Informative Speech

Assignment requirement:

• Consistent eye contact

• Volume

• Appropriate gestures, good posture, and a strong stance.

• At least three different sources cited

• An introduction that gets the attention of the audience, introduces yourself and your topic, relates the topic to your audience, establishes your credibility as a speaker, and previews your main points.

• Transitions before each main point.

• A conclusion that signals the end of your presentation, summarizes your main points, and ends on a strong statement.

Reference:

• Here's How You Make a Quick and Perfect Introduction (Follow this example and your audience will be hooked.)

• How to Keep Your Audience From Tuning Out (Competition for attention is stiffer than ever. Here are six ways to get people listening.)

  1. Ask a question

  2. News item or statistic

  3. Interesting statement

  4. Quote

  5. Short story

  6. Humor

• How to END a speech with power and impact

Outline:

Speech Topic: Communication Skills in Teamwork

Introduction:

Attention:

A story, asking my mom to buy a good CPU.

When I was a high school student, I was very interested in Computer.

According to Wikipedia, A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. Blah blah…

Explaining it in other word, a CPU is just like your son’s brain!

Reveal (yourself and your topic):

Well, my name is Qingquan Li. Today, I’m going to talk about the Communication Skills in Teamwork.

Relate (the topic to your audience):

Most of us would work in a team, and we must learn how to communicate with our team members.

Credibility (why are you credible to speak on this topic):

I had worked with a sales team as a software developer in China before I immigrated to the U.S. I learned how to explain complex IT problems to the sales team.

I am working in a Machine Learning research team now with a BMCC professor and some cuny students who come from different countries. I learned how to communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds.
I also did some research on teamwork communication skills. I will show you later.

Preview (what will your main points be? Short summary, like a thesis):

We might work with team members from different backgrounds. There are three important communication skills that can help you succeed in teamwork.

Transition #1: Let me show you. The first communication skill in teamwork is…

Main Point #1: Expressing ourselves in clear language

In Robert Lingard’s article “Improving the Teaching of Teamwork Skills in Engineering and Computer Science,” he indicates that “students have been conditioned to work independently in most of their educational careers and are reluctant to freely talk to others on the team”

- Improve teamwork efficiency

- Completing a project requires collaboration and clear communication

- Explaining complex issues clearly can lead to the success of teamwork

Transition #2: Let’s move on, the second communication skill in teamwork is…

Main Point #2: Staying curious in communication

Julia Dhar’s TED Talk “How to have constructive conversations” indicates the importance of staying curious to build constructive conversations.
- To gain new knowledge

- Learn from others' successful experiences

- Understand each other better

Transition #3: Last but not least,

Main Point #3: Being respectful

In the book “Bringing Respect Back: Communicating Without the Conflict” by Don Olund, the author tells us how to improve relationships by showing respect.

- To gain support from each other

- To gain friendships

- Solve problems together

Conclusion:

Signal –   To conclude

Summary – We learned three essential teamwork communication skills, the first one is expressing ourselves in clear language, the second one is staying curious in communication, and the third one is being respectful.

Strong Statement – I believe that mastering these three communication skills will go a long way to our success in the future.

References:

Dhar, Julia. “How to have constructive conversations.” TED, March 2021,

https://www.ted.com/talks/julia_dhar_how_to_have_constructive_conversations.

Accessed 20 April 2022.

Lingard, Robert. “Improving the Teaching of Teamwork Skills in Engineering and Computer

Science.” Journal of systemics, cybernetics and informatics, Vol.8 (6), 2010-12-01, p.20-23.

Olund, Don. Bringing Respect Back: Communicating Without the Conflict. Createspace

Independent Pub, 2013.