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Improve your public speaking
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As an adult, public speaking can be a scary thing. But for kids — without all those years of built-up social coping mechanisms — it can be even scarier! Luckily, the same techniques that help adults improve their presentation skills can be a big help to kids in the classroom, too. And even better, teaching them how to present effectively at a young age can help instill confidence that will last a lifetime.
If you want tips to improve public speaking for your kids, look no further. While we are the experts in helping adults command any stage, big or small, we’ve pulled from our expertise to help your young ones start early. Check out these top 6 presentation skills for kids and help your kids nail their presentations in the classroom!
Treat your audience like a new friend. When you first stand up in front of the room, start off by doing three things, just like you would with a new friend:
For example, if I were giving a presentation for kids about whale sharks, here’s how I would begin:
That introduction will get you off to a good start with your audience. From there, you can move into the next part of your presentation.
Everyone gets nervous giving presentations sometimes, even us professionals. So, if you’re feeling nervous up there, remember that you’re not alone! Remember, public speaking for kids and adults is a skill that can be learned.
Here’s a great way to make yourself more comfortable. Look at someone in the audience and pretend that you’re talking directly to one of your friends. (Friends make us feel comfortable!) Just focus on that one person for a few seconds. Then find another friend in the audience and focus on them for a few seconds. After a while, this will help you relax. Then, if you feel yourself getting nervous again, come back to one of those people and focus on them.
Bonus tip: Have a real friend sit in the audience. Tell them ahead of time, “If I get nervous, I’m going to look right at you. Don’t make me laugh.” If you get nervous, look at them and see what they do. (It’s okay if they make you laugh a little; it might make you relax, and you’ll forget that you were nervous.)
An essential piece of nailing public speaking for kids is getting that posture right! You don’t need to make your back super straight like a soldier, but standing up straight and tall will actually help you stay calm and confident, giving you more air in your lungs to project your voice. The goal is to be standing up straight while also being relaxed. But how do you do that?
Here’s one way: Pretend you’re a marionette (one of those puppets held up by strings) and that you can feel the center string going all the way up your back and through the top of your head. But the top of that string isn’t held by a puppeteer; it’s held by a balloon. So, your back shouldn’t feel rigid, it should feel a little like floating. Now, relax your shoulders and take a deep breath. This is the feeling you’re going for: Straight and relaxed. If you feel yourself slouching during your presentation, remember the balloon and let it lift you back up. This is the anatomy of a great speaker!
You’ve seen those speakers who pace back and forth when they give a presentation, right? They look kind of like a tiger pacing back and forth in its cage. And that doesn’t look comfortable or relaxed.
When it comes to public speaking for kids, remember that moving on stage is okay, but you want to stand still sometimes, too. And for those of us with a lot of energy, that can be challenging.
Here’s a good way to remember to keep your feet still: Imagine you stepped on two pieces of bubble gum, one for each foot. Keep those feet stuck to the ground. Then, if you do want to move to another position on the stage, gently pick up your feet and move to another spot, but imagine that you stepped on another two pieces of bubble gum. Do that as many times as you need, but always come back to a standing still position. This trick will keep you from pacing back and forth and let you focus your energy on your presentation instead.
The people in the back row need to hear you just as well as the people in the front row. (And if your audience has to work too hard to hear you, they’ll just stop listening.) So make sure they can hear you!
Imagine yourself always speaking to someone at the very back of the room. Stand up straight and tall (see tip #3) and project your voice so that they can hear you. If you’re not sure, go ahead and ask! (“Can you hear me in the last row?”) If they can’t, get louder until they can. Learn to do this well and you’ll never have trouble getting an audience’s attention as a kid public speaking.
You would think that the beginning of your presentation is the most important part. After all, that’s when you make your first impression on the audience. And it is important! But the way you end your presentation is even more important. That’s what your audience will remember, even after you take a bow and leave the stage.
To help make your ending as good as it can be, come up with a really good closing thought. Something that sums up your presentation well and leaves your audience with a concrete task on what to do next is a great skill to master when public speaking for kids. We call this a call to action. Here’s an example:
Whale sharks are fascinating and important to our ecosystem, but they’re also endangered. Please join me in choosing sustainable seafood whenever you can. And if you’d like, you can even adopt a whale shark through the World Wildlife Fund. Thank you!
Once you have your closing figured out, write it down. Then memorize it, word for word. Practice it over and over and over until you know it as well as you know your ABCs. Then, when you get to the end of your presentation, you’ll be ready to deliver that closing thought with confidence, right before you take a bow.
We’ve coached the biggest CEOs on the largest stages with their presentations, keynotes, and public speaking presence — and we can help you, too! Whether you need to nail a presentation for a thesis or college application, or for a board room meeting or investor pitch, Duarte has done it all.
If you’d like a public speaking course, our Captivate™ workshop is a live, interactive workshop designed to help you get rid of those “umms” and command any stage with confidence.
If you’d like one-on-one coaching, our executive speaker coaches are the choice for you. They can walk through your speech, help you with rehearsal, and make sure you get across — whatever it is you need to get across.
This article was originally published on February 3, 2020. It has been updated in August 2024 for relevancy.