Speaking Confidently Training Course

Perhaps you have a job interview coming up or have been asked to do a presentation at work.  Or perhaps it is something more personal such as speaking at a wedding, meeting new people or even may be you have been asked to preach at a church service.

Whatever it is you are facing, whether it be personal or professional, this 10 minute course will help you to understand what it means to speak confidently, why it is important, and how to practice speaking confidently.

Confidence is the key to successful verbal communication and plays a major role in how effectively we verbally communicate with other people no matter how big or small our audience is.

The good news is speaking confidently is a skill and is something that can be learnt.

Ralph Waldo Emerson says, “All good speakers were bad speakers at first.”

This course is split into two sections:

Confidence helps us make strong first impressions and improves our resilience when we're faced with challenges.

If you appear confident when you communicate you are demonstrating that you trust and believe in your ideas and abilities which means your audience can too.

Speaking confidently can open up opportunities for personal and professional development.

Without confidence, you risk losing the attention and trust of your audience.

Even just appearing confident has a hugely positive effect.

There are four simple actions to practice speaking confidently.

1. Being prepared
   Dress in a way that makes you feel confident.
   Practice what you are going to say.
   Research your topic to back up what you already know memorising answers  to questions that you may be asked.  
2. Paying attention
   Utilise the senses that are available to you - such as what you can see, hear, or feel.
   Maintain regular eye contact or share eye contact if you are speaking to more than one person.
   Keep an eye on body language.  If the people you are talking to are losing interest, ask them a question.
   Use your own body language to demonstrate passion in what you are saying.
3. Be precise
   Believe in what you are saying and believe that it has value.
   Sometimes, saying less is more. Keep it simple.
   If needed, take a deliberate pause and gather your thoughts before  continuing.
4. Visualise success 
   Visualise yourself captivating the attention of your audience.
   Take a moment to remind yourself that what you have to say matters.
   Ask open questions. These typically start with a "how", "what", or "why."

Speaking confidently doesn’t mean you have to be loud, it is about trusting in your own ability and believing what you are bringing is meaningful.  With the help of this online training course and by practicing these four actions, your will become a confident speaker.