Quick Access:
- Best Free or Free-to-audit: Practice-Based, Persuasive Speaking
- Best Beginner Courses: Comprehensive, With Live Sessions, Overcome Your Fear, With Spanish Subtitles, Communication and Speaking, Career Growth, Boost Your Confidence, Non-native English Speakers
- Best For Advanced Speakers: Speaking Mastery
Public speaking is one of the most searched skills online and one of the most poorly taught. Some platforms list hundreds of courses with no way to compare them. We did that work for you.
For this guide, I reviewed 1,400+ public speaking courses in Class Central’s catalog and selected the 11 best. The list includes free-to-audit courses from Harvard and CodeSignal, plus paid options from the University of Washington, University of Colorado Boulder, Udemy, MasterClass, Noble Desktop, Domestika, and LinkedIn Learning.
There’s a course here for you, from a complete beginner trying to get through your first presentation, a professional who needs to engage your audience or command a boardroom, or a non-native English speaker building confidence. Learn via video lessons, hands-on practice, or a live-taught bootcamp.
Combined, these 11 courses have over 1.5 million enrollments. Two are free or free-to-audit.
Why Trust Us and This Guide
Class Central has helped 100 million learners find their next course. We’ve been combing through online education for more than a decade to aggregate a catalog of 250,000 online courses and 250,000 reviews written by our users. And we’re online learners ourselves: combined, the Class Central team has completed over 400 online courses, including online degrees.
I (Archisha) am a Guided Project Instructor and a Beta Tester at Coursera, having tested many courses before they’re officially launched. I have taken over 50 online courses in various subjects. I used my experience as an online learner and teacher to evaluate each course in this list, using a combination of data and my own judgment to make these picks.
I combed through Class Central’s Catalog and the internet to find a variety of free and paid open courses, some with certificates. When choosing courses, I sought instructors with extensive experience in public speaking and engaging presentation styles. I examined a range of courses including the basics and more advanced topics and watched some course videos to sample courses I hadn’t already taken.
I read learner reviews (when available) to get a sense of the quality of each course, leveraging the Class Central database with its thousands of course ratings and reviews written by our users as well as available course provider reviews. Then I chose the best courses from a range of sub-fields.
Click on the shortcuts for more details:
- Top Picks
- Why Trust Us and This Guide
- What is Public Speaking?
- Courses Overview
- More Public Speaking resources
Here Are Our Top Picks
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What is Public Speaking?
Public speaking is the act of delivering a speech or presentation to a live audience. It involves conveying ideas, opinions, or information in a clear and organized manner that engages and informs the listeners.
Public speaking can take many forms, from giving a speech at a conference to delivering a presentation in a classroom setting or pitching an idea to a group of investors. The ability to communicate effectively and persuasively in public is a valuable skill that can be used in many areas of life, including business, politics, education, and social advocacy.
Why are Public Speaking Skills Important?
Public speaking skills are important for several reasons, including:
- Boosts confidence and self-esteem
- Helps in networking and building relationships
- Enables effective presentation of ideas and arguments
- Provides opportunities for personal and professional growth
- Enables effective communication with diverse audiences.
And public speaking skills are valuable in many careers including:
- Business leaders and executives
- Sales professionals
- Public relations and marketing professionals
- Broadcast journalists and TV hosts
- Social activists and community leaders.
Courses Overview
- Combined, these courses have accrued over 1.5M enrollments
- 2 courses are free or free-to-audit and 9 courses are paid
- The Public Speaking subject, with over 1,400 courses, is followed by 27K learners on Class Central.
Best Comprehensive Specialization for Beginners (University of Washington)
The four courses in the Dynamic Public Speaking specialization will teach you how to develop and deliver effective presentations. You’ll learn proven concepts from communication, rhetoric, linguistics, and argumentation, and gain ample practice in speech delivery. The courses cater to speakers of all levels and can help those who are nervous about public speaking. If you are working towards a certificate, these courses require you to make recordings and assess those made by your peers.
Matt McGarrity is a Principal Lecturer in the Communication Department at the University of Washington who founded and continues to direct the University of Washington Speaking Center. He has won multiple top paper awards for public speaking research at academic conferences.
