If you’re presenting information that’s new to your listeners, they may have difficulty understanding it. The key to strengthening understanding is to anticipate the reasons that an idea may be difficult for audience members to grasp and to select supporting materials that will help them comprehend.1

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For instance, let’s say you’re preparing a speech on string theory for an audience of mostly liberal-arts students. In this case, definitions could help your audience members understand the meaning of technical terms such as superstring. And brief, accessible examples could help them grasp the basic concepts behind your topic and help them form mental images of a superstring.