Public speaking can be scary, no matter what age you are. For children, the experience is entirely new and even more petrifying. Mastering public speaking from a young age can be fantastic for you child’s confidence. Children are uninhibited, so it’s the best time for them to get used to those scary things. You can see the benefits of social speaking for your child’s career prospects on sites like gingerpublicspeaking.com. You should encourage your child to take part in as many public speaking opportunities as possible. Be careful not to push them into anything they don’t want to do. Pushing too hard could cause them to be even more against public speaking! Gentle encouragement is all it takes. If they do have an event coming up, it’s your job to ensure they’re ready. Here are some things you can do.
PLENTY OF PRACTICE
Practice makes perfect. Never is that more true than with regards to public speaking. The more your child knows their speech, the more confident they’re going to feel. Help them practice as much as possible. It’s important they’re performing to an audience, rather than alone in their room. If they’ve only practiced in front of the mirror, it’s possible their mind will go blank at the time. Help get them ready by listening to their speech. That way, you can encourage them and suggest improvements. It may be worth inviting other people to hear, too. Performing to other adults will be much better practice for the main event. If they get used to performing to your friends, the speech itself won’t seem so daunting.
TEACH THEM TO HIDE NERVOUS HABITS
Nervous habits, such as those discussed on CalmFocused.com, can affect public speaking. During your practice sessions, help your child conquer their nervous habits. When we’re nervous, we often fidget and avoid eye contact. Point these behaviors out to your child to enable them to recognize when they do it. The more confident your child looks, the better their speech will go! Talk to your child about projecting their voice and looking into the crowd. If it helps, show them examples of good public speakers. Children are good at imitating behavior. Once they’ve seen how to do it well, they’re more likely to get it right.
MAKE SURE THEY GET PLENTY OF SLEEP THE NIGHT BEFORE
Even with all your preparation, your child will be nervous the night before the event. If they’re tired on the day, they’re less likely to perform to the best of their ability. Do your best to ensure you child’s sleep is as good as possible. Do everything you can to take their mind off things the night before. It may be worth waking them earlier than usual the morning before. That way, they’re sure to be tired come that night. Stress to them the importance of being well rested. They may want to keep practicing when they should be asleep. If that’s the case, put their speech somewhere they can’t find it.
This is a collaborative post with Yourorganicchild.com