The power of an effective speech is undeniable. It has the capacity to engage, inform, motivate, and create change in an audience, and in the world. In How to Speak Effectively in Any Setting, a 24-lesson course with Molly Bishop Shadel, Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, learn the fine art of speaking clearly, effectively, and persuasively in contexts across the spectrum, from the board room to the bar room and everywhere in between. Professor Shadel teaches you the underpinnings of effective speech writing and skilled delivery in settings both personal and professional, giving you the tools you need to appear both confident and competent in all your public speech.
How to Speak Effectively in Any Setting
Learn how to be both confident and competent in your public speaking.
Rated 1 out of
5
by
Randyjack from
Very liberal example content
The professor goes over the core topic but is constantly doing the very things the course is teaching you to use/notice in such a way as to influence you into her political view points. It's probably working on a lot of people, especially those only half attentive.
Date published: 2023-03-17
Rated 1 out of
5
by
Rebacca from
Politically Biased
Be aware of the examples being used -- The teacher claims they are good if the politicians cited are from that one party, bad if from another party.
Date published: 2023-02-10
Rated 5 out of
5
by
a3v891 from
Excellent lecturer! Great material.
Did not really know what to expect from this course but when I saw who the lecturer is my interest was piqued and I read more into the course. Really like the layout of the course and the way she approached it, using Aristotle’s Ethos, Pathos and Logos.
Date published: 2022-12-20
Rated 5 out of
5
by
DoctorLearner from
Totally relevant!
Totally relevant! I have been speaking to groups of 20 to 2000 for the last 30 years. I wish I had this course 30 years ago. I learned something new in every chapter. I am a better speaker for it today.
Date published: 2022-11-14
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Florin from
SEPT. 24, 2022: TRANSCRIPT OR BOOK
Sept. 24, 2022: Is there a paper copy available for those who do not have a printer? It's a really great course and the speaker is very engaging but I really would like to have the book or transcript. Thanks. Florence Sundberg
Date published: 2022-09-24
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Anukul from
Course is properly crafted precisely
The best public speaking course I have ever taken. Detailed courses
Date published: 2022-09-10
Rated 3 out of
5
by
Max c from
Have not been able to download the coarse after 2 days! Called twice and no answer.
Date published: 2022-01-23
Rated 5 out of
5
by
gillianerin from
Phenomenal and applicable!
If you are someone who is going to do a lot of public speaking and who has not had the benefit of formal training, sign up for this course! I am in the medical profession and got no training on how to speak, but still have to give lectures and presentations and speak to people on a daily basis. This course has greatly improved my skills. As an example, I used to trip over my words all the time. Regularly doing the vocal exercises in this course has decreased the amount of time that happens!
I loved the use of famous speeches to demonstrate good and bad technique. This really helped improve my understanding and helped me realize why the techniques are important.
I'm so glad I took this course. I'm just recommending it to everyone!
Date published: 2022-01-20
Overview
About
Molly Bishop Shadel is a Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, where she teaches negotiations and advocacy classes and is a senior fellow at the Center for National Security Law. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with an A.B. in English and American Literature and Language. Professor Shadel earned her J.D. from Columbia University.
Professor Shadel clerked for the Honorable Eugene H. Nickerson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Before joining the faculty of the University of Virginia, Professor Shadel worked as an attorney at the law firm of Covington & Burling, and then at the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Intelligence Policy and Review. Professor Shadel joined the faculty at the University of Virginia School of Law in 2005.
Professor Shadel is the author of two books: Finding Your Voice in Law School: Mastering Classroom Cold Calls, Job Interviews, and Other Verbal Challenges and Tongue-Tied America: Reviving the Art of Verbal Persuasion. Professor Shadel is also a planning faculty member of the Leadership in Academic Matters program, a biannual, semester-long leadership course for University of Virginia professors and administrators.
Trailer
01: Establishing Your Credibility as a Speaker
Follow along with Professor Molly Bishop Shadel as she details the highlights of this vital series, focusing in this lesson on ethos—“good sense, good moral character, and good will.” Learn how you, as other great speakers have throughout history, can use each aspect of ethos to generate trust, understanding, and support from audiences.
32 min
02: How to Engage an Audience’s Emotions
Think of your favorite speech from a movie or play. How does it make you feel? Here, Professor Shadel connects audience emotional response to speech success through pathos. In short, she helps you consider your audience by building a relationship, creating a receptive frame of mind, and avoiding the negative emotions that can undermine your success.
29 min
03: Speaking with Clear Logic
Most humans are single-path thinkers with relatively limited attention spans. Follow along as Professor Shadel concisely addresses the role of logos, or logic, in effective speech organization and delivery. From first impression to final comments, learn to engage your audience, keep the audience focused, and make your argument clearly and succinctly.
31 min
04: Logical Fallacies and How to Disarm Them
Flaws in reasoning, also known as logical fallacies, can derail your arguments by undermining your credibility and the integrity of your position. By learning the specifics of more than a dozen types of logical fallacies, you can become a more effective speaker and a more discerning consumer of information.
31 min
05: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Propaganda
Aristotle persuaded his audiences through good character, stirring emotional appeal, and sound logic. He also understood that skill in public speaking could be used to stir up fear and discord. In this lesson, learn more about how propaganda—deliberately false or misleading rhetoric—operates, and how it can be disarmed.
29 min
06: How to Write for Public Speaking
Writing for public speaking is different than writing that is composed to be read rather than spoken. Readers control the environment and the pace; listeners do not. Unpack the common pitfalls and opportunities in writing for speaking and construct a speech of your own that establishes credibility and amicability, grabs your audience’s attention, and makes clear your central premise.
