Course
Speaking with Confidence: A Hands-On Training Course
Sixteen practical lessons on using your voice well: meetings, leading groups, feedback, video calls, off-the-cuff answers and talks.
About speaking
- Most speaking happens at a table, on a call or in a corridor, not on a stage
- Fear of public speaking is the most common social fear: about one adult in five reports it
- Nerves never fully go away; what changes is how you read them and what you do with them
- Confidence comes from short, regular practice with honest feedback, not from a single big talk
- Leadership is mostly spoken: setting direction, running meetings, giving feedback, staying calm
- An independent course: not affiliated with or endorsed by Toastmasters International
Clubs and further help
- Toastmasters International: find a club near you ↗
- Rostrum Australia: public speaking clubs ↗
- Stanford GSB: Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast ↗
- healthdirect: social anxiety disorder ↗
- Vocal Impact: Kirsten Geraghty, voice therapy and accent reduction ↗
- Sally Prosser: voice and public speaking coach ↗
- Speech Pathology Australia: find a speech pathologist ↗
Prefer to watch or listen?
- How to speak so that people want to listen ↗ Julian Treasure, TED
- TED's secret to great public speaking ↗ Chris Anderson, TED
- Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication Techniques ↗ Matt Abrahams, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Lessons
- How to use this course
- Your voice in everything you do
- Working with nerves
- Your voice: breath, pace, pitch and pause
- Body, eyes and space
- Speaking off the cuff
- Giving it a shape
- Stories and examples
- Speaking up in meetings
- Facilitating small meetings
- Leading with your voice
- Feedback, evaluation and listening
- Calls, video and hybrid meetings
- Prepared talks: notes, slides and rehearsal
- Questions and the unexpected
- Your practice plan
- Clubs, mentors, coaches and contests
- Quick reference
- Appendix: Speaking terms