How to Make the Most of the Public Speaking Skills Poster

In the past, educators placed great emphasis on literacy mastery of the written word and largely neglected oracy fluency in speaking and listening. But we now recognise that human beings all speak far more than they write, and it is through oral language that we express ourselves, earn a living and become participating members of our society. The Public Speaking Skills poster is a guide for educators teaching this essential topic in the classroom, and a range of interesting and productive lessons can be modelled on the four steps it identifies (see pages 2 and 3). When students follow all four steps in the process as outlined in the poster, they greatly improve their prospects of success in delivering a convincing oral presentation. To maximise the benefits of the Public Speaking Skills Poster, we recommend that you:

Use the poster to outline the four steps to successful public speaking for students in your class, allowing them to use the resource as a ready reference tool when planning and preparing for their public speaking performance Design lessons that focus on single steps in the process, for example With PURPOSE, you could ask students to discuss how they might deal with the same topic for different audiences and purposes. For PLAN, students might create and compare inspiring introductions or convincing conclusions for a particular topic. PRESENT calls for exercises and guidance in breathing control, voice projection, mime, etc. Perhaps these can be taught in conjunction with your schools drama specialist. Ensure that all public speaking performances incorporate the four steps displayed on the poster from low-key presentations in front of a single class, to formal speeches on school assembly. Employing these four steps time and time again will ensure that these techniques become habitual. Provide opportunities for students to hear/see effective speakers in action. Play performances, film or TV productions, even reading aloud by competent practitioners, will all provide useful modelling. Students can then critique these performances, in term of the four steps in the poster. A teaching approach that focuses on the four steps outlined in the poster will help students master this essential skill and provide them with a platform to progress to, and communicate at, higher levels of thinking.

How to Make the Most of the Public Speaking Poster

Public Speaking in the Primary Classroom

Developing Speaking Skills in the Primary Classroom
The idea of this Public Speaking Program is to get all students on their feet and speaking on a regular basis in a variety of roles and contexts. Lessons should occur regularly perhaps once every two weeks and the same format should always be followed.

The Format
Every lesson is run as a formal meeting, with a Chairperson, a Secretary who reads and takes simple minutes, a number of speakers with different types of speech to deliver and other students allotted specific tasks. These roles are held in rotation by different students each lesson.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Chairperson. Secretary: Keeps simple minutes. Timekeeper: ensures that speakers keep to previously determined time limits. Room Organiser: with the assistance of other students, sets up the room as required at beginning of the lesson, and restores its normal layout at the end. Topicmaster (Upper Primary): provides suitable topics for impromptu speaking section. Jokemaster: Tells a joke/yarn to the group at the time designated by the Chair. Speech Evaluator(s): Evaluate content of prepared speeches by other students. Evaluations are delivered orally using predetermined criteria. Aaah-judicator: Orally evaluates the presentation of prepared speeches using predetermined criteria. Listening Critic: Essential for the success of a Speaking Program is an attentive audience. The Listening Critic writes a list of questions about what has been said over the course of the lesson, and seeks answers to these from the group and/or specific students at the end of the lesson. Topics: Teachers can determine these. Some suggestions: Impromptu speeches Pets Self-portraits Holidays Persuasive talks Games Current affairs: class, school and community Hobbies

Procedure
It is up to the Chairperson to determine the order of events, probably in prior consultation with the teacher. However, every lesson should start with the Secretary reading the minutes of the last meeting, and end with the allocation of roles for the next Speaking Program lesson before the Chair declares the meeting closed. All speakers should stand when speaking, preferably at the front of the room, with a lectern available if possible. Speakers should follow the accepted conventions of public speaking. They should acknowledge the Chair and audience before starting their speeches. Observing these formalities helps establish the right tone for the Meeting and encourages respect for other participants and those in charge of running it.
ITC Publications Pty Ltd

How to Make the Most of the Public Speaking Poster

Public Speaking in the Secondary Classroom

Speaking is not the same as Writing!
Good public speakers are aware of the key differences between speaking and writing, and prepare their speeches accordingly. Listeners only hear words once readers can return to writing a number of times. So speakers must make their points clearly. Tell them what youre going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them. In other words, signpost the points you wish to make. Readers only get the message of the words they read. Listeners get as much message from the person speaking as they do from what s/he is saying. Your manner, expression and presentation count just as much as what you have to say.

Know Your Venue!

Find out as much as you can beforehand about the place where you are going to give a public speech. It will help you feel relaxed and comfortable when you get up to speak. How big is the room? The larger the room, the more you will have to project your voice. If possible, get someone to sit at the back of the room and listen to you before the event. Is the lighting bright or dim? You dont want to be dazzled, but you do want to be able to read your notes. Is there a lectern or stand for the speaker? This will affect your use of notes. If you are going to use visual aids, are they properly set up and working correctly?

Visual Aids
Skilfully used visual aids improve the quality of an oral presentation. They can keep the audience interested, help explain or illustrate complex points, reinforce points the speaker is making and Signpost the change from one topic to another.
DO Keep diagrams and graphs simple and uncluttered Make sure any text can be read clearly, even at the back of the room Present only one topic per slide DONT Use too many slides Simply read what is on the slides to the audience

One Minute Please!

Students are each given a separate topic, and allowed three minutes to prepare a one-minute speech. This must be delivered in front of the group/class without breaks, temporisers (um, er, ah) or repetitions. One slip, and the student is eliminated from the contest. A knock-out competition will provide an eventual winner. This entertaining and fast-moving activity helps students develop the confidence to stand up in front of an audience. This exercise can also be used as a revision task at the end of a Unit, particularly one with a high level of factual content.

My Favourite Food
For less able and younger students, this exercise provides a non-threatening and elementary introduction to facing an audience, and provides a simple point-by-point structure for the speaker to follow. The speaker tells the class about his/her favourite food, and then gives the recipe for making it. This allows students to: Speak from their own experience Follow a straightforward sequential pattern in the body of the speech Make use of simple visual aids.
ITC Publications Pty Ltd