Clinical Assistant Professor of Law
Speaking and Presenting: Poise
What You'll Learn
- How to hold the attention of a wide range of audiences
- How to project a powerful combination of confidence, competence, and charisma
- How to arrange your content in clear, memorable packages
- How to use a well-tested suite of rhetorical rhythms to enhance your delivery and linguistic sophistication
4 Modules
12 Hours
3 hrs per module (approx.)
Rating
About Speaking and Presenting: Poise
Poise is not some elusive or innate characteristic. It’s a series of choices, all of which can help you better connect with your intended audience. This course will help you identify those choices and teach you how to make them in a way that consistently enhances the clarity of your message and the effectiveness of your delivery.
Skills You'll Gain
- Public Speaking Preparation
What You'll Earn
- Certificate of Completion:
- Certificates of completion acknowledge knowledge acquired upon completion of a non-credit course or program.
Welcome Message
Welcome to Speaking and Presenting: Poise, the first course in the Good with Words: Speaking and Presenting Specialization. This course focuses on building a calm, confident presence when speaking. You will explore how word choice, silence, rhythm, and delivery shape credibility and attention. Through practical examples and exercises, you will develop strategies to speak with greater clarity, confidence, and composure in any setting.
This abbreviated syllabus description was created with the help of AI tools and reviewed by staff. The full syllabus is available to those who enroll in the course.
Course Schedule
Module 1: Poise: Vocabulary
- Video: Hold People’s Attention
- Reading: Meet Professor Barry
- Reading: Teaching Style and Resources
- Reading: Syllabus
- Reading: University of Michigan Survey
- Video: P-R-O-D-U-C-T
- Reading: (Optional) Introduction
- Video: Poise
- Graded Assignment: Low-Stakes Practice
- Video: The Virtue of Clarity
- Video: Being in Public
- Video: Charisma
- Reading: (Optional) Chapter 1—Poise
- Reading: (Optional) Class Clips
- Graded Assignment: Low-Stakes Practice
- Reading: Exercise ("Carpool Charisma")
- Reading: Community Engagement Rules
- Discussion Prompt: Carpool Charisma
- Reading: Speaking Stats ("Harper's Index")
- Discussion Prompt: Speaking Stats ("Harper's Index")
- Reading: Edit Our Edits
- Video: Speaking Stories: LBJ
- Video: Speaking Stories: Winston Churchill
- Video: Speaking Stories: RBG
- Graded Assignment: Low-Stakes Practice
- Reading: Speaking Sagacity
- Discussion Prompt: Speaking Sagacity
- Reading: The Power of Pronouns
- Reading: Exercise―Chatter: How Well Do You Know Your Inner Voice?
- Graded Assignment: Low-Stakes Practice
- Discussion Prompt: Week 1 Recap
- Graded: Week 1 Review
Module 2: Poise: Speaking Studies and Exercises
- Video: Speaking Studies: Teachers
- Video: Speaking Studies: Comedians
- Video: Speaking Studies: Perfect Pause
- Graded Assignment: Low-Stakes Practice
- Reading: Speaking Exercise ("Pause Practice")
- Reading: How to Use the Gallery Tool
- App Item: (Optional) "Pause Practice" Feedback Gallery
- Reading: Speaking Exercise ("Moments of Silence")
- Discussion Prompt: Speaking Exercise: Moments of Silence
- Reading: Stage Fright
- Discussion Prompt: Stage Fright
- Reading: Choke Points
- Discussion Prompt: Choke Points
- Reading: Zoom Fatigue (and Fixes)
- Graded Assignment: Low-Stakes Practice
- Discussion Prompt: Zoom Fatigue (and Fixes)
- Discussion Prompt: Week 2 Recap
- Graded: Week 2 Review
Module 3: Rhythm: Vocabulary
- Video: Rhythm
- Video: More Saving. More Doing
- Video: If You See Something, Say Something
- Video: Parallel Structure
- Video: The Rule of Three
- Graded Assignment: Low-Stakes Practice
- Video: Same, Same, Kind of Different
- Video: Verbal Technology
- Reading: (Optional) Rhythm—Chapter 2
- Reading: (Optional) Resources: Class Clips
- Graded Assignment: Low-Stakes Practice
- Reading: Rap Rhythms
- Discussion Prompt: Rap Rhythms
- Video: Women’s Suffrage
- Video: Slavery
- Video: Suffrage and Slavery
- Reading: Good Sentences, Good Speeches ("Hollywood")
- Discussion Prompt: Good Sentences, Good Speeches ("Hollywood")
- Discussion Prompt: Week 3 Recap
- Graded: Week 3 Review
Module 4: Rhythm: Speaking Studies and Speaking Exercises
- Video: Speaking Studies: What Makes it Great?
- Video: Speaking Studies: Creating Power
- Video: Speaking Studies: Classical English Rhetoric
- Graded Assignment: Low-Stakes Practice
- Reading: Speaking Exercise ("Rhythm and Poise")
- App Item: (Optional) Feedback Gallery
- Reading: Speaking Exercise ("Poem Share")
- Discussion Prompt: Poem Share
- Reading: Context Matters
- Graded Assignment: Low-Stakes Practice ("Context Matters")
- Discussion Prompt: Week 4 Recap
- Discussion Prompt: Course Takeaways
- Reading: Course Feedback
- Reading: "Good with Words: Writing and Editing" and Michigan Online
- Graded: Week 4 Review
Grading Policy
The course grade is based on four quizzes worth 25% each. To pass the course, learners must earn an overall score of 80% or higher. Practice quizzes and optional activities support learning but do not count toward the final grade.
Beginner Level
No prior experience necessary
