Cornell University

For anyone who wants to improve oral presentation skills through instruction and practice in a supportive environment. Overcome reluctance to speak in public, analyze and understand your audience for maximum effectiveness, gain tools to organize your thoughts for a more effective/powerful presentation.

Key Topics

  • Learning to look, learning to listen: Analyzing other speakers.  Analyze and understand your audience for maximum effectiveness
  • Tools to organize your thoughts and make your speech more effective/powerful
  • Specific techniques to calm those nerves and butterflies in the stomach
  • Practicing: Watch yourself on video; get constructive and supportive feedback
  • Dealing with a question-and-answer session, including hostile questions

Approach and Features
This asynchronous online workshop utilizes scenarios, group discussions, and final communications presentation. Participants can access the website 24 hours a day seven days a week for twenty-one days when it is convenient for them. Participants do not have to be online on a specific date or time. Participants must log in on at least 6 different days over the three weeks to allow interaction with others in the workshop.  Participants are given a variety of communication tools to improve their verbal and nonverbal communication styles.  These presentations/demonstrations are shared to capture their communications style and strategies for further improvement.