Speak in Public

This is for you!

This course is aimed at anyone who wants to:

• improve the impact of their public speaking;

• or prepare themselves for a specific opportunity to speak in public.

There are several collaborators behind this course, all devoted to helping you express yourself better when speaking:

• Stéphane, a media training coach who supports all of the OpenClassrooms teachers, specifically in the context of speaking on camera to record the courses;

• Laurène, an OpenClassrooms teacher who helped present the original French version of this course;

• Stephanie, a public speaking coach and the principal teacher presenting this English-language version of the course;

• and other members of the OpenClassrooms team who are in the process of applying their own public speaking training.

To offer you different points of view and different perspectives: the expert point of view from Stéphane and Stephanie, the point of view of Laurène as a teacher who is learning to progress day-to-day, and demonstrations by other people who, like you, are learning from the methods of this course.

Before starting, we'd first like to reassure you. 😊

In this course, we're going to show you that public speaking is not reserved for a particular category of people, and that there’s no need to be an extrovert to speak well in public.

Everyone can achieve it, and the first step is to learn to look at things philosophically.

Accept your fear of public speaking

Are you shy or introverted?

Are you fearful when it comes to speaking in front of other people?

Make no mistake - it’s absolutely normal! For a majority of people, speaking in public is daunting. For some, it is very stressful.

👩🏻 (Laurène): At least, that’s how it is for me.

I’m naturally an extreme introvert, so I’m terrified at the idea of speaking in public. 😰

Here’s a funny story: when I was recruited by OpenClassrooms, I thought I'd just be writing the course materials and that an actor would have the job of facing the camera to deliver the content. Imagine how I felt like when I discovered, a few weeks later, that I would be starring in the course videos, which would be freely available on the Internet! 😳

I'm learning and progressing on a daily basis, thanks in large part to Stéphane, the speaking coach at OpenClassrooms. I am also mastering techniques to relieve my stress.

We want to reassure you - being afraid of speaking in public is natural and can be overcome with the right techniques.

During the course, you'll learn that you shouldn’t try to be perfect, but rather to rely on your personality, your style, and your originality. You will see that little 'failings' (like being very sensitive, for example), often have their charm and aren’t laughed at by the audience.

Take the advice you need

We all start from different levels, and it is up to each person to see how far they can progress.

To suit as many people as possible, this course has a broad range and then in part 3 covers a number of contexts, which you can pick and choose from depending on your needs:

1. Speaking at a conference,

2. Presenting a lesson to a class,

3. Leading a meeting or making an in-house presentation,

4. Delivering a presentation to camera,

5. Attending a job interview.

Take the advice that’s relevant to your situation and make the necessary improvements. You will see that change is often triggered by adjusting a few details. For some people, it’s even an eye-opener, and they make a massive leap forward.

In this course we will guide you stage by stage, and you will surprise yourself by your own progress!

Let’s recap!

• Public speaking is a skill that you can learn - and you don't have to be an extrovert to do it well.

• You can overcome your fear of public speaking by using certain techniques.

• Learn to rely on your personality, style, and creativity when addressing an audience.

• Apply the advice and tips that are relevant in your situation.

Being well prepared begins with defining the purpose of your speech, which is essential to reach your audience with authenticity and impact.

How? Join us in the next chapter to find out!