial subject? Is this a sensitive
subject?”

Involve listeners by relating your message to their interests and needs

One way to do this is by asking questions. For example, “How many of you favor paying taxes?”
This will really capture their interest. Really, everyone pays taxes in one form or another, so you
have related to everyone in the audience. Another question you could ask is, “How important is
health insurance?” Because this is an open-ended question, it starts your audience thinking
about how they see health insurance.

Ensure understanding by defining complex terms, using concrete examples, and

organizing your material clearly
For example, if you were to use the word “deficit,” you should clarify the definition and the
context. It is your responsibility to be very clear about what you are telling your listeners.
Otherwise, you might be telling them to do something that you don’t really mean. Using
caution with terminology adds integrity to your persuasion.

Build your persuasive efforts on a base of solid information

Never use hearsay or anything that is vague. It does not sound credible to say, “Well, I heard
somewhere...” You need to use real quotes, facts, figures, data, dates, and statistics.

Be sure your listeners know how to carry out your proposal

If you are making a proposal to your audience and are enrolling them to do something, you
must provide clarity. Giving only half of the information or half of the instructions is not honest.
For example, someone persuades you that it is very easy to qualify for a home, and it will only
cost you $400 a month. But in reality, this person hasn’t told you all of the information, namely
that it also takes a down payment, closing costs, mortgage insurance, title insurance, and taxes
to purchase a home. Integrity from the persuader means giving all the information needed to
carry out your proposal.

Help the audience remember your message by using vivid word pictures and a
striking conclusion
The following word picture would make a great start to a speech about fire safety:
Visualize this: You are driving a hunter green Ford Explorer down a mountain path with
beautiful tall pines on either side and a crystal clear blue sky above. You can see a deer peering
through the trees and squirrels scampering after acorns. You can hear a mountain stream as it
flows down the canyon with you. Wanting to experience the outside air, you roll down the
window. To your dismay, a strong smell of burning trees hits your nostrils. A good exercise to
get you thinking in a visual sense is to sit down with a piece of paper and pencil and literally
draw the content of your speech. If you are going to talk about a Ford Explorer and a forest fire,
you can incorporate all of this in one picture. You could also draw the positive and the negative
aspects of your speech content. A positive image would involve using water to put out the fire; a
negative image would be watching the fire continue to burn out of control. It is your personal
call as to where you want to take the image. This all has to do with how you feel at the moment.
You may feel cynical, picked on, and mad at the world. You can use that intensity to your
advantage by funneling it into something vivid and striking. But you must always have
integrity—you cannot leave the audience in the negative. You must give them a resolution.

Ask for a public commitment from your listeners

Give them something to do that starts them on the path to change. For example, imagine that
you are giving a speech on the detrimental effects of smoking on people’s health. If you
convince your audience that smoking is bad for them, you have only taken the first step in truly
effective persuasive speaking. If you send them home with a plan of action, including a twelve-
step program that they can commit to before they leave the room, you have succeeded in
persuading your audience to change. If you are speaking on investing money, give your listeners
a way to look at all of their options in banks, credit unions, investment houses, real estate, and
commodities. Have them commit to saving a certain percentage of their income. If you are
speaking on the importance of spiritual growth, you cannot be vague. You must be focused on
specific steps like reading, writing, meditating, and donating your time.

