Growing up surrounded by social media, some young professionals unintentionally sound too casual, which can cause concern for clients and management. This course will teach you how to speak with smart-sounding melody patterns with more vocal variety, moving inflection, and sharper articulation while speaking at a rate that is more controlled and sounds interesting, known as intonation. Bad habits such as mumbling, speaking in a monotone, or using up-speak will be revealed and replaced with skilled intonation. Speaking with intonation is the most important skill for effective business communication. Lead meetings, deliver presentations, and communicate with more impact.

By the end of Course One, you will be able to do the following:

• Speak using the “speech stairs strategy” to sound clear, smart, fluid, and confident
• Speak with improved articulation and diction
• Eliminate poor speech habits such as speaking too fast, sounding monotone, mumbling, trailing off, and using up-speak
• Understand why speaking with intonation is the most important skill for effective communication
• Turn new communication skills into habits by applying the speech notebook, speech triggers, and red-light drill exercises in the real world

Learn how to speak in your optimal pitch range by producing vocal tones that are strong, powerful, and confident while keeping the voice safe from injury due to high-demand speaking situations. Tones that are too soft, weak, high in pitch, or nasal are ineffective and should be replaced with those that are strong, clear, and powerful. Communication will sound professional and smart when spoken from the optimal pitch range.

By the end of Course Three, you will be able to do the following:

• Speak with a stronger and more powerful voice
• Utilize multiple strategies for finding the power spot in your voice
• Eliminate ineffective vocal behaviors such as vocal fry or using tones that are too high, thin, or nasal
• Understand the three types of resonance
• Pass the test for nasal speech

After mastering essential communication and voice skills, it is time to apply those new skills to give an outstanding presentation. This course will prepare you to deliver a modern, on-point presentation that will bring actionable results. You will learn the crucial skill of delivering information through storytelling, which will keep audience members engaged and help them remember the content. Multiple physical and cognitive strategies to combat fear of public speaking will be offered. Body language techniques for how to stand, show confidence, and what to do with your hands will be revealed, along with numerous tips on how to organize content on a slide (less is more) and manage a presentation effectively. By the end of this course, you will be looking forward to presentations, not dreading them.

By the end of Course Five, you will be able to do the following:

• Understand how to be an interesting storyteller for every type of presentation
• Learn how to “ground yourself” to appear strong and confident in your presentation
• Develop an action plan for combating state fright with proven physical and cognitive strategies
• Speak brilliantly without notes with the visual mapping strategy
• Organize slide content with modern principals (less is more)
• Gain multiple strategies for answering unexpected questions and managing audience expectations
• Apply a variety of body language techniques that demonstrate confidence and authority for both in-person and online presentations