The best way to find informational speech ideas is by looking at your own life and experiences.
Sure, you could talk about the cooking techniques of Benedictine Monks during the Middle Ages or the top three ways to rope a Russian yak.
And you might even do a good job.
But
you will speak more effectively, more convincingly, and with more
usefulness to your audience if you talk about a topic that you know
well.
It could be a hobby, a sport you play, a regular family vacation destination, a favorite book, or even a profile of a beloved pop star!
Ask yourself this - if someone woke me up from a deep sleep in the middle of the night and asked me to speak about a topic, which topic could I talk about with NO preparation?
Remember that the audience will know if you are not interested in your topic.
Seek a subject that builds your enthusiasm. Unlike with a persuasive speech, you are not seeking to influence opinion, but to inform. At the same time, you don't want to relay cold, factual information. You want to share information so that the audience can enjoy the knowledge, and ultimately benefit from it.
So try to find informational speech ideas for which you have passion. Your aim should be to present your topic whereby an audience member can use the information to improve their life, even if a small way.
To give you a jumpstart, here are several topic ideas for an informative speech.
Personal hobbies are a natural place to start when looking for ideas for informative speech topics.
A hobby is generally something you're enthusiastic about and have participated in long enough to know the topic reasonably well. Stamp collecting, crafts, writing, performing magic, etc. are all potential ideas.
Sports are a natural choice when looking for informational speech ideas. In our sports-crazed culture, many people are familiar with and passionate about sports and their teams.
Your informational speech can be useful by giving your audience a deeper level of knowledge about the rules, customs, and history of your favorite sport. Football fans, for example, would love to know about some of the characters and crazy plays in the early days of the game.
You can give a speech about an interesting person, perhaps even someone you are related to or who lives in your town.
It does not have to be somebody famous (although if you are related to a famous person, most people would be very interested)!
Perhaps one of your relatives was the founder of your town. Or maybe you know somebody that invented something interesting. It could be a little more mundane. Maybe your relative is head of the parks department or is an animal trainer at the local zoo.
What technologies interest you? Explain how a particular technology works and what it does for you. It could be a videogame, for example - find out more about who created the game and how the game developed, where did the coding take place, and what company backed the work. Do not just explain how something works. Describe how the subject matter impacts the audience too.
Has your family taken a vacation to an exotic place?
Tell the audience how you decided to go there, what transportation you took, what sights you passed on the way, and about the people and culture. Describe in vivid detail the style of dress, the food, and the weather. Discuss the daily lives of the people that live in the location.
In all cases, consider how you can relate the topic to the audience. If you are speaking about a country, tell the audience about the political structure of the nation. For example, discuss how the other government relates to the United States, trades with other parties, or cooperates militarily.
With informational speech ideas, the best thing to do is to find areas of interest that you can hook into the audience's personal lives. When you do that, your informational speech will shine - and so will you.
Are you still stuck on finding a topic to speak about that you like? Check out these good informative speech topics to give you some more ideas.
More tips...
Brainstorming techniques...
Topics to try...
Example informative speeches for inspiration...