Helping your child become a confident and effective public speaker is a gradual process that takes time. Whilst some tips and tweaks can be applied with immediate effect, seeing true life-changing results happens over many months and many speeches.
Here are some practical ways to help your child with their public speaking:
- Encourage your child to practice their speech out loud, in front of a mirror or with a friend. You could also record their speech for them to watch back. This can help them to become more comfortable with their words and improve their delivery.
- Help your child structure their speech and organise their thoughts. This can include brainstorming ideas, creating an outline and identifying key points to focus on. There are a range of speech templates you can follow depending on the purpose of the speech. We cover many of these in our free online resources.
- Provide positive reinforcement and encouragement. Let your child know that you believe in their ability to deliver a great speech, and praise their efforts and progress. Whilst constructive feedback is important, double down on the praise to keep their spirits and interest up!
- Offer guidance and support, but do not over-edit or take over the speech writing process. Allow your child to have ownership over their speech and express their own ideas. As mentioned before, this is a gradual process and they will improve speech by speech and month by month.
- Help your child become aware of, and prepare for potential nerves or anxiety. Nerves are normal! This can include practicing deep breathing, visualization or other relaxation techniques.
At Super Speak, our award winning program teaches children aged 6-14 public speaking & presentation skills. Our fun learning program incorporates both public speaking & drama to ensure our students gain broader learning outcomes to help them in and out of the classroom. We have a teaching team with unmatched experienced and the most comprehensive curriculum in Australia. We teach our classes in a style that is fun, supportive & high energy! Our students learn to be more confident & capable public speakers & everyday communicators for life. Check out Super Speak Public Speaking Program and join over 60,000 children who have trusted Super Speak since 2006.