13.3 Purpose and Occasion

The types of speeches are generally sorted into three categories: informative, persuasive, and ceremonial (or entertaining). The lines between the three can get blurry: informative speeches might be selling a particular point of view, while persuasive speeches usually have to be based on information and can take place during a ceremony of some kind. And while “to inform” and “to persuade” are specific goals, “ceremonial” says more about when and where the speech occurs, not what purpose it serves: To honor a person or group of people? To commemorate an occasion? To make the audience laugh? To bring people together in times of trouble? That depends on the occasion. Just as with movie genres, these labels don’t have to be restrictive (“That movie can’t have jokes in it, it’s a drama!”), but they do help the person creating the speech stay focused on what they are trying to accomplish, and remind them that the audience can have expectations that should be met.

Informative speeches include the one I heard on my Everglades tour, a TED talk, a podcast, or any speech from which the audience expects to learn something. When creating an informative speech, consider these questions about your audience:

• What does the audience already know about the topic?
• What new information would they find interesting?
• How can you relate your new information to what they already know? Where will it fit in their “knowledge structure”? What are they likely to be skeptical of because they have heard otherwise?
• What misconceptions can you clear up?
• When will they hit the “information overload” point? (See Chapter 4)
• How can you make the information understandable? How can you relate it to their lives?
• What terms do you want them to learn?
• What simple lessons do you want them to take away from the speech? If someone later asks “What was the speech about?,” how can an audience member answer that succinctly?

Because the line between informative and persuasive speeches can be a little fuzzy, you might also ask: will the audience be put off if you try to “sell” them something, whether it’s an idea, a point of view, or an actual product? If you have strong feelings about the topic, will expressing those feelings enhance your speech or detract from it? (See Chapter 8).

Persuasive speeches have a more explicit goal of changing the audience’s attitude toward something, or getting them to start or stop a behavior. See Chapter 6 [LINK] for ideas about what persuasion can look like and how to do it effectively, and Chapter 7[LINK] for how to argue for a position. Some of the same audience questions apply:

• What does the audience know about the topic? Do they already have an opinion? If so, are you trying to change their opinion, or reinforce it? If they don’t already have an opinion, what related opinions will bring them on board with your point of view? If the audience is likely to be split on the topic, what strategies will you use to address a mixed audience? (See Chapter 5 – LINK).
• How much will your persuasive appeal rest on logic (the “rider” in the elephant-rider-path model from Chapter 6 – LINK TO 6.3), how much on emotion (the “elephant” component), and how much on your credibility (Chapter 9 – LINK)? If emotion is one of the key components, what emotions do you want the audience to feel?
• If your credibility is one of the pillars on which your speech rests, how can you convey that you are knowledgeable, trustworthy, and worth listening to? If you don’t want the speech to rest on your credibility, what other authorities can you use?
• Why might your audience be resistant to your message, and how can you overcome that resistance?
• Are you trying to change an attitude, or a behavior? If it’s a behavior, what exactly do you want the audience to do?
• Using the Yale 5-step model (Chapter 6 – LINK TO 6.D), how can you get their attention, make sure the message is understandable, and get them to accept it, remember it, and act on it?

Ceremonial speeches vary widely based on the type of ceremony: birthday, wedding, anniversary, funeral, award ceremony, grand opening of a building or monument, celebration of an accomplishment, recognition of grief over a loss, formal thanks, or just fun. Questions to consider when writing a ceremonial speech include:

• Why are people gathered?
• What mood are they likely to be in? What emotions are appropriate or inappropriate to express for the occasion? Is humor appropriate? If so, how might the humor go wrong? (For example, the audience could be offended, miss an “inside joke,” or just not find it funny.)
• Does everyone in the audience know everything about the situation, and if not, what should they be told? Even if it is not “information,” what do you want to remind the audience of? For example, many national celebration speeches (such as the 4th of July in America) don’t contain any new information, but are valuable reminders of the best qualities of the country.
• Will your speech be one of many speeches? If so, what will other speakers say, and how will yours fit in?
• What simple theme do you want people to remember from your speech?