Public speaking skills D

Course information

Learning outcomes

Students will:

- gain confidence in public speaking and performing
- learn audience skills and to analyse and give feedback on performances
- be able to plan and carry out oral presentations and defend their views persuasively.

Content

The course discusses the knowledge, skills, attitudes and motivations related to public speaking as well as the ethics of interaction. Public speaking is practiced in diverse ways and contexts as one element of professional skills Among the major themes are public speaking as interaction, stage fright, courage of expression, audience skills, feedback, constructing a presentation, illustration, targeting the audience, and argumentation.

Teacher

Tuuli Nilsson

Study material

Online material and/or scientific journals or literature of current interest in communication. Further information will be given in class.

Workload

Contact hours (lectures and exercises) 32 h, preparation for lectures and learning assignments 49 h

Prerequisites

None.

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

1. The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
2. From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected  

3. 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.
    

   Exam instructions at the Open University

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 8.12.2025 at 9.00  
Registration for this course ends on 29.12.2025 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. Please note that this course is organized when there are at least 10 students registered for it. 

This course is organized by the Aalto University 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.

Instructions for using Multifactor Authentication