Informative Speech Topics

Before I get into how to choose an informative speech topic, I’m going to briefly discuss what an informative speech should accomplish.

Firstly, informative speeches are used to teach the audience a new subject or skill. Lectures and demonstrations are examples of informative speeches. Most business presentations would be classified as informative speech topics. The newspaper offers a road map for how to think of a informative speeches. Here is an example of a “lead” paragraph:

“WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson took the lead in crafting a rescue plan for ailing mortgage giants Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac, a move that appears to have staved off an imminent crisis but one that draws the federal government into an ever bigger role managing the American economy.”

Notice how the lead of the story answers six basic questions:

  1. Who? Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
  2. What? Created a rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
  3. When? Today.
  4. Where? Washington.
  5. Why? To stave off an imminent economic crisis.
  6. How? With federal government funding.

The goal of an informative speech topic is to answer these six questions. As you are writing out the presentation, ask yourself whether or not you are answering the six basic questions.

Sample Informative Speech Topics

To help you brainstorm an idea for an informative speech topic, I’ve come up with a list of ten possible topics that you could use for a business presentation.

  1. How to prevent Identity Theft in the workplace?
  2. What are the environmental consequences of the Gulf Oil spill?
  3. How can Facebook advertising increase revenues?
  4. Is lifestyle design, as promoted by Tim Ferriss all hype?
  5. What is cloud computing and how does it affect your business?
  6. How to increase sales in a down economy?
  7. What stocks are the top fund managers investing in 2010?
  8. How to create your personal brand using Twitter?
  9. What is the difference between outsourcing and offshoring?
  10. What teacher tools can help parents with math problems for their children?