How to Identify the Purpose of Your Informative Presentations An informative presentation is one that increase an audience’s knowledge about a subject or that helps the audience learn more about an issue or idea. Four purposes of informative presentations are: (1) to create information hunger, (2) to help the audience understand the information, (3) to help the audience remember the information, and (4) to help the audience apply that information. » Create Information Hunger: The first purpose of informative presentations is to generate a desire for information. e Be skilled at inspiring interest. Strategies for creating information hunger: arouse audience curiosity, pose a puzzling question for which your presentation is an answer, and provided an explanation for an issue that has confused people. o Arousing Audience Curiosity: the title of an article, a story, a book ora novel is an common example of this function. Caution should be taken when arousing curiosity: the speaker’s message should not be too mysterious or bizarre, the audience could lose interest or become distracted. o Posea Puzzling Question: You can start an informative presentation by thinking of other puzzling questions that emerge in everyday life. Be sure that your question is truly puzzling and not trite or mundane. o Explain a Confusing Issue: A number of conflicts around the world today receive considerable news coverage without much explanation of the issue. If you can locate controversy and confusion in issues, you have found yourself the topic for an informative presentation. Remember, however, that you are trying to explain an—to bring light, not heat and smoke. Your purpose is informative, not persuade. 13