--- title: Public Speaking description: This practical discipline covers the principles of preparing and delivering speeches to live audiences. Learners will understand how to structure arguments, manage speech anxiety, and use vocal delivery to inform or persuade listeners. category: social-sciences subcategory: communication-studies difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/public-speaking --- # Public Speaking This practical discipline covers the principles of preparing and delivering speeches to live audiences. Learners will understand how to structure arguments, manage speech anxiety, and use vocal delivery to inform or persuade listeners. ## Available Resources 4 Videos • 3 Books • 3 Courses • 4 Websites ## Videos ### 1. Public Speaking Tips For Beginners Patrick Winston's annual MIT lecture on presenting technical ideas. He covers openings, blackboard versus slides, framing a contribution, and closing a talk, giving you a concrete checklist for structuring lectures and conference presentations. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unzc731iCUY **Tags:** technical-presentations, lecturing, talk-structure, mit-opencourseware, slides ### 2. How to Speak So That People Want to Listen | Julian Treasure Sound consultant Julian Treasure's TED talk on conscious listening, presenting five exercises: silence, the mixer, savouring, listening positions, and RASA, for rebuilding attention. It sharpens how you read a room while speaking. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSohjlYQI2A **Tags:** listening, ted-talk, vocal-awareness, attention, audience-reading ### 3. How to Speak So That People Want to Listen **Author:** Julian Treasure Sound consultant Julian Treasure names seven habits that undermine credibility and four foundations of trustworthy speech, then demonstrates vocal tools including register, timbre, pace, pitch, and volume. Viewers get a concrete warm-up and a checklist for being heard. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIho2S0ZahI **Tags:** public-speaking, vocal-technique, ted-talk, listening, communication-skills ### 4. The Power of Vulnerability **Author:** Brené Brown Researcher Brene Brown reports on six years of qualitative work on shame and connection, arguing that people who feel worthy of belonging are those willing to be vulnerable. Viewers get a research account, not a set of techniques. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o **Tags:** vulnerability, shame-resilience, empathy, ted-talk, connection ## Courses ### 1. Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking **Author:** James Engell HarvardX course built on James Engell's Harvard class Elements of Rhetoric. Using speeches and op-eds from American political history, it covers argument structure, the rhetorical appeals, stylistic devices and delivery, so learners can analyse persuasive texts and write and deliver their own arguments. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.edx.org/learn/rhetoric/harvard-university-rhetoric-the-art-of-persuasive-writing-and-public-speaking **Tags:** rhetoric, persuasion, public-speaking, persuasive-writing, argumentation, political-rhetoric ### 2. Dynamic Public Speaking Arizona State University's eight-hour Coursera course, built around six modules and peer-reviewed assignments. You practice the elevator pitch, informative talk, storytelling and persuasive speech, and learn to match message type to communication goal. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/publicspeakingandpresentations **Tags:** courses, humanities-social-sciences, communication-studies ### 3. Introduction to Public Speaking This course offers a proven framework for crafting and delivering impactful presentations. In the professional world, academic settings, or public life, we're frequently asked to "share some thoughts." Many individuals struggle in these situations. This course aims to make you excel where others stumble. We'll explore how to structure speeches coherently, write memorably, and present confidently. Upon completion, you will diminish your public speaking anxiety, leverage rehearsal methods to develop a robust, engaging speaking voice, and execute speeches with dynamic movements. The speech model we'll practice is versatile for briefings, elevator pitches, interviews, and even as a blueprint for hour-long presentations. Whether you're a novice or an experienced speaker, this course will help you master speaking fundamentals or elevate your public speaking skills to new heights. As a bonus, you'll gain access to an immersive VR experience that lets you perfect your presentation skills in a simulated auditorium or conference room, complete with a virtual audience. You will receive real-time feedback, empowering you to refine your abilities through practice in a realistic setting. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Duration:** 5 weeks of study; 2 hours per week. | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/public-speaking **Tags:** courses, personal-development, life-skills ## Podcasts ### 1. Steal the Show **Author:** Michael Port Speeches, job interviews, deal-closing pitches. Do you know the best way to handle yourself in the spotlight? Steal the Show from Heroic Public Speaking is a fast track to learning what it takes to engage your listeners, manage your nerves, and maximize your message's impact in every situation, every time. Through interviews with top performers, listener Q&As, and expert chats with Heroic Public Speaking staff, we’ll help you make the most of every public speaking opportunity to improve results in every aspect of your life. At Heroic Public Speaking, we believe that the most transformative speeches change the wo... **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://StealTheShow.com **Tags:** stage-presence, performance-technique, speaking-nerves, keynote-speaking, audience-engagement ## Websites ### 1. Audience Analysis - Stand up, Speak out (open textbook, Ch. 5) The audience-analysis chapter of a CC-licensed university public speaking textbook. Defines the three analysis types - demographic, psychographic, situational - with methods for gathering audience data and applying findings to speech choices. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Public_Speaking/Stand_up_Speak_out_-_The_Practice_and_Ethics_of_Public_Speaking/05%3A_Audience_Analysis **Tags:** audience-analysis, public-speaking, speech-preparation, demographic-analysis ### 2. toastmasters.org Toastmasters.org is the official site of Toastmasters International, a nonprofit network that helps people improve public speaking and leadership through local clubs and a structured education program. It provides program descriptions, Pathways learning resources, club finder, event information, and practical tips for speeches and leadership development. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://toastmasters.org **Tags:** websites, humanities-social-sciences, communication-studies ### 3. sixminutes.dlugan.com Six Minutes, created by Andrew Dlugan, is a public speaking resource offering practical tips, techniques, and articles on presentation skills, speech structure, delivery, storytelling, and evaluation. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://sixminutes.dlugan.com **Tags:** websites, personal-development, life-skills ### 4. ted.com TED.com is the hub for TED Talks—short, powerful videos by experts across technology, science, design, and culture. It offers videos, transcripts, subtitles, and curated playlists with insights on presentation, storytelling, and effective communication. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ted.com **Tags:** websites, personal-development, communication ## Books ### 1. TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking **Author:** Chris Anderson TED's curator distills patterns from coaching hundreds of speakers: building a through-line, seeding curiosity gaps, choosing between explanation and narrative, handling nerves, and deciding when slides help or compete for audience attention. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1328710289?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** public-speaking, presentation-skills, ted-talks, storytelling, speech-structure ### 2. Talk Like TED **Author:** Carmine Gallo Carmine Gallo analyzes hundreds of TED presentations to extract nine recurring techniques: emotional openings, an eighteen-minute limit, novel data, multisensory delivery. You finish with a repeatable template for structuring and rehearsing a short, high-stakes talk. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1509867392?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, communication-studies ### 3. Confessions of a Public Speaker **Author:** Scott Berkun Scott Berkun recounts his own paid speaking engagements, including hostile rooms, empty rooms and technical failures, and works backward to what actually held audiences. You get realistic expectations about preparation, room setup, and recovering when things go wrong. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1449301959?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, personal-development, life-skills --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/public-speaking