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Business-Related Topics for an Informative Speech

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An informative speech is meant to deliver a specific message to an audience. A speech is made up of three main parts: the introduction, body and conclusion.

If you are asked to give an informative speech on a business-related topic, you must first consider your audience. Learn what company they work for, and what market the company serves. Find out whether you are giving the speech to the entire company or a specific niche within the company. Finally, determine what topic your speech will cover. Rather than speaking on several topics, focus on one that applies to your audience and that you have knowledge about.

Marketing

Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary defines marketing as "the process or technique of promoting, selling and distributing a product or service." Particularly if you are in a customer-driven industry, the topic of marketing is an important one for you and your colleagues. An informative speech on marketing could include the basic statistics on your company, as well as an overview of your company's history and present function. To delve deeper, the speech could then include statistics of your direct competitors. As marketing is usually directly tied to public relations and advertising, a look at all past and present PR and advertising campaigns would be useful. Finally, inform your listeners what the competitors are doing in terms of their marketing plans. An informative speech on marketing will enable your colleagues to look at both the company's and their personal procedures on how to sell the best possible product.

Business Ethics

Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary defines ethics as "the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation." A company has a responsibility to the community and society in which it exists, making business ethics a popular topic. An informative speech on business ethics could include an overview of what ethics means. The speech could then move on to explore some public examples of business ethics. For instance, you could look at the 2009 and 2010 recalls of Toyota products. The company ultimately accepted full responsibility for the problems in their cars.

Ask for audience participation in this speech. Audience members can provide examples of public examples of business ethics that have recently been in the news. Explore any recent instances in your company in which an ethics crisis might have ensued. How were things handled? How could things have been handled differently?

Time Management

Time management is a major concern to professionals in the workplace. In an informative speech on time management, instruct listeners on how to manage their time better via to-do lists, weekly/monthly planners and other time-saving tools. For example, you could tell your listeners how to set aside a specific time to go through email as opposed to checking email every time a new message comes in. This speech provides another opportunity for audience participation. Ask audience members to describe their personal time management techniques, as well as an example of a time when they procrastinated and found that there were consequences.

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Nicole Devlin began her professional writing career in 2002 and currently serves as news editor for a daily newspaper, building on her previous experience as a features and government reporter. Devlin also has a background in public relations and marketing. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications in 2007, with a focus in broadcast journalism.