What you’ll learn:
- Introduction to Public Speaking: this course teaches a reliable model for effective presentations, helping you organize talks clearly, write them memorably, and deliver them confidently. It is suitable for beginners and seasoned speakers, and can be applied to various types of speeches
- Speaking to inform: Discussing complex ideas with clear explanations and dynamic slides: you’ll learn to explain complex ideas vividly, design compelling slides, convey passion for a topic while maintaining credibility, and speak dynamically from notes
- Speaking to Inspire: Ceremonial and Motivational Speeches: prepare and deliver eloquent and compelling speeches that engage and entertain the audience. Learn to speak fluidly from memory or notes
- Speaking to persuade: Motivating audiences with solid arguments and moving language: design persuasive speeches that motivate and address problems with solutions. You’ll learn to use rhetorical style strategically and deliver passionate speeches.
| Institution | University of Washington |
| Provider | Coursera |
| Instructor | Matt McGarrity |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 60 hours |
| Enrollments | 106.4K |
| Rating | 4.7/5.0 (2.8K) |
| Certificate | Paid |
Also Great Public Speaking Course for Beginners (University of Colorado Boulder)
Successful Presentation will teach you practical tips and exercises for effective public speaking and presentations. It covers four themes: overcoming fear, developing a creative formula, using language and body gestures, and anticipating the setting. The course is also part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) degree.
This course also covers:
- Practicing effectively
- Engaging with the audience
- Storytelling, creativity and personal style
- Feel confident and agile when giving a speech, no matter the situation.
| Institution | University of Colorado Boulder |
| Provider | Coursera |
| Instructor | William Kuskin |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 21 hours |
| Enrollments | 157.1K |
| Rating | 4.8/5.0 (4.9K) |
| Certificate | Paid |
Best Intro to Public Speaking course with Live Sessions (Noble Desktop)
If you prefer instructor-led learning, Noble Desktop’s Intro to Public Speaking offers real-time feedback and accountability that pre-recorded courses can’t match.
What I find interesting is that this program runs both in-person (NYC campus) and online (Zoom). Even if you’re attending online, you’ll have individual attention and can see other students in the classroom. You’ll be able to interact with instructors, receive feedback, and ask questions during sessions. Plus, you’ll get access to class recordings and workbooks – pretty helpful for catching up if you miss a class or reviewing what you learned.
Key Benefits
- Small class sizes (8-15 students)
- Certificate of completion to showcase achievements
- Free retake within one year
- Detailed class files with real-world projects.
Noble Desktop knows what they’re doing – they’ve been around for over three decades providing instruction with industry experts. So you can rest assured your mentorship will not be with someone who just finished the course. Don’t take my word for it – student reviews on Yelp and Google praise their practical approach and instructor quality.
What You’ll Learn
- Understand your audience by identifying perception styles and communication strategies
- Avoid common public speaking mistakes while using vocal variety and presentation tools
- Structure impactful presentations and integrate resources like PowerPoint and Excel
- Practice live presentation skills with coaching to build confidence.
Flexible Schedule Options
- 1 day full-time (weekdays).
“The class is great! The small class allows for customized review and feedback. The instructor touches on all aspects of public speaking, from tone to gestures, and even how to get rid of mental blocks for speaking and communication. Highly recommend this course for those who feel stuck in their presentation habits.” – Sabrina Hossain, Noble Desktop learner.
| Provider | Noble Desktop |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 6 hours |
| Rating | 4.8/5.0 (Yelp) and 5.0/5.0 (Google) |
| Certificate | Paid |
Short Course to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking (Udemy)
Are you petrified by the thought of speaking in front of a group of people? Fear of Public Speaking: Never Fear Public Speaking Again aims to help you overcome that fear and develop skills to deliver confident and competent speeches or presentations. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to eliminate your fear of public speaking, reduce nervousness, minimize anxiety and become a more confident speaker.
TJ Walker has trained Presidents and Prime Ministers, Nobel Peace Prize winners, Super Bowl winners, US Senators, Miss Universes and Members of Parliament! His book, Secret to Foolproof Presentations, was a USA Today # 1 Bestseller.
