Back to Speaking to inform: Discussing complex ideas with clear explanations and dynamic slides
University of Washington

Speaking to inform: Discussing complex ideas with clear explanations and dynamic slides

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.

Status: Constructive Feedback
Status: Concision
BeginnerCourse14 hours

Featured reviews

SL

5.0Reviewed 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.

YK

5.0Reviewed 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!!

VT

5.0Reviewed Jun 11, 2018

I like this course so much. I like the way Dr. Matt McGarrity encourage and teach everybody to overcome the fear of public speech.

NA

5.0Reviewed Oct 19, 2025

The course is very informative and life-changing being a teacher. It gives a lot of substantial tips in order to improve my speaking abilities.

RS

4.0Reviewed 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.

BM

5.0Reviewed Sep 7, 2020

IT WAS A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE OF BEING PART OF THIS COURSE ON SPEAKING TO INFORM. THE WHOLE CONTENT WAS IMPRESSIVE AND HELPFUL. THANKS A MILLION.

SS

5.0Reviewed Aug 15, 2023

Great course: highly instructive, well-structured, it shares a lot of advice for various situations. Many thanks!!!

MY

5.0Reviewed Oct 14, 2017

Great course, excellent structure and content, the exercises help to fixate and practice the learning's.

CC

5.0Reviewed Dec 3, 2020

Dr. Matt McGarrity, is an excellent lecturer and this course is a must have regardless of your field of study/expertise.

JJ

5.0Reviewed 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.

MD

5.0Reviewed May 27, 2017

Useful tools to help boring, data driven presentations come to life and keep your audiences attention.

KR

4.0Reviewed Sep 9, 2020

Hola termine mi curso de forma exitosa,pero en la ultima semana aparece un comentario de que abandone,lo cual no es verdad si revisan mis trabajos y tareas están completas.Gracias.

All reviews

Showing: 20 of 133

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