
Ask HN: Good public speaking course/resources? - hubatrix
I was looking into improving my speech skills and also be more confident at public speaking, are there any good online course or resources that you know of?
======
gao8a
I too recommend Toastmasters, without repeating what's been said, see it as a
place to experiment different styles of speaking and a cheap place to fail. I
would perhaps not start at a corporate toastmasters at first but a local
community one. Also look into Advanced clubs where everyone is very driven
about improving. Giving productive feedback through their evaluation program
is also a useful skill.

On practise: I don't recall who or which podcast I heard this from but even
professional comedians practise a lot. There was a metric of practising
minimum an hour for every minute of your speech/act. It's not all about brute
memorization, its the fine tuning of little things that make the delivery
amazing.

On fear: Even the best still get butterflies. Public speaking is said to be
very counterintuitive to our survival instincts since you expose a lot about
yourself to a large group of people. Practise lets you manage that fear and
fosters more confidence.

I think you'll learn a lot about speaking, and entertainment in general and
will gain appreciation for good presentations.

Finally, you'll realize you won't reach out to everyone in your audience. In
an average technical presentation, if 25% of my audience felt the content was
too complicated, 25% too easy, but 50% just right, then I've succeeded.

Best of luck!

*Edit: typo

~~~
hubatrix
Thank you gao8a, yes I went to a nearby toastmasters club as guest and
planning to join them soon.

------
GavinMcG
The number one thing you need is practice. The number two thing is feedback.

Various clubs (Toastmasters is the most widespread one) can provide that. But
don't discount the benefit of preparing a speech and delivering it over and
over again, even to no one. Filming yourself can provide the feedback
component.

I think "Thank You For Arguing" [0] is a good resource on persuasion broadly.
Some of the same things that work on a person-to-person level also apply to a
speaker-to-audience relationship, and the book goes into both areas.

American Rhetoric has a library of audio recordings from "great speeches" [1].
Listen, and imitate the things you like.

Finally, more than anything else, I'd actually recommend taking improv
comedy/improv theater classes. They taught me two things: that not knowing
what you're going to say next is totally fine, and that the audience is on
your side and wants you to succeed. Knowing both of those things in your bones
before you take the stage makes everything so much easier.

[0] [https://www.amazon.com/Thank-You-Arguing-Revised-
Updated/dp/...](https://www.amazon.com/Thank-You-Arguing-Revised-
Updated/dp/0385347758/)

[1]
[http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html](http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html)

~~~
ghaff
In addition to feedback from people, it's really useful to take video (which
is easy these days) and carefully watch it. It really makes you aware of
distracting habits and verbal tics.

I have an interview style podcast and editing makes me _very_ aware of verbal
tics in both myself and others.

You may find it easier to record yourself while speaking to others though. At
least for me, just talking into a camera in my office can feel very awkward.

ADDED: I have taken courses through my employer a couple of times. They've
been useful but I agree with everyone else that observing others who you think
do a good job, practice, and feedback are generally more useful than taking a
course as such. I wouldn't dissuade someone from taking a course but don't go
in expecting to learn the magic formula.

~~~
hubatrix
Thank you ghaff, I'll try observing my successful colleagues, and record more
of myself and analyze.

------
baron816
I second Toastmasters.

I've been a member for about a year now and it has made an enormous
difference. I used to be absolutely terrified to public speaking. I would get
so incredibly nervous and flustered that it would barely be able to get
anything out and it would make everyone in the room super uncomfortable. But
now I've become a halfway decent public speaker. And in translates well to all
sort of other social interactions too. I'm definitely more confident overall.

It really is all about practice, and being able to do that in front of a group
of people that are trying to do the same is comforting.

~~~
mrmrcoleman
I'll second the point about overall confidence. I started so that I could do
presentations at meetups/conferences but it became so much more important
outside of work.

------
urs2102
I was very fortunate to have a public speaking role a few years ago that let
me speak to 1500+ people every week and I can definitely say that there are
two levels IMO.

1\. Actually speaking. For this, you just want to practice. Often times that's
what you need. Toastmasters I've heard is great, but any chance you have to
practice, just go for it. I'm a big fan of improv (I've taken the UCB course
in New York while in college which is really fun!), as it gets to the
principle issue: comfort. You just need to feel comfortable and part of that
is really about learning how to harness your nerves. The difference in feeling
between being nervous and excited may not be far apart from a physical
perspective, so trying to channel those nerves and treat them as a Good Thing,
is definitely what you want to do, and you're only going to get better with
practice.

