Effective Speaking
Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences at University of Copenhagen
This is a generic course. This means that the course is reserved for PhD students at the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences at UCPH.
Anyone can apply for the course, but if you are not a PhD student at the Graduate School, you will be placed on the waiting list until enrollment deadline. After the enrolment deadline, available seats will be allocated to the waiting list.
The course is free of charge for PhD students at Danish universities (except Copenhagen Business School), and for PhD students at NorDoc member faculties. All other participants must pay the course fee
Course description
This course involves five days of in-person participation and one day online. It is aimed at non-native speakers of English who wish to hone their speaking skills to better reach their international audience.
The course helps develop your grasp of the dynamics of speaking in formal settings as you learn to cope with the highly artificial situation of speaking to a group of people who you may feel are smarter and more knowledgeable than yourself. By understanding your own and your listeners’ reactions, you will be able to analyse and rationally assess your situation in order to tackle your natural anxiety. Rhetorical principles that help improve listeners’ comprehension are likewise discussed.
To help you accommodate the variety of rhetorical traditions and linguistic backgrounds represented in academia, the course supports your skills in English-medium oral communication by providing guidance for the pronunciation of words, sentences and longer stretches of speech as well as rhythm and pitch contour.
While being trained in plenary seminars and supervised group work in speaking to and interacting with forums of varying formality, you will receive extensive feedback on the several speaking assignments over the course. In response to the changing meeting and conference practices following the Covid pandemic, the course integrates online delivery of one of the presentations.
Please be advised that this is a very intensive course requiring a sustained effort for lasting results. The spacing of course days thus aims at enabling reflection, planning and rehearsal of the assignments, leaving little time for other commitments.
Elements
• speaking and presenting exercises
• pronunciation of individual words: rules and theory
• intonation and other continuous elements of pronunciation (stress, rhythm, variety, etc.)
• group and individual coaching on pronunciation and intonation
• submission of audio-recorded samples for feedback
• using online communication tools
• optimizing the impact of online presentations
• nonverbal elements: body language, gaze, voice, appearance, etc.
• oral communication theory (oral vs written language, psychological aspects, etc.)
• physical and mental preparation for presentations
• selecting materials for, preparing and rehearsing presentations
• understanding listeners’ minds: forgetful, distracted, whimsical
• cognition patterns: group and repeat ideas, be physical and concrete
• communication skills: think of what they hear, not what you say
• what is achievable in an oral presentation compared with paper and poster formats
Outcomes
At the end of the course you will:
• have developed and rehearsed at least four presentations on topics related to your PhD work
• be more confident when engaging in public speaking in English
• have the self-awareness and knowledge necessary for further developing your
public speaking skills
• be looking forward to making your next presentation!
Participants
Non-native speakers of English
Language
English
Venue
Panum and Zoom
Form
Mixed format, in person or online: Plenary, group and individual work, feedback, voice and body exercises, audio and video recording, discussion, own pronunciation practice
Course instructors
Cand.mag. Morten Berg (English), owner at i kontext, mail@ikontext.dk; cand.mag. Helle Idland (Rhetorics)
Dates
Oct-Nov 2026: Mon 19 at 9:00, Wed 21, Fri 23, Tue 27, (Wed 28), Mon 2, Thu 5. Starting times vary from 8:00 to 9:00.
Tue 27 and Wed 28 are delivered online. You can opt to reserve for course work either all of Tuesday or make Tuesday and Wednesday two short days.
Please check your alumnus email account (and its spam filter) three weeks before course start, as you are expected to submit a sound recording in advance and indicate your wishes concerning Tue 27 and Wed 28.
Registration
Please register before 19 September 2026.
Seats to PhD students from other Danish universities will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and according to the applicable rules.
Applications from other participants will be considered after the last day of enrollment.
Note: All applicants are asked to submit invoice details in case of no-show, late cancellation or obligation to pay the course fee (typically non-PhD students). If you are a PhD student, your participation in the course must be in agreement with your principal supervisor.