As many speakers have discovered, it is easy to overestimate the audience’s stock of information. In most informative speeches, your listeners will be only vaguely knowledgeable (at best) about the details of your topic. (Otherwise, there would not be much need for an informative speech) Therefore, your must lead your listeners step by step, without any shortcuts. You cannot assume
they will know what you mean. Rather, you must be sure to explain everything so thoroughly that
they cannot help but understand. As you work on your speech, always consider whether it will be
clear to someone who is hearing about the topic for the first time.