Learn to become an outstanding public speaker. Master the techniques for designing and delivering clear and compelling presentations.
Suggested by: Coursera (What is Coursera?)
No prior knowledge required
No unnecessary risks
Good public speaking is the most important skill on the job. This series of courses will provide you with the guidance, experience, and training to develop and deliver impressive presentations. Building on existing knowledge in communication, rhetoric, linguistics, and argumentation, each course combines proven ideas with plenty of speaking practice.
The courses in this orientation are designed for speakers of all levels. If you feel nervous before speaking in front of an audience, this is for you!
Learners will plan, practice, record, and receive feedback on speeches that they can use in their professional lives:
After completing this internship, you will have the opportunity to gain experience and skills that will help you design impressive presentations and build a portfolio of well-crafted speeches.
This course offers a proven framework for building and delivering impactful presentations. In the professional world, academia, or public life, we are often asked to “share a few thoughts.” Many struggle in these situations. The goal of this course is to help you shine when others struggle.
We will explore how to structure speeches clearly, write memorablely, and present with confidence. By the end of the course, you will have reduced your public speaking anxiety, used rehearsal techniques to develop a strong and engaging voice, and delivered speeches with dynamic movement. The speech model we will practice is versatile, suitable for briefings, elevator speeches, interviews, and even as the basis for hour-long presentations.
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced speaker, this course will help you master the basics of your speaking skills or take your public speaking abilities to new levels.
As an added bonus, you’ll get access to a virtual experience that allows you to improve your presentation skills in a simulated auditorium or conference room, with a virtual audience. You’ll get real-time feedback, allowing you to hone your skills through practice in a realistic environment.
In the professional world, most of our speeches and presentations are informative in nature. A scientist needs to explain her latest findings. A finance manager needs to report quarterly earnings to a company’s board of directors. A technology professional needs to educate a consumer about a new product. Any time you need to convey ideas or demonstrate a process, you are engaging in informative speaking.
Informative speaking is like a fun puzzle. You need to think from the audience’s perspective to identify what they need to hear to understand the main ideas. How much does the audience already know? What are the most important elements to convey? How can these ideas be conveyed with appropriate depth and breadth within the time constraints of the speech? This requires a strategic approach to speech design that we will learn in this course.
By the end of the course, you will be able to explain complex ideas in a vivid and accessible way, design clear and engaging slides, convey your passion for the topic while maintaining professionalism, and speak dynamically from your notes or essay. Learners will record speeches and give and receive feedback from peers.
In the professional world, we are required to make arguments without being argumentative. Whether you are raising funds for a charity, presenting a business proposal, or proposing a change in company policy, you are making arguments. When you are trying to persuade your audience, you usually want to raise awareness, identify a pressing problem, discuss appropriate solutions, and outline specific steps. To be persuasive, you must be clear (the audience may not know much), persuasive (you are trying to change the audience’s opinion about the validity of your argument), and make the audience want to take action. Persuasive speaking therefore requires clarity, strategy, mastery of the subject, and a sense of style and presence.
By the end of this course, you will be able to craft persuasive speeches that address problems and solutions and motivate audience members. You will be able to use rhetorical style strategically and deliver passionate and engaging speeches. Learners will record speeches and provide and receive feedback from peers.
The most memorable speeches inspire, entertain, and praise. In the Storytelling and Rhetoric Window, powerful speeches highlight the core values that motivate an audience. You might want to do this in a commencement speech, a eulogy, or simply in a business meeting. Inspiring audiences is a common but difficult writing challenge. You want a speech that elevates the topic and the audience. This course gives you a method for preparing and delivering speeches that inspire and entertain.
By the end of the course, you will be able to write and deliver moving speeches that celebrate the audience’s core values using testimonials, stories, and humor. You will be able to write rhetorical pieces in tones appropriate to the audience and the program, and speak naturally from the essay or from memory. Learners will record speeches and give and receive feedback from peers.