Ensure enduring change by stirring deep feelings and connecting them with
powerful reasons
You must give your audience compelling reasons to change their attitudes and above all to take
the risks associated with taking action. You have already established to your audience the need
for change (for example, the need to be in good health, to invest their money wisely, or to
enhance their spiritual paths). Now this is where you use personal experience and testimony to
validate your strong belief of taking action. You must use personal experience to really
connect with your audience; if you don’t, it will only be hearsay. If you can show how your
experience has made a personal impact, it will empower the audience for change. If you state
that it happened to someone else, then the audience will say, “Good for her. Why isn’t she the
one talking to us?” They want to hear things from a firsthand source. Everyone has the right to
express his or her opinions. This holds true regardless of how unpopular the topic may be. The
audience has a responsibility to hear the persuasion and make a choice.
As a speech instructor, I feel very strongly that if a controversial topic is presented, the
audience should show respect to the speaker through open body position—in other words,
arms unfolded, legs uncrossed, and eye contact with the speaker. Next the audience has a
responsibility to listen instead of simply filtering out the things they don’t want to hear. A
disrespectful audience creates a feeling of chaos and commotion in the room, and the speaker
feels that he or she has lost the audience and cannot recover them. How sad that an experience
like this can affect a person’s desire to be involved in public forums, or even to give public
opinion. Because persuasive speaking involves emotions, it carries a heavy ethical burden and
is therefore different from informative speaking.
Guidelines for Speaking to Inform
We offer ten guidelines for the informative speech. Use them as a checklist during your speech
preparation, and you will deliver an excellent informative speech.

Stress Your Informative Purpose

The primary objective of your informative speech is to inform. It is important for you to be clear about
this, especially if your topic is controversial or related to other topics that are controversial. For
example, if you are discussing U.S. immigration policy, political correctness, or the role of women in
religion, you must realize that some in your audience may already have some very strong feelings
about your topic. Stress that your goal is to give additional information, not to try to change anyone’s
beliefs.

Be Objective
One of the most important criteria for an informative speech is objectivity. If you take a stand, you
become a persuader. Informative speakers are committed to presenting a balanced view. People
representing political parties, charitable organizations, business associations, and special interest
groups are understandably committed to the objectives and policies of their groups. Your research
should take into account all perspectives.
If, as you develop and practice your speech, you find yourself becoming a proponent of a particular
viewpoint, you may need to step back and assess whether your orientation has shifted from
information to persuasion. If you do not think you can make your speech objective, save the topic for
a persuasive speech.

Nothing betrays the image of objectivity that is essential in an informative speech as quickly as the
inappropriate use of language. For example, in an informative speech on the pros and cons of
juvenile curfew laws, one of our students used language that telegraphed his personal opinion on
the issue. Even when explaining the arguments for such laws, he described them as “silly,” “costly,”
and “unenforceable.” In an informative speech, your language should be descriptive, rather than
evaluative or judgmental.

Be Specific
At times we have had students tell us they will deliver a brief informative speech on “sports.” This
topic is far too broad and reflects little or no planning. Many of us know a little about a lot of subjects.
An informative speech gives you the perfect opportunity to fill in the gaps by telling your audience a
lot about a little. Narrow your topic. To help you do that, we have suggested in this chapter that you
focus on specific people, objects, places, activities and events, processes, concepts, conditions, and
issues. Your “sports” topic could be narrowed to sports commentators; the history of AstroTurf;
Forest Hills, former home of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships; competitive team sports and
male bonding; and so on. The more specific you are about your topic, your purpose, and the
materials you use to support your speech, the more time you will save during your research. Your
specific focus will also make your speech easier for the audience to remember.

