Ask HN: Best online speech / public speaking course?

33 points by i_am_not_elon 5 years ago | 15 comments

Hi HN - Has anyone taken an online course to help them with public speaking, speech and voice skills that they’d highly recommend? Thanks!

Rzor 5 years ago |

I don't know about the course itself, but you probably would like to watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unzc731iCUY (How To Speak by Patrick Winston)

Content: 00:16 - Introduction 03:11 - Rules of Engagement 04:15 - How to Start 05:38 - Four Sample Heuristics 10:17 - The Tools: Time and Place 13:24 - The Tools: Boards, Props, and Slides 36:30 - Informing: Promise, Inspiration, How To Think 41:30 - Persuading: Oral Exams, Job Talks, Getting Famous 53:06 - How to Stop: Final Slide, Final Words 56:35 - Final Words: Joke, Thank You, Examples

i_am_not_elon 5 years ago | |

I loved it! Thank you Rzor!

westurner 5 years ago |

"TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking" https://smile.amazon.com/TED-Talks-Official-Public-Speaking-...

TED Masterclass: https://masterclass.ted.com/

"Power Talk: Using Language to Build Authority and Influence" https://smile.amazon.com/Power-Talk-Language-Authority-Influ...

Re: Clean Language and Symbolic Modeling; listening to metaphors and asking clean questions may be a more effective way to facilitate change: https://westurner.github.io/hnlog/#comment-15471868

westurner 5 years ago | |

/? greatest speeches: https://m.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEA&search_query=Greatest+...

"Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History" by William Safire. https://a.co/8svyoUw

E.g. "The Prosperity Bible: The Greatest Writings of All Time on the Secrets to Wealth and Prosperity" (Napoleon Hill, PT Barnum, Dale Carnegie, Gibran, Benjamin Franklin; 5000+ pages). https://a.co/b8Ej6o7

Talking points: Peaceful coexistence, #GlobalGoals 1-17 (UN SDGs), "Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update" by Donella H. Meadows. https://a.co/7MgO0bv

i_am_not_elon 5 years ago | |

Thank you! Great idea - TED knows its stuff.

jameshush 5 years ago |

Heroic Public Speaking (https://heroicpublicspeaking.com/) is the best one in the industry. I worked with them for 6 months to develop a 45 minute keynote. When I was leading an engineering team I used the skills here on a daily basis. Michael and Amy are an absolute joy to work with, can’t recommend enough. I now do paid speaking engagements on delivering features quickly without breaking everything because of the training I received from this program.

i_am_not_elon 5 years ago | |

Ty - Looks amazing. I'll reach out to them.

sethammons 5 years ago |

I realize you are asking for online courses, but this in-person course from Decker was given to a lot of people at our company several years ago (dozens and dozens; hundreds?). Every. Single. Person. said it was valuable. I didn't get the opportunity and am still a tad sore about it :)

https://decker.com/blog/public-speaking/

i_am_not_elon 5 years ago | |

Thank you - I appreciate it. I will explore this further to see how I can do it as an individual.

sloaken 5 years ago |

I am a big fan of toastmasters. They are a non profit club. Very encouraging. But if you can visit a few, as each club is different. I was lucking in finding a great place. Visited a few that were a bit overwhelming (over bearing / harsh).

i_am_not_elon 5 years ago | |

oh good call - I attended one online during COVID, but maybe in-person will start up soon. Thanks!

rickitan 5 years ago |

I loved every single one here:

Great Talks Most People Have Never Heard

https://jamesclear.com/great-speeches

i_am_not_elon 5 years ago | |

Thanks - I'll build these into my daily routine :) I appreciate it.

eddof13 5 years ago |

I haven't taken this one but I want to:

https://www.dalecarnegie.com/en/courses/4486

also this one: https://yourtruevoice.org/claim-your-voice/ but it's not live like the dale carnegie

i_am_not_elon 5 years ago | |

Dale looks amazing, though oriented towards companies, so I'll have to wait on that. However yourtruevoice looks promising - thank you!