All our courses are available delivered face-to-face or live online with our expert facilitators
A One Day Public Speaking Training Course
Are you looking to really take on the challenge of public speaking?
Do you want to get your message across in a dynamic and modern way – fit for the 21st Century?
And do you want to finally get on top of any nerves and allow your truly confident self to shine through?
This course is specially designed for people like you who really want to step up their game and make an impact when they speak in public whether that’s at a meeting, at a dinner, or at a large conference in a theatre or lecture hall.
Public Speaking Training Courses in London or Online
We take a fresh and very practical approach to public speaking that blows away the cobwebs and we promise to show you ways to make the whole experience positive from planning through to delivery.
Learn by Doing
This is definitely a course for those who want to get up and learn by doing.
We underpin all our work with solid research and theory but the main focus of the day is all about you standing up and doing the talking while we get to work with all our expertise in performance and business to challenge and support you. Our aim is for you to feel confident and enthusiastic to try new ideas and really engage your audience.
Public Speaking Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending our public speaking training courses you will:
- Have a positive analysis of your strengths as a speaker
- Understand what to focus on to create the impact you choose
- Learn how the professionals tackle the fear of public speaking
- Discover how to bring an authentic approach to public speaking
- Understand how to create special moments that the audience will remember
- Learn and practice techniques for structuring, creating, and telling a great story
- Learn how to use pictures and props for high impact
- Learn tools and techniques to really engage and surprise the audience
- Gain confidence in presenting to a range of different audiences in different arenas
- Practice creating and running a successful Q&A session with flair!
- Learn how to be a much more confident and authentic speaker
Here are some of the exercises we may include in our Public Speaking Training Courses:
- Brilliant Public Speakers
- Face to face Communication – What’s happening?
- Fear of Public Speaking
- Handling Nerves
- Your Story
- Feedback on your Public Speaking Skills
- Using Your Emotional Dial
- Voice
- Body Language
- Storytelling for Different Audiences
- Words
- Structure
- Metaphor
- The Page Turner
- Creating a Sense Of…
- A STAR Moment
- Different Arenas
- Prepared Speeches
- Question & Answer sessions
If you’re looking for a public course for an individual, we include public speaking on our Presentation Skills public course.
To book an in-house public speaking course please contact us today.
Got a speaking event coming up? Here are some thoughts for you…
The ASPIRE mnemonic
(Think about the ingredients that go into making a great presentation)
Audience
Who are you talking to? What are their needs and levels of understanding? What do you want them to do, think, and feel?
Self-awareness
Who are you? What are the qualities you have at your disposal to get your message across effectively? What is your personal take on the subject? What stories do you have to tell?
Preparation
What do you have to do and how? What research do you need to do to illustrate your content? What personal preparation do you need to do: Physical and vocal work, dress, rehearsal, dealing with nerves etc.?
What about, props, technical back up?
Idea
What is the clear idea you want to share? Why? What do you want people to feel or do?
Relevance
Why will people listen? What’s in it for them? How can you make that clear?
Engagement
What will get people involved? In what you say and how you say it, how will you keep people awake and listening?
Why will they remember your message?
Are you talking or inspiring?
There are two different sorts of public speeches.
In the first sort the audience has an opportunity to opt out of all responsibility, adopt a glazed expression, perhaps take a quick nap.
In the second the audience is awake, engaged, informed and, crucially, inspired to feel or do something as a result of their experience.
When we read a novel, go to a play, or watch a movie we expect something to happen. We are taken on a journey that involves us on an intellectual and emotional level resulting in us ending up at a different place than where we started. This journey has the possibility of having a profound effect upon the way we think.
In working to be a great public speaker, consider not only what information you want to get across, but what you want to achieve and why – and how you can make that happen.
The content is crucial but how you deliver that content is equally important.
Whether the audience is a few people around a table or a large conference with a stage, screens, and microphones, many of the principals involved in being a great public speaker are the same.
Ten secrets of powerful public speaking…
- Keep your audience awake, engaged and informed in that order
- Know what you want to say and do and why
- You are the speech – so put yourself centre stage
- Know what you have to offer and be yourself
- Be relevant. Cater for your audience’s interests and needs
- Tap into your passion and enthusiasm for your subject
- Be the host and involve your audience – make it a two way conversation
- Change the dynamic and use the space
- Be memorable – in story, structure, content, language, and style
- Enjoy yourself and your audience will enjoy it too
The X Factor
When you are highly committed to what you are saying authenticity and conviction transmit, to influence the audience and take them along with you.
Essentially, the starting point is to find the crux of the story that you can identify and resonate with – this is where your own curiosity and the subject matter overlap – the X in the middle is the most interesting bit for you.. If you find this, you will start to find the enthusiasm and authenticity to tell your story in an infectiously engaging way.
The message becomes yours, and you have found the X factor.
Verbal, Vocal, and Visual
The more you can learn and be aware of yourself and the impact you have through your body language, dress, vocal tone, speed, pace etc., the more choice you give yourself to choose your impact.
It’s important to know what works and be aware of your strengths as a speaker. That’s what you can build on to be truly confident.
Remember, if you’re not careful about the “how”, the audience may take away a “what” that you never intended!
Language and Metaphor
The language you use can create a very different impact so use it wisely!
Look at how and where you might be able to use self disclosure, anecdotes and metaphor to engage an audience and bring the message to life so that it creates a picture for the audience. This can connect on an emotional or “gut” level in a way that facts alone may not.
Move!
Unleash your hands! Relax and let them underline your message.
Think about how you can move and use the area to change the dynamic of your speech and emphasise key points.
If you’re around a table, do you have to stay seated? What impact might it have to stand?
Or, if you’re on a stage – you can lead the audience on a journey across it by creating a timeline from one side to the other. You can implant the idea of travelling through time from the past to the present by moving along this axis until you can take them right into the future!
Tell us a story
Talks don’t have to be linear in format.
The standard format is: Tell them what you’re going to say, say it, tell them what you have just said.
That’s OK but what will grab their attention and make them listen and act?
The standard intro to a Bond movie is usually a high-energy pre-title sequence involving a fight and probably a spectacular stunt or two somewhere amazing. So, what will grab your audience’s attention and make them want to hear more?
Think about the emotional journey you want to take your audience on then your structure can follow suit. What moments will have the most impact? Where will you put them in the talk for maximum effect, and why?
What is your STAR?
Look for a STAR in your story. This stands for:
Something They’ll Always Remember
Bill Gates gave a talk to about the Microsoft Foundation and the work it is doing to slow the spread of malaria. Five minutes into the speech he opened a glass jar of mosquitoes into the auditorium. He said:
There’s no reason why only poor people should have the experience.
A mosquito bite, whilst it may not last forever, is a nice little irritating reminder a couple of days later.
A word of warning: A STAR moment needs to be fundamentally connected to the key message you want people to take away. Then it acts as an anchor – an emotional prompt – in peoples’ minds for them to take action.
Your Footprint
Above all, it’s important to know who you are – your footprint in the world. What is it that you personally bring to this speaking event and why?
When you can answer this question, you can deliver your talk in a way that will be unique and authentic to you. After all – it’s you they buy.