Presenting with Confidence
The course is led by Dr Alexander McWilliam, who has spent more than 18 years coaching professionals to communicate with greater confidence and draws on the past 25 years of research into public speaking anxiety to provide practical, evidence-based strategies for real workplace situations.
1 Day | 6 CPD Hours
Speaking in front of others can feel daunting, but confidence is a skill that can be learned. This practical, CPD-accredited one-day course is designed to help you manage presentation anxiety, build self-assurance, and communicate with greater impact.
Through a combination of evidence-based techniques, guided practice, and supportive feedback, you’ll learn how to understand and manage nerves, develop a confident presence, and deliver presentations with greater ease. Whether you’re presenting at work, leading meetings, speaking to clients, or preparing for interviews, this course will provide practical tools you can use immediately.
What You’ll Learn
- Understand why presentation anxiety occurs and how it affects performance.
- Identify your personal triggers and patterns of nervousness.
- Build confidence through structured, step-by-step exposure techniques.
- Apply proven strategies such as breathing exercises, visualisation, and cognitive reframing.
- Develop greater spontaneity and adaptability through interactive exercises.
- Strengthen your delivery, body language, and audience engagement.
- Receive constructive feedback in a supportive learning environment.
- Create a personalised action plan for continued confidence development.
Course Overview
Participants will explore the psychological and physiological effects of public speaking anxiety and gain insight into their own responses to presenting. Using practical exercises and real-world speaking opportunities, learners will develop techniques to stay calm, focused, and in control.
The course introduces a personalised habituation approach, helping participants gradually build confidence through achievable challenges. Interactive activities, including improvisation exercises, encourage adaptability, resilience, and authentic communication. Throughout the day, participants will receive personalised feedback to support their progress and help them refine their presentation style.
By the end of the course, learners will have a clear understanding of how to manage speaking anxiety and the confidence to present more effectively in professional and personal settings.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
LO1: Explain the psychological and physiological effects of anxiety on presentation performance.
LO2: Identify and evaluate their personal sources of public speaking anxiety.
LO3: Develop a personalised confidence-building and exposure plan tailored to their goals.
LO4: Apply a range of anxiety-management techniques before and during presentations.
LO5: Demonstrate increased confidence through structured speaking exercises.
LO6: Use improvisation and communication techniques to improve adaptability and audience engagement.
LO7: Incorporate feedback to enhance presentation delivery, body language, and overall impact.
