Essential Public Speaking

The easiest way to become an impactful and confident public speaker. Learn with online self-paced learning and practice in interactive exercises and simulations.

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Online, self-paced

6 online activities and quizzes

7 interactive practice exercises with AI feedback

CPD Accredited

Digital certificate

3.5 hours of learning and practice

Course Outcomes

Become an effective and persuasive audience-focused public speaker
Manage your mindset to embrace your natural adrenaline and overcome fear.
Apply key theories and techniques to plan and deliver effective and memorable speeches.
Understand the importance of audience-first thinking for maximum impact.
Master the art of handling audience questions and interruptions with confidence
Enhance your message with body language, eye contact, and gestures.

Accelerate learning with realistic practice

Communication skills, particularly speaking skills, are the most sought after skills by employees, and often in shortage. Being a strong public speaker will permit you to get ahead, to be heard to make an impact.

All modules are designed around interactive activities and simulations, with personalised AI-feedback. You'll be able put the tips and techniques you'll learn into practice and successfully design and deliver a presentation that packs a punch.

Online learning, done differently

All out course material is designed around active practice and personalised feedback - giving each user a unique experience. You will guided into various simulations where you can put theory into practice in a safe space.

Learn online, anytime

Complete a series of videos, quizzes, and case studies at your own pace - available to access at any time.

Practice with exercises

Build your skills and confidence by putting them to the test with computer-generated audiences and AI-generated questions and interactivity.

Improve with feedback

Receive instant, personalised feedback on your performance to help identify your strengths and weaknesses.

Course Content

1. Public speaking matters

Discover the value of public speaking skills, online exercises, and the importance of practice. Experience warm-ups and app familiarity through a brief exercise.

2. Start with the audience

Explore elements of effective speeches, audience analysis, and reasons for engagement. Distinguish four audience types with detailed insights.

3. Connecting with the audience

Craft a persona, define your scope, and engage your audience effectively with practical tips. Master eye contact and benefit from expert advice.

4. Planning your speech

Planning is a vital part of public speaking. Learn how to pick a topic and what to ask yourself before writing your speech. We also show an example product demo, to help you plan for this scenario.

5. Planning your delivery

Here we dive into the specifics of the delivery itself. Discover the power of pitch and pace, learn to think critically about the use of slides, and discover a powerful technique to help you memorize your speech.

6. Audience questions

Audience questions form a vital part of any talk. This lesson prepares you for expected and unexpected questions through theory and practice.

7. Preparation techniques

Use this checklist to run through your prepared talk to see what you’ve forgotten and where it can be further improved.

8. Overcoming nerves

Feeling nervous about speaking is a natural reaction. Here we run through some valuable techniques to help you turn your nervous energy into positive adrenaline.

9. Advanced delivery techniques

Be mindful of how your body language can help you deliver your message and practice dealing with distractions with confidence and calm.

10. Put your knowledge into action

Put everything you have learned and prepared into practice! Deliver a speech in a TEDx-styled theater and receive feedback on your delivery and the content of your speech itself.

Your Instructor

Helen Hooper

Helen is Curriculum Lead for the Public Speaking course. She's an entrepreneur, storyteller and learning designer with years of experience in presenting and performing front of both camera and live audiences around the world. Helen's passion is in finding creative ways to enable learning through active experience.

Practice your public speaking with interactive and engaging exercises. At key points during the course, you'll be prompted to practice what you've learned in one of the following exercises.

Eye contact training

Improve your eye contact and connect with the audience. Gamification and heatmaps give you feedback on where you need to focus your eye contact.

Impromptu speech training

Practice quick-thinking and impromptu speaking by talking about a random slide every 30 seconds or answer random Table Topic questions.

Dealing with distractions

It's easy to get distracted by the audience and venue. Learn how to deal with sound and visual distractions, including mobile phones ringing and bright lighting.

Giving a TEDx speech

Receive feedback on your TEDx speech in this large theatre, designed after a popular TEDx venue. Better understanding how your audience perceives you.

Control your emotional state

Learn to use words and body language to trigger a positive mindset - helping you overcome nerves and be your best self.

The power of the warm up

Just like athletes prepare their bodies for peak performance, speakers need to warm up their vocal chords and prepare mentally for the task ahead. Experience the power of these simple exercises.

Conference presentation

Deliver a conference presentation to around 100 people in this popular training environment with a range of features.

Features in the practice exercises

Improve faster and practice what you learn with these features.

AI-Powered questions

AI will scan the transcript of what you say and ask relevant questions for you to practice answering.

Upload slides and notes

Practice with your own presentation slides and notes with you.

Speech analysis

Receive feedback on your eye contact, speaking pace, filler words, and more.

Audience distractions

Learn to deal with audience noises, mobile phones, and stage lighting.

Listenability score

Get feedback after you present on how easy your speech was to listen to.

Track progress

See how you are improving over time and areas that you need to focus on.

Sh Laos

"As someone who suffers from public speaking phobia, this threw me right into the lions den... I encountered flaws in my approach that I would not have discovered until the actual event."

Jordan Brook

"Insanely useful for someone who wants to learn to speak in front of people... I'm now the 'pitch man' for our company, and my pitches opened the door to our (now completed) seed round of funding."

Kit Eaton

"VirtualSpeech helps conquer stage fright and get someone accustomed to what it feels like to be presenting to a crowd, and thus prepare for the same situation."

What's included in this course:

3.5 hours of learning
8 AI-enhanced practice exercises
AI feedback and questions
6 quizzes and assessment
Earn a digital course certificate
Flexible, self-led format
Access to updated content

CEU - Continuing Education Units

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

CPD Credits / Hours: 5

Certificate No: A031338

This course

US $250

(one-time)

12 months access to this course

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US $45

(per month)

12 months access to this course

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Frequently Asked Questions

1How do I access the online classes and practice exercises?

You can access the classes through the VirtualSpeech website, on any standard web browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Safari. You can also access the exercises through the VirtualSpeech website. No additional software or download is required.

2When do I get access to the training?

When you enroll in the course, you'll get 24/7 access to the course (including tutorial videos, case studies, practice exercises, and more) through the VirtualSpeech website.

3What equipment do I need for the practice exercises?

Both the online classes and exercises run in your browser, no additional software or download is required. The exercises have been tested across multiple browsers and run smoothly on Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Edge.

4How can I pay?

We accept payment via Credit Card, Debit Card or PayPal directly through the VirtualSpeech site. If you'd like to pay with an Invoice or using another payment method, please contact us.

5Can I buy this course for multiple people / my team?

Yes you can. After pressing the 'Buy Now' button on this page, select the number of users (maximum is 25). After the payment, you'll be made course admin and can add users to the course from the admin dashboard.

6Can I get a certificate when I complete this course?

Yes, when you've completed this course, we'll send you a Certificate of Achievement, which you can share in the Certifications section of your LinkedIn profile, on printed resumes, CVs, or other documents. Click here to learn more.

7What is the refund policy?

If the course does not meet your expectations, you can get a full refund within 7 days of purchasing the course.