Informative Speech Outline
Topic: Dreams
Specific Purpose: To explain to my classmates the different types of dreams
Central Idea: In order to explain the different types of dreams I’ll talk about first, nightmares; second, lucid dreams; and third, day dreams.
Introduction
A. Attention-getter: Have you ever had a dream that felt so real? Like you were able to feel the different things going on and you thought it was real life. Or have you ever fell asleep and didn’t know you were asleep until you woke up? Or have you ever woken up in the middle of a dream and wanted to go back to sleep because it was such a good dream? Yes, I know, dreams are fascinating.
B. Credibility Material: I have always been interested in what dreams really are. Since I sleep a lot, I tend to have a bunch of different dreams. In particular, I am interested in day dreams, lucid dreams, and nightmares.
C. Relevance to audience
D. Preview of speech: In order to explain the different types of dreams I’ll talk about first, nightmares; second, lucid dreams; and third, day dreams.
Body
1) Main Point #1 Full sentence: The first type of dream is a nightmare.
a. Sub-point sentence: A common nightmare that people have is spiders and snakes.
Supporting material: Alex Lukeman, graduate of Boston University, says in his 2000 work “Nightmares: How to Make Sense of Your Darkest Dreams” that depending on your gender it can have a different meaning. If you are a male it can represent a black widow. For females, the spider can represent an evil male force in your life.
b. Sub-point sentence: Another common nightmare that people have is being chased.
Supporting material: It is also stated in the same book that sooner or later most of everyone will dream about being chased. He is explaining how fear, stress or insecurity are the three main reasons for having chase dreams. Sometimes these dreams are repetitive.
(There are dreams that happen when you’re asleep as well as awake.)
2) Main Point #2 Full sentence: The second type of dream is a lucid dream.
a. Sub-point sentence: A common lucid dream that people have is of the dead.
Supporting material: Author, Charlie Morely, wrote in his 2015 work Lucid Dreaming: A Beginner’s Guide to Becoming Conscious in Your Dreams that the dead relatives we meet in our lucid dreams or just images of our memory. He explains that when you come in to contact with a relative from the dead it’s probably because they haven’t accepted that their dead and are not able to move through the after-death experience.
b. Sub-point sentence: Another common lucid dream people tend to have is sex.
Supporting material: In the same book, Charlie mentioned that engaging in a sexual fantasy is very common and not anything to be ashamed of. Some people viewed lucid dreaming as a space for training, but Charlie didn’t. At the age of 17 Charlie had begun having regular lucid dreams.
(Just like being aware that you’re dreaming you can also be awake while you’re dreaming.)
3) Main Point #3 Full sentence: The third type of dream is a day dream.
a. Sub-point sentence: A common day dream that people have is becoming a billionare.
Supporting material: In Amy Fries, 2009 book Daydreams at Work: Wake Up Your Creative Powers, it is stated that when people say they “dream” of being a chef or billionare or a basketball star or whatever it is they fantasize about, they are daydreaming these goals, literally envisioning them in their mind’s eye. These dreams can be really powerful.
b. Sub-point sentence: Another common day dream that people have is living their dream life
Supporting material: It is also stated in the same book, that daydreams can also involve senses – sound, touch, taste, and smell. This is what leads to the dreams of thinking you’re doing what you always dreamed of. In the book there is a quote that says “I would close my eyes and see pictures. I’d hear music too.”
Conclusion
A. Summary (Review Intro #4 and some details from body)
B. Audience Response (return to relevance to audience and explain how they can process, understand, use, hold on to this info…)
C. WOW Statement (Return to/reinterpret attention getter in light of newly acquired information)
External Sources
3 books – Follow a citation guide, like MLA or APA to list them in a bibliography here.
Gustavus Hindman Miller, farmer and author, explains in his 1901 work titled, “What’s in a Dream”.
