As you kickstart your speaking career, the amount of information available on the internet can feel overwhelming. Speaking is a big big world, but luckily for you there are a lot of amazing websites that can guide you toward improving professional development, public speaking skills, and marketing and business chops. At the same time, not all online resources are equally helpful, and some contain redundant information. If you’re looking for the best websites on public speaking, you’ll have to comb through a lot of content to find what’s actually relevant. So we did the work for you!
We’ve compiled a list of the best public speaking websites that offer information, resources, and opportunities for aspiring professional speakers. If you want to get started on your speaking business with nothing but these 12 tabs open, you will have plenty to work with.
Of course there are more than 12 helpful websites for public speakers. Depending on your industry, you might have vastly different criteria for what helps you in your speaking career. If you speak to zookeepers, a playlist of Steve Irwin videos might be more helpful than anything else! What we’ve endeavored to do here is to present a wide range of helpful online resources aimed at speakers. From professional development organizations, to speaking content repositories, to thought leaders who help speakers succeed, you’ll find all kinds of helpful information and inspiration on these websites.
National Speakers Association
The National Speakers Association is the be-all end-all of professional speaking organizations in the United States. Many serious speakers become members to advance their networking and professional development opportunities. Membership perks include regular community events, discounts on certain products and softwares, and free access to a host of digital resources. Seasoned speakers can rise to the ranks of the NSA Certified Speaking professional or even the Hall of Fame!
You’re bound to encounter NSA members in your interactions with other speakers and industry experts from the very beginning of your speaking journey. Even if you aren’t ready to become a member, the NSA website is a great showcase of opportunities available to professional speakers. You’ll also find webinars, online courses, and links to helpful partner organizations (like us!). We’ve actually had the president of the National Speakers Association, Jaime Nolan, on our podcast! Give it a listen here to learn more about what this organization can do for speakers. Under Jaime’s leadership the NSA has gone through a lot of exciting changes to better the member experience, so if there was ever a time to consider membership, now is it!
Canadian Association of Professional Speakers
The Canadian Association of Professional Speakers is the other premier North American professional speaking organization. CAPS shares many of the same hallmarks as the NSA, with regional chapters, annual events, and frequent networking opportunities. On their website, you can find information about membership, events, and more. Perhaps most valuable is the page for the CAPS Speaker Academy, which includes free and paid resources for starting and sustaining your speaking business. Even if you’re not Canadian, we highly recommend including this public speaking resource as part of your online research!
Toastmasters
Toastmasters International is one of the most renowned public speaking resources both online and offline. This organization helps individuals in all walks of life improve their public speaking skills through in person, hybrid, and online chapters. Toastmasters does not discriminate as to whether public speaking is a career path or ancillary to some other goal; regardless, your local chapter is dedicated to helping you improve and reach your speaking goals. If you do plan to speak professionally, Toastmasters offers many in person and online public speaking resources to that end.
On the Toastmasters website, you can learn about how to join a chapter (or even how to visit a chapter meeting without joining). You can explore events, like the World Championship of Public Speaking and the annual Toastmasters Convention. If you’re a Toastmasters member and a public speaker, you could even qualify for their accredited speaker program! Toastmasters also offers several online education programs and a free resource library. They even publish a magazine called the Toastmaster!
TED
TED originally stood for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, but now it’s so much more! While TED’s primary function is the publicization of free talks about “ideas worth spreading,” their website is a treasure trove of online public speaking resources. TED content revolves around a set of core principles: Curiosity, reason, imagination, inclusion, generosity, debate, and impact.
TED talks number in the thousands, so if you’re trying to get a feel for best practices on stage you have plenty of material to work with! And if you’re more interested in professional development, the TED website provides playlists and series based on your interests and goals. Playlists like “Talks for when you want to start a business” and “How to run a company like a visionary” are a great starting point. You can also find the TED-Ed series of mostly animated videos on various educational topics including many that might be relevant to your speaking business. The TED Ideas blog, newsletter, and podcast also offer many learning opportunities.
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Kindra Hall
At The Speaker Lab, we never fail to emphasize the power of storytelling. It’s one of the most important tools speakers can harness to connect with their audience. Kindra Hall, storytelling expert, has appeared on our podcast to talk about this topic–and her website is an incredible online resource for public speaking and any other industry that leverages storytelling.
On kindrahall.com, you can learn all about Kindra’s research and the different applications of storytelling. Her blog spans everything from case studies, to brand tips, to how stories are part of our day to day lives.
