School Confidence Building!
Some local schools in my area have eagerly agreed to incorporate these easy activities into their curriculum to enhance students' public speaking skills! Below are some great suggestions and simple ways to teach kids and have them practice public speaking skills which will lead to a lifetime of benefits!
My recommendation would be to have each child individually stand up in front of the class and have the teacher ask them some fun questions. This is so they associate public speaking with something easy and fun. Each person should stand up, get positioned, take a big breath, and slowly, with good projection, say their name and answer the 2-3 questions I would have assigned at the beginning of the round. For example, I would tell the class "Each person will get up and say their name, say what your favorite game is and what your favorite candy is".
Then the kids would take turns getting up in front of the class and answering the questions. Each child will probably take about 10-15 seconds per turn so the whole class can go very quickly. If it is not convenient to work this into the school day (though it would be a great way to release their energy so they can focus on their schoolwork again), another possibility is that it could be incorporated into the music class curriculum. Research has shown that practicing is the best way to get over a fear or public speaking so if this is done about once a day, week, or even once a month, it will add up to a very big lifetime benefit! If it would take too long to have everyone in the class speak at one time, you could divide the class up and have a few speak each time.
Some sample questions to choose from are:
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What is your name?
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What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
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What is your favorite color?
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Do you have any pets?
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Do you have any siblings?
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What is your dream job?
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What is your favorite vacation? Why?
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What is your favorite game?
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What is your favorite movie? Why?
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What is your favorite tv show? Why/who is your favorite character?
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What is your favorite subject in school?
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What is your favorite candy?
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What is your favorite holiday? Why?
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What is your favorite animal?
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If you could go anywhere, where would it be? Why?
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etc.
While answering these questions, the person speaking should stand tall in front of the class, feet shoulder width apart, arms at their sides, not lean on anything, and not fidget. When speaking, they should speak clearly, loudly, and slowly; without the use of filler words (such as "umm", "uh", "like", "so", etc.). The person speaking should also project their voice so everyone can hear. A great way to practice this is to have the speaker stand as far away from the rest of the class as possible and speak as loudly as they can. It is important that the child stand in front of the class with the rest of the class seated to best mimic a public speaking scenario (so it won't work during circle time).
My class ran once a week for 6 weeks and I noticed a significant difference in the kids' self-confidence and public speaking skills, so I know it will make a huge difference for the rest of their lives if they get this practice at school.
If you want to take this a step further, another great skill is properly teaching kids how to use notecards while speaking. They should write 1-2 words for each different topic they want to remember. They should also write in large font so they can read it just by glancing at it. The other most important skill for them to remember is not holding the notecard in front of their face.
