What Should I Look for in a Public Speaking Course?
A Guide to Finding Your Perfect Fit
With countless courses, coaches, and guides promising to turn you into a professional public speaker, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. How do you know which one is worth your time and money? The right course can fast-track your speaking career, while the wrong one might leave you frustrated and out of pocket.
In this post, we’ll break down what to look for in a public speaking course and provide actionable tips to help you make the best choice for your journey.
1. Match the Course to Your Vibe and Goals
Public speaking isn’t one-size-fits-all. Think about your speaking style and goals before committing to a course. Are you aiming to become a keynote speaker, a motivational speaker, or an emcee? Different formats require different skills, and not all courses cater to every style.
Actionable Tip: Before enrolling, research the instructor. Do they have experience in your niche? Watch their videos or read reviews to see if their style resonates with you.
2. Look for Comprehensive Content
A solid public speaking course goes beyond teaching you how to stand on stage—it equips you with tools for the entire speaking journey. This includes crafting your signature talk, managing stage fright, booking gigs, and creating experiences that captivate your audience.
Actionable Tip: Review the course curriculum before signing up. Does it cover the full scope of public speaking? If it’s just focused on getting gigs without teaching you how to excel on stage, keep looking.
3. Value Credentials and Practical Application
Your instructor should be someone with real-world experience who understands what it takes to succeed. Credentials, speaker reels, and testimonials matter. But more than that, they should offer practical guidance like frameworks, templates, and feedback.
Actionable Tip: Ask yourself: “Would I book this person as a speaker?” If their experience inspires confidence, you’re in good hands.
4. Prioritize Interaction and Support
Learning public speaking isn’t just about absorbing knowledge—it’s about practice, feedback, and growth. Choose a course that offers live coaching, interactive sessions, or opportunities to ask questions.
Actionable Tip: Check if the course provides direct access to the instructor or certified coaches. Personalized feedback can make all the difference.
Ready to Start Your Speaking Journey?
If you’re ready to step onto the stage with confidence and authenticity, start with the right tools.
✨ Explore Spark the Stage™: Aleya Harris’ comprehensive course that guides you through every step of becoming a professional public speaker. Sign up here.
📚 Read Spark the Stage™: Get your copy of Aleya’s bestselling book for expert advice on storytelling and public speaking. Get it here.
Don’t let uncertainty hold you back—choose a course that aligns with your goals and unlocks your full potential!
Podcast Episode Overview
With so many courses, guides, and gurus out there, how do you choose the right public speaking course? In this episode of The Flourishing Entrepreneur Podcast, Aleya Harris cuts through the noise to help you find a course that truly works for your goals, vibe, and speaking dreams.
Drawing from her own journey of creating Spark the Stage™, Aleya shares insights on what makes a public speaking course worth your time and money. Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur looking to refine your stage presence or a beginner hoping to conquer stage fright, this episode gives you the tools to choose wisely.
Key Takeaways:
Match Your Vibe and Goals: Choose a course that aligns with your personality and speaking aspirations. Your growth depends on authenticity, not mimicry.
Look for Comprehensive Content: A great course doesn’t just teach stagecraft—it covers the entire journey, from booking gigs to creating memorable experiences.
Credentials and Practical Application Matter: Learn from someone who’s been in the trenches and has frameworks, templates, and real-world success to share.
Why Listen:
Don’t waste time or money on courses that don’t deliver. Get the insider scoop on what makes a public speaking course truly transformational and start your journey to becoming a professional public speaker today.
About Aleya Harris
Aleya Harris is the spark for your spark™. A trailblazer in purpose-driven story crafting, she is a marketing executive and ex-Google Vendor Partner who brings her dynamic experience to her role as the CEO of The Evolution Collective Inc. Aleya is an international award-winning speaker, the founder and lead trainer of Spark the Stage ™, and the host of the award-winning Flourishing Entrepreneur Podcast. She is also the author of the bestselling book Spark the Stage: Master the Art of Professional Speaking and Authentic Storytelling to Captivate, Inspire, and Transform Your Audience. Her unique approach as a Strategic Storytelling Consultant has revolutionized the way businesses communicate, transforming workplace cultures and market positioning. With her dynamic energy and proven methodologies, Aleya guides clients to unlock their potential, articulate their radically authentic stories, and achieve unparalleled success.
