Many children grow up with the fear of speaking in public. Experts recommend that children be trained for this act from very early on, so they don’t freeze while speaking before an audience when they grow up.
The ability to speak before an audience will help kids to master communication, appear more well-mannered and develop the capacity for making stronger social connections.
Here are some ways to prepare your child for the tough task of public speaking while attending school in Beirut:
- More practice and less study
Practising is more useful than simply mugging up speeches. Also, expose your children to some great speeches of all time like Martin Luther’s-‘I have a dream.’ Take away some of the study part- invest time in practice.
- Create small groups of children
Break your class into small groups and have students to present to a few peers. Thus, they find it less traumatic to fail before a small group rather than before a huge audience.
- Play fun games
Play some impromptu fun games, which will help kids think up speeches on the spot. This gradually overcomes the fear of falling apart before an audience. Don’t make all activities academic. Speeches can be made into fun activities. Your child can be made to excel in public speaking withsuch fun activities.
- Give lots of positive feedback
Instead of providing negative comments and even stooping to insult a child downright, you must offer plenty of positive criticism, which will help nurture the child. Tell them how awesome they are doing and encourage them to persist in their efforts of speaking in public.
- Encourage to communicate
Children can overcome fear by being encouraged to communicate. Ordering food in restaurants, talking for a long time over the phone (although not recommended!), conversing with shop owners regarding purchases, etc. are all simple activities, which will help develop the communication skills of children.
- Use technology
Technology can be used to overcome fears. You can play videos of children or adults speaking fearlessly before crowds. You can even record the speech given by your child and play it many times at home. It helps to correct mistakes.
- Mock show
Similar to fun activities, a mock show can be arranged for children. A child will want a small audience for a mock show. Arrange this audience; allow the child to speak in front of a small crowd. This will reduce the fear.
- Tweak their technique
For proper public speaking, encourage your child to practice using confident body language by standing tall and straight, smiling into a mirror and making eye contact with an audience. Even when they might be feeling shy, their morale can be boosted. Train them to take deep breaths before speaking, raise their tone and slow down their rate of speaking. Tell them to project!
- Conquer class presentations
Though facing classmates is easier than facing a big crowd, the fear is equally strong. The worries of a child about the reaction of the audiencelike being teased by their peers or being asked questions theycan’t answer can cause their heart to race and give them butterflies. So, give them adequate practice for facing class presentations, and they will grow up without the fear of speaking in public.
These are all valuable tips for preparing your child for public speaking.
