I am excited to announce my upcoming 5-day Discovery Public Speaking course at the European Learning Centre, Maastricht University, commencing on July 7th, 2025. This course has been a global attraction in London for over a decade. Limited places are available, so please secure your spot soon. The application deadline is June 6th, 2025.
Overview
Course Description
Becoming an effective communicator is the aim of the young and ambitious. It’s the foundation of successful business relationships. Strong communicators clearly articulate their thoughts, persuasively convey their ideas, and establish rapport with colleagues, stakeholders, and clients. Welcome to this 5-Day Discovery Public Speaking Course. If you need more clarification on your public speaking level, you’ll develop confidence and clarity on this comprehensive journey. Each session brings context, content, and new challenges. Breathing exercises and other foundational techniques, like posture, body language, gestures, and vocal variety, are discussed and reviewed. Throughout each day, we create and deliver both planned and impromptu speeches, tying them back to the theory and course learning objectives. This fun course encompasses creative storytelling, speech structures, Aristotle’s work on rhetoric (including persuasion), rhetorical devices, debating, introducing speakers, and offering a vote of thanks. Finally, we look at the use and misuse of PowerPoint presentations. Dig in for a challenging experience in public speaking that will change your perception of what you can achieve and reassess your career trajectory.
Goals
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
• To communicate effectively using posture, body language, facial expression, vocal variety, creating fluency, rhythm, and articulacy through impromptu and planned speech exercises;
• Understand and utilise Aristotle’s rhetoric: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos;
• Understand and utilise Aristotle’s 5 Canons of Rhetoric – planning, preparation, and practice;
• Understand and utilise the language of leadership;
• Understand and utilise creative storytelling in speech craft;
• Understand and utilise leadership tools like how to introduce a speaker; deliver a keynote speech; how to deliver a vote of thanks;
• Understand and utilise the purpose of debating in a business setting;
• Understand and utilise various leadership tools; delivering a SWOT analysis; Johari Window exercise;
• Understand the requirements of a panel discussion, understand and utilise PowerPoint and other visual tools effectively.
Recommended Literature
• Bibliography: Our Masters’ Voices (1984) – Prof Max Atkinson – The language and body language of speeches – ISBN 9 780416 377002
• Lend Me Your Ears – Prof Max Atkinson – All You Need to Know About Making Speeches and Presentations (2004): This book offers practical advice and insights into crafting effective speeches and presentations, drawing on Atkinson’s extensive experience.
• Speech-Making and Presentation Made Easy – Prof Max Atkinson – (2008): This book provides a more accessible guide to public speaking, offering simple yet effective strategies for anyone looking to improve their communication skills.
• You Talkin’ to me? – Sam Leith – Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama – ISBN 9 781846 683152
Teaching Methods
Interactive Class, Presentations
Assessment Methods
Attendance, Presentations
Course Facilitator
Vincent Stevenson
This opportunity has now passed, but we still run regular 5-day public speaking courses in King's Cross, London.
For all the details, see:
#publicspeaking
#executiveleadership
#leadershipdevelopment
#leadership
#maastrichtuniversity
#leadership
