Public Speaking Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Managers and team leaders, Project managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-CS-190

Before you join: Participants should have some experience speaking in meetings, presenting updates or explaining their work to colleagues, clients or stakeholders.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Public speaking affects whether proposals receive approval, technical findings are understood, teams act on decisions and senior stakeholders trust the speaker. Many capable professionals know their subject yet lose impact through unclear messages, overloaded slides, nervous delivery, weak structure or difficulty handling challenge. This course addresses the practical gap between knowing the material and communicating it with authority, clarity and appropriate presence.

Participants learn to analyse an audience, define a central message and build presentations around a clear decision or action. They use SCQA, PREP, Monroe's Motivated Sequence, STAR and Toulmin argument structure to organise briefings, proposals, technical explanations and persuasive presentations. The course also develops vocal control, body language, storytelling, slide design, question handling and methods for managing presentation anxiety without relying on scripted performance.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings, analysed video examples, individual speaking practice, peer feedback, workplace cases and recorded delivery reviews. Participants work with realistic situations such as an executive recommendation, a client proposal, a technical project update, a town-hall message and an unexpected challenge from a stakeholder. They leave with a prepared workplace presentation, a message map, a structured rehearsal plan and targeted feedback against observable delivery criteria.

The course suits professionals who already present occasionally and need more reliable methods for important meetings, briefings, pitches, panels or formal presentations. It is relevant to managers, specialists, project leaders, client-facing staff and subject-matter experts in public, private and non-profit organisations.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose speaking strengths and delivery habits using observable presentation criteria
  • Design audience-centred messages using persona analysis, SCQA and message maps
  • Structure persuasive presentations using Monroe's Motivated Sequence and the Rule of Three
  • Deliver concise stories using ABT, STAR and evidence-based narrative techniques
  • Use voice, pauses, body language and eye contact to improve speaker presence
  • Manage questions, objections and disruption using bridging, boundaries and response frameworks
  • Create clear slides and adapt delivery for in-room, remote and hybrid audiences
  • Produce a workplace presentation rehearsal plan with measurable improvement actions

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Present recommendations with a clearer central message and requested action
  • Reduce dependence on scripts, dense notes and text-heavy slides
  • Handle challenging questions without losing structure or composure
  • Explain specialist material credibly to senior and non-specialist audiences
  • Build a repeatable preparation and rehearsal routine for important speaking events

For your organisation

  • Improve the quality and speed of decisions from management briefings
  • Make client proposals and project updates easier to understand and evaluate
  • Reduce confusion caused by poorly structured change and incident communications
  • Strengthen subject-matter experts' ability to represent the organisation externally
  • Create more consistent standards for presentations, questions and stakeholder engagement

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can identify their current speaking habits and set observable improvement priorities.

  • Baseline speaking diagnosis using purpose, audience, message and delivery criteria
  • Communication apprehension distinguished from under-preparation, unclear structure and unfamiliar stakes
  • Presentation brief defined through objective, audience action and decision context
  • Speaker credibility assessed through competence, character and goodwill dimensions
  • Audience analysis maps knowledge, attitudes, objections, needs and power
  • Personal speaking goals converted into observable behavioural targets

Participants can frame a relevant, defensible message for a defined audience and purpose.

  • Audience personas built from role, expertise, motivation and likely resistance
  • Core message framed as one defensible sentence with stated significance
  • SCQA structures situation, complication, question and answer for business messages
  • PREP develops point, reason, example and point under time pressure
  • Message maps connect claim, evidence, implication and requested action
  • Stakeholder priorities translated into relevant benefits without unsupported promises

Participants can organise presentations that hold attention and lead audiences toward action.

  • Openings establish relevance, credibility and a clear listening contract
  • Rule of Three groups key points for recall and rhythm
  • Signposting phrases mark transitions, priorities and conclusions for listeners
  • Monroe's Motivated Sequence builds attention, need, satisfaction, visualisation and action
  • Close with a specific decision, commitment or next-step request
  • Timing plans allocate minutes, transitions, questions and contingency margins

Participants can use credible stories and evidence to make complex messages memorable.

  • ABT structure links agreement, tension and resolution in concise narratives
  • Story spine sequences context, disruption, response, result and learning
  • STAR method presents situation, task, action and result credibly
  • Evidence selection balances data, examples, expert authority and audience relevance
  • Ethical storytelling protects confidentiality, accuracy, consent and cultural respect
  • Analogy and contrast clarify abstract ideas without distorting evidence

Participants can use spoken language and vocal technique to make messages easier to follow.

  • Plain-language editing replaces jargon, nominalisations and vague qualifiers
  • Vocal variety controls pace, pitch, volume, pause and emphasis
  • Pauses placed before key points and after complex information
  • Articulation techniques improve consonant clarity without adopting an artificial accent
  • Filler-word reduction uses breath, pause and prepared transition phrases
  • Sentence stress highlights contrast, priority and action for listeners

Participants can align posture, gesture, movement and expression with their spoken message.