2\. Speech writing. This is totally different, and is actually very different
from something like essay writing. It's very top heavy, and this IMO can be
picked up from just watching a lot of speeches. Alterations, keeping track of
syllable count and sonic tricks help compose how your speech is heard, which
is different from how it's understood. Learning how to get something to sound
a certain way is something you don't think too much about when writing essays,
but is paramount to writing speeches. In addition, learning how to format them
content wise is also different from many other forms of writing. I find the
best way to look at this (much like programming), is to look at existing
speeches (like looking at projects), and try to understand what makes a speech
'good', and what doesn't. From Steve Jobs at Stanford to Barack Obama's Red
States and Blue States (Obama really employs great melodic elements in his
speeches in contrast to Jobs's more conversational story telling style) -
there are many different ways to cut it, but the best is to look at what
impacts you and attempt to deconstruct why.

Again, if you just want to be comfortable with speaking in public, just
practice and throw yourself in there. The fear of having a bad speech is
always 1000x worse than the reaction to having a bad speech. The stakes in
public speaking aren't as high as most people think and often times the worst
thing that can happen is boredom. I find the biggest mistake most people make
is really thinking people care more than they actually do. So just go and try
to have fun with it - and fake that confidence long enough until it starts to
feel real :).

~~~
venture_lol
Jupp. When you speak, keep your audience in mind. It is for your audience's
benefit that you speak, not necessarily for yourselves.

~~~
ghaff
>When you speak, keep your audience in mind.

And different audiences, in different settings have very different
expectations around things like technical depth and polish. Something could be
a super-duper TED talk or keynote at a big conference and be utterly
uninteresting for the audience at a local event that's there for technical
deep-dives.

------
losteverything
Dale Carnegie will teach you formulas __

Toastmasters will give you practice.

In would also recommend watching some great communicators. Like Martin Luther
King Jr. I like his speech to Stanford called "the other america" (can't post
link sorry)

 __how to thank a group when receiving an award. 1thank them. 2 tell them why
and how the award means to you. 3tell them how you will use what you received.
4 thank them again.

~~~
hubatrix
thanks losteverything

------
djm_
Not really a course but Zach Holman has written a decent guide [1] on public
speaking within tech that offers a lot of handy advice.

[1] [http://speaking.io/](http://speaking.io/)

------
SKILNER
Claim Your Voice, the one in the Bay Area by Jonathan Bender.
[http://yourtruevoice.org/claim-your-voice/](http://yourtruevoice.org/claim-
your-voice/)

This course is not cheap, but if you're serious, this was put together by a
guy from a theatre background. If you think about it, actors have to learn to
deal with all the things that speakers must deal with: anxiety, confidence,
voice, body language, eye contact, presence, etc. This course was an eye-
opener for me in many ways I had never thought of.

I highly recommend this after having been through: Dale Carnegie - great
orientation to people skills, but not a lot of speaking practice; Toastmasters
- "amateurs teaching amateurs" \- groups vary widely; Speaking Circles -
touchy feely

------
speakscore
Every comment on this thread is valuable. The key is lots of practice and
feedback. If Toastmasters is not an option - or if you don't feel ready yet,
an alternative is recording yourself while doing speaking exercises at your
own pace. We built a tool for this exact reason:
[https://www.speakscore.net](https://www.speakscore.net)

------
mrmrcoleman
I started with ToastMasters:
[https://www.toastmasters.org/](https://www.toastmasters.org/)

They have clubs in most cities and sometimes multiple. I attended an English
language club in Amsterdam and it helped me tremendously.

It's run by the members for the members and at least at the one I attended it
was incredibly supportive and very affordable.

------
simonebrunozzi
If anyone here is specifically interested in "tech evangelism" tips, I have
been one for several years, and have written a few things about it - which
cover, in part, public speaking; I hope you find these useful:

1) [http://brunozzi.com/2015/04/30/on-
evangelism/](http://brunozzi.com/2015/04/30/on-evangelism/)

2) Related to "accents" : [http://brunozzi.com/2013/09/02/accents-english-
arrogance-suc...](http://brunozzi.com/2013/09/02/accents-english-arrogance-
success/)

------
pdog
Dale Carnegie's public speaking courses.

If you're terrified of public speaking:

[http://www.dalecarnegie.com/events/getting_rid_of_the_fear_a...](http://www.dalecarnegie.com/events/getting_rid_of_the_fear_and_horror_of_public_speaking/)

If you're a little bit more advanced:

[http://www.dalecarnegie.com/events/public-speaking-
courses/](http://www.dalecarnegie.com/events/public-speaking-courses/)

------
yblu
Also check out this book "TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public
Speaking" [1], written by the owner of TED himself. I read many books on
public speaking and this is by far the best. I've been giving it as gift to
friends who do public speaking of any kind.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/TED-Talks-Official-Public-
Speaking/dp...](https://www.amazon.com/TED-Talks-Official-Public-
Speaking/dp/0544634497/)

------
gspyrou
I really liked the "Introduction to Public Speaking" course at Coursera :
[https://www.coursera.org/learn/public-
speaking](https://www.coursera.org/learn/public-speaking)

------
neves
Ok, we all need to practice, train our respiration and voice intonation.
There's a lot of tips about it. But one of the most important thing is to
present a clear message.

I liked the book "Made to Stick" [http://heathbrothers.com/books/made-to-
stick/](http://heathbrothers.com/books/made-to-stick/) about how to clearly
present your message. They have a very good summary designed for presentations
called "Making Presentations That Stick". The authors will give it in exchange
of subscribing for their mailing list:
[http://heathbrothers.com/resources/overview/](http://heathbrothers.com/resources/overview/)
(it is in the bottom of the page)

