A six-month public-speaking and communication program — led by a world champion, built on a proven curriculum, and powered by the VIP Speech app. An initiative of the HBCU Oratorical Challenge.
No payment is collected now — join the waitlist and we'll notify you the moment enrollment opens.
Public speaking is the most requested — and most feared — professional skill in the world. The HBCU Speaks Program closes that gap with three assets rarely found in one place: live coaching from a world champion of impromptu speaking, a proven step-by-step curriculum, and an AI-powered app that turns daily practice into measurable progress.
Delivered fully online across one six-month season, the program culminates in an in-person capstone championship — a stage to showcase, celebrate, and reward the best speakers.
Learn directly from a world champion public speaker every single week — live technique demonstrations and real-time volunteer coaching, never a recording of an assistant.
Small-group coaching sessions led by trained facilitators — personal reps, focused feedback, and an intimate setting where every voice gets heard.
A fresh impromptu challenge every day and AI-reviewed scorecards on every recorded speech — individualized feedback that keeps progress compounding between sessions.
The program follows the structured VIP Speech curriculum — advancing month by month from the fundamentals of content to the finest points of delivery.
Choosing a topic, structuring a speech, and crafting strong openings.
Bridges, body, conclusions, and the art of storytelling.
Visual language, the rule of three, power phrases, and rhetorical devices.
Movement, gestures, eye contact, and facial expression.
Volume, tonality, pacing, and vocal variety; impromptu speaking.
Full-speech construction, refinement, and competition coaching.
Every masterclass is led live by Andrew Simon — World Champion Public Speaker, author of The Art (and Science) of Public Speaking, and creator of the VIP Speech app. His specialty is impromptu speaking: the highest-pressure form of the art, and the one most relevant to interviews, Q&A, and leadership.
Students see techniques demonstrated live and volunteers coached in real time — so the standard is set by a world champion, every single week.
Join the Waitlist
Every great program needs a finish line worth running toward. The season culminates in an in-person speech competition and celebration — hosted by the HBCU Oratorical Challenge — with qualifying rounds through the final month, community wildcards, scholarship prizes, and a live final before judges, HBCU leaders, alumni, and families.
A celebration honors every participant's growth — not only the winners.