Frequently Asked Questions

What is this course about? The purpose of this course is to develop your public speaking abilities so you can create and confidently deliver compelling speeches and presentations. You learn basic principles of public speaking as well as professional techniques for keeping the audience focused on you and your message. As you might expect, the most effective way to learn and improve public speaking techniques is through practice. This course includes multiple public speaking workshops with constructive feedback. In addition, you have the opportunity to review video recordings of your key speeches and take these materials home at the end of the course for continued study. Who will benefit from this course? This course is valuable for anyone who would like to improve his or her ability to speak in front of small and large groups with or without visual support materials. Some knowledge of PowerPoint, and prior public speaking experience, are helpful. What is unique about this course? The presentation training methods used in this course have been adapted from a well-proven program used worldwide to train Learning Tree instructors and facilitators. Using these methods, the course systematically develops participants' speaking abilities in a safe, constructive environment. What background do I need? No special background is required for this course, although basic familiarity with PowerPoint and prior public speaking experience are helpful. You have an opportunity to apply your knowledge of PowerPoint in the final speech. In PowerPoint, you should be able to Type and edit text on a slide Select an appropriate slide template Add clip-art pictures to slides Navigate forward and backwards How much will I learn about PowerPoint in this course? This is not a PowerPoint training course although PowerPoint may be used as the presentation media for your final speech, which requires visual support. The main focus of this course is to develop your public speaking abilities, and many of the presentation workshops and activities do not require the use of PowerPoint. Will I be giving speeches during the course? Will I receive feedback? Yes! You have the opportunity to deliver four speeches during the course, each ranging from two to five minutes. During each presentation, you focus on improving specific skills and receive written, targeted feedback from both your colleagues and your instructor. In addition, you review video recordings of key speeches in order to see your progress and areas for continued improvement. How much time is spent on each topic? Content Hours Building Blocks of Effective Public Speaking 4.0 Creating Compelling Speeches 4.0 Engaging Your Audience 3.0 Interacting with Your Audience 3.0 Rehearsing and Delivering Your Speech 4.0 Times, including the workshops, are estimates; exact times may vary according to the needs of each class. How much of this course is hands-on? Because the most effective way to learn and improve public speaking abilities is through practice, about 70 percent of course time is devoted to the construction, delivery and evaluation of speeches and presentations. Some examples of course activities include Creating a personal speaking profile Delivering an introductory presentation Demonstrating good and poor body language, eye contact and vocal delivery using a video activity Delivering a two-minute speech on a selected topic Animating your speech with vocal variety Self-evaluation: reviewing your video Constructing a compelling presentation with a five-step method Designing interaction into your presentation How does this course differ from Course 345, Delivering Dynamic Presentations? In Course 903, Public Speaking: Conveying Your Message with Confidence, you focus more on practicing specific speaking skills, including body language, gestures, eye contact and vocal variety. You have the opportunity to improve your speaking style by reviewing selected video recordings of your presentations. In Course 345, Delivering Dynamic Presentations, you spend more time planning and delivering well-structured, polished presentations using practical techniques to organise key points into a coherent story that captures your audience's attention. How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses? In addition to the public speaking skills taught in this course, Learning Tree offers a wide variety of courses that can help you further develop your communication, presentation and writing skills, including the following: Course 292, Communication Skills: Results Through Collaboration, offers practical experience initiating and responding to various forms of communication through interactive workshops, self-assessments, role-playing activities and video simulations Course 294, Influence Skills: Getting Results Without Direct Authority, offers the specific skills, behaviours and attitudes necessary to achieve desired results without relying on the use of authority Course 224, The Art of Coaching: Enabling Employees to Achieve Their Potential, provides the coaching skills to develop the potential of your employees, peers and others. Course 904, Responding to Conflict: Creating Resolution and Cooperation, offers practical experience recognising causes behind interpersonal conflict, targeting emotional triggers that create conflict, and applying proven techniques and strategies to build an environment of cooperation. Course 905, Facilitation Skills, provides you with the facilitation skills proven to dramatically increase productivity, produce better plans, make smarter decisions and derive high-quality information Course 319, Technical Writing: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, provides the skills to assess the needs of your users and create documents that explain technical information Course 219, Hands-On Business and Report Writing: The Art of Persuasion, provides the knowledge to develop effective writing skills that convey a credible message and project a professional image Course 194, Hands-On Visio®: Designing Effective Visual Solutions, provides the knowledge and skills to use the Visio built-in templates and stencils to create sophisticated diagrams