Mastering the art of public speaking in our children
By Dickson Tumuramye
Public speaking is not only a challenge for
children but also for adults. There are some old people that even giving a
prayer in a small meeting is a hassle. Public speaking promotes skills
like communication, presentation, self-confidence, leadership, self-esteem,
negotiation, networking, and interpersonal and reduces the chances of your
child being bullied by other children/adults.
It has now become a career for some people and they
earn a living out of it. We now hire MCs and moderators on our functions and
they part with good money. Children who are good at self-expression are also
very good at organizing events, coordinating activities, and making life better
for others, and some end up getting better opportunities because most of them
become go-getters.
You, too can intentionally guide the child to
master the art of public speaking right away from childhood to adulthood.
Whatever you do with your child in preparing them to be great speakers, I tell
you when they go for job interviews, or public engagement, they will stand out
amongst others or amidst challenges.
Let me share a few tips you can implement to enable
your child to improve this skill.
Storytelling
Develop a habit of storytelling in your family. Let
your children always share something, whether short or long. You can always
tell them the stories you know and also ask them to tell you what they know.
This will help them to always speak out, including the introverts, and the fear
of talking will gradually fade away. They will also become innovative because
they have to think of a story to tell the next time. You can also encourage
them to read books so that they have a story to tell. They can share their
daily experience at school, at church, or at home. All these are ways of
helping them to start a journey of expressing themselves at any time.
Family prayer alters
Children who have grown up in strong
Christian/religious backgrounds where they have daily devotions and prayers can
easily speak without fear. Let your children coordinate the devotion/family
prayer time, read the bible, lead praise and worship, and intercessions among
others. This will give them a chance to take part equally and provide them an
opportunity to always speak out.
Family fun moments
You can also organize some activities that bring
the fun home. These can be debates, movie nights, public speaking night
competitions, family comedy shows, or music and dance competitions. Think about
any activity you feel can help your children have fun at any time of the day.
You must be part of these activities and participate in them. We have been
doing such activities at home and they have helped our children. After every
activity, sit down and ask them to evaluate themselves and bring out areas of
strength and improvement in each of them, including you, parents. This will
help them know how to receive any feedback positively, they will learn the
value of teamwork, and the essence of evaluation, and this will help them lose
the fear participating in group activities elsewhere.
Media shows
There are programs on TV every day where people
have talk shows about something. There are also children’s shows like America
has got a talent. You can also download public speaking videos and show them to
your children if you want them to develop this skill. As they watch certain programs,
you must ask them questions about what they think they have and what others
don’t have, what they need to improve, or the new things they have learned.
Public speaking classes
There are people who train others in public
speaking and you can engage them in such coaching services. If you don’t have
money or time, you can still use YouTube classes to train your children.
Practice public speaking
We all know that practice makes perfect. Your
children must be intentional in practicing public speaking. Let them get
involved in school debates where they develop the ability
to be persuasive and logical with arguments without fear, take part in leadership competitions and take part in
church Sunday school—there are always many activities children do in those
classes that can enhance a lot of skills. They can make recordings and then
watch themselves on how they performed, can do group interviews or sessions
where they practice speaking and correct them from there and then.
Teach them to master their audience
Knowing the audience, you are going to address
helps you know how to start and the language to use. For example, the way you
talk at a wedding may differ from when you are preaching or addressing your
peers. Help them know when to use storytelling or crack jokes and when it is
unnecessary. Let them learn how to address different people by their titles.
Let them also know that public appearance matters a lot and attracts the
attention of your audience among others and they must keep eye-to-eye contact
with their congregation.
Being knowledgeable
A good public speaker should also be well informed
about what is trending in society. They should be knowledgeable in certain
areas of their interest. This will help them keep up-to-date with current
information, read hard, be creative and innovative, and think of how to make
their audience attentive and happy. They will also always make adequate
preparations if they know they are to address a certain congregation.
The writer is a child advocate, parenting coach,
marriage counselor, and founder—Men of Purpose mentorship programme
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Dickson Tumuramye is also a motivational speaker
on:
#Positive parenting
#Marriage and family
#Child counseling
#Career guidance
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