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Public Speaking Tips

Toastmasters Public Speaking
Toastmasters is the main international public speaking forum. If you are really keen you can join them and go to practice sessions! Great tips on doing all manner of speeches are in this site.

PowerPoint presentations

10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea, from TED’s in-house expert
Aaron Weyenberg is the master of slide decks. Our UX Lead creates Keynote presentations that are both slick and charming—the kind that pull you in and keep you captivated, but in an understated way that helps you focus on what’s actually being said. He does this for his own presentations and for lots of other folks in the office. Yes, his coworkers ask him to design their slides, because he’s just that good.

We asked Aaron to bottle his Keynote mojo so that others could benefit from it. Here, 10 tips for making an effective slide deck, split into two parts: the big, overarching goals, and the little tips and tricks that make your presentation sing.

Debating Links, ClcikView videos and Guide Sheets from the DAV and other sources

Debating Association of Victoria
The DAV is a non-profit association which exists to promote debate. It is the peak debating body in Victoria and runs large competitions for adults and for schools across Victoria. It provides training and resources for debaters, teachers and adjudicators.

Clickview
Thousands of excellent educational videos are available to view through Clickview. Just use your normal school email address and your usual school login.

ClickView also provides videos on debating and public speaking skills. Two such videos are:

1) Debating & public speaking: The basic skills (19 minutes)

2) Advanced debating skills: Debating & public speaking (27 minutes)

Roles of the Affirmative Speakers
Provides notes from the Debating Association of Victoria AND other sources
Roles of the Negative Speakers
Provides notes from the Debating Association of Victoria AND other sources
Ten things Adjudicators Hate but didnt have time to tell you
Provides notes from the Debating Association of Victoria AND other sources
How to do an Advised or Secret Topic Debate
Provides notes from the Debating Association of Victoria AND other sources

How do the Professionals do it? TED Talks on Public Speaking!

June Cohen What Makes a Great TEDTalk June Cohen is the Executive Producer of TED Media. In this talk, June says it’s important to tell the audience something new when you’re presenting.
Nancy Duarte The secret structure of great talks From the "I have a dream" speech to Steve Jobs’ iPhone launch, many great talks have a common structure that helps their message resonate with listeners. In this talk, presentation expert Nancy Duarte shares practical lessons on how to make a powerful call-to-action. 18 minutes.
Simon Sinek How great leaders inspire action Simon Sinek is a leadership expert who has developed a simple and powerful model for inspirational leadership called the golden circle and the question “Why?” While this talk is not specifically on how to present, he gives amazing examples using some of the biggest companies in the world as to what inspires people to take action. His premise is people care about why you do something, not what you do. Not only is this a great example of how to present a simple idea in a powerful way, but his concept is an idea you can use in your own presentations.
Gordon Kangas Giving presentations worth listening to His tips include: Have a clear goal about how you want to change your audience by the end of your presentation. Transform the goal into an achievable challenge – something that could actually change within your presentation. Convert your goal into a big idea that people can be inspired by. Everything you do in your presentation needs to be focused on getting your audience to your goal. You’re not speaking to be interesting, you’re there to be effective.
How to TEDx How to give a great TEDx Talk While this is not an actual TEDTalk, this is a great educational video on how to give a successful TEDx talk.
Catriona Pollard Being open to 'Yes From Australia's Macquarie University. No matter if you are an introvert, extrovert or something in between, many of us struggle to move from the shadows into the spotlight. Being open to ‘Yes’ enables us to redefine the spotlight, understand we all deserve to be there and share our voice with the world.

There are also a number of books on Public Speaking and Great Speeches in the Collection. Here are three that you can find on our shelves in the non-fiction collection: