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There are 6 modules in this course
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.
Informative speaking is a fun puzzle. You need to think from the perspective of your audience to identify what they need to hear in order to understand the key ideas. How much does the audience already know? What are the most important elements to convey? How should one convey these ideas with appropriate breadth and depth given the time constraints of the speech? This demands a strategic approach to speech design that we’ll undertake in this class.
By the end of the course, you should be able to explain complex ideas vividly and accessibly, design clear and compelling presentation slides, convey your passion for a topic while maintaining your professional credibility, and speak dynamically from notes and/or a manuscript. Learners will record speeches, providing and receiving peer feedback.
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
Show info about module content
15 videos•Total 82 minutes
Welcome to speaking to inform•2 minutes
What's this course about?•6 minutes
Informative speech assignment•6 minutes
Your speech should be audience-oriented•6 minutes
What do I know about my audience?•7 minutes
What does my audience know about the topic?•8 minutes
Identifying goals. What do you want the speech to achieve?•8 minutes
Planning goals. Be concrete to be successful.•4 minutes
Revising goals. Be realistic given the time and audience.•6 minutes
Start with an outline that clarifies key themes.•5 minutes
Simplicity. Focus on a few key ideas•8 minutes
Order. Make the speech easy to follow along with.•6 minutes
Balance. Are you spending time in the right sections?•4 minutes
Sample introductory speech•2 minutes
Recording good speech videos (optional)•4 minutes
6 readings•Total 57 minutes
Week one overview•2 minutes
Get help and meet other learners. Join your Community!•5 minutes
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
Show info about module content
12 videos•Total 70 minutes
Support overview•6 minutes
Include clear examples and illustrations•6 minutes
Summarize complex information•7 minutes
Give the audience time to process what you're saying•6 minutes
Refining your speech•5 minutes
Good introductions set you up for an interesting and clear speech•6 minutes
Good conclusions allow you reinforce and end on a strong note.•5 minutes
Briefings and updates•4 minutes
Product and design presentations•4 minutes
Explaining research to a general audience•7 minutes
Teaching talks•6 minutes
Conference talks•7 minutes
8 readings•Total 64 minutes
Week two overview•2 minutes
Case study. Explaining bee death•15 minutes
Case study: Hans Rosling's magic washing machine•10 minutes
A note on these models•2 minutes
Speech analysis #1 overview•10 minutes
Matt's feedback (Optional)•10 minutes
Week two lesson summaries•10 minutes
Week two assignment check•5 minutes
2 assignments•Total 40 minutes
Introductions and conclusions•30 minutes
Week 2 quiz•10 minutes
1 peer review•Total 30 minutes
Speech analysis #1•30 minutes
Week 3: Clarity through support and slides
Module 3•2 hours to complete
Module details
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
Show info about module content
12 videos•Total 65 minutes
What's the purpose of your slides?•7 minutes
Slides aren't simply your notes•5 minutes
Keep slides simple•5 minutes
Use slides to clarify the speech's arrangement•4 minutes
Using text in slides•5 minutes
Using images in slides•4 minutes
Using video in slides•5 minutes
Presenting with slides•6 minutes
Case study. Slides and text•8 minutes
Michael Alley, Penn State: What's wrong with slides?•4 minutes
Michael Alley, Penn State: How to make slides better•5 minutes
Sara Battersby from Tableau Software•6 minutes
3 readings•Total 17 minutes
Week three overview•2 minutes
Week three lesson summaries•10 minutes
Week three assignment check-in•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 10 minutes
Week 3 quiz•10 minutes
Week 4: Delivering informative speeches
Module 4•3 hours to complete
Module details
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
Show info about module content
11 videos•Total 70 minutes
Ethos. Demonstrating your credibility•5 minutes
Arete: Performing your passion•7 minutes
Phronesis. Showing your knowledge•6 minutes
Eunoia. Displaying your goodwill•4 minutes
Presidential ethos analysis•10 minutes
Using podiums•6 minutes
Using microphones•6 minutes
Using notes•7 minutes
Where and how to interact with your audience•7 minutes
Audience getting sleepy? Try a delivery change up•4 minutes
Sample informative speech•8 minutes
5 readings•Total 26 minutes
Week four overview•2 minutes
Speech analysis #2•2 minutes
Matt's feedback (Optional)•10 minutes
Week four lesson summaries•10 minutes
Week four assignment check-in•2 minutes
2 assignments•Total 40 minutes
Interacting with your materials•30 minutes
Week 4 quiz•10 minutes
1 peer review•Total 30 minutes
Speech analysis #2•30 minutes
Week 5: Review and assessment
Module 5•5 minutes to complete
Module details
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
Show info about module content
2 videos•Total 5 minutes
Course review•3 minutes
Other recommended courses•2 minutes
Week 5: Review and assessment: Lesson Choices
Module 6•2 hours to complete
Module details
What's included
1 video1 reading2 peer reviews
Show info about module content
1 video•Total 8 minutes
Sample informative speech•8 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
Sample informative manuscript•10 minutes
2 peer reviews•Total 120 minutes
Informative speech•60 minutes
Informative manuscript•60 minutes
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Learner reviews
4.8
470 reviews
5 stars
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4 stars
12.31%
3 stars
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S
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.
Y
YK
5·
Reviewed on Nov 19, 2020
One of my best learning experiences. Matt has worked extremely hard to create comprehensive content. Huge thanks to him for that. Happy learning!!
R
RS
4·
Reviewed on Jan 28, 2021
Excellent course to brush up those skills and there are some inherent nuances shared by Dr. Matt which are highly practical and important.
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.
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. 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.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
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.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.