What learners will gain from this course:
- Strategies to eliminate fear and anxiety associated with public speaking
- Techniques to reduce nervousness before and during presentations
- Skills to become a confident and competent public speaker.
| Provider | Udemy |
| Instructor | TJ Walker |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 1-2 hours |
| Enrollments | 78.4K |
| Rating | 4.3/5.0 (856) |
| Certificate | Paid |
Best Free Practice-Based Course on Public Speaking (CodeSignal Learn)
Mastering Public Speaking Through Practice focuses on developing essential communication skills for professional settings, with an emphasis on both prepared and impromptu speaking situations. The program covers basic presentation techniques and progresses to advanced persuasion skills and handling live Q&A sessions. It’s particularly designed for engineering managers and technical professionals who need to communicate complex information effectively.
This learning path covers:
- Foundational Skills: building confidence and stage presence, understanding audience needs, delivering clear messages, basic presentation techniques
- Persuasion and Influence: building credibility and trust, rhetorical techniques, persuasive storytelling, emotional connection with audience, simplifying complex information
- Q&A Management: handling difficult questions, staying calm under pressure, engaging different audience types, preparing for Q&A sessions, maintaining conversation control
- Improvisation Skills: thinking on your feet, real-time audience engagement, using humor effectively, handling unexpected challenges, adapting to unscripted scenarios.
The four courses in the learning path emphasize practical implementation with 16 lessons in text and video formats and 48 hands-on practices. And if you’re stuck, Cosmo, the AI tutor, is there to answer your questions and give you hints.
CodeSignal runs on a freemium model. You don’t need to pay to use most features including a certificate for each course, but Cosmo interactions are limited in the free version. If you find yourself wanting more AI help (or want to submit the exercises more frequently), consider a premium subscription.
| Provider | CodeSignal Learn |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | Self-paced |
| Rating | 4.6/5.0 |
| Exercises | Interactive |
| Certificate | Available |
Also Great Free to Audit Persuasive Speaking Course for Beginners (Harvard University)
The free-to-audit Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking is based on Harvard Professor James Engell’s on-campus course “Elements of Rhetoric”. This course will help you analyze and apply persuasive communication techniques, recognize when someone is trying to persuade you, and inspire you to share your viewpoint. Get inspired to share your viewpoint and learn the most effective ways to convince others to support your cause.
In this course:
- Use different rhetorical devices in writing and speaking
- Distinguish between argument and rhetorical technique
- Write persuasive opinion editorials and short speeches
- Evaluate the strength of an argument
- Recognize logical fallacies in arguments.
| Institution | Harvard University |
| Provider | edX |
| Instructor | James Engell |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 16-24 hours |
| Enrollments | 910.7K |
| Rating | 4.6/5.0 (505) |
| Certificate | Paid |
Best Short Beginner Public Speaking Course for Creatives (Domestika)
Dasha Dollar-Smirnova is a public speaking coach who discovered acting as a very shy child. She combines her acting skills with her experience in boardrooms to help other people find their voice.
Public Speaking: Find Your Unique Voice teaches you practical exercises and advice on how to become a confident public speaker. Learn to engage your listeners and master the skill of public speaking to deliver a persuasive talk tailored to your audience. The videos are recorded in English with Spanish subtitles.
What you’ll learn:
- Understand how the voice works, breathing techniques, warming up exercises, body language
- Effective communication, mapping out your presentation’s objective and tailoring content to the audience
- Structuring content, storytelling techniques, storyboarding
- Rehearsal and techniques for memorizing the content
- Final tips and techniques for managing nerves and finding your unique voice
- Includes a final project and downloadable resources.
| Provider | Domestika |
| Instructor | Dasha Dollar-Smirnova |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 1-2 hours |
| Enrollments | 58.8K |
| Rating | 99% (1K) |
| Certificate | Paid |
Advanced-Level Course to Become a Master Presenter (Udemy)
In Public Speaking and Presentations Pro: No Beginners Allowed!, learn 117 advanced public speaking and presentation skills that will transform you into a pro speaker and help you give amazing presentations to spread your ideas. These techniques are used by thought leaders and will take you from a good speaker to a master presenter.
Jason Teteak is a bestselling author, YouTuber, TEDx speaker, international public speaker, financial and executive coach, trainer of trainers and founder of Rule the Room. He has developed more than fifty personal development, public speaking, presentation, financial training, train-the-trainer and communication training programs. His book, Rule the Room: A Unique, Practical and Comprehensive Guide to Making a Successful Presentation, was published in 2013.
