Practicing the Art of Public Speaking

Here are some ways and ideas for encouraging your kids to gain experience speaking in public and to groups as tweens and teens.

When my oldest was in high school, I was asked by a friend to speak to a local co-op ladies’ group about homeschooling through the high school years. 

I am not an accomplished public speaker. 

In fact, the thought of speaking in public leaves me feeling quite apprehensive and anxious. My mouth gets very dry and it’s difficult to peel my tongue off of the roof of my mouth in order to speak.

(spoiler alert: I lived to tell the tale, and I even went on to volunteer for several positions in our large co-op that required speaking in front of hundreds of people)

Because I knew I didn’t want my children to have that same fear, I endeavored to expose my children early and often to public speaking requirements opportunities. 

Public Speaking through 4-H

We found lots of chances for our kids to speak through 4-H. We didn’t know this about 4-H when we signed our oldest up for this family-oriented program since neither my husband or I had been in it as kids, but there are a ton of ways within 4-H to help shy or introverted kids overcome their fears.

Meeting Participation – When they were little, we encouraged our kids to lead the pledges and second motions that were made in the meetings.  This got them used to standing up and saying something (easy, that they didn’t have to think about) during the meetings.  As they got older, they progressed to making motions, giving a report about what their project had done that month, and then eventually to holding offices, and even leading meetings.

Demonstrations – In our 4-H club, the members are encouraged to do one demonstration at a club meeting each year.  The kids can choose an activity they know well and they show and explain how to do it.  As the members get older, the instructions of the demonstration can get more complex. 

County and State Level – We also encouraged our kids to participate in our county’s demonstration competition, which sometimes allowed them to demonstrate at the state level, either at a state event, or at the state fair; both of which required knowledge of the subject, but also to talk in front of other kids and adults.

There are many other opportunities for public speaking in 4-H, including a public speaking project. To learn more about how 4-H works and why my family chose 4-H as our main family activity instead of individual travel sports, read this post on our sister site, Whole Child Homeschool.

More Ideas to Help Your Teens Practice Talking with the Public

1. Get a job in customer service or working with the public. My parents made me get a job working as a check-out girl at the local grocery store when I was 16, which forced me to talk to people I didn’t know.
2. Civil Air Patrol: Cadets give short talks about a selected topic (length and regularity/occurrence depends on the cadet’s rank)
3. Join a local Debate team
4. Volunteer for a club leadership position (in 4-H, Trail Life, or within a sports team)
5. Join a homeschool student council (if your community doesn’t have one, create one like I did)
6. Try out for a community theater or drama club. Speaking rehearsed lines in front of an audience can help your student ease into speaking to a crowd.
7. Learn how to give extemporaneous speeches to your family and friends. I remember a video of Mike Rowe talking about how he had to talk about a yellow No. 2 pencil for 10 minutes as part of his interview for QVC–which launched his acting career.
8. Practice these speech games with friends and family.

If you want to use a prepared public speaking class for your high schooler, I highly recommend, The Art of Public Speaking, by Train Up a Child.

I think what has helped our kids the most has simply been the repeated exposure to the process of talking in public.  None of them would say they enjoy it, but they can all do it without breaking into a cold sweat. 

And that is why I said “Yes” when asked to speak to homeschool moms, and why I volunteered for positions that I knew would require talking to large groups.  With repeated exposure to public speaking, I think I’m getting better at it, and it’s definitely gotten easier.