30 min
07: Analyzing and Rehearsing Your Speech
Once you have written an outstanding speech, how do you present it in a way that brings your words alive? Take advantage of expert guidance as Professor Shadel walks you through the process of organization, revision, and practice. Explore a variety of techniques used by actors as you also prepare to take the stage.
25 min
08: Using Body Language in Public Speaking
Break problematic physical and vocal habits and practice delivering your speech with confidence. Delve into the specifics of stance, movement, blocking, power posing, and assertive posturing. Body language and tone can help communicate far more to our audience than words alone. Convey confidence and competence when you speak, and people will believe the message you wish to convey.
25 min
09: Eye Contact and Pacing in Performance
Lean in as Professor Shadel leads you through a series of rehearsal exercises designed to hone your performance, establish your credibility, and create connection with your audience. Learn how rhythm, tone, and cadence affect the meaning of your words. Finally, discover the importance of settings, lighting, and costume in bringing your speech to life.
26 min
10: Finding Your Best Voice for Public Speaking
Many people know that the human voice can be a powerful tool; far fewer realize that it can be trained to develop projection, enunciation, and articulation. With a series of physical stretches, diaphragmatic breath exercises, and tricks to support volume and vocalization, investigate ways to stay calm, collected, clear-headed, and heard by your audience.
31 min
11: Managing Stage Fright
Most of us have experienced anxiety about public speaking at some point, even people who speak for a living. Delve into the role of the amygdala in fear response, and the pre-frontal cortex in overcoming that fear. With a series of easy exercises, walk step by step through the feeling of panic and beyond it to improved outcomes.
28 min
12: Speaking with Props or Visual Aids
Visual aids can be the difference between a good speech and a great one. With them, your logic can be clear, your presentation exciting, and your audience attentive. Learn how to design effective visual aids and to deploy them skillfully to prove a point, visualize a situation, or make an impact.
27 min
13: Making a Celebratory Speech
Pivot from public speaking basics to the first of several specific speech contexts. Prepare now to speak publicly at some of the most important celebratory occasions: weddings, graduations, retirement parties, and other rites of passage. With great writers and rhetoricians as your guides, learn to craft your own epideictic speeches.
28 min
14: Giving a Eulogy
Few speeches are more important—or challenging—than the funeral address. Many of us will be called upon at some point to offer a few words in celebration of the life of a loved one. Continue your study of powerful presentations with an exploration of the purpose and process behind an outstanding eulogy.
26 min
15: Speaking Skills for Social Settings
Have you ever avoided a social event because you were anxious, afraid you would say the wrong thing or even freeze up and say nothing at all? Discover how to make a great first impression. Then unpack the particulars of how to tell a good story and how to prepare your audience for being effective listeners.
27 min
16: Communicating Successfully at Work
Often, communication at work focuses on persuasion, rather than the ceremonial discourse common in social settings. Here, investigate best practices for effective workplace communication through strategic selection of position, audience, environment, and approach. Finally, learn how to build critical relationships and foster a positive workplace reputation, supporting all types of communication.
27 min
17: Making a Powerful Business Presentation
In this second lesson on business communication, focus on business presentations that are more formal. Learn how to pitch your product, attract a potential client, impress your board of directors, and convince your colleagues, all by employing the same theory of ethos, pathos, and logos that have made you successful in other speech settings.
27 min
18: How to Handle a Media Interview
Are you certain that you could handle a media interview effectively? Professor Shadel teaches you how to share your expertise with the media in ways that emphasize competence and credibility. Discover how best to establish your theme, choose quotable verbiage, set ground rules, dress appropriately, and project confidence.
27 min
19: Negotiating without Fear
Everyone negotiates, but not everyone does it well. Employ the wisdom of the courtroom to help you prepare, think creatively, and keep a clear head as you practice the strategies necessary to negotiate with skill and verve. By asking good questions and keeping an open mind, you can create win-win outcomes for yourself and for others.
28 min
20: Giving Helpful Verbal Feedback
There is an art in managing people, especially in giving effective feedback. It isn’t always easy, especially if it is negative or unexpected feedback. Fortunately, here, you will discover how to apply many of your new skills in public speaking to feedback situations, changing the dynamic of the listener from resistance and anxiety to one of accepting development and support.
29 min
21: Speaking Effectively in the Classroom
Calling all teachers! Whether you are a seasoned professional educator, or simply appearing as a guest speaker, you want to make the most of your time in the classroom. Examine the role of negative self-talk and change the narrative. Consider the best ways to focus on your contributions and connect with your students.
28 min
22: Making a Persuasive Political Argument
Even under the best of circumstances, political discussions can often prove caustic and divisive. Using the wisdom and strategy of that master communicator, Mister Rogers, you can deploy ethos, logos, and pathos to help your audience see the logic of your position, diffuse anger, and create a path to better understanding.
33 min
23: How to Argue in Court
Most of us are not lawyers, but understanding legal argument makes us better informed and more prepared as citizens. Professor Shadel explains the history and the function of federal and state courts, criminal and civil. In easy-to-understand terms, she reviews jurisdictions and rules, helping you prepare a clear legal argument sufficient for any courtroom.
28 min
24: Assembling the Elements of a Winning Speech
Finally, put it all together and finish this remarkable series with a critical review of key concepts that will remind you of what is both important and effective in public speaking. You will be able to employ a new understanding of context, occasion, purpose, and audience in order to craft and deliver discourse for any occasion and every situation.
26 min
