Is public speaking something you avoid at all costs? Or perhaps you’re fairly comfortable talking in public but wonder how other people talk with great confidence and clarity.
If you aren’t so confident speaking in front of people, that’s no issue—there are many ways you can develop your communication skills online. This article will cover some online hobbies you can try to become better at public speaking while having fun. Here are the best online hobbies to improve your public speaking skills.
1. Create a Podcast
Creating a podcast gives you the freedom to discuss anything you wish with a small online audience. Making a podcast is a great way to improve your communication skills, and the good news is, you don’t need to be a tech genius to create one.
Spotify for Podcasters (formerly known as Anchor) is a tool created by the music streaming giant to create and manage your own podcasts. You can record audio directly from the app, and there’s even a feature to add music from Spotify over your recording.
The app lets you record in segments, meaning you don’t have to worry about recording everything in one take. There are also multiple editing tools, so you can trim and split your recordings without relying on external software.
If you want to take podcasting more seriously, you can check out the Analytics tab to see which of your episodes have best performed the best.
Download: Spotify for Podcasters for Android | iOS (Free)
2. Record an Online Course
Making an online course is a great way to share your knowledge with others and potentially gain a little extra cash. The good news is, you don’t need an expensive camera to record one—most modern smartphone cameras will do the trick.
Udemy is a brilliant platform for creating and selling your online course. Before starting, you’ll want to do some market research and ask yourself some important questions about your online course.
Uploading videos is simple in Udemy with the Bulk Uploader tool. This allows you to upload several videos with a file size of up to 4GB size at once. You can also add quizzes and assignments.
You can easily organize your course in the Curriculum tab, where you can split your course into sections and name each lecture. Before publishing your course, you’ll have to submit a quick test video to check you meet the video quality requirements and receive expert feedback.
This is a great long-term project if you want to develop your communication skills while helping others. What’s more—starting a course on Udemy is free.
3. Create a YouTube Channel
Starting a YouTube channel is simple and free of cost. You don’t need to show your face if you’re not comfortable doing so—you can use a free animation tool and record your voice on top.
When it comes to YouTube channel ideas, the options are endless. You can easily find inspiration by looking at existing content or by picking any topic you’re passionate about.
Starting a YouTube channel is easy. All you need to do is create a Gmail account, and you’ll automatically have a YouTube account. From the YouTube homepage, click your account icon in the upper-left corner and select Create a Channel:
If your channel is performing well, you can apply some monetization strategies on YouTube to start getting some money for your content. Even if your channel isn’t performing as well, creating a YouTube channel is one of the best skills you can learn to benefit your personal growth and speak more confidently.
4. Learn a New Language
Being comfortable speaking your own language is enough to satisfy most people. But this is quite useless if you travel frequently. Learning new languages gives you a broader range of speaking skills, so you can be a confident speaker no matter where you are on the globe.
Babbel is a language-learning app where you can learn from 14 popular languages. During the startup process, you can set your preferences, including how long you want to study each day and your current level of knowledge. This helps the app determine what level you’re at.
There are a variety of learning methods to suit your learning preference. The main feature is structured courses with lessons you can download for offline access. You can also learn using language podcasts, or by playing games.
The Live tab offers a selection of virtual classes taught by language teachers that you can attend in the app. You can filter lessons based on their difficulty level, the teachers leading the course, and what time slots are available.
Download: Babbel for Android | iOS (Subscription required)
5. Keep an Audio Journal
Journaling has many benefits for your mental health, but it can also help develop your communication skills as you understand and interpret your thoughts.
Pointo is an audio-journaling app where you can record and play back voice entries. The app also includes a mood tracker, and you can keep your entries safe using the PIN protection feature. To keep your entries organized, you can assign tags and add images. On the Memories tab, you can also mark entries as a favorite by tapping the star icon.
You can record for up to 30 minutes per entry—you’ll just need to change this in the settings under the Personalization section. Here you’ll also find a dark mode and the option to back up your entries to Google Drive.
Keeping an audio journal is a pleasing way of recording your daily life while refining your speaking skills. This can benefit your work life in many ways. It will help you communicate your thoughts better in a group setting and allow you to describe your ideas more clearly.
Download: Pointo for Android | iOS (Free)
Get Creative While Becoming a Better Public Speaker
If you want to improve your public speaking skills, you can practice in many ways while doing something you enjoy. These hobbies are easy to start and can be done from the comfort of your own home.
Being a stronger public speaker will have a great impact on your work life and career. You’ll come across as more confident and perform better in interviews. Try these hobbies to speak better, whatever circumstances you’re in.