Public Speaking: Talk So People Listen
Every lesson opens on a short narrated video, then gives you one skill to use in your next talk: calmer nerves, a clear message, a simple structure, and a voice and body that carry it.
For anyone who has to speak in front of others, from a two-minute update at work to a toast at a wedding, and would rather not dread it. Each of the twelve lessons starts with a short narrated video that shows the idea, then practises it with you. By the end you can settle your nerves, boil a talk down to one message, build it with a hook, three points and a close, deliver it with pace, pauses and eye contact, and handle questions, online talks and short toasts.
By the end you can
- Turn stage fright into usable energy with breathing, reframing and preparation
- Boil any talk down to one message and build it with a hook, three points and a close
- Deliver with a steady pace, deliberate pauses, open body language and real eye contact
- Handle questions, online talks, short toasts and slides, with a rehearsal routine that holds it together
Before you say a word
- Nerves are normal (and useful)
See why your body panics before a talk, why the audience notices far less than you think, and three things that calm it.
- One message
Decide the single sentence you want people to walk out with, and cut everything that doesn't serve it.
- Hook, three points, close
Open with a hook, carry the message on three points, and close by repeating it with a clear call to action.
Build the talk
- Stories in talks
Use short, true stories with a person, a problem and a turn to make your point stick.
- Slides that help
Make slides that show what you say instead of repeating it: one idea each, big and simple, with you as the main event.
- Short talks and toasts
Fit the whole structure into one to three minutes, for a toast, a quick update or an introduction.
Deliver it
- Voice and pace
Speak at a pace people can follow, vary your voice so it doesn't drone, and project so the back row hears you.
- The power of pauses
Use silence on purpose: before you start, after a key point, and instead of "um".
- Body language and eye contact
Stand steady, use natural gestures, and look at people one at a time long enough to finish a thought.
Real rooms, real talks
- Handling questions
Prepare for likely questions, answer clearly and briefly, handle "I don't know" and tough questions calmly, and close after Q&A.
- Talking online
Set up camera, light and sound, look at the lens, and keep a remote audience with you with shorter sections and more interaction.
- Rehearse and deliver: put it together
Take a talk from message to the day itself: rehearse out loud, time it, record it, and walk in ready.
Keep it, don't just read it
Pathwise brings each idea back just before you'd forget it, with a quick question. Free on Android and on the web, in English and Persian.