What Are the Different Types of Public Speaking?

Public speaking opportunities come in many shapes and forms. But for right now, you should be concerned with just four.

And yes, they’re pretty different.

But like I said before, the key to being a good speaker is to align your communication goals with one of these four types (depending on your message, of course).

The Informative Technique

This type of public speaking focuses on explaining a concept or idea to the audience.

Informative speakers tend to focus on specific subject matter, such as people, events, places, stories and so on.

Examples could include a college professor holding a lecture on a particular subject, or a company’s senior executive giving a presentation on last year’s sales.

Man giving a speech to a class - an informative lecture - one of the types of public speaking

If you’re opting for an informative approach, then be sure to do two crucial things.

First, research your topic like crazy. You need to know the ins and outs of your content by heart.

Second, and more importantly, you have to keep your speech (or presentation) short and simple. Nobody wants to sit for an hour just to be informed about something. We have Animal Planet for that.

The Persuasive Technique

This is the bread and butter of public speaking and presentations; indeed, it’s widely perceived as the power-move of public speaking.

Persuasive speaking is the act of convincing members of your audience to do something, based on them agreeing with your viewpoint.

In this technique, the spectrum of persuasion is broad: You can get your audience members to agree to buy a product, take on a new lifestyle, or even conform to a particular political opinion.

Lawyers, politicians, and salespeople all use this technique to their benefit, and if you want to persuade your audience to do something, then you should too.

Lawyer giving his case a - a persuasive illustration - one of the types of public speaking

There is more than one way to practice persuasive speaking effectively to capitalize on public speaking opportunities. But, for right now, here are some tips to get you going:

  • Embed emotion into your message.
  • Use the AIDA principle.
  • Prepare for any questions audience members may have after your speech or presentation.
  • If you’re using slides, then delete the Thank You slide from your deck.

The Demonstrative Technique

This one’s a little debatable because it focuses more on the actions omitted during a speech or presentation rather than the words being spoken.

Still, it’s worth talking about.

Demonstrative speeches are ones where the speaker performs actions, and clearly explains those actions in the process.

The idea is to engage the audience in both verbal and non-verbal communicational methods. By doing so, the speaker has a better chance to get the message across to the audience.

Have you ever witnessed a cheesy product infomercial? You know, the ones where the host goes on and on about some product and shows you all the features?

Infomercial spoof - there has to be a better way - in line with the demonstrative speech - one of the types of public speaking

That’s considered an example of demonstrative speaking.

Other examples include scientific revelations or even role-playing scenarios.

If you’re thinking about going with this technique, then it’s important to focus on both the verbal (i.e. the content of the speech) and non-verbal (i.e. body language, facial expression, actions conducted, etc.) aspects of communication.  Be sure you don’t miss a beat. Both need to go together to make your demonstration benefit your public speaking efforts.

Whatever you choose to do, be sure you don’t punch yourself in the face as this presenter did.

The Ceremonial Technique

Ceremonial speeches are all about giving speeches during special occasions (such as weddings, birthdays, graduations, and so on).

The goal of ceremonial speaking is to trigger an emotional response from an audience. It’s all about fostering an emotional connection with the people who are taking the time to listen to you.

woman giving ceremonial speech in a graduation - a ceremonial speech - one of the types of public speaking

If you’re going for this approach, then talk about the things that will bring you and your audience closer together, in a way that unites everybody in the room.

For example, if you’re asked to prepare a speech at a graduation ceremony, it would be a good idea to talk about the bright futures that lie ahead for the graduates. It wouldn’t hurt to talk about how parents and guardians could support the graduates either.