Few kinds of communication can have the effect of a powerful presentation. Even a short speech can motivate people to change long-held beliefs or to take action, and a wonderfully delivered speech can transform a normal person into a leader.
In this course, Prof. William Kuskin provides a series of pragmatic videos and exercises for successful public speaking and presentations. The course develops through four themes—mastering fear, developing a creative formula, using verbal and body language, and anticipating the room—so that you can discover your personal power as a speaker and give excellent presentations.
Successful presentations do not rely on perfect teeth, a deep voice, or an army of scriptwriters. They depend largely on the same skills as successful Business Writing and Graphic Design: clarity, structure, and revision. The goal of the course, therefore, is to enable you to discover your own internal power as a speaker and express it to the world. After this course, with some practice, you will be able to go into any situation and command the room for as long as you like.
This course is part of the Effective Communication: Writing, Design, and Presentation Specialization
Successful Presentation
Offered By
Effective Communication: Writing, Design, and Presentation SpecializationUniversity of Colorado Boulder
About this Course
4.7
220 ratings
Skills you will gain
CommunicationBusiness WritingPresentationPublic Speaking
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week
1Getting Started with Public Speaking
In this module William tackles the one element that makes public speaking difficult: fear. Unlike writing a memo or designing a slide deck, presenting a speech puts you directly in front of an audience. Public speaking is wrapped up in the fear of immediate judgment and of lasting rejection. Yet the skills of writing and design are exactly the same as those of public speaking: clarity, structure, revision, and above all, storytelling. By applying these skills you can control your fear and take center stage in public. The results will astound you.
10 videos (Total 35 min), 4 readings, 1 quiz
10 videos
The Capstone (For New Learners)3m
Welcome to Successful Presentation3m
Understanding Fear4m
The Code Rule: Survival Reactions4m
The Paradox of Public Speaking3m
We've All Felt Fear4m
Successful Presentation is Storytelling3m
Stories and Storytellers2m
Performance2m
4 readings
About Successful Presentation15m
Kuskin's Top Ten Best Practices15m
Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist10m
Successful Presentation Assignment, Part 1: Telling a Two-Minute Story10m
1 practice exercise
Summative Assessment 125m
Week
2A Formula For Successful Presentation
Like the Second Module of Business Writing, this module zeroes in on a practical formula for successful presentations. William establishes this structure, and then breaks down it down into modular elements, so the most complex presentations can be created easily, revised effectively, and delivered confidently. Still, no one-size-fits-all outline, no rigid set of rules, is capable of expressing your own personality and unlocking your own brilliance, and so William goes beyond the basic formula to teach you the secret ingredient to public speaking: creativity.
14 videos (Total 54 min), 4 readings, 2 quizzes
14 videos
The Secret Ingredient: Creativity8m
What Is Creativity?5m
The Central Importance of the Introduction1m
The Introduction: The Salutation4m
The Introduction: The Review of the Structure1m
The Introduction: The One Compelling Point3m
Kuskin Receives His Assignment for Coursera Presentation1m
Intro: The Modular Content Unit1m
Pushing Each Unit (Thinking in Circles)3m
Building Transitions3m
How Do You Push Yourself?3m
The Conclusion4m
The Entire Talk Is a Circle6m
4 readings
The Formula15m
Raymond Chandler, Trouble Is My Business15m
Successful Presentation Assignment, Part 2: Crafting an Introductions
Successful Presentation Assignment, Part 3: Building Moduless
2 practice exercises
Summative Assessment 230m
Summative Assessment 325m
Week
3Practicing Your Self
We’ve all sat through presentations that had solid content but just didn’t seem to work. Sometimes it’s hard to define why a speaker fails to deliver. The key is practice. Practice is tricky, however, because poor practice techniques actually make a dull presentation even duller—further from the inspiring, passionate experience you want to create for your audience. In Module Three, William redefines the notion of practice as a dynamic process of verbal and physical language, and then teaches you how focus your language to express your personal style of passion. Module Three teaches you to put passion in a bottle and release it when you want.
10 videos (Total 45 min), 1 reading, 3 quizzes
10 videos
You Are Your Own Harshest Critic4m
The Reverse Outline5m
Rehearsing the Introduction3m
Passion in a Bottle3m
Hearing Your Language1m
Marking Your Script7m
Recognizing Your Body2m
Using Your Body5m
The Importance of Stance4m
1 reading
Shakespeare Reading20m
3 practice exercises
Assessment 416m
Assessment 510m
Assessment 620m
Week
4Engaging with the World
You’ve put away your fear. You’ve used the formula to write a clear talk, and you’ve tweaked it with the secret ingredient of creativity. You’ve rehearsed and mastered your personal verbal and physical language. Still, a conference room or a lecture hall is an unpredictable arena, one that contains an uncontrollable amount of variables: the layout of the space, the mood of the audience, the complexity of the questions—these are the elements of a presentation for which you can never fully prepare. How do you actually get ready to walk out on stage? The last module of “Successful Presentation” teaches you how to anticipate the field of the play so you are flexible, agile, and confident. It lays out, in simple terms, how to deal with interruptions and hostility alike, concluding the course by looking ahead to how you develop your own identity not merely as a public speaker, but as powerful individual.
10 videos (Total 39 min), 1 reading, 3 quizzes
10 videos
A Chaucerian Interlude4m
Attending to Your Audience4m
Slides vs Handouts4m
What Is a Question?3m
Being Soft3m
Avery's Demo Presentation: "Frankenstein and Science"7m
Building a Public Portfolio from the Private Self2m
The Paradox of the Public Self2m
Effective Communication3m
1 reading
Chaucer Manuscript15m
2 practice exercises
Summative Assessment 725m
Rubric Training Quiz30m
4.7
36 Reviews25%
started a new career after completing these courses
20%
got a tangible career benefit from this course
Top Reviews
By AN•Aug 24th 2017
William Kuskin has delivered a truly inspiring and empowering MOOC - legendary!\n\nHis shared wisdom on presentation skills will help me for the rest of my days - thank you William!\n\nOnwards!
By MO•Sep 16th 2017
I truly needed this course. I will continue to view the videos and learn what i may have missed to utilize in my position. Thank you so much for the opportunity to take this course.
Instructor
Professor William Kuskin
ProfessorDepartment of English, University of Colorado Boulder
About University of Colorado Boulder
CU-Boulder is a dynamic community of scholars and learners on one of the most spectacular college campuses in the country. As one of 34 U.S. public institutions in the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), we have a proud tradition of academic excellence, with five Nobel laureates and more than 50 members of prestigious academic academies.
About the Effective Communication: Writing, Design, and Presentation Specialization
Over seventy companies and tens of thousands of students worldwide have used Effective Communication to deliver ideas powerfully in the workplace. By taking Business Writing, Graphic Design, and Successful Presentation, you’ll hone your written, visual, and verbal business presentation skills. You'll learn to write well-organized, clear business documents; to design elegant presentation slides, reports, and posters; and to present and speak with confidence and power. In the final Capstone Project, you'll develop a portfolio of work—including a memo, a slide deck, and a presentation—to showcase your communication skills and represent your personal brand. The Effective Communication Specialization takes you on a journey of self realization. You’ll learn that excellence in communication involves the ability to express who you are—your best self—in everything you do.
What our students say:
"A life-changing specialization."
"Simple yet powerful rules."
"Essential for everyone."
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
What is the refund policy?
Is financial aid available?
What software or hardware will I need to complete this course?
The ability to record and upload short videos will be useful (a phone video camera or built in camera in a computer will be suitable).
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
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