Watch the Free Masterclass
Join Aleya's free masterclass "Build Unstoppable Confidence and Book Speaking Gigs Without Feeling Like an Impostor." Discover the proven framework to own your story, captivate audiences, and land speaking gigs—even if you’ve doubted your worth or have no experience on stage.
Register at https://www.aleyaharris.com/masterclass
Buy the Book
Aleya's bestselling book will help you become a more confident and authentic professional public speaker. Buy Spark the Stage: Master the Art of Professional Speaking and Authentic Storytelling to Captivate, Inspire & Transform Your Audience on Amazon or anywhere books are sold.
Buy the Book: https://a.co/d/1T4EoJ7
Sign Up for Spark the Stage™
Spark the Stage™ is an online course and 12-month group coaching program that helps entrepreneurs and executives become radically authentic professional public speakers who can confidently deliver a compelling Radical Spark Signature Talk™ from the stage.
Enroll at https://www.aleyaharris.com/spark
Work with Aleya to Craft a Better Story
An unclear strategy, confusing brand, or undefined workplace culture will repel ideal clients, visibility opportunities, and career-making connections. The Evolution Collective Inc. transforms disconnected teams and overwhelmed leaders into thriving, inclusive cultures through Radically Authentic Strategic Storytelling.
Schedule a call at https://www.evolutioncollective.com/
Book Aleya to Speak
To book Aleya to edutain your audience at your next event as a keynote speaker, please visit www.aleyaharris.com/speaking to check out her speaking topics, reels, and why. Click "Schedule a Call" to secure the speaker with "that something new" you've been looking for.
Connect with Aleya Harris
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleyaharris/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleyaharris/
Links Mentioned on this Podcast
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[00:01] Aleya Harris: There are way too many courses, masterclasses, gurus, and guides out there to teach you how to become a professional public speaker. It's really overwhelming and I feel a little bit like a hypocrite because, like, I'm totally one of those people.
[00:18] I have a masterclass, I have a course, I have all the things, a book to teach you how to become a professional public speaker. But, like, it's a lot. I get it.
[00:27] So in this episode, I'm going to break down to you what you need to know when you're looking for a public speaker course so you can make a decision for yourself.
[00:38] It's hard to wade through almost without a rubric like, what should I be comparing this to? When you don't really know what you need to get to the end result.
[00:47] So that's what I'm going to do in this episode to answer the question, what should I look for in a public speaking course? All right, let's go.
[00:59] Yuliya Patsay: Welcome to the Flourishing Entrepreneur podcast with Alayah Harris.
[01:04] If you're looking for actionable ways to overcome communication and differentiation challenges by sharing radically authentic stories, you are in the right place. Listen in and learn how to stand in the power of your unique narrative to transform your personal life, business and workplace culture.
[01:25] And now, your host, award winning international speaker, strategic storytelling consultant, and Japanese whiskey lover, Ruby Coral's mom, Alaia Harris.
[01:49] Aleya Harris: So what should you look for in a public speaking course?
[01:53] I'm gonna admit, kind of embarrassingly, before my own course sparked the stage, I had no idea. I would have had zero ideas on how to answer that question. And this is like when I was already a professional public speaker because of a dirty little secret that it's not really a secret because I feel like I've told it on this podcast before.
[02:15] So, I mean, I guess if you listen, it's not a secret, but if this is your first episode. Hey, girl. Hey. First of all, nice to meet you. Second of all, here's my dirty secret.
[02:25] For the first several years, several years of my speaking career, I didn't watch other speakers speak.
[02:31] I know this makes me sound like a ****, doesn't it? I just was doing other things.
[02:36] I was like flitting around at the conference. And then truthfully, if you want to get like, super honest about it, when I did try to pop in and hear other people speak, they were really bad.
[02:46] So I was like, I'm bored. I would much rather go get cocktails with my girlfriends right now. So I would watch some of my friends speak, and they were good but not really.
[02:58] Like, we didn't really watch like a bunch of other people speak. So I had a real big challenge when people started asking me to create my course to teach them how to speak speak.
[03:09] And I was like, well, I just kind of know like, what I do. And it seems to work really well since I'm like winning awards and stuff. But I don't really know what to tell you.
[03:20] Like, like, like the official thing to do, you know what I mean? Like, we always feel like, well, if I'm doing it, it doesn't make it the official thing. Somebody else has to do it.
[03:30] And like, it has to be the way it's done, quote, unquote. But then I realized that, like, they didn't want that. They were coming to me because they didn't want the status quo.
