Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Module: Week 11 of 16 · Fall 2026 · in-person, two 75-minute sessions + one weekly Speech Workshop
Objective covered: Objective 7 — Compose and deliver an informative speech that conveys knowledge clearly and accurately, using credible cited evidence, appropriate organizational structure, and effective vocal and physical delivery.

This file holds two pieces: (A) the Module 11 Overview page ("Start Here") and (B) the Module Announcement that drips out when the module opens. Dates below assume a Tuesday/Thursday pattern with Week 11 meeting Tue Nov 3 and Thu Nov 5, a Speech Workshop that same week, and end-of-week work due Sunday Nov 8, 11:59 p.m.

(A) Module 11 Overview — Start Here

Welcome to Week 11: Informative Speaking

This is your home base for the week. Read it first, then work the checklist below from top to bottom.

This week you reach the term's first major headline speech: the Informative Speech. For seven weeks you've been building the tools — a clear specific purpose and thesis, credible research with properly-cited evidence, a well-organized outline, precise and vivid language, confident delivery. This week you put all of it into one speech that does exactly one thing: teach your audience something they didn't know before, clearly, accurately, and without taking a side.

That last part is the test. An informative speech conveys knowledge — it describes, explains, or demonstrates — and it takes no position. The moment you start advocating for a view, arguing that your audience should do something, or choosing evidence selectively to win them over, you've crossed the line into persuasion. Understanding where that line is, and staying on your side of it, is this week's core skill.

The week's big question

"How do I teach my audience something they didn't know — clearly, accurately, and without an agenda?"

By Friday you'll know the types of informative speeches, the strategies that make information land (and the ones that cause overload), and you'll have built and delivered your full informative speech.

By the end of this week, you can…

• [ ] Distinguish an informative speech from a persuasive one — explain why an informative speech takes no position and conveys knowledge only.
• [ ] Classify informative speeches by type — object, process, event, concept — and choose the right type for your topic.
• [ ] Apply clarity and retention strategies — clear organization, defining terms, using examples and analogies, signposting, managing information load.
• [ ] Compose and deliver a complete informative speech (4–6 minutes) with a clear specific purpose, thesis, 2–3 main points, and at least two credible oral citations to real, verified sources.

What's due this week, and when

The Informative Speech is your term's first full headline recorded speech. Give yourself time to research, outline, rehearse, and record it — this is a real speech with credible cited sources, not a quick exercise.

Late policy reminder: 10% off per day late. If life happens, reach out before the deadline.

How to succeed this week

• Test your purpose against the line. Before writing a word, ask: "Am I teaching, or am I arguing?" Your specific purpose starts with "To inform my audience about ___" and the body of the speech never pushes a conclusion on the audience.
• Research first, outline second. You need at least two credible, verified sources with oral citations. Find them before you write your main points — the evidence shapes the structure, not the other way around.
• Analogies are your best clarity tool. When you explain something technical or unfamiliar, an analogy — "think of it like ___" — is often worth more than three extra facts.
• Watch one real informative talk before recording yours. David Gallo's "Underwater Astonishments" (linked in H) is a textbook example — no advocacy, pure information, vivid and organized. Watch it once for content and once for delivery.
• Verify every source before citing it. The AI coach may suggest source ideas; every source you cite must be one you personally looked up and confirmed is real. That habit starts now and carries through every speech this term.

(B) Module Announcement — Week 11

Release setting: post on the module's start day, Tue Nov 3, 2026 — not before.

Subject: Week 11 — Your Informative Speech is here 🎙️

Hi everyone,

This is the week we've been building toward since Week 3: your first full Informative Speech. Everything you've practiced — a clear specific purpose, a solid outline, credible research with oral citations, confident delivery — comes together in one speech this week.

The defining rule of an informative speech is simple but easy to blur: you teach, you don't argue. You pick a topic, research it honestly, organize your knowledge clearly, and present it to an audience so they understand something they didn't before — full stop. No position. No agenda. No "and that's why you should ___." The second your speech starts nudging the audience toward a conclusion, it stops being informative and starts being persuasive. This week's job is to know the line and stay on your side of it.

Three things not to miss:

1. Lecture Tutorial 11 — work through the concepts (informative types, clarity strategies, the informative/persuasive distinction) with one approved chatbot and submit the share link. Due Sun Nov 8.
2. Speech Workshop 11 — draft your specific purpose, thesis, main points, and one verified oral citation; record a 60–90-sec excerpt of your speech; self-assess it. Due Sun Nov 8.
3. Assignment 11 — the Informative Speech — your full 4–6-minute recorded speech, with the AI coach scaffolding your research, outline, and rehearsal. The coach's self-scored report (first line: STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100) plus your recording are due Sun Nov 8.

Research your sources before you write your outline — and verify every one of them yourself. A credible oral citation is one you looked up, not one an AI handed you. Come to class ready to discuss the informative/persuasive line with an example.

See you Tuesday,
Prof. Marchetti