Looking for free training
in public speaking?
Look no further!
In a previous post, I wrote about Ben Harvey’s free workshops on public speaking. Those are great if you’re in Sydney (like me), but of course the chances are very good that you’re not.
In this post then, you’ll find 5 free courses to help you with your presentations and speeches – no matter where you happen to live.
So here they are (in no particular order)…
- Two former world champions of public speaking (from Toastmasters, which itself is low-cost but not free) both offer 52 weekly tips to help you practise and improve. With both of these courses, you’ll get an email each week with a link to a short audio lesson, plus a transcript in a downloadable document in case you prefer (as I do) to read (offline) rather than listen (online).
- 1. 52 Speaking Tips (by Craig Valentine)
- 2. 52 Get-Paid-to-Speak Tips (by Darren LaCroix)
- Similarly, educator Conor Neill offers two free 10-week courses by email. He suggests you video your practice talks with a webcam (or other camera) so you can see how you’re doing, which I really like.
- Lastly, here’s a free 10-week online course by the University of Washington (“UoW”). In it, you get dozens of short video lectures (in clips of about 5-10 minutes each for easy viewing).
You can also (optionally) upload videos of your own short speeches to a private YouTube channel. Then, you give anonymous feedback to several students worldwide on their videos, and you get feedback on your own videos in return (from a different set of randomly-selected students).I’m finding the UoW course really helpful, and can see progress from one speech to the next. Mind you, I’ve not kept up with the 2 hours or so of video lecture clips (in total) every week, and instead am focusing on videoing my own speeches and giving feedback.
(At the time of writing, this course is almost over, but it’s scheduled to run again in January 2014. By using the link below, you can get notified when the course is next offered.)
Over to you
Anyway, I hope you find those links as useful as I have! Do post a comment if you know of other great online training resources to help with presenting and public speaking.
Also check out…
- 5 ways to be a top presenter – meet the FiRST framework
- 6 of the world’s best blogs for presenters
- Do you make this #1 mistake when you present online?
- Free public-speaking class (in Sydney, via @AuthenticBen)
- See what Toastmasters is like, right now! [Video]
- Today’s most popular posts, and the latest visitor comments
Remote Possibilities 
Hi Craig, thank you for sharing. I have actually put together a list of 4 best public speaking resources online in this post where I also included Toastmasters, Andrew Dlugan’s and others. I really think there are a lot of resources out there and we should be making good use of them.
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Thanks very much for your comment, and your link. Welcome to the blog, and I hope you find something of interest as you browse around.
I encourage readers here to go and check out that link, for more great online resources and blogs.
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Public speaking tips here. Engage – What NOT To Do When Presenting . Verity can help you be a great public speaker!
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Thanks for your comment and the link, Red. I’ve enjoyed watching Verity’s videos, and I encourage people to take a look.
Are there any other free resources on the site?
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Thanks Conor Neill to suggests the idea of talks with webcam.i have used it and find improvement in speech.
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I’m very glad the links helped – thank you for taking the time to comment.
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Great idea of taking a video of yourself and then asking for feedback. Another method is making sure you focus on the presentation rather than what’s happening internally to avoid you listening to your unconscious mind disturb your moment.
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Thanks for your comment. Can you recommend any good ways to focus more on the presentation than on yourself as the speaker?
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