This course will provide:
- Tips on identifying audience goals, introducing oneself, building confidence, overcoming fear
- identify presentation styles and create a memorable experience
- How to produce an effective PowerPoint show
- Advice on how to use body language effectively
- Connect with the audience, incorporate humor, build relationships, and answer questions confidently
- Finish the presentation on time
- Includes quizzes and downloadable resources.
| Provider | Udemy |
| Instructor | Jason Teteak |
| Level | Advanced |
| Workload | 4-5 hours |
| Enrollments | 33.5K |
| Rating | 4.5/5.0 (8.1K) |
| Certificate | Paid |
Best Communication and Speaking Course From GMA Presenter Robin Roberts (MasterClass)
Robin Roberts, Emmy-winning co-anchor of Good Morning America, shares her insights on effective communication and human connection in Robin Roberts Teaches Effective And Authentic Communication. Through the course, you will learn how to communicate effectively in various settings and embrace vulnerability, build resilience, and approach life with optimism
In this course:
- Meet the instructor
- Embrace vulnerability
- Public speaking
- Job interviews, communicating value at work, communicating for television
- Living with optimism and resilience
- A behind-the-scenes look at Good Morning America.
| Provider | MasterClass |
| Instructor | Robin Roberts |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 2-3 hours |
| Certificate | Paid |
Short Beginner Course to learn Public Speaking for Career Growth (Domestika)
In Communicate with Confidence: Learn to Give Powerful Speeches, learn how to use communication as a tool for career growth by connecting with your audience both emotionally and intellectually. The course is designed to help you find the speaker inside you and communicate your ideas with confidence.
Kyoko Takeyama is a speaker, trainer, and communication coach based in Barcelona. She completed her master’s degree in communication and started sharing her work actively on social media in 2019. She has worked for clients including IESE, University of Barcelona, Digital Design Days, and Norwegian Communication Association.
In this course:
- How to be confident when presenting ideas by discovering and changing your narrative, understanding your audience, and identifying your purpose
- It helps to think outside the box and define the problem-solution-benefit
- The course also covers creating a memorable opening and closing, engaging eyes, ears, and feet, and organizing, practicing, and learning.
- Downloadable resources are also provided.
| Provider | Domestika |
| Instructor | Kyoko Takeyama |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 2-3 hours |
| Enrollments | 9.9K |
| Rating | 99% (322) |
| Certificate | Paid |
Beginner-Friendly Short Public Speaking Course for Non-Native English Speakers (LinkedIn Learning)
Public Speaking for Non-Native English Speakers on LinkedIn Learning is tailored to non-native English speakers who want to improve their communication skills in English. You’ll learn how to reduce accent bias, increase understandability and generate confidence through step-by-step guides on scoring a script for delivery. This course is designed to strengthen your delivery and build your confidence through easily integrated approaches to public speaking.
Peter Novak is a professor, stage director, and classically trained actor. His journey towards justice, equity, diversity and inclusion began when he co-founded the nation’s only performing Arts and Social Justice program at the University of San Francisco. His emphasis on clear speech for non-native English speakers is guided by an inclusive model of pronunciation informed by science and linguistics.
What you’ll learn:
- Accent, identity, and listener-friendly speech that aims to help non-native English speakers defeat accent bias and deliver listener-friendly speeches
- Step-by-step guide for confident speaking: how to score a script, focus on pitch, inflection, pace, and power to sound spontaneous while reading
- Resources and strategies such as speech-to-text, tools to clarify content, BoldVoice, the ICAO alphabet, and the 4-7-8 breathing exercise to reduce speaking anxiety for non-native speakers.
| Provider | LinkedIn Learning |
| Instructor | Peter Novak |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 2 hours |
| Enrollments | 220.1K |
| Rating | 4.8/5.0 (5.3K) |
| Certificate | Paid |
More Public Speaking resources
Public Speaking by Openclassrooms is a 50-minute video resource that covers all the basics to help you become a more confident and effective speaker. With a focus on practical applications including speaking at conferences, presenting lessons, delivering presentations to the camera, and succeeding in job interviews, it’s perfect for beginners and those looking to brush up on their skills. The presenter is engaging and informative, making it easy to digest and apply the lessons learned.
Or join the Reddit communities r/PublicSpeaking and r/publicspeakingadvice to help you master the art of public speaking.
Pat revised the latest version of this article.
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