Public speaking and stage fright
Course schedule:
Registration period:
Teaching time:
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Course information
Learning outcomes
After the course, students will:
- gain confidence to perform in various situations in spite of stage fright
- be able to plan and carry out oral presentations of various kinds and defend their views persuasively
- be supportive listeners and able to give and receive feedback during public speaking situations
Content
The course is designed for students who feel that speech anxieties or other social phobias have been detrimental to their studies, work life or everyday interaction. The course discusses the knowledge, skills, attitudes and motivations related to public speaking as well as the willingness to communicate. The focus is on becoming a more confident speaker and performer and achieving a natural contact in all communicative situations. Key themes include willingness to communicate or lack of confidence in communicating, public speaking as a form of interaction, different aspects of stage fright, courage to express oneself, audience skills, feedback and performance skills.
Teacher
Rinna Toikka
Study material
Online material and/or current scientific publications/literature on communication.
Further information will be given in class.
Workload
Contact hours 24 h, independent study 30 h
Prerequisites
Advance assignments as necessary and/or contacting the course teacher regarding stage fright.
Evaluation
Passing the course requires an 80% attendance rate in contact teaching, active and constructive participation in group work and exercises, as well as passing all the assignments given on the course. The working methods include interactive lectures, pair and group work, experiential learning methods and exercises on public speaking as well as written learning assignments or other assignments.
Teaching time and location
The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system
- The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
- From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected
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From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.
The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.
Online learning environment for the course
MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.
Digital workspace of the course:
MyCourses
More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.
Registration and course fee
Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below:
Course registration
Registration for this course starts on 22.9.2025 at 9.00
Registration for this course ends on 13.10.2025 at 23.59
It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.
The number of participants is limited to 4.
This course is organized by the Aalto Language Centre
The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules
Activating Aalto ID and Multifactor Authentication
You can activate your Aalto User ID the day after the registration and you should activate it no later than the day before the start of the course.
Instructions for activating your Aalto user ID
Once you have activated your Aalto user ID, also enable multifactor authentication. Some of Aalto University's services require multifactor authentication.
Opiskelu Avoimessa yliopistossa
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