  • Neutral stance, grounded feet and open posture support credible delivery
  • Purposeful gestures reinforce structure, scale, contrast and directional language
  • Eye-contact patterns distribute attention across groups, rooms and cameras
  • Facial expression aligns with message tone and professional context
  • Movement planned around transitions rather than nervous pacing
  • Self-recording review identifies distracting habits and repeatable strengths

Participants can answer questions directly while maintaining control of the message and time.

  • Question types classified as clarification, challenge, detail, hypothetical and hostile
  • Bridging acknowledges questions before returning to the central message
  • Claim-evidence-reasoning answers distinguish facts, judgement and uncertainty
  • Objections reframed as interests, risks or information gaps
  • Boundaries stated when information is confidential, unknown or outside scope
  • Disruptive behaviour managed through ground rules, redirection and time limits

Participants can design supporting visuals and sustain attention across delivery formats.

  • Slide headlines state conclusions rather than announce generic topics
  • Assertion-evidence slide design pairs a claim with readable proof
  • Data displays use annotations, meaningful scales and source attribution
  • The one-message-per-slide discipline reduces cognitive load and speaker dependence
  • Remote delivery manages camera framing, chat, polls and attention cycles
  • Hybrid sessions include room and remote participants through explicit turn-taking

Participants can adapt their message, evidence and delivery for common high-stakes professional settings.

  • Executive briefings foreground decision, recommendation, rationale, risk and required action
  • Technical presentations translate specialist detail into operational implications
  • Persuasive proposals apply Toulmin claims, grounds, warrants and rebuttals
  • Town-hall messages address uncertainty without speculation or false reassurance
  • Incident communications state facts, actions, constraints and update commitments
  • Briefing formats adapt depth, language and evidence to seniority

Participants can prepare, rehearse and improve a workplace presentation using a structured feedback process.

  • Rehearsal plans sequence content review, timed run-through and delivery refinement
  • Video feedback uses observable criteria rather than personal preference
  • Feedforward identifies one priority behaviour for the next speaking event
  • Presentation checklists cover room setup, technology, handouts and contingencies
  • Personal action plans schedule practice, feedback and workplace speaking opportunities
  • Progress measures track timing, filler words, audience response and outcomes

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Audience persona template
  2. SCQA and PREP message map
  3. Presentation structure planner
  4. Story and evidence selection model
  5. Question-handling response checklist
  6. Personal rehearsal and feedback plan

Who should attend

  • Managers and team leaders — communicate decisions, priorities and change with greater clarity
  • Project managers — brief sponsors, teams and stakeholders on progress, risks and decisions
  • Technical specialists — explain complex information to non-specialist decision-makers
  • Business development professionals — present proposals and respond credibly to client questions
  • Policy and programme professionals — secure support for recommendations, funding and implementation
  • Emerging leaders — build confidence and presence before larger or more senior audiences

Skills and tools covered

Audience analysisMessage structuringPersuasive storytellingVocal deliveryQuestion handlingPresentation rehearsal

Tools and standards

SCQA, PREP, Monroe's Motivated Sequence, Toulmin Model of Argumentation

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce each method, followed by case analysis, group activities, simulations and individual speaking practice. Participants prepare and deliver short presentations based on workplace situations or supplied cases. Recorded delivery review, structured peer feedback and instructor coaching focus on observable behaviours such as message clarity, timing, vocal control, body language and question handling. Application planning connects each method to upcoming meetings, briefings, proposals or presentations participants must deliver after the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have some experience speaking in meetings, presenting updates or explaining their work to colleagues, clients or stakeholders. They should be willing to prepare and deliver short presentations during the course and receive constructive feedback. No formal public speaking qualification, acting experience or advanced English-language training is required. Participants do not need to be naturally confident speakers. Bringing a current workplace presentation, proposal or briefing topic is useful, but not essential; course cases are available for those without a suitable example.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should have some experience contributing in meetings, briefing colleagues or presenting work. No prior public speaking course, formal qualification or performance background is required.

Bring a current or upcoming presentation, proposal, briefing or technical topic if you have one. A laptop is useful for reviewing slides and preparing materials, although course cases are available.

It is designed for professionals who already speak to groups and need a more reliable method for important presentations. It suits managers, specialists, project staff, client-facing professionals and emerging leaders.

This course concentrates on spoken delivery before groups, including message structure, presence, storytelling, questions and audience response. It includes visual aids and meeting communication where they directly support public speaking.

Participants apply the methods to executive briefings, client proposals, project updates, technical explanations, change communications and formal presentations. The takeaways provide reusable preparation, structuring and rehearsal tools.

The programme runs for five instructor-led days, typically 08:30 to 16:30, with about 6.5 contact hours each day. Time is divided between instruction, case work, speaking practice, simulations, feedback and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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