[03:39] But I still needed to figure out what to include. I couldn't just say, well, do what I do. Like, that's a cop out, right? So I had to pay more attention.
[03:48] I paid attention to what I was doing. That really got a rise out of the audience in a good way. I asked other people who had seen me speak, event organizers, my friends, clients, what did they like about me, what was different?
[04:03] And I just got some great testimonials for this. Like, they're all on my website now, right.
[04:08] And it's was really eye opening. And the things that they felt made me easy to work with or made me great from the stage or great after the stage.
[04:19] And then I finally watched other people and I figured out what worked and what didn't work. And it would be horrible of me to say that every person I saw was horrible, which is not true.
[04:30] But if I'm honest with you, I found a lot of what didn't work more than what I found what did work, at least from my opinion. Right, right. And I'm only saying that because there's a lot of subject matter experts on stage that are giving presentations, but they're not acting in the role of a professional public speaker.
[04:46] They're acting in a role of a transfer of a. Sorry, an information transmitter, rather than an experienced creator, which is the world of professional public speaking. And that's what I do.
[04:59] And that's what I wanted to teach people how to do.
[05:02] So I, after doing all of that, I created Spark the Stage based off of what I did. Right. What other people told me I did right. Other people saw that work that didn't work.
[05:14] And this episode is not a shameless plug for Spark the Stage, although it kind of is. I mean, it kind of is, but it's also me helping you to figure out the best path to get on the stage for you.
[05:26] Because Spark, the stage might not be right for you. Like, there's chanting and visualization, and there's confidence building, and I'll teach you how to get on sat from soup to nuts.
[05:35] But I might not be your cup of tea. But there are certain things that you really need to look for to make sure that you. Whatever you spend your money on, you get the most out of it.
[05:44] Because otherwise you're going to be like, oh, man, I spent my money because I didn't really know what good looked like, and now I'm screwed. So I'm going to tell you what good looks like here in this course.
[05:59] And before I. Before I do, though, something just pop. Just popped into my mind. And Spirit wanted me to tell you that when I got.
[06:08] And when I get off stage, one of my friends told me that her favorite part of me speaking has nothing to do with what I do on stage. It's what happens when I get off the stage and people come up to me and talk to me.
[06:24] And she said, aleyah, you make whoever is in front of you feel like the only person in the room.
[06:32] And I'll be on stage or off stage, and there'll be a line of 20 people wanting to talk to me. But whoever's in front of me, I feel like they're the only one that matters in that moment, and I'll give them all the time that they need.
[06:47] And I don't know why Spirit wanted me to tell you that right now. Maybe it's because, for me, that's what public speaking is all about. That human connection, the authenticity, the truly being of service.
[06:57] But it was so loud in my head. They're like, I had to deviate from my outline before I told you what to look for in this course, because I guess that that must be really important.
[07:06] So I leave that there for you.
[07:09] All right, back to the outline. What you should look for in a public speaking course.
[07:14] The first thing is a teacher who matches your vibe and your goals. So, like, don't take a keynote course from someone who's only a specialist in TED talks, which are two different ways of speaking.
[07:27] Or don't take a motivational speaking course if you're trying to be an education or an edutainment type of speaker or an MC or something else like that. Make sure it matches your goals and your vibe.
[07:42] Like that bro, bro. Way of. Of teaching or being or Speaking from the stage doesn't match my vibe, so I'm not going to take a teacher that does that.
[07:52] It's really important because if you don't match them, then you're going to end up being thrown off of your authentic self, which is how you end up not moving forward.
[08:02] Well, the other thing is you want to make sure the content is comprehensive.
[08:06] It should be again, from soup to nuts on how to be a professional public speaker, not just stagecraft, not just booking gigs. Because what people don't tell you when they say, oh yeah, I'll help you book the gig is that the best way to book a professional speaking gig is by being a good professional public speaker.
[08:25] Because speaking begets speaking.
[08:28] I have spoken on one stage that has led to five other additional speaking opportunities because I was good on that stage. So if someone is just teaching you how to submit to speaking gigs and they're not teaching you how to be good on stage, you're going to be endlessly speaking, pitching yourself for speaking gigs because you're never going to gain the momentum you need in your career because you won't be good.
[08:54] People won't see you and want to book you. So you want comprehensive content. Because speaking is a full circle experience. It is not just one piece of the pie. You also want someone who knows what they're doing.
