In the professional realm, most speeches and presentations we give are informative in scope. A scientist needs to explain her recent research findings. A financial officer needs to report on quarterly earnings to his company’s board. A technology professional needs to educate a consumer about a new product. Any time you need to convey ideas or demonstrate a process, you’re dealing with informative speaking.
Speaking to inform: Discussing complex ideas with clear explanations and dynamic slides
Speaking to inform: Discussing complex ideas with clear explanations and dynamic slides
This course is part of Dynamic Public Speaking Specialization
Instructor: Dr. Matt McGarrity
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Beginner level
No prior experience required
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Approx. 13 hours
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Assessments
8 assignments
Taught in English
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This course is part of the Dynamic Public Speaking Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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There are 6 modules in this course
Welcome. This is a big week. Here’s what we’ll be doing. We’ll start with an overview of the course. This course is about developing interesting and informative speeches. The way we’ll work on these skills is through the informative speech assignment. Next, we’ll focus on the key challenge in informative speaking. remaining audience-oriented. This requires us to assess what the audience knows and how our speech can be of the most value. We need to design our goals for the speech. Too often, speakers simply just dump their information on the audience. We need to be precise about what we want our speech to accomplish to protect against being boring. After we think about audience and our goals, we can start planning out our speech. A good outline is the foundation for a good talk. We want to adhere to the principles of simplicity, balance, and order. In this module, we'll work through a case study of a TED talk. Once we have a sense for informative speaking, you’ll perform a short introductory speech. It’s a fun and easy speech that allows you to get to know some of your classmates.
What's included
15 videos6 readings3 assignments1 peer review
Last week, we worked on developing the basic outline for of our speech. This week, we’ll take that structure and build a speech around it. We'll begin with discussing ideas clearly. This is the big challenge in informative speaking. With the body of the speech taken care of, we can now turn our attention to writing a full draft. This means thinking about the iterative process of good speech preparation. We also look at how to open and close the speech. Each speech will be arranged differently, but there are some broad genres. We'll talk about the various goals and arrangement models that might work for different types of informative speaking. Having discussed invention and arrangement, we'll watch and evaluate a sample speech. You’ll watch a speech, write up some feedback, and read how others analyzed the speech.
What's included
12 videos8 readings2 assignments1 peer review
This week is all about slides! They can make or break a speech. We’ll talk about how to design slides so that they support you as a speaker (not replace you). By the end of the week, you should have skills and experience explaining ideas richly and designing and using clear presentation slides.
What's included
12 videos3 readings1 assignment
Now for some delivery work. We start with the concept of ethos. It is that performance of credibility that all great informative speakers have. We'll dive deep into how you can refine your ethos as a speaker. We’ll finish this course by focusing on the unique delivery demands of informative speaking: using notes, mics, and podiums effectively. Interacting with the audience well. By the end of the week, you’ll have some strategies for speaking more smoothly and with greater credibility. Having discussed invention and arrangement, we'll watch and evaluate a sample speech. You’ll watch a speech, write up some feedback, and read how others analyzed the speech.
What's included
11 videos5 readings2 assignments1 peer review
Thank you for time in this course! I hope that the material has proven helpful to you. We concluded our discussion of the speech last week. This week, I would like to spend a bit of time reflecting on the course and talking about other exercises and activities that you can use to continue improving your public speaking abilities. We will end this week with your final informative speech.
What's included
2 videos
What's included
1 video1 reading2 peer reviews
Instructor
Instructor ratings
4.8 (94 ratings)Offered by
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4.8
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Showing 3 of 412
JJ
5
Reviewed on Nov 13, 2017
Excellent lecture structure. The logical progression of the lessons made it easier to understand and grasp the key concepts of the course. I would recommend this course to everyone.
SL
5
Reviewed on Feb 3, 2021
I would totally recommend this course to everyone be it a beginner or an advanced speaker. Great Professor , great organizing of the modules and lectures.
CC
5
Reviewed on Dec 3, 2020
Dr. Matt McGarrity, is an excellent lecturer and this course is a must have regardless of your field of study/expertise.
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Frequently asked questions
This class has peer review speech assignments. You need to have a digital video camera or smart phone so you can record your speeches for upload and review.
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.