Amy Porterfield
Amy Porterfield is another frequent flyer on The Speaker Lab podcast. Fifteen years ago she quit her 9-5 and tested different ventures working for herself. Selling her online courses rapidly turned into a multi-million dollar business landing her in Forbes for breaking the glass ceiling. Now, she specializes in email list building and online marketing for entrepreneurs.
Luckily for you, her website is incredibly generous with her expertise. You can find free guides, personalized playlists of her podcast episodes, and resources related to her new book. Sign up for her emails to get even more free goodies to help you with sales funnels and other important business practices!
Hugh Culver
Hugh Culver has appeared at least four times on The Speaker Lab podcast (most recently here). Clearly we think this guy has some important things to say! No matter what industry you’re speaking in, Hugh Culver’s wisdom can apply. A massively successful speaker, coach, and entrepreneur, Hugh has made much of his wisdom available on his website. Hugh isn’t just any old entrepreneur though–his past businesses span from whitewater rafting to tours to the south pole. You can rest assured that if anyone knows how to market and sell a product or service, it’s Hugh!
Just a few of Hugh’s current areas of expertise include avoiding procrastination, leveraging writing and blogging to market yourself, and refining your message so it makes an impact. You can find articles on these topics and so many more on his blog! You can also find in-depth free resources on successful presentations as well as a free copy of one of his books. If you need some entertainment, Hugh also publishes comics about writing, work, and productivity…his website is just the gift that keeps on giving! If you’re looking for an online public speaking resource that will entertain as well as educate, hughculver.com is the place to start.
Mike Kim
Are you a speaker? Coach? Somewhere in between? Add Mike Kim’s website to your list of online resources for your business. Mike Kim has helped incredible speakers and thought leaders amplify their personal brand with his ingenious relationships-focused strategies. With his bestselling book You Are The Brand, he solidified his rank amongst the top marketing and monetizing experts.
Unsurprisingly, Mike’s website is overflowing with information and resources. On his blog, you can read advice on marketing, personal branding, copywriting, personal development, and more. Free trainings and other e-resources are available on his website, and his email list promises even more freebies to come! Mike has come onto our podcast to talk about branding before (listen here and here) but he also runs his own amazing branding podcast here.
Garr Reynolds (Presentation Zen)
Garr Reynolds is a presentation expert whose mission at Presentation Zen is to help you with online or in person presentations from preparation, to design, to delivery. On his website, he outlines his methods for presentation success in articles, videos, and guides. Perhaps most helpful are his guidelines for what not to do in a presentation! Many speakers with a great talk make terrible mistakes in their slides that distract from their message and end up derailing their delivery. Garrreynolds.com can help public speakers avoid those pitfalls and impress audiences from the real or virtual stage.
Manner of Speaking
Speaker and lawyer John Zimmer started Manner of Speaking to help professionals of all kinds use their public speaking skills to succeed in the workplace. You can read hundreds of free articles on his blog about public speaking, presentation skills and communication. You can watch his interviews and speeches where he utilizes gifts from one of his other passions, Improv. And you can examine his analyses of real and fictional speeches of all kinds from all sorts of people.
American Rhetoric
When you’re honing your persuasive speaking skills, there’s nothing like learning from the greats. American Rhetoric is an incredible online public speaking resource for those looking to find inspiration from the greatest American speeches of all time–current, historical, and fictional. There are transcripts of ancient speeches, videos of modern speeches, and clips of movie speeches all in one helpful website. While you should never copy a great speaker, immersing yourself in their words is a great way to improve your own speaking skills. American Rhetoric doesn’t cover any of the business aspects included in other resources, but it’s still one of the best websites on public speaking that we’ve found!
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The Speaker Lab
We can’t let this opportunity go by without tooting our own horn a little bit. Here at The Speaker Lab, we have online resources galore for every stage of becoming a professional speaker. Our blog covers speaking tips, networking tips, coaching tips, and more. Listen to our podcast with almost 500 episodes of interviews with speaking experts about common–and unexpected–challenges in the life of a professional speaker. Our free resources like myspeakerfee.com give you tools to start booking paid speaking gigs, and our coaching team is available if you want a more guided approach.
Conclusion
Finding the best online resources for public speakers takes a lot of time and a lot of weeding through google search results. We’ve done our best to save you all that work with these twelve websites. Sure, this is only a starting point to all the professional development and learning opportunities the internet offers speakers. But as starting points go, it’s a very comprehensive one! With these expert organizations and individuals helping you along, you’ll be well on your way to a firm foundation of business skills and onstage success.
