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Storytelling & presentation course

The Art of Public Speaking

Mastering the story and the platform — Esenwein & Carnegie

Thirty-one sessions following the classic training book chapter by chapter — acquiring confidence, conquering monotony, emphasis, pitch, pace, pause, inflection, concentration, force, feeling, fluency, the voice, gesture, methods of delivery, subject and preparation, and the four great ways of moving an audience: exposition, description, narration (the storyteller’s art), suggestion, argument and persuasion. Every session quotes the book, and the full book is attached below to read.

Sessions
31
Questions
310
Quiz questions
310
How to use this course. Each session stands on its own for a weekly class of about an hour: read the synopsis, open the key texts together, work the discussion questions, and close with the quiz. The practice steps are meant to be carried into the pulpit and the classroom.
Read the course bookThe Art of Public Speaking — Esenwein & CarnegieThe complete classic (1915, public domain), readable chapter by chapter in the built-in reader.→

The sessions

  1. 01Acquiring Confidence Before an AudienceOvercoming stage-fright through practice and preparation10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  2. 02The Sin of MonotonyVariety as the antidote to a deadening sameness10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  3. 03Efficiency Through Emphasis and SubordinationMaking the mountain-peak words stand out10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  4. 04Efficiency Through Change of PitchFollowing the thought with the voice's rise and fall10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  5. 05Efficiency Through Change of PaceTempo as a tool for naturalness and power10 questions · 10 quiz · 3 key passages
  6. 06Pause and PowerSilence made designedly eloquent10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  7. 07Efficiency Through InflectionThe subtle shading that says more than the words themselves10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  8. 08Concentration in DeliverySpeak, don't anticipate10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  9. 09ForceThe inner power that gives speech its punch10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  10. 10Feeling and EnthusiasmWhy emotion, not mere argument, moves an audience10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  11. 11Fluency Through PreparationReadiness is preparedness, not natural gift10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  12. 12The VoiceEase, openness, and forwardness as the foundations of good tone10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  13. 13Voice CharmJoy of heart as the source of a magnetic voice10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  14. 14Distinctness and Precision of UtteranceSpeaking so as actually to be understood10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  15. 15The Truth About GestureGesture as the outward effect of an inward condition10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  16. 16Methods of DeliveryWeighing manuscript, memory, notes, and extemporaneous speech10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  17. 17Thought and Reserve PowerFilling the mind so speech never runs dry10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  18. 18Subject and PreparationTurning daily life into speech-capital10 questions · 10 quiz · 3 key passages
  19. 19Influencing by ExpositionThe clear, intellectual laying-bare of a subject10 questions · 10 quiz · 3 key passages
  20. 20Influencing by DescriptionPainting pictures the mind cannot forget10 questions · 10 quiz · 3 key passages
  21. 21Influencing by NarrationTelling a story so it strikes home10 questions · 10 quiz · 3 key passages
  22. 22Influencing by SuggestionMoving belief and action beneath conscious reasoning10 questions · 10 quiz · 3 key passages
  23. 23Influencing by ArgumentProducing conviction by sound reasoning10 questions · 10 quiz · 3 key passages
  24. 24Influencing by PersuasionWhere reasoning meets the will to act10 questions · 10 quiz · 3 key passages
  25. 25Influencing the CrowdTurning an audience into a unified crowd10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  26. 26Riding the Winged HorseDisciplining imagination for the platform10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  27. 27Growing a VocabularyCultivating exact, living words10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  28. 28Memory TrainingBuilding a reliable working memory10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  29. 29Right Thinking and PersonalityThought, will, and character shape the speaker10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  30. 30After-Dinner and Other Occasional SpeakingFitting the speech exactly to its occasion10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages
  31. 31Making Conversation EffectiveConversation as the everyday art of speech10 questions · 10 quiz · 4 key passages