How to help your child with public speaking skills
Public speaking is when you address people in a group setting. Reading out loud sentences, phrases, stories and book reports in a classroom is one of the exercises of public speaking for children.
Your child will encounter speaking in front of others sometime in their life. While some kids are naturally confident when speaking in public, others tend to be shy. Being able to speak confidently in front of a group of people confidently is a beneficial skill for your child. They can even make a career out of it such as, motivational speaking, public service, educator, church minister, politician, training specialist among others.
Here are some tips you can use to help your child develop public speaking skills:
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- Role play.
This is where you give your child a role to play. For example you can give them the role of the parent and ask them to give instructions on how to tidy up toys after playtime. They can also pretend to be the chef and present what’s being served at dinner that day.
While some may not want to do this as an activity, making it a part of role play teaches them how to speak more naturally when addressing others.
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- Listen and pay attention while your child is presenting.
Listening to your child actively helps him/her to feel heard and shows them that you are interested in what he / she has to say.
Always keep direct eye contact, smile and nod to assure that you are engaged and attentive as they speak, this will help them feel safer and more connected to you as well as improve their own communication skills.
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- Encourage the child
Encourage your child to try and do things on their own even though you know they will make mistakes, help them learn how to speak and express themselves clearly. This will help build their confidence in expressing themselves.
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- Give them feedback
Wait for your child to finish doing the presentation before giving some feedback .Interruptions to make corrections will distract them, make them nervous and some might lose the morale to continue with the presentation.
It takes practice and some encouragement to become a good public speaker. By trying the shared tips above, you can help prepare your child to be a better speaker and boost the confidence they need to interact with others no matter how large the crowd.
Rose Makena
Facilitator/ Book club coordinator