[09:08] So look at their credentials, right? Like how many times do they speak? What do their testimonials look like? If you act as an event organizer and go out and be like, if I was going to book this person to be a speaker, would I be impressed by them, right?
[09:21] Would I be impressed by who they work for or their testimonials? It's not always about the logos. It's maybe about their videos. Like check out their speaker reels. Do you like them?
[09:31] Do they have the experience you need? Or did they just pop up one day and decide to be a speaker? Which is not going to help you.
[09:38] Do they also have practical application? I am very woo. I am very spiritual. I love me some God, love me some Jesus, love me some entity, like beings of light.
[09:49] I love it all.
[09:51] But I'm also going to tell you, this is step one, this is step two, this is step three. Don't do this, don't do that. This looks ugly, this looks bad.
[09:57] You're great, you're wonderful. But let's tweak this practical application. You don't want to just have it at high level. You want frameworks, you want graphs, you want drawings, you want PDFs you want them to show you exactly how to go from A to B.
[10:12] You also want to ask questions. Because my entire course, Spark the Stage, is written in my book, Spark the Stage. That's why they have the same name. They're the same thing.
[10:23] But people still join my course because reading the book is not enough.
[10:27] So you can read the book and have the knowledge, but unless you're able to be like, is this right? Or what do you think about this? How does this apply to my niche?
[10:34] How does this apply to my company? These are my goals. If maybe you're slightly different, or can you help me clarify them? Until you're able to have that interaction with a real human who's an expert and not just your peers who are also struggling, you won't be able to move forward with confidence.
[10:48] You need to be able to ask questions to either they have certified coaches in their team or to the person who created the content in the first place. And it has to work with your learning style.
[10:59] Are you an auditory learner? Are you a visual learner? Are you a kinesthetic learner? Right. What is it that they offer so that you will be able to learn properly?
[11:09] Our course is worth it.
[11:12] Bottom line. If you get a course that does all the things that I said, is it worth it? Yes.
[11:17] My answer is yes. Getting and signing up for a coach or a course, it's 100% worth it. The return on investment is huge. You could save yourself years of struggle.
[11:28] You'll be able to grow faster personally and professionally. And by networking and putting yourself in a different circle, you'll have additional career opportunities. It's funny, I was listening or watching an Instagram video of this woman named Vivian Tu, who is your rich BFF on Instagram, and I have her book.
[11:49] I think that she's wonderful. She talks about financial wellness, basically. And she said that people were calling her a hypocrite because she talks about being a rich bff, but she also married rich.
[12:04] And she said, I married rich because I am rich. I'm rich. I surround myself with other people who are rich. So of course I'm going to marry one of the people that I surround myself with, and they're going to be rich.
[12:15] That's kind of the same thing with speaking courses. If you want to be a speaker and you want to have more speaking opportunities, surround yourself with other speakers and people who are connected to those speaking opportunities.
[12:28] And one of the best ways to do that is to join a coach or a course or a program with other people who are doing the same thing, right? Be around people.
[12:37] Iron sharpens iron, right? Be around the people that have the experiences that you want to have. So yes, joining a course or a coach program that does the things that I just outlined for you is absolutely worth it.
[12:51] I want you now to take some time. Think about your favorite class, your favorite teacher, your favorite educational experience that you've had in the past.
[12:59] What made them great for for you.
[13:02] That is what you should be looking for in a course.
[13:05] There's so many out there, like I've already said. But I want you now to go out and scour the Internet and find three speaking courses or coaches or coaching programs and put them on a spreadsheet and use the kind of areas I gave you to compare pros and cons.
[13:23] And I offer you Spark the Stage as an option. You can go and read all about it@aleyaharris.com Spark Spark the stage is my program. It's an online course and a 12 month group coaching program that helps entrepreneurs and executives become radically authentic professional speakers who can confidently deliver a compelling, radical Spark signature talk from the stage.
[13:44] This is my baby. This is when I did all that research and all the talking and all of the finally listening to other speakers. All of that juiciness went into this course and into my book.
[13:54] So Spark the Stage the Course has an on demand course that I recommend people usually take in about six weeks, but you can take it as long as you need.
[14:01] And that's where I put the fundamentals of confidently speaking on stage and getting gigs. The entire process of becoming a professional public speaker from soup to nuts. I don't leave anything out.
[14:11] I leave no stone unturned. Takes about six weeks again, but the timing is totally up to you. We also inside of Spark the Stage have weekly virtual interactive live group sessions where you can join me every single week for up to 12 months.
