PUBLIC SPEAKING

20 courses under $20 that can help you learn a new skill in 2020

Some folks resolve to better themselves in the new year by fueling their bodies, amping up their workout routines, and eating healthier. Others resolve to better themselves by fueling their minds and learning new skills. Both are excellent ways to kickoff a brand new year. And if you fall into the latter category, we’ve got the perfect thing to help you get started.

These 20 online courses are all currently under $20 and can help you learn something new in 2020. Whether you want to climb the career ladder, launch your own business, or learn to code; there’s a course for you.

Coding The Complete Full-Stack JavaScript Course

Designed for those with a basic front-end web development understanding, this 87-lecture course will teach you JavaScript development and have you working on coding projects using ReactJS, NodeJS, LoopbackJS, Redux, Material-UI, and socket programming. You’ll work through three coding projects covering calculator application, weblog, and chat application.

MSRP: $200

Sale Price: $13 (93% off)

Buy Now Learn Advanced C++ Programming

Best for someone with a basic understanding of coding, in this in-depth 15-hour course, you’ll develop complex applications and learn an array of advanced C++ features like operator overloading, lambda expressions, and smart pointers.

MSRP: $200

Sale Price: $12.99 (93% off)

Buy Now The Complete iOS 13 & SwiftUI Developer Course

There’s never been a better time to bring the app idea you’ve been dreaming up to life, and this course can help you get started. Through 28 hours of content, you’ll learn to code with Swift5, design real-life example apps like Instagram and Snapchat clones, and walk away with the ability to write any iOS app you want.

MSRP: $499

Sale Price: $11.99 (97% off)

Buy Now MySQL & SQL for Beginners

SQL, a domain-specific language used for managing relational databases, can help you create software that stores data in a central repository or dynamic websites. And this course teaches you practically everything you need to know about it – from basic SQL to complex queries, transactions, and stored procedures.

MSRP: $200

Sale Price: $12.99 (93% off)

Buy Now The Complete Web Developer Course: Build 25 Websites

Ready to start speaking the language of the future (a.k.a., coding)? This expert-led program includes 288 lectures that will teach you everything from HTML5 and Python to MySQL and PHP – and so much more. You’ll also get a crash course in APIs so you can connect Google Maps, Twitter, and other dynamic content to your websites.

MSRP: $149

Sale Price: $11.99 (91% off)

Buy Now Career-Boosting Resume Writing (CV) & LinkedIn Profile Optimization

Trying to switch careers is a full-time job in itself, but this 1.5-hour course can make the process more efficient and effective. It shows you how to use digital marketing and SEO principles to optimize your LinkedIn and resume to stand out to recruiters and ultimately land the job of your dreams.

MSRP: $199

Sale Price: $9.99 (94% off)

Buy Now Instant Public Speaking Master Class

Public speaking is naturally nerve-wracking, but if you learn to do it well, it can take you places you never dreamed of. This 3.5-hour course aims to improve your public speaking skills by teaching you a no-brainer strategy to cope with fear, how to become a better listener, how to manage and lead with your authoritative voice, and how to voice your ideas with confidence and assurance.

MSRP: $297

Sale Price: $9.99 (96% off)

Buy Now Microsoft Excel from Beginner to Advanced

While it may be a basic requirement for many jobs, most people only master its surface-level capabilities. This 15-hour course features 190 lectures that dive deep into everything it has to offer, from popular functions and PivotTables to macros and VBA.

MSRP: $149.99

Sale Price: $10.99 (92% off)

Buy Now Become A SuperLearner 2: Speed Reading & Memory

We’re all forced to absorb an ever-increasing amount of information and knowledge on a daily basis. This five-hour course can make it easier on you by helping you retain everyday information more efficiently. You’ll learn what cognitive and neurological factors go into learning new things, how to leverage advanced memory techniques to learn quicker, and how to speed read with high comprehension and understanding.

MSRP: $199.99

Sale Price: $10 (94% off)

Buy Now Digital Marketing The Facebook Marketing Master Class Bundle

If you’re not leveraging everything Facebook has to offer, you’re missing out on some major opportunities. This nine-course bundle of courses dives deep into how Facebook can help market a business, starting with the basics – like creating Facebook ads, writing posts that convert, and optimizing your business page to attract customers.

MSRP: $1,887

Sale Price: $35 (98% off)

Buy Now Instagram Marketing Crash Course for Entrepreneurs

This two-hour course shows you how to harness Instagram to build your brand, gain thousands of new followers, and make more money in the process. Discover tips for optimizing your Instagram profile, creating better images and videos that attract, and monetizing your activity on the app from online entrepreneur Sorin Constantin.

