Informative Speech - Topic Brainstorming Activity

Instructions:

For the upcoming Informative Speech, your goal is to inform the audience about a topic
that you are passionate about. Complete this worksheet with an open mind; even if you
already have a topic you’re considering, there could be a better topic that you
brainstorm.

① Start by brainstorming some possible topics:

List 5 of your favorite hobbies or List 5 of your favorite tv shows or

activities: movies:

1. Culinary Arts (cooking & eating) 1. Harry Potter

2. Humanitarian Activities (blood 2. Glee
donation) 3. The Walking Dead
3. Traveling 4. Doraemon
4. Physical & Outdoor Activities 5. Detective Conan
5. Leadership/People Development

List 5 of your favorite celebrities, List 5 things related to your major or

athletes, authors, or politicians: future career:

1. Jeremy Cowart 1. Restaurant

2. Daniel Lubetzky 2. Social Enterprise
3. Blake Mycoskie 3. Public Speaking/Training
4. Scott Harrison 4. Vietnamese youths from tough
5. Richard Branson backgrounds
5. Hanoi

List 5 of your favorite vacation spots, List 5 things you already know a lot
cities, countries, or other locations: about:

1. Hanoi, Vietnam 1. CV-writing

2. New York City, New York 2. Mentoring
3. Mountains 3. Table Etiquette
4. Beaches 4. Event Planning & Management
5. Bhutan, Japan, Africa 5. Blood Donation

② Narrow down your list of topics:

From the 30 possible topics listed above, narrow down the list to the 10 topics you
 think would be most interesting for the audience (i.e., your peers) to learn about:

1. Traveling
2. Vietnam
3. Vietnamese cuisine
4. Vietnamese culture
5. Writing a CV
6. Social entrepreneurship
7. Leadership styles
8. Meaningful activities
9. Table manners
10. Hiking

③ Think about which topics would be easiest to research:

From the 10 topics listed above, narrow down the list to the 5 topics you think would
be easiest to find credible sources about (e.g., news articles, journal articles, books,
websites):

1. Traveling
2. Food
3. Leadership
4. Meaningful Activities
5. Vietnam

④ Think about which topics you are most passionate about:

From the 5 topics listed above, narrow down the list to the 3 topics you would be
most excited to develop a speech about:

1. Vietnam & Vietnamese cuisine

2. Traveling
3. Leadership

⑤ Make your final selection:

Which topic will you select for your speech?

Solo Traveling
⑥ Thick about which organizational pattern to use:

There are four organizational patterns you can choose from for your speech:
chronological, spatial, cause-effect, or topical.

The main points of your speech are dictated by your chosen organizational pattern.

If you select a chronological pattern, your main points should represent

different moments in time (e.g., Main Point 1 = the 1950s, Main Point 2 = the
1960s).

If you choose a spatial pattern, each main point should be a different location
or area (e.g., Main Point 1 = the Midwest, Main Point 2 = The South).

For a cause-effect pattern, your first main point would be “causes” and the
second main point would be “effects.”

For a topical organizational pattern, your main points would be different

examples of a category related to your topic (e.g., Main Point 1 = Diesel Fuel,
Main Point 2 = Unleaded Fuel).

Brainstorm 2 potential organizational patterns for your selected topic and explain
what the main points of your speech would be for each.

 Topical: Why should we travel solo? What benefits it brings to us and other
stakeholders, such as businesses?
 Cause & Effect: Why do people travel solo & what benefits it will bring?

Submit this completed worksheet to Canvas. Then, use this brainstorming when you
officially select your topic on the Informative Speech Topic Selection Discussion Post.