Hi, my name is Paul Skinner. I took the course Public Speaking by Open Classrooms, and it gave me some hidden insights on public speaking and how to do it with style and class. The course was well-organized and thought-provoking, really helpful in my opinion to anyone wanting to up their game.

Ah, yes, public speaking! Those two words will send a lot of people running the other direction. YIKES! It’s the number #1 fear of people, worse than death! Something to think about.

Course instructor

This is an interesting personal observation I made after watching the lectures: even if I wasn’t interested in the subject matter, the enthusiasm of the orator had me enthused. How great is that! They say enthusiasm attracts enthusiasm; I think they’re right.

Why I took this course

I can definitely tell an amateur speaker from a professional speaker. The professional speaker persuades with words, leaving the audience at the edge of their seat with great anticipation. Being a great orator is like being a world class chef in my opinion; you don’t leave out any ingredients that would make your speech look weak.

I was trying to think back a hundred years ago what public speaking was like. From what I understand, it was the independent thinkers, the ones who went against the grain, that people admired. I mean, who wants to hear the same old thing from everyone who thought the same, right?

In my opinion, great speakers weren’t born that way but made that way through hard work and dedication. Public speaking is an exciting venue to get your thoughts across to your audience, hopefully in a positive way. You can’t come in with the mindset of giving a perfect speech because you’re going to fail. It’s learning from your mistakes and being determined to do better that makes up your character.

I would definitely like to try my hand at public speaking one day. It would be such a thrill to master the art of public persuasion. That doesn’t mean I would have to speak in front of thousands of people; not at all! It could just be a hundred or less. Ah well, we’ll see.

Assignments and certificate

There are no required assignments or quizzes to attend this course. It’s freely available on YouTube and can be watched at your own convenience. Also, no certificate is provided for this video course.

Conclusion

I found this course very informative and educational. I thoroughly enjoyed the examples given by the instructor on many aspects of the art of public speaking! I highly recommend this Public Speaking course to anyone interested in giving a speech of any kind.

I hope this review was helpful in any way to anyone who wants to try this unique medium. All the best for your public speaking future.