Videos

Description: The fear of public speaking is said to be even stronger than the fear of death. The good news is that public speaking is something that a person can learn—and excel at. This video features top speakers and public speaking coaches who share their superb advice on how to speak confidently in any situation. Topics include choosing your subject, preparation, rehearsal, dealing with nervousness, dress codes, keeping the audience’s interest, timing, delivery style, building rapport, coping with mistakes, PowerPoint, and more. This is the definitive step-by-step guide to an inspired presentation! (65 minutes). 2010.

This unique, six-part series places students of public speaking, American history, and political science front row, center at key speeches by the most eloquent orators of the 20th century. FDR, Huey Long, Generals MacArthur and Patton, and JFK share the podium with Barbara Jordan, Ronald Reagan, Mario Cuomo, Jesse Jackson, and others. Rare archival footage combined with insightful commentary from host Jody Powell puts each speech into historical perspective. Featured on History’s Best on PBS. 6-part series, 39-53 minutes each. 1995.

This seven-part series, Great Speeches: Today's Women, offers important yet often impossible-to-find speeches by contemporary and historically influential women: from Barbara Jordan to Elizabeth Edwards; Margaret Thatcher to Michelle Obama; Sarah Weddington to Lilly Ledbetter; and Condoleezza Rice to Hillary Rodham Clinton. This collection presents noteworthy speeches that command attention not only for gender studies, but also for any serious study of historic public addresses. 7-part series, 66–135 minutes each. 2012.

This remarkable 30-part series features some of history’s most influential addresses—and continues to have a profound impact on the study of speech. With this classic archive, students can watch as FDR declares war, Churchill attacks Hitler, Harry Truman announces the bombing of Japan, Lou Gehrig bids farewell to baseball, Martin Luther King Jr. relays his dream, Nixon resigns the presidency, Reagan pleads the Berlin Wall be torn down, and a young Barack Obama ignites a 2004 convention in a speech that would change the course of the country. In their entirety, these speeches breathe life and relevancy into our history and clearly demonstrate the power of speech. Each is accompanied by a biography and analysis of both the event and the speech itself. As Walter Cronkite used to say, “You are there!” 30-part series, 70–160 minutes each. 2012.

Public Speaking is a three-part series. For more information refer to the individual episodic descriptions. 2012.

Learn from an accomplished career coach and actor how to make compelling presentations. He’ll share his strategies for storytelling, emotional connections, and reading the room, so you can resonate with your audience. 2017.

Do you find yourself holding back, rather than speaking your mind? Do you let difficult people get the better of you? Does public speaking scare you? This lively series gives you a toolkit of techniques and practical communication skills to survive in the workplace. This episode focuses on how to deliver a presentation with confidence. 2011.

This program teaches how to organize a speech. It details the five organizational patterns: topical, spatial, chronological, cause-effect, and problem-solution. 2004.

This video, produced by Greg Shepherd, is about advice from Toastmasters members on how to prepare and present a speech. 1994.

TED Talks are influential videos from expert speakers on education, business, science, tech and creativity, with subtitles in 100+ languages. Ideas to stream!