Communication Success: Beginnings
- Develop and deliver a five-minute talk
- Online communication coaching from an industry expert
- Improve your presentation skills
- Gain confidence in public speaking
- Created by Kennedy Speech Communications. Powered by Knowadays
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About The Instructor
Cliff Kennedy, president of Kennedy Speech Communications, is a communication coach with over 30 years of success in creating audience-connecting experiences for many of the world’s highest performing organizations. In this course, he shares his proven approaches to developing engaging content and speaking with authenticity, clarity, and confidence.
About The Course
Every time a speaker stands before an audience, great things are possible. Communications Success: Beginnings, brought to you by the collaboration between Kennedy Speech Communications and Knowadays, is the first step on your journey toward improving your communication skills and, more importantly, improving the results you achieve through your communication.
In this course, you’ll work through four modules, each containing a series of informative videos, valuable resources, and your very own Toolkit to develop and deliver a five-minute talk on the topic of your choice. You’ll gain a new perspective on every communication opportunity, whether a speech, presentation or conversation, and learn the fundamentals of the Communication Success approach. When you’ve completed the course, you’ll have a repeatable process to use for your future talks and the tools you need to achieve greater results from every communication opportunity.
Who is the course for?
This course is for those who wish to:
- Effectively and efficiently prepare for communication opportunities.
- Speak with confidence and authenticity.
- Communicate messages clearly and concisely.
- Engage more deeply with their audience.
- Achieve a positive Return on Communication Opportunity (RCO) by not just delivering a talk, but by delivering something of value.
Communication Success: Beginnings is for everyone. Whether you’re a seasoned communicator or just starting out in your career, you will discover new ideas and techniques for creating a process of continuous performance improvement.
What Learners Are Saying
“World-class coaching for preparation and delivery of a five-minute (or longer) talk. All fundamentals are covered. Streamlined but thorough. Useful for any type of communication, not just the short talk format, as the principles and tools apply universally. Very helpful with a music teaching intro video I’m working on. I think it will also help with lesson videos, live teaching, interviews, and client interactions.” – Stewart, Course Grad
Module Breakdown
Module 1: Foundations
Reflect on your reasons for taking the Communication Success: Beginnings course by exploring your strengths and weaknesses as a communicator. Learn proven strategies to build on your current skill set. Meet your Communications Success coach, Cliff Kennedy. Get to work determining a topic for your talk that really matters to your audience. And define the purpose of your talk, your “why?”Module 2: Creation
Outline your strategy for a successful talk by learning effective planning practices. Learn the necessary insights to create the engaging, empowering and energizing messages that you will deliver to your audiences. And understand how to create powerful experiences that your audience will remember.Module 3: Preparation
Practice the fundamentals of great script writing under the guidance of your communication coach. Combine your words with engaging visuals that support you in delivering value to your audience. And get ready for showtime by learning trusted rehearsal techniques to effectively practice your talk.Module 4: Execution
Learn how to prepare yourself in the final moments before you speak. Gain the confidence you need to deliver a successful talk. Develop a comprehensive method for self evaluation to effectively learn from every talk. And consolidate what you have learned throughout Communication Success: Beginnings.
FAQs
Do I need any qualifications to take this course?
No. Everyone can benefit from this course.
What do I need to get started?
All you need is a computer and an internet connection to access the course materials.
Is there a time limit to complete the course?
It is estimated that the course will take between 6 and 8 hours over a period of 7 to 10 days. However, you can work at a pace that’s right for you. You have access to the course and materials for a period of 12 months.
Does it matter where I’m based?
Not at all. People from all over the world can access and use the course.
Why a five-minute talk?
A five minute talk is the perfect length to start your Communication Success: Beginnings journey. It’s long enough so you need to use the full Communication Success process, but short enough to make the learning more efficient and direct. Also, your five-minute talk can then become a building block for longer talks and presentations as well as help you prepare for shorter talks, like elevator pitches or dynamic conversations.
Can I do a talk that is longer than five-minutes?
If you want to, yes. The tools and approaches in this course are applicable to all types of communication opportunities. However, developing and delivering a five-minute talk is recommended to begin with. You can then apply what you’ve learned to longer and shorter talks.
What’s in the Toolkit?
Your Toolkit is a fillable PDF file that you will download to your own device. It is your place to develop and learn from each of your talks. In it, you will find twelve Tools:
- The Reflection Tool
- The Topic Tool
- The Purpose Tool
- The Strategy Tool
- The Messages Tool
- The Experience Arc Tool
- The Script Tool
- The Visuals Tool
- The Rehearsal Tool
- The Delivery Tool
- The Advancement Tool
- The Wrap-up Tool
For every communication opportunity, you will work through a series of questions and prompts designed to guide you through the process of developing your best possible talk. In each tool, you will complete a Reflect, Ideate, Evaluate, and Commit section. Once you’ve committed, you then move on to the next lesson.
Do I have to complete each section of the Toolkit?
In order to receive the full benefit of the course, yes. However, you should move at a pace that’s best for you. If you do choose to skip a Tool or section within a Tool, it would be beneficial to, at least, review the content and contemplate how it adds to your learning experience.
What are some typical-use cases for the five-minute talk?
Your five-minute talk can be used for a wide variety of communication opportunities, including: keynote speeches, breakout sessions, panel discussions, sales pitches, media events, team meetings, one-to-ones, and presentations to management. You may also create a talk for a personal communication opportunity, such as a school project or a wedding toast.
Can I do this with a partner?
Absolutely! You can coordinate with other Communication Success: Beginnings participants to work together on multiple talks with the same topic or merge individual talks into a longer, multi-topic talk. This is an excellent way to work and learn together. One note, however, the goal of the course is still for each participant to develop and deliver their own talk.
How can I use this with my team?
This is one of the unique benefits of Communication Success: Beginnings. Have your team work together to create talks on the team’s culture, mission, or vision. Or create a series of talks to help onboard new team members. By having all the members of your team participate in the course, you will raise the overall effectiveness of the team’s communication. We call this creating a Culture of Communication Success. A better-communicating team is a better-performing team.
Can I use the program to develop and deliver more than one talk?
Yes. This course will leave you with a repeatable process that you can use for every communication opportunity. This leads to ongoing improvement of your communication performance. You may access the course and materials for a 12-month period.
What if I have been assigned a topic for my talk?
This is very common if you are participating in Communication Success: Beginnings as part of a team or larger organization. You should still complete the Toolkit sections related to your topic to learn how an effective topic is determined.
Can I deliver my talk virtually?
Yes. The Communication Success: Beginnings course is designed to help you improve your performance in different communication modes, including live, virtual, and hybrid. The secret to delivering a better virtual talk is to deliver a better talk.
How long will it take to complete the course?
It is estimated that the Communication Success: Beginnings course will take 6–8 hours to complete over the course of 7–10 days. However, you should work at a pace that is right for you.
Is the information I share secure?
Yes. First, by downloading and using the Toolkit on your own device, you are not sharing your work with Kennedy Speech Communications or Knowadays. It is entirely within your control. Second, any information you provide in registering for or managing the course is secured by Knowadays using industry standard practices.