Be Clear
If you choose your topic carefully and explain it thoroughly, your message should be clear. Do not
choose a topic that is too complex. If your speech topic is Boolean polynomials or the biochemistry
of bovine growth hormone, you run the risk of being too technical for most audiences. You would
never be able to give your audience the background knowledge necessary to understand your
presentation in the limited time you have. At the same time, be careful about using jargon.
Impressing the audience with your vocabulary is counterproductive if they cannot understand your
message. The purpose of informative speaking is not to impress the audience with complex data,
but to communicate information clearly.
Be Accurate
Information that is inaccurate does not inform; it misinforms and has two negative consequences.
First, inaccuracies can hurt your credibility as a speaker. If listeners recognize misstatements, they
may begin to question the speaker’s credibility: “If the speaker’s wrong about that, could there be
other inaccuracies in the speech?” Accurate statements help you develop a positive image or protect
one you have established earlier.
Second, inaccurate information can do potential harm to listeners. Such harm can be mental or
physical. For example, you give an informative speech on the life threatening reactions some people
have to sulfites, a common ingredient in certain food preservatives. Your audience leaves the class
worried about their health and the damage they may have suffered. You neglected to mention that
these reactions are rare. Your misinformation has harmed your audience. If audience members are
unaware of factual errors, they may form beliefs that are not valid or make decisions that are not
wise.
Not only should your information be accurate, but you must accurately cite the sources you used to
develop your speech. Some speakers assume that because they do not take a controversial stand in
an informative speech, they need not cite sources. An informative topic may require fewer sources
than you would use to establish your side of a debatable point. Demonstrating the truth of your ideas
and information is nevertheless important. Also, you must cite the sources for any quotations.

Limit Your Ideas and Supporting Materials

Perhaps the most common mistake speakers make in developing the content of their speeches is
including too much information. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the more information you
put into a speech, the more informative it is. Listeners cannot process all, or even most, of what you
present. If you overload your audience with too much information, they will stop listening. Remember
the adage that “less is more.”
To spend more time explaining and developing a few ideas will probably result in greater retention of
these ideas by your listeners than the “speed and spread” approach.

Be Relevant
As you research your topic, you will no doubt discover information that is interesting but not central
to your thesis. Because it is so interesting, you may be tempted to include it. Don’t. If it is not
relevant, leave it out.
One student, Larry, delivered an intriguing informative speech on the Jains, a tribe of monks
in India whose daily life is shaped by reverence for all living things. As you might guess, the
Jains are vegetarians. But they don’t eat vegetables that develop underground because
harvesting them may kill insects in the soil. Larry had done a good deal of research on this
fascinating topic, including his own travels in India. His firsthand knowledge was both a
blessing and a curse. Listening to a speaker who had visited the Jains’s monasteries
certainly made the topic immediate and compelling. But because he knew so much about the
country, Larry included a lot of information about India that was interesting but irrelevant to
his main point. His speech became much too long.
To avoid this problem and to keep yourself on track, write out your central thesis and refer to it
periodically. When you digress from your topic, you waste valuable preparation time, distort the
focus of your speech, and confuse your audience.

Use Appropriate Organization

There is no one best organizational pattern for informative speeches. You choose the pattern that is
most appropriate to your topic and specific purpose. However, some patterns are inappropriate for
an informative speech. While a pro–con approach is appropriate, a pro–con-assessment strategy
moves the speech into persuasion. Problem–solution and need–plan patterns are also inherently
persuasive. The motivated sequence strategy, is also traditionally used for persuasive, not
informative, speeches. Again, this chapter offers suggestions for selecting an appropriate
organizational pattern. If you have any doubt that your organization is informative rather than
persuasive, check with your instructor.

Use Appropriate Forms of Support

As with persuasive speeches, speeches to inform require appropriate supporting materials. These
materials should come from sources that are authoritative and free from bias. If you discuss a
controversial issue, you must represent each side fairly. For example, if your specific purpose is to
inform your audience on the effects of bilingual education, you must research and present
information from both its proponents and its critics.

Use Effective Delivery

Some speakers have a misconception that delivery is more important for a persuasive speech than
for an informative speech. Regardless of the type of speech, show your involvement in your speech
through your physical and vocal delivery. The suggestions offered are appropriate for the speaker
who informs as well as the speaker who persuades. Your voice and body should reinforce your
interest in and enthusiasm for your topic. Your delivery should also reinforce your objectivity. If you
find your gestures, body tension, or voice conveying an emotional urgency, you have likely slipped
into persuasion.
After reading this chapter you should know the principles and characteristics of informative speaking,
understand how they contribute to effective speaking, and be able to apply them as you prepare
your speeches.