Online elocution courses: how do they work and what do you learn?

The Internet is the space of opportunity, and proving it are the countless professionalizing, training and further education courses that can be taken online.

At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has profoundly changed needs and wants, it is important to be able to take advantage of the ability to take a course of one’s interest remotely. Distance from where the course is delivered, incompatible schedules, and the inability to be present in a physical classroom are no longer barriers to learning.

Among the courses that prove most useful are elocution courses, which are essential not only for those who intend to work in dubbing, but also for teachers, speakers and anyone who gives public speeches.

Online elocution courses, how they work

Among the courses you can enroll in through the Internet are online elocution courses. Undoubtedly linked to the world of theater, art and film, they are often provided by acting, dubbing and film schools.

While belonging to a specific professional field, online elocution courses are designed for all those who wish to improve their pronunciation, use of voice and reduce the sometimes imperceptible but still present dialect cadence. Thus, they are designed for actors, speakers, entrepreneurs and teachers who are called upon to speak frequently in public or relate to customers.

Depending on the educational offerings designed by the course provider, lectures can be live or recorded: live lectures can then be watched only at a specific time, while recorded lectures are available to the student and can be accessed at any time. More often, courses involve a mixed mode, with classes designed live but recorded for all students who cannot be present at a specific time.

Online elocution courses are then divided into individual and group courses. In the former case, lessons are face-to-face with the teacher and are set according to individual day and time preferences. Leading the course are actors and professionals in the field who are able to bring not only technical knowledge but also the wealth of experience they have gained over years of working and teaching.

In order to participate in the course, the use of tools such as Google Meet, Skype or Zoom, which can enable audio and visual presence of participants, is required. Therefore, all you need to participate is a device (pc, tablet or smartphone), headphones with a microphone and a good internet connection. In addition to video lectures, material is often provided for the student to perform exercises on his or her own so that he or she can apply what was studied during the lecture.

Online elocution courses, what you learn

Online diction courses aim to teach students who decide to enroll the basic rules of Italian diction to correct local inflections, from the most obvious to the most imperceptible.

When it comes to voice and diction, however, it is essential to start with the study of breathing, which allows the voice to sustain and focus during communication. It is precisely the study of diaphragmatic breathing that is the starting point for online elocution courses. Next, we get to study the main rules of correct Italian diction, which are often not widespread and normally known. Diction courses thus lead to learning the rules of correct articulation of sounds and pronunciation of the Italian language, correcting dialectal or linguistic cadences if one is a foreigner.

Not only pronunciation, but also rhythm, elegance and effectiveness: diction classes do not stop at just articulating sounds. They teach how to train and improve vocal expressiveness, how to speak in the most appropriate rhythm, and how to give proper expressive value to punctuation, pauses, and silences. For this reason, careful study of techniques is often recommended in elocution courses, but also continuous practice, reading out loud expressively, recording and re-listening to the exercise performed to listen for any errors to be corrected.

Diction may not be easy, which is why in online courses there is always individual and personalized support from dedicated teachers who can provide the most appropriate answers and correct advice.

How long does an elocution course take? A good course should last at least 18 to 20 hours: excessively short courses risk not teaching all the concepts.

Phyd provides numerous elocution courses for its members to improve their pronunciation and public speaking skills online.