Public Speaking The ACA Open Knowledge Online Guide

Informative Speakers Make the Topic Relevant
When you are selecting your topic and thinking about what you want to accomplish in your informative speech, two factors should drive your decision. Foremost, you want to select a topic that holds a high degree of interest for you (i.e. the topic is meaningful to you). Students who feel at a loss for topic ideas should turn their attention to their own lives and activities. If you like to play video games, you might give a speech about how they are made. If you have a passion for ska reggae music, you might bring in MP3 cuts to help define the boundaries of this music genre. If you have to work three jobs to help pay for school, you could give a speech on effective time management. Genuine curiosity will make the research and preparation process easier. Further, when you have enthusiasm for a topic it shows when you speak. On the other hand, if you do not really care about your topic, your audience is not likely to care either.

In addition to having relevance for you, it is crucial that you tie your topic directly to your listeners. Early in the speech give listeners at least one reason why they should care about your topic, and the ways in which in which the information will be beneficial or entertaining ¹⁰. Establishing a motive for your audience to listen to you is commonly referred to by the acronym WIIFM—“What’s in it for me?” This is what the audience consciously or unconsciously asks when you start speaking ¹¹. To establish WIIFM, you clearly link the topic to the listeners’ values, attitudes, beliefs and lifestyle. Consider not only what the audience wants to hear, but also what they need to hear ^2 12. Take the topic of retirement planning as an example. Younger listeners may not perceive this as relevant to their lives when they are not yet making a steady salary. But, if you can demonstrate how investing even a small amount every month can grow to a considerable nest egg by retirement age, and that getting into the habit of saving early can lower the number of years they have to work, the topic becomes more interesting for them.