Speaking to Inform: Analysis of Speeches on iPod and Sports

This assignment analyzes informative speaking techniques through the lens of Steve Jobs' presentation of the iPod and a discussion on the benefits of investing in sports. The first part examines Jobs' speech as a demonstration, highlighting its strengths in simplifying complex information through visual aids, while also noting its slightly slow pace. The second part focuses on crafting informative speeches about sports investment for audiences in the USA and India, considering their differing psychographic characteristics. For the US, the focus is on the potential of ice hockey, while for India, the emphasis is on football, and the overall message centers on the economic and global image benefits of sports development. The assignment references the works of Niebuhr et al., O'Hair, Rubenstein & Stewart, Lim & Pendersen, and Stojanov.

Running head: SPEAKING TO INFORM
SPEAKING TO INFORM
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1SPEAKING TO INFORM
Part 1.
In this post, in order to answer the questions related to informative speeches, this post
will be taking Steve Job’s speech while launching the iPod.
The form of informative speaking used by Steve Jobs for the launch of the iPod, is
that of a speech of demonstration, where he vividly described the various special features of
the device, while visually demonstrating the usage of the device in front of the audience.
In a speech of demonstration, the speaker briefs the audience about the step-by-step
processes of an activity, or about an occurrence, usually by visually aiding them with the
steps. In other words, the speaker explains the audience about how exactly to do something,
or how a particular activity is done or takes place.
The most appealing part of this speech of demonstration by Steve Jobs, is the way in
which he simplifies the usage of a complex and innovative device, which was previously
unknown by the audience (Niebuhr et al., 2016). The speech was perfectly decipherable
because of the perfect and crisp visual aids that Jobs provided the audience with, in order to
convey the knowledge to the audience. The way in which he made a demonstrative speech
interactive in nature was commendable as well.
The least appealing part of this speech however, was the pace of the speech, which
was apparently a little bit more tardy than required. This could have led to losing the attention
of the audience, if it were not for the interesting nature of the topic itself.
As the speaker, the one thing which I would have done differently in this case would
be to simply be more dynamic on stage and regulate the pace of the speech at times to keep
the audience entertained.

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Part 2.
Topic: The importance of investing in the development of sports in a country.
Purpose: To inform the audience about how investing in sports can prove to be fruitful for a
nation.
Audiences: The population of United States; the population of India.
How the message conveying the importance of investing in sports will be sent to the
audience, depends on analysing the psychographic characteristics of the target audience of
USA and India respectively (O’Hair, Rubenstein & Stewart, 2007). Currently, basketball,
baseball and American football hold the positions for the two of the most popular sports in
America. However, ice-hockey too shows a potential for being highly popular in the nation;
perhaps as popular as baseball is (Lim & Pendersen, 2018). While addressing how investing
in sports can be fruitful for a nation, a speaker must use an explanatory form of informative
speech in order to communicate to the audience about the statistics that ice-hockey has
exhibited over the last decades in the country. Focus should be on how much the government
alongside the sports organizations in the country have been investing in the sport, and also
refer to the craze of the sport outside of USA which can also be the scenario in the US itself,
if the sport grows in the country. They should be clearly explained why and how the sport has
been taken casually by the audience in recent times, despite its potential (Stojanov, 2018).
The message should be statistically correct and motivating in order to persuade the audience
into buying the intended message, referring to the popularity of the sport in Canada.
However, while structuring the same message for the population of India, focus
should be more on football than any other sport. Facts and statistics must compel the
audience about how talented their footballers are, and informing them about the insignificant
investment that takes place to develop the sport in the country. The style of the speech

3SPEAKING TO INFORM
delivery would be different from the previous case, as in this case, a more descriptive form of
informative as well as persuasive speech style is needed to be adopted. The descriptive style
of speech should also include how much football matters around the rest of the world, and
how much the football fanatics in the country want the sport to succeed in the nation. The
overall message should be themed on how emerging as a footballing nation to reckon with,
can improve India’s image on a global scale, and earn significant economic benefits for the
country since it is the most popular sport in the world.

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References
Lim, N., & Pedersen, P. M. (2018). Examining Determinants of Sport Event Attendance: A
Multilevel Analysis of a Major League baseball Season. Journal of Global Sport
Management, 1-18.
Niebuhr, O., Brem, A., Novák-Tót, E., & Voße, J. (2016). Charisma in business speeches: A
contrastive acoustic-prosodic analysis of Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. In Proc.
8th International Conference of Speech Prosody, Boston, USA (pp. 79-82).
O'Hair, D., Rubenstein, H., & Stewart, R. A. (2007). A pocket guide to public speaking.
Bedford/St. Martin's.
Stojanov, D., Martel, K., Workman, A., & Mcgregor, S. J. (2018). Use Of Player Worn
Sensors To Identify Fatigue During A Usa Select National Hockey Development
Camp: 2757 Board# 40 June 1 2. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 50(5S),
672.

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