[14:25] And you only pay once. This is not monthly. You just pay once and you get real time feedback and you get your questions answered. You can hear real human interaction to your content.
[14:33] You can get unstuck and this is a part of the program that will help you feel 100% confident that you're doing it right. You also have a slack channel to ask questions, give feedback and share wins.
[14:45] You are not alone on your journey. You're really really not. And I want you to be able to join people that are doing it with you that you can be in those rooms I talked about so you can support each other and thrive as better speakers.
[14:56] Plus you can DM me directly to answer questions and I respond respond to you with voice or text recordings. You get lifetime access to the course content. If you ever need a refresher, no problem.
[15:07] You'll have lifetime access and you can re review at any time. You're going to be doing some homework. You're going to have like two to four hours per week of intentional homework because you won't like get your goals if you don't do the work.
[15:18] I'm not a magician. Right? You have to do the work in the course. That's the only way of making your dreams of becoming a public speaker come true. So maximize your investment by doing the homework.
[15:28] And the homework is aided with templates, checklists, PDFs, I have speaker guides. I have frameworks that I've developed specifically based on my most winning talks. And I'm giving it all to you.
[15:42] Just sharing it. Because I can. Because I can. I even have my Radical Spark Signature Talk framework that has helped me transform audiences and win thousands of dollars of work.
[15:53] I also have a free confidence booster pack in there. Meditations, affirmations, guided visualizations. You get a guest slot on this podcast so you can chat with me and promote yourself and your new speaker offering.
[16:05] And you get a free copy of my bestselling book, Spark the Stage.
[16:09] So I basically I did not set this up this way, but I really, truly believe that the things I told you to look for in a course, Spark the Stage has all of those things because I believe that those are the things you need to be successful.
[16:24] So you should join. I invite you to join. Aleyaharris.com Spark Adriana Brava join. She's one of my favorite people and she's one of my graduates and she used a pitch framework to successfully give her first Radical Spark Signature Talk with a month within a month of finishing the content.
[16:40] Jennifer Rhodes gave her first Radical Spark Signature Talk virtually to 400 industry peers and received glowing praise. Bailey Hancock gave her Radical Spark Signature Talk live in person within days of graduating and capture video to book more gigs.
[16:57] Coques Moore said, I would highly recommend anyone aspiring to use their voice to make a difference in the lives of others to sign up for Spark the Stage because they will get all the tools they need to set them up for success.
[17:08] Aleyah left no stone unturned. She managed to lay all her cards on the table within each session, holding nothing back and sharing her approach to becoming a professional public speaker.
[17:18] So if you want a course that will help you and it checks all the boxes, go to alayaharris.com spark the main idea here is that you don't have to figure out how to be a public speaker alone.
[17:31] Your professional public speaking career can get fast tracked if you just get a little bit of help. It seems easy because the people on stage have usually spent years making it seem easy and they've either taken courses themselves or develop their own based on their experience so that it looks effortless.
[17:48] But let me tell you, being a professional public speaker is not effortless, but you can spend a lot less effort if you get help. If you're ready to get started with your journey to becoming a professional public speaker, you can sign up for Spark the stage@aleyaharris.com
[18:01] Spark your Spark steps for this episode. Your homework is to research at least three resources for you to become a professional public speaker, including Spark the Stage and then sign up like do the thing, press the button right.
[18:14] For me it would be schedule a call with me. We can talk about your goals. You get a free 45 minute strategy session with me to see if Spark the Stage really truly is a fit for you.
[18:23] Because nothing happens if you don't take action. Don't let becoming a professional public speaker turn into like ah, some daydream. Oh, I'll do this someday. Which we all know really ends up being like a never dream.
[18:35] Like a no day dream. I want you to make someday today. So sign up for the course. Get the help, get the coaching. Because you're already on your way to become a professional public speaker.
[18:45] Because you've listened to this episode. It's already on your mind. Now you just need to take the steps to make it a reality.
[18:51] Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Flourishing Entrepreneur Podcast. My name is Alayah Harris and until next time I am wishing you and so sending you lots of love, light and abundance.
[19:04] Bye for now.
[19:06] Yuliya Patsay: Thank you for listening to this episode of the Flourishing Entrepreneur Podcast with Aleya Harris. Vibing with what you hear, leave a five star review to spread the love and be sure to click subscribe.
[19:19] We wish you love, light and abundance. See you next time.
