Do you know those long monologues people hold on various occasions or in a formal, business setting, called speeches? Well, you probably tuned out many times before and did not notice that there were two types of speeches: informative and persuasive. Dare we ask if you remember which type of speech you have heard more often? If you cannot tell, read the following article to find out which is which.
Summary Table
| Informative Speech | Persuasive Speech |
| Is intended to deliver information | Is intended to convince people to do or believe something in particular |
| Can be as entertaining and engaging as the speaker makes it | Usually is entertaining and engaging because it has a purpose |
Definitions
An informative speech is used to educate and train the audience. It implies having a certain volume of information that needs to be transmitted to the public. This type of speech can be practiced in companies when a new product or service is introduced and the personnel need to be trained to work with it or sell it, or when a merger or another such event will cause changes in the company and people need to understand how the company structure will change.
Giving an informative speech means having people leave with information they did not have coming in. Such a speech is as entertaining as the speaker makes it. Generally, this means including large volumes of information which are not easily digested, but it all depends on how the speaker presents it, how engaging he makes his content and how well he can couple the new information to pre-existing knowledge just to make it more relatable.
A persuasive speech is intended to convince you to do or believe something when you are done listening. It can be a sales speech, a motivational speech or anything that includes calls to action, advice on how to do something and encouragement in this respect. Good speakers will give out a lot of useful information and keep the public entertained and engaged because the stakes are high at the end. They need those who have listened to the speech to get up and do something specific, and this is why the speech must be delivered very well.
A persuasive speech is difficult to deliver as some people come in to the event reluctant to whatever the speaker has to say, and set on not changing their minds. It’s the talent of every speaker that makes the difference in this case.
Informative speech vs Persuasive speech
So what is the difference between an informative speech and a persuasive speech?
- An informative speech is only aimed at presenting given information, to educate and train. The persuasive speech is aimed at convincing you to believe or do something very specific. There is an end to whatever you are listening to, and more effort is put into keeping you entertained just so that you will act on whatever the speech was about.
- Although persuasive speeches are much more engaging and interesting, making the public more attentive and entertained, they still need to be delivered. This means that informative speeches, with their smaller stakes, are easier to deliver.
