Your teen signs up for Informative Speaking and asks a question that sounds easy: "What should my speech be about?" A week later they have three topics and no draft.
Informative Speaking (INF) is one of the speech events run by the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA). The student writes a speech that explains a subject, memorizes it, and delivers it in up to 10 minutes. This guide covers what the rules require, how to pick a topic, and how to help your teen get to a finished speech.
What the Rules Require
The rules below come from the NSDA's 2024-25 High School Unified Manual. Its Informative Speaking rules have not changed in substance since 2017, but local leagues and tournaments can set their own details, so check your teen's tournament information too.
1. The goal is to inform. The manual says the speech is "designed to explain, define, describe, or illustrate a particular subject." Entertaining or persuading can play a part, but they come second. 2. The speech is original and memorized. It must be written by the student and cannot be one they used in a previous contest season. 3. The topic must be real. A fabricated topic is not allowed, and any non-factual reference, including a personal story that is made up, has to be identified as such. 4. The time limit is 10 minutes. There is a 30-second grace period. A student who goes past it cannot be ranked first in the round. There is no minimum time. 5. Direct quotation is capped at 150 words. Every quotation has to be identified out loud and marked in the printed copy of the speech. 6. The script needs a works cited page. It must be in APA or MLA format, and the student and coach sign to confirm the speech is the student's own work.
Visual Aids Are Optional, With Limits
This is the rule that separates Informative from Original Oratory, which allows no visual aids at all. In Informative, a student may use them, and many do: foam boards, folding displays or objects that show the idea.
The limits are strict. No electronic equipment is allowed during the speech, so no laptops, projectors, tablets or phones. Live animals, other people and costume pieces cannot be used, and nothing can be handed to the judges or audience. The host school does not have to provide easels or tables, so your teen needs a setup they can carry in and take down quickly.
Middle school rules can differ on aids, so a younger student should check their league's manual before building anything.
How to Choose a Topic
The manual says effective speeches "provide new information or perspectives on a topic, including those that are widely known." That line is the best topic advice there is. A judge has heard about sleep and social media many times. They have not heard your teen's angle on it.
A good topic usually passes three tests, and each one takes an evening or less to check.
1. Your teen is curious about it. They will spend months with this speech, and judges can hear boredom. 2. It has real sources. Studies, reporting and expert interviews give the speech substance. If your teen cannot find five solid sources in an evening, the topic may be too thin. 3. It has a surprise. The best informative speeches tell the audience something they did not expect, such as how an everyday object works or why a common belief is wrong.
A note on AI: at the 2025 National Tournament, the NSDA barred students in original speech events, including Informative, from quoting or paraphrasing text from generative AI. AI tools could be used to find articles and sources, but the original source had to be available. Check whether your teen's league follows the same rule this season.
How You Can Help at Home
1. Be the audience who knows nothing. After a run-through, tell your teen the one thing you learned and the one part you did not follow. That is the clearest feedback a parent can give. 2. Time every run. The 10-minute limit is firm, and a speech that runs 10:40 cannot be ranked first. 3. Practice with the visual aids in hand. Rehearse with the boards from the first week, so handling them is as practiced as the words. 4. Count the quoted words. It is easy to drift over 150 words across several sources, and the script has to state the count.
How TalkMaze Fits
TalkMaze offers 1-on-1 online public speaking and debate coaching for students ages 5 to 17. An informative speech asks for three skills at once: researching a topic, organizing it so a stranger can follow it, and delivering it from memory without sounding memorized. In a weekly session, a coach can help your teen find an angle, cut a long draft down to time and rehearse each visual aid until it looks natural. Founder Ghalia Aamer is a national debate competitor, TEDx speaker and Princess Diana Award recipient, and every coach trains on her method for structuring a speech fast. If your teen is also considering a persuasive event, our guide to Original Oratory covers the same writing process with different rules, and our guide to a first speech and debate tournament covers the day itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is an Informative Speaking speech?
Under NSDA rules, an informative speech can run up to 10 minutes, with a 30-second grace period. There is no minimum time, but a student who goes past the grace period cannot be ranked first.
Can you use visual aids in Informative Speaking?
Yes. Visual aids are optional in NSDA Informative Speaking, but no electronic equipment, live animals, other people or costumes may be used, and nothing can be handed out to the judges or audience.
What is the difference between Informative Speaking and Original Oratory?
Informative Speaking explains a subject, while Original Oratory argues for a position. Both are original, memorized 10-minute speeches with a 150-word quotation limit, but only Informative allows visual aids.
Can a coach help my teen with an informative speech?
Yes. A coach can help with topic choice, structure, timing and delivery, as long as the speech stays the student's own work. The NSDA requires the student and coach to sign that it is.
The Bottom Line
Informative Speaking rewards a real topic with a fresh angle, a clear structure and a speech that lands under 10 minutes. Start with the topic, read every draft aloud with a timer and rehearse with the visual aids from the first week. If your teen wants a coach to help shape their speech before the next tournament, book a free assessment and we will start with the draft they have.
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