MSRP: $195

Sale Price: $10 (94% off)

Buy Now MailChimp 101: Learn Email Marketing

Across 29 lectures and two hours of instruction, you’ll learn the ins and outs of the world’s largest marketing automation platform, a.k.a., MailChimp. Discover how to optimize content, build your email lists, implement A/B split test emails, and launch campaigns that are designed to succeed.

MSRP: $49.99

Sale Price: $9.99 (80% off)

Buy Now The Complete Guide to Digital Marketing Course

From brand identity and copywriting to SEO and email, this 27-hour course will get you up to date on all the proper techniques and strategies for every aspect of digital marketing. You’ll learn from case studies and be able to download checklists and guides to help you take action.

MSRP: $200

Sale Price: $11 (94% off)

Buy Now The Complete YouTube Master Class

Access 62 lectures and five hours of content that will help you start a YouTube channel from scratch and turn it into an income-driving machine. You’ll learn to navigate the platform, become a partner, post and optimize your video content, and ultimately, grow your brand through your YouTube videos.

MSRP :$49

Sale Price: $11 (77% off)

Buy Now Finance Cryptocurrency Mastery: How to Buy Bitcoin, Ethereum & More

In this half-hour course, you’ll learn the secrets of making money and growing your wealth with cryptocurrencies. Discover how to properly store your cryptocurrencies for safe keeping, buy on various exchanges, and transfer Bitcoin and other cryptos to coinbase wallets.

MSRP: $197

Sale Price: $9.99 (94% off)

Buy Now The Complete Financial Analyst Training & Investing Course

Through 22.5 hours of content, award-winning professor and venture capitalist Chris Haroun teaches you the secrets to succeeding as a financial analyst and investor in this course. You’ll learn how an IPO works, how to manage a portfolio, how to build financial models, how risk management, monetary policy, and fiscal policy work, and much more.

MSRP: $200

Sale Price: $10.99 (94% off)

Buy Now Starting a Business Podcasting 101 with John Lee Dumas

Launch your own podcast, build an audience, and make some money doing it with the help of this five-hour course. In just 12 lectures, you’ll learn how to select the right equipment for your needs and budget, create a radio-quality recording, and quickly and efficiently edit audio down to a polished final cut.

MSRP: $29

Sale Price: $9.99 (65% off)

Buy Now Beginner to Advanced SEO Course for Startups, Businesses & Bloggers

A big chunk of your business’ success is based on customers getting there in the first place, which is where SEO comes into play. This six-hour course shows you how to make your site stand out on search engines, rank high in local search results, and navigate Google Webmaster, Analytics and Keyword Planner like a pro.

MSRP: $49

Sale Price: $10 (79% off)

Buy Now The Complete Google Analytics Course For Beginners

Google Analytics is essential for gathering data on users, financials, and other business aspects in order to make informed decisions. This introductory course will help you get up to speed with it. You’ll learn everything from which reports are most important to how to read and utilize them.

MSRP: $49

Sale Price: $10 (79% off)

Buy Now An Entire MBA in 1 Course Ft. Chris Haroun

Rather than jumping into a traditional MBA program and going into debt, boost your business skills with this course from Chris Haroun, Columbia MBA graduate and business executive. Through 800 lessons and seven hours of content, you’ll tackle everything from creating financial models and launching a company from scratch to raising money and analyzing markets from a qualitative and quantitative perspective.

MSRP: $200

Sale Price: $10.99 (94% off)

5 Public Speaking Techniques All Leaders Should Know

Ask most people about the thing they dread the most at work, and talking in front of a room full of people will probably be near the top. Public speaking is difficult even for some of the most experienced communicators. If you hold any type of responsibility within an organization, however, you’ll need to learn this vital skill.

“Soft” skills like communication are absolutely crucial in a business setting, and business leaders need to be especially skilled and confident when speaking to others. Clear, positive communication not only facilitates goodwill among team members, but it also helps to ensure that people are motivated and understand the goals they are working toward.

If you’re finding that your public speaking skills need a little brushing up, here are 5 speaking techniques you should practice.

1. Make the Most of Eye Contact

The first thing you should be aware of when honing your public speaking skills is where you’re looking in the room. Communication is more than just verbal, and your eye contact is a powerful tool whether you’re trying to engage a large audience or having a one-on-one conversation with a team member. Make sure to look at the people you’re speaking to, and try to create natural eye contact several times as you speak.

