Informative Speech

Justin Lyman
10/29/17

Informative Speech: Audience Assessment

REVISED

Specific Goal: My audience will understand the different shark senses, especially the sixth sense.

My Narrowed Topic:
a. Strategy: Ill teach my topic by explanation

b. Narrow Focus:
Original topic ocean animals
Narrower topic sharks
Even narrower topic shark senses

Ethos: -Primary Ethos: I volunteered for 7 months at Loveland Living Planet Aquarium and in that time, I became well acquainted
with the senses of sharks by preparing for and watching the shark feed presentations.

-Secondary Ethos: I will cite 3 expert references.

.

Audience Knowledge Level: Most audience members probably have no knowledge of this topic

Adaptation to Audience Knowledge: I will help my audience understand my topic by using scientific terms and explaining them in
the most interesting way possible.

Pattern of Organization: Ill use a topics pattern of organization.

 Informative Speech: Full Sentence Outline

Shark Senses

Introduction:

I. Hook: Senses. All living creatures have some form of sense. This may take the form of sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing, and if
youre a shark, electroreception.

II. Thesis: Sharks have very advanced evolutionary senses that have allowed them to survive for millions of years.

III. Preview: I will be introducing the different senses of sharks as follows:

1. Sight and Hearing
2. Taste and smell
3. Touch and electroreception

Transition: The first topic Ill go over is the sharks senses of sight and hearing.

Body

I. Sharks have very specifically developed senses of sight and hearing

A. According to Dr. Mantello, Sharks have a very advanced sense of sight, they can see 10 times better than humans in
dim light, making it easy for them to hunt during the day or night.
i. Sharks have features similar to that of a cat.
1. They both have a reflective layer in the back of their eyes which doubles the light intensity coming in,
thus enhancing their ability to detect lower levels of light
ii. Unlike many other fish, many sharks have the ability to see different shades rather than just black and white.
Some sharks are even able to see in color, making them the perfect predators.
B. Sharks have an excellent sense of hearing. They are located inside the sharks head, but this does not deter their
ability to hear.
i. Sharks hear low frequency sounds, such as the roaring of a boat motor or the flapping motion of a wounded
fish
ii. Sound travels much faster through the water than it does on land, making it very easy for sharks to locate prey
as far as 820 feet away.

Transition: Sharks are infamous for having a large appetite, lets talk about their abilities to taste and smell.

II. Sharks have a very interesting sense of taste, but it isnt very different from that of humans. Their ability to smell is much
more unique.
A. Sharks will not eat what doesnt taste good to them. So humans, tin cans, and other trash that ends up in a sharks
mouth is mostly accidental.
i. Sharks can rub up against another object and discover what it tastes like
ii. That trait is due to taste-sensitive spots all over their body. So more often than not, sharks will bump into
potential prey to find out if they will be a tasty meal.
B. Sharks have a very powerful sense of smell which allows them to smell things in tiny quantities.
i. Sharks can smell a drop of blood from over two miles away, pointing to the importance of smell in a sharks
daily life.
ii. Most sharks rely on smell over vision when locating prey.
iii. The nostrils of a shark are only for smell, not breathing (this is performed through their gills). Because of this
unique trait, the sharks sense of smell is far superior to that of other fish.

The two final shark senses are touch and electroreception.

III. According to California Academy of Sciences, sharks can detect electricity in the water through pore-like canals that line
their snouts. Using this electric sixth sense and their ability of touch, sharks have become dominant predators of the sea.
A. When fish or other prey move around, they disrupt the electric fields in the water.
i. Sharks take advantage of this through their electroreceptors and other senses such as smell and hearing to
take down prey with ease.
 ii. Contrary to what you may have seen in jaws or other shark movies, sharks dont just swim towards metal
objects and take huge chunks out of them. According to R. Douglas Fields, due to their very sensitive
electroreceptors, sharks try their hardest to avoid metal at all costs.
B. The sharks sensitive touch is due to cells along the lateral line which can detect the slightest movements in the
water.
i. This sense of touch allows sharks to not only feel their own body and movements, but these cells also relate
information to the sharks brain about water temperature, currents, and electrical signals in the water.
ii. The sharks ability to touch not only helps them to track down prey, it also allows them to meet their mate
and find their way around the ocean.

Lets look back on what weve learned.

Conclusion:

I. Summarize main points/thesis: Sharks have advanced evolutionary senses that have allowed them to survive for millions
of years.
a. Sharks have a very advanced sense of sight, they can see 10 times better than humans in dim light, making it easy
for them to hunt during the day or night.
b. Sharks have an excellent sense of hearing. They are located inside the sharks head, but this does not deter their
excellent ability to hear.
c. Sharks have a very interesting sense of taste, but it isnt very different from that of humans. Their ability to smell is
much more unique.
d. Sharks can detect electricity in the water through pore-like canals that line their snouts. Using this electric sixth
sense and their ability of touch, sharks have become dominant predators of the sea.
II. End the speech memorably: Now there is no scientific proof for common sense in sharks, but if you have listened well
enough, the senses of sharks have hopefully become common sense for you. Thank you.

References:
A Shark's Sixth Sense. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2017, from
http://www.pelagic.org/overview/articles/sixsense.html

Fields, D., R. (2007, August). The Shark's Electric Sense. Scientific American, 76-81.

Mantello, E., Dr. (n.d.). Sharks-Educator's Guide. Sharks-Educators Guide, 9-11. Retrieved
October 16, 2017, from http://www.sharks3d.com/educatorsguide.pdf