Public Speaking: How to raise a great orator
The ability to articulate one’s thoughts effectively in front of an audience is an art. Public speaking is a skill that will not only help your child or teenager in her future career, but also boost her overall confidence, allowing her to perform well in debates, quiz competitions and other classroom activities. While some children have a natural flair for oratory, others are shy. Some even suffer from fear or anxiety while it comes to speaking in front of others. Here are some tips to help your child become a good orator.
Encourage your child to observe other speakers
Help your child explore great speeches and presentations from YouTube and other resources. Observing others speak will allow her to follow different styles and techniques.
Help him gather public speaking experience
Create opportunities for your tween or teen to speak during family gatherings. Asking your child to place the order during a family dinner in a restaurant can be a good opportunity for her to learn the art of articulating instructions. Encouraging her to tell a story at the dinner table can also be a good idea. Additionally, volunteering to speak more often in front of her classmates will rev up your child’s public speaking skills.
Have her organize the speech
A well-structured talk is the key to retaining audience attention. Let your child divide her speech into an introduction, body and conclusion. It would be best to start the speech with an interesting story related to e topic. Also, the talk should revolve around one central theme that supports the final message. Moreover, a speech interspersed with light and relevant jokes is a great way to have the audience glued to a speech.
Talk to him about body language
This is a very crucial aspect of successful oratory. Encourage your child to practise his speeches in front of a mirror. Also, suggest that she makes eye contact with her audience during a speech. Eye contact helps build immediate contact with the audience, increasing their attention span.
Guide her on voice modulation
The impact of what we say varies, depending on the tone that we use. Varying the tone, volume and pitch will ensure better audience engagement. So, it will be a good idea to have your child repeat a few phrases using different set of emotions and voice modulations during her practice sessions at home. This will help her understand the difference of impact with each modulation and decide on the best one.
Record the practice sessions
This will help your child understand his strengths and weaknesses and guide him in the right direction while it comes to making improvements in terms of coinages, voice modulations and body language.
Share a constructive feedback
Start with an appreciation of the effort and then gradually move on in order to help her improve. Be very cautious about your choice of words while sharing feedback. Harsh remarks may take a toll on her confidence and add on to her public speaking fear.