---
title: "SPCH 100 · Speak with confidence"
publisher: Maestro College (Maestro Open)
lessons: 18
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence
full: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/llms-full.txt
---

# Speak with confidence (SPCH 100)

Analyze your audience, shape a clear message and deliver it with steadier nerves, in the room or on camera.

In this two-week course you'll build the speaking skills every AI software engineer relies on: explaining technical work to non-technical people, pitching ideas, and holding your ground when questions and disagreement come. You'll move through a real speaker's workflow — analyze the audience, shape a focused message, deliver it with steadier nerves, discuss and adapt in a small group, then improve from feedback. By the end you'll be able to walk into a stand-up, a client meeting, or an interview and make yourself understood with intent.

## Course objectives
- Analyze a speaking situation (audience, purpose, context, medium, constraints) and justify strategy choices from that analysis.
- Evaluate speeches and artifacts for credibility, evidence, reasoning, and ethical practice.
- Design audience-centered messages with a focused central idea, credible support, and clear organization.
- Explain complex information clearly and construct ethical persuasive arguments, including counterarguments.
- Deliver speeches effectively (including virtual settings), manage speaking anxiety, and improve from rehearsal and feedback.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## Lessons
### Unit 1: Foundations of audience-centered speaking
- [Get your recording setup working](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/get-your-recording-setup-working.md)
- [Analyzing a communication situation](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/analyzing-a-communication-situation.md)
- [Critical and ethical listening](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/critical-and-ethical-listening.md)
- [Finding a focused central idea](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/finding-a-focused-central-idea.md)
- [Challenge: Selecting credible supporting material](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/challenge-selecting-credible-supporting-material.md)
- [Organizing your speech](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/organizing-your-speech.md)
- [Delivery basics and confidence](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/delivery-basics-and-confidence.md)
- [Virtual speeches: An audience of none](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/virtual-speeches-an-audience-of-none.md)
- [Managing speaking anxiety](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/managing-speaking-anxiety.md)

### Unit 2: Speaking to inform, persuade, connect
- [Designing informative messages](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/designing-informative-messages.md)
- [Explaining complex topics clearly](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/explaining-complex-topics-clearly.md)
- [Building persuasive arguments](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/building-persuasive-arguments.md)
- [Evidence, reasoning, and counterarguments](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/evidence-reasoning-and-counterarguments.md)
- [Challenge: Ethical persuasion strategies](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/challenge-ethical-persuasion-strategies.md)
- [Visual support and language choices](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/visual-support-and-language-choices.md)
- [Group discussion and responding to questions](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/group-discussion-and-responding-to-questions.md)
- [Challenge: Self-assessment and improvement](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/challenge-self-assessment-and-improvement.md)
- [Recap challenge: full speech workflow](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/speak-with-confidence/recap-challenge-full-speech-workflow.md)

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.
Start with lesson 1 unless the learner asks for a specific lesson. Keep track of which lesson you are on.

## When a lesson is done
Teach one lesson at a time. A lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed for it; check each with a small task or question.
When it is complete:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson N complete: <lesson title>." (use the lesson's number and title).
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, say "Lesson N+1 of 18: <title>", and ask if they're ready to start it. Start it only when they say yes.
After the last lesson, congratulate them on finishing the course.