With that said, there is such a thing as too much contact. It’s important to make the most out of eye contact, but don’t overdo it. Evidence shows that 3.3 seconds of eye contact is about right during a conversation. After that, people start to get a little uncomfortable instead of feeling engaged.

2. Stay in the Present

For many people, their problem with public speaking (and with communicating) is that they get inside their own heads. Instead of speaking naturally and staying in the present, listening fully and responding to others, some people start to think about what they’re going to say next before the person has even stopped talking.

This wandering of the mind is normal, but it’s a bad habit for public speakers. People want to have their voices heard, and when you’re already thinking about your future response, you won’t be as engaged and focused as you could be. It’s hard to stay in the present because we have the desire not to pause or risk looking uninformed, but it’s an important skill to master.

3. Smile

When we’re nervous, we get tense. Why would you smile when you’re feeling nervous? But when it comes to public speaking, you need to put those nerves aside and remember to smile at your audience. Not only will it help you get in the right mindset, but it will also prime your audience to be more relaxed and encouraging since we naturally mimic others’ facial expressions in our communications with one another.

Aside from that, there’s the “fake it ‘til you make it” principle at work. You can work on convincing yourself to feel excited, rather than nervous, and you can project confidence even when you’re not feeling it.

4. Network, Network, Network

You can’t build an empire on your own. With this fact in mind, every business leader should learn how to network. But networking isn’t just good for your career, it’s also good for your public speaking abilities. Every time you interact with someone new, you have a chance to work on your communication skills, practice proper body language, and deliver your message.

5. Become a Subject Matter Expert

Great public speakers are masters of communication, but they also know their subject matter better than just about anyone else. To become the person in your office that others turn to when they need advice, learn everything that you can about your field.

As a leader, it’s important to be knowledgeable—and to know when you don’t have all the answers. Becoming a subject matter expert will propel your career forward and make you more effective when speaking in front of people.

Practice, Practice, Practice

As with most things in life, public speaking gets easier over time. Not all leaders will learn to enjoy talking in front of people, but everyone can learn to make the process a bit less painful. By following these five tips and practicing your speaking and conversation skills whenever you can, you can learn to be an engaging public speaker and inspire those you work with.

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This content is sponsored by Andrew Deen.

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Photo credit: Shutterstock

Why every school should embrace public speaking

Four years ago, I coached a team from my little school to take part in the national Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) Public Speaking Competition – and we won.

The final was held in the High Court in Edinburgh, with the best teams from schools across Scotland represented. 

Beforehand, I had no experience of serious public speaking (let alone debating), apart from reading fiction at a handful of spoken-word events. It wasn’t something I ever remember being invited to try when I was at school. So it was a sharp learning curve for me as well as the pupils.

The winning team we put together had a wonderful combination of qualities: Erin was super-intelligent, confident and fiercely competitive, while Ella was slightly younger, with a strong moral sense of outrage and a taste for dramatic delivery.

Public speaking: 'An essential skill at school’

Oracy: 'We're in danger of producing a generation unable to speak in public'

A teacher writes: How I stopped being  afraid of public speaking

When I say I "coached" the team, my role actually diminished as time went on. In the beginning, the pupils relied on me for ideas and explanations, but I was pretty much told to leave them alone by the time we were in the regional finals.

I should stress that the efforts were shared among a larger team of pupils from across the school, who gave up their lunch hours and converged on my classroom as though it were a military war room. They helped with research, rehearsals, timing and playing devil's advocate, and even came along to the competitive fixtures. They sacrificed evenings at home to support their friends and classmates – it was a beautiful thing.

Soon, Erin and Ella had their speechmaking skills honed to a fine art. We'd start and end the speeches with some well-chosen, relevant quotations from famous folk. In the middle, there would be joined-up arguments, some deeply analytical stuff from Erin and some heartstring-pulling from Ella. Each round had a different theme to discuss, and the quality of argument from the girls increased every time. They had all their pieces in hand – assembling them into the right places was the tricky part.

For any teachers planning on starting up a public speaking or debating club, or working with an established team, you need to know that this is hard graft. The paperwork alone, with risk assessments and letters and consent forms, is time-consuming. And just attending the fixtures means an extra evening out of the house every month, which isn't always easy.

But look at the benefits: cultivating a genuine engagement with world affairs; seeing real teamwork and determination helping pupils to overcome adversity. Plus, most schools you visit will put on a decent spread of tea and biscuits. 

In so many ways, the rewards of public speaking are palpable.

Alan Gillespie is principal teacher of English at Fernhill School in Glasgow