Learn a proven approach to develop and deliver a 5, 10, or 20-minute talk (or longer) and a repeatable process to achieve greater results from every speech, presentation, and conversation. The course includes twelve 5-minute videos and an interactive Toolkit.
Communication Success: Beginnings is a self-directed, online course and Toolkit for anyone who needs help starting, crafting, rehearsing, or delivering any type of public speaking opportunity. From conference presentations, webinars, keynote speeches, executive meetings, or sales pitches, communication is at the foundation of your business and professional life. Developed by public speaking coach Cliff Kennedy, you’ll learn the exact framework used to deliver speeches that leave a lasting impression for your professional or personal life.
It’s time to invest in yourself with skills that will last a lifetime.
Communication Success: Beginnings guides you through the process of developing and delivering a Five-Minute Talk, from determining your topic to creating a plan for ongoing performance improvement. The course is organized into four Modules, each with Tools to accompany the lesson to help you craft, rehearse, and deliver your talk.
12 Video Library in Four Modules
3-5 minute videos viewed at your pace
Your Communication Success Toolkit
Interactive PDF tools for each video lesson
1
Foundations
Understand how your purpose intersects with your audiences’ needs
What will you learn?
– Your strengths and weaknesses as a communicator
– How to begin your journey toward Communication Success
– The properties of effective topics for your talk
– The importance of a well-thought-out purpose
– How to offer value to your audience
It is useful for:
Those who want to know effective practices for developing a talk and grow their understanding of themselves as a communicator.
2
Creation
Develop the overarching structure and message arc of your talk
What will you learn?
– Effectively strategizing your preparations for talks
– Gaining a greater understanding of your audience’s needs
– Organizing valuable information for your audiences
– Persuading your audience with your message
– Creating different experiences to suit your topic and audience
– Driving the emotions and beliefs of your audience
It is useful for:
Those who want to develop their presentation planning strategies and want to compel their audiences and create change
3
Preparation
Finalize details and practice until comfortable backwards and forwards
What will you learn?
– Developing your script-writing skills to deliver a compelling talk
– Creating engaging multimedia that reinforce your primary messages
– Efficiently rehearse for your talks to become the best you can be
– Utilizing negative space and imperfection for great delivery
– Pacing your talks to speak more naturally
It is useful for:
Those who want to develop their script writing / visualization skills and want to develop their rehearsal techniques
4
Execution
Deliver with confidence and advance your public speaking skills
What will you learn?
– Ways to ready yourself for a confident and effective delivery
– Methods to keep calm and focused during performance
– Evaluating your performance for continual improvement
– Assessing your performance for public speaking
– Applying preparation skills you have gained to your future talks
– Creating a culture of communication by helping others
It is useful for:
Those who want to deliver confident and effective talks and want to continue to improve the communication skills of themselves and others
“The Communication Success course is excellent! 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.”
Stuart, Music Instructor
“Cliff’s guidance and expertise significantly enhanced our speakers’ performances at the TEDx event. His commitment to refining our speakers’ messages and ensuring impactful delivery was invaluable. The success of the event was, in part, a result of his dedication. Thank you, Cliff, for being an integral part of TEDx Palo Alto.”
Ronit, TEDxPaloAlto Co-Chair
Proven 10-Step Process: Gain access to the same techniques used to train TEDx speakers and Fortune 100 executives.
12 Engaging Video Lessons: Learn at your own pace through clear, actionable video lessons across 4 modules.
Practical Exercises & Toolkit: Apply the techniques with real-world exercises designed to enhance your skills.
Lifetime Access: Revisit the course materials whenever you need a refresher with unlimited access forever.
Special Coaching Sessions Package: Purchase the course and get access to Cliff’s one-on-one coaching at a special rate.
Your communication style – its strengths and growth opportunities – are unique to you. Curated coaching from the right coach can make all the difference.
Cliff Kennedy works with individuals, teams, and organizations to improve performance in a variety of communication situations, including keynote speeches, breakout sessions, panel discussions, sales pitches, media events, team meetings, one-to-ones and presentations to management. He has been creating audience-connecting experiences for over 30 years, first as a creative director, writer and executive producer of high-end corporate events and as a communication and speech coach since 2010. Cliff works with many of the world’s leading organizations across all industries. He is also the lead speaker coach for TEDxPaloAlto, where he has helped over 30 speakers develop and deliver their talks to thousands of live and online audience members. You can learn more about Cliff Kennedy here.
You will need a computer with internet access. In addition, if you prefer to print out the Toolkit and complete it by hand, you will also need access to a printer. You may also want to record your rehearsals and talk. If so, you will need a camera.
It is estimated that the course will take between 6 and 8 hours if you are creating a new talk from scratch. However, you can work at a pace that’s right for you. Each video is roughly 2-5 minutes long and you can complete all of the content in 90 minutes. You have access to the course and materials for a period of 12 months.
Cliff Kennedy has been creating high-impact audience experiences for over 30 years. His background as a creative director, writer, and executive producer of large-scale corporate events gives him unique insight into what engages, empowers, and energizes an audience. Cliff believes that every time a speaker stands before an audience, great things are possible. Whether you’re on a big stage, in a conference room, or connecting via a screen, the potential of every communication opportunity is limitless. Connect with Cliff at: Cliff Kennedy | LinkedIn.
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.
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.
Your Toolkit is a fillable PDF file that you will download to your own device or preferred cloud storage. After each video lesson 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. You can work in a digital environment or print out the Toolkit and use a pencil or pen. Work in the way that’s best for you.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Yes. First, by downloading and using the Toolkit on your own device, you are not sharing your work with Kennedy Speech Communications or Knowadays, the Learning and Development platform hosting the course. 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. Learn more about Knowadays security processes here: Privacy – Knowadays.
Yes. Communication Success: Beginnings is just the first in a series of courses designed to improve individual, team, and organizational communication performance. These include more advanced communication approaches that focus on content development, rehearsal, and delivery, as well as “micro-learnings” that can be effectively applied to specific communication opportunities. Do you have a suggestion for a course? Please contact us at cliff@kennedyspeech.com.