How to Write and Give an Informative “How To” Speech

The goal of a “How To” or demonstrative speech is to provide step by step directions on how to accomplish an activity, task, goal, plan and the list goes on.  This article provides individual steps to follow for writing and delivering a compelling “how to” speech that leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

Establish Baseline Knowledge on Your Topic

When you are preparing a “how to” speech, it is important to ascertain the baseline knowledge that the majority of your audience has on the given topic.  This information helps you determine how much explanation you will provide on foundational concepts related to the topic. Ideally you can get the answers to these questions ahead of your speech so that you can plan and practice accordingly, but you can also poll the audience at the start of a speech to get the same information.  Keep in mind that some participants may be hesitant to share how little they know about a particular topic in the company of others.  If that is the case or if you are generally unsure, err on the side of over explaining details related to your main and supporting points vs. making assumptions and potentially confusing your audience.

What Happens When We Make Assumptions

I recently decided that I wanted to learn how to make sourdough bread.  While I am comfortable in the kitchen and love to cook, making bread was fairly unfamiliar to me and therefore I needed to find articles and videos that broke down even the simplest details related to making sourdough bread.  Many articles that stated they were geared towards beginners would mention various stages of the process such as “autolyse” and “bulk rise” and not fully explain what those various stages really meant and why they were important.  Specific tools were mentioned such as a “banneton poofing basket” and I would have to leave the article and google what the heck that means and do I actually need to buy one?? Having to jump between articles and google slowed down my process and created some frustration.  My wish was that there was a “how to” article geared towards true beginners and therefore explained every last detail of the process.  

If your article or speech is a beginner type of speech on a topic, make no assumptions that the audience understands any language, or abbreviations associated with your topic.  Take the time to explain any foundational concepts associated with your topic.  

Beginning

Ask a Thought-Provoking Question

Asking a thought-provoking question to start a speech is a compelling way to share fact related to the topic you are about to explain. 

Example: If your speech topic is “How to Maximize the Value of College Scholarships You Receive,” the leading through-provoking question might be “Did you know that each year approximately $100 million in allocated college scholarships go unclaimed due to lack of applicants from high school students or other?”  If your topic is “How to Grow and Preserve Enough Root Vegetables to Feed a Family of 4 for a Year,” the leading question might be “Did you know that Americans throw away approximately 30-40% of the produce that they buy every year simply because the produce goes bad before they have time to use it?”  The goal of this beginning question is to provide a strong data point right at the start that focuses the attention of your audience.

Start with the Takeaway

At the start of the speech, let your audience members know what knowledge they will amass at the end of your presentation. Summarizing key points or expected take aways is great way to get them excited about the presentation at the very beginning. “By the end of this presentation, you will have a step-by-step playbook on how to find and apply for the maximum number of college scholarships” or “After this presentation, you will have the playbook to successfully grow and preserve enough broccoli to last the entire year.”

Detailing what knowledge they will walk away with accomplishes two things:

1) Better commands the audience’s attention since you have made the deliverable crystal clear.  This is especially important if you are speaking to an audience of middle school or high school students who may feel the pull of their cell phone during your speech. Actually let’s be real here….adults too.

2) Generates excitement surrounding the topic.

Middle

Main Ideas

For each of your main ideas, provide step-by-step instructions on what the listener needs to do to understand and eventually undertake the various steps.  Visual aids such as images and videos are excellent ways to reinforce your key points.  Remember that you are going to explain any terminology related to the topic that the audience may not understand.  If you are speaking to a more advanced audience and have determined that foundational knowledge related to the topic is in place, you can skip some of the basics. Sharing a personal story is a powerful way to provide real world examples of your main points.  “I was so excited when I was accepted into my dream college but then reality quickly set in. If I wasn’t able to offset approximately $20,000 in annual tuition costs, I wouldn’t be able to afford this college.  I knew there were many scholarships available but felt overwhelmed and unsure of where to start.  I decided to meet with our high school counselor. She outlined a step-by-step process that I could follow to uncover the maximum number of scholarships for which I could apply”

Supporting Points

Think of supporting points as the details exampling a main topic.  

• Main Idea = Types of Scholarships Funds Available
• Supporting Points = Private Scholarships, Public Scholarships
• Main Idea = Ways to Locate Available Scholarships
• Supporting Points = Scholarship Database Search, Outreach to Local Non-Profits

The Main idea is explaining that there are different types of scholarships available at a somewhat high level and then each supporting point is explaining each particular type of scholarship, in greater detail. More of the step-by-step instructions or how to’s are happening in the supporting points.

End

Final Statement

Summarize, at a high level, what you just explained to your audience.  Restate the take-away and confirm that the audience now has the knowledge to begin undertaking the task or activity that they set out to learn. Depending on your remaining time, you can ask if anyone has questions and proceed with answering specific questions.

Speech Structure

Below is an example of the proposed speech structure, in outline form. You may have more or less main ideas and supporting points based on your topic. Remember to use visual aids liberally if they can further communicate your ideas.

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