One of the four best public universities in the US, Purdue delivers an engaging learning experience and a world-class degree. Founded in 1869, Purdue consistently ranks among the best universities worldwide (Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education). It is home to the No. 1 agricultural and biological engineering program in the U.S. (U.S. News & World Report); the top university sales program (Sales Education Foundation); the No. 1 online communication program in the US (AffordableCollegesOnline.org); the No. 1 pharmacy school (U.S. News & World Report); and a top-20 engineering program (Shanghai Ranking).

Course: Communicating Complex Information: Presenting Your Ideas Clearly and Effectively

Understand how to communicate complex information to lay audiences and develop your professional communication skills.

Self-Paced

Duration 3 weeks - 4 hours per week - FREE online course

Understand how to communicate complex information to lay audiences

In a time when experts are all too often ignored or misunderstood, communicating complex information accurately to inexperienced audiences is a prized skill. This course will help you develop this skill. You will learn specific strategies to get your ideas across in a more impactful way; discovering how to organise your messages, techniques for explaining abstract ideas, and how to use and create visuals to enhance understanding.

What topics will you cover?

• Three different explanation models: quasi-scientific, transformation and elucidating;

• Barriers to effective explanations including myths;

• The importance of audience analysis in effectively communicating complex ideas;

• Using analogies to explain abstract ideas;

• Effective organization in oral presentations;

• Infographics;

• Creating organisational structures;

• Producing charts which enhance audience understanding.

What will you achieve?

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• Use different methods to overcome the barriers that most audiences face when learning complex information;

• Apply practices for organizing and explaining ideas orally;

• Design presentation slides for improved audience understanding;

• Communicate complex ideas or material to various audiences.

Who is the course for?

This course is for anyone who has to explain new ideas to lay publics where there are vast differences between the speaker and their audience in their command of the content. It will be of particular use to teachers, scientists, communication experts, financial experts and medical experts.

Please go to the course link on FutureLearn for further detailed information and enrollment: Communicating Complex Information: Presenting Your Ideas Clearly and Effectively.