~~~
hubatrix
Thanks @neves ! will look into this book

------
selmat
As Oren Klaff said...you can't steal it, you can't find it, you can't buy
it...you have to earn it.[0]

Courses and books give you tool. For sharpening, you have to use it daily.

Good resources about "tools":

> I'd Rather Die! Public Speaking Survival Skills by Robert Scanlon.[1]

> MIT OWC - Rethoric [2]

> Oren Klaff - How To Pitch Anything (LondonReal) [0]

> (not exactly about speaking but suitable for speak preparation) Technical
> communication by Mike Markel [3]

[0]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxwTn_f5yaI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxwTn_f5yaI)

[1] [https://goo.gl/zv2DOY](https://goo.gl/zv2DOY)

[2] [https://goo.gl/oJ4lRL](https://goo.gl/oJ4lRL)

[3] [https://goo.gl/AxS1Pc](https://goo.gl/AxS1Pc)

Edit: Formatting

~~~
hubatrix
Thanks a lot for all the resources selmat !

------
guiambros
Besides the other resources listed below, here's two great books about the
importance of leadership presence, and the power of storytelling.

> Leadership Presence
> [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002J05GIA/](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002J05GIA/)

> Communicate to Influence: How to Inspire Your Audience to Action
> [https://www.amazon.com/Communicate-Influence-Inspire-
> Audienc...](https://www.amazon.com/Communicate-Influence-Inspire-Audience-
> Action-ebook/dp/B00TJHL6LW/)

------
kukx
I once came across "Public Speaking Pro Tips" video series by Google
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkFbmJSyuKk&list=PLOU2XLYxms...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkFbmJSyuKk&list=PLOU2XLYxmsIJCljbqWadE1AbnWRdqBHiQ&index=1)

------
hasitseth
While others are recommending platforms to practice, here are my 2 cents. Most
important asset for a public speaker is "clarity". Clarity of thoughts is a
magnet for audience attention. Once you have an audience "connect", anything
you say is gold. Clarity of thought can be improved by these two resource
books:

1\. Art of Argument - Giles St.Aubyn (ISBN 0800803698) 2\. Influence - Robert
Cialdini (006124189X)

After that, try reading some Bertrand Russell writings. See how your argument
and persuasion quality jumps from above resources.

~~~
hubatrix
Clarity got it, thanks hasitseth

------
atsaloli
Ingrid Gudenas was going to offer a webinar
[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/do-your-presentations-look-
so...](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/do-your-presentations-look-sound-like-
everyone-elses-ingrid-gudenas-1?articleId=8583458041836358144)

I attended her half day workshop in the Bay Area and it transformed my public
speaking and made it easier fir me to build rapport with the audience.

------
mrcactu5
have you considered creating an instagram channel and just talking about
things you like?

when I record, I get to see my own body language, my phone changes my speaking
voice and picks up my very strong Bronx accent.

~~~
hubatrix
No mrcactu5, I guess I should do that

------
contingencies
_Speak like a leader_ | Simon Lancaster | TEDxVerona

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGBamfWasNQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGBamfWasNQ)

------
kozikow
virtualspeech.com is good for training public speaking in VR.

~~~
fasicle
Second this, great tool for practising, huge step up from doing it in front of
a mirror (free/cheap as well)

------
skyisblue
Are there any good podcasts on public speaking?

