Exam 15: Speaking to Inform

Despite the fact that the prefix info is in the word infomercials, their only purpose is to persuade you to buy a product.

The terms "informatory" and "explanatory" can be used interchangeably.

The primary goal of informatory communication is to create or increase audience awareness about a topic area.

Your textbook illustrates several basic components for all informative presentations with the following labels: Topic Area Purpose Central Idea Value Step Organization Key Points Select an informative presentation topic you have heard or read about, have used for a research assignment or speech, or might use for an upcoming presentation. Provide the information you would put next to each of the six components listed above to demonstrate your understanding of these components. If you cannot think of a topic, try one of the following: (a) giving blood; (b) moving to a new city; (c) caring for an elderly parent; (d) popular movies; (e) creationism; (f) exercise; or (g) a sport.

You should use only typical examples when explaining a difficult term.

If you were giving a presentation to a group of women about how to succeed in business, which of the following jokes might you use? Justify your choice. How does the example help you accomplish your purpose? Example #1: To get ahead in business today, a woman is expected to look like a girl, behave like a lady, think like a man, and work like a dog. Example #2: The businesswoman today has to be twice as good as a man. Fortunately, that's not hard.

Asking the audience to actively participate in a presentation keeps them alert and interested.

In a presentation about complexity theory, a speaker compares the concepts of order, complexity, and chaos to different states of water: ice, liquid, and steam. What strategy for explaining a quasi-scientific phenomena did the speaker use?

Walter Fisher's Narrative Theory claims that stories have two essential qualities: character development and a high point or climax.

Explain two of the four strategies for explaining a quasi-scientific concept in an exploratory presentation. Provide an example of each strategy to demonstrate your understanding of each strategy and why they work in this kind of informative presentation.

Compare and contrast the strategies for clarifying a difficult term with the strategies for explaining a quasi-scientific phenomenon. In other words, what are the key differences in these strategies, and why are they unique to the specific type of explanatory function?

In informative presentations, inexperienced speakers often do not spend enough time talking about features and functions rather than benefits.

According to Katherine Rowan's Theory of Informatory and Explanatory Communication, which of the following presentation purposes is more informatory than explanatory?

"Each little pig built a home. One was made of straw and one was made of sticks. The most industrious pig built a house of bricks…" is an example of character development.

If there's a good reason for you to make a presentation, there should be a good reason for your audience to listen.

Speakers who use a value step tell audience members WIIFT.

The biggest challenge when explaining a quasi-scientific phenomenon is identifying the key components of the phenomenon.

The correct order for the three middle sections of a story in the textbook's Story-Building Chart is: action/conflict, high point or climax, and punch line.

"Rather than wasting or throwing away cracked eggs, proper cooking procedures will make sure that you can cook a perfect hard-boiled egg." This statement is an example of a(n)

Every good story avoids having a lesson you want the audience to understand, appreciate, and remember.