Word Up 2 - Speak With Confidence: Shake off the Shy and Be Heard

Some of us find it easy to speak up with confidence, and some people find it tricky. Everybody deserves to be heard though, and this one-time class will give you some tools to become more confident when you are speaking. It can help in everyday conversations - our interactions with friends, family and school - and it can also help for those moments where we need to speak publicly: things like public speaking, show and tell and debate. You will learn something here if you already enjoy speaking up, and even if you find it a bit scary sometimes.

Our class is designed to do one thing. It will make you feel more confident to speak up and be heard. It is normal to feel a little anxious about speaking in front of a big group of people, but the techniques that we will learn will make it a bit easier. Rather than looking at ‘what’ we are saying, this class focuses on how we say it and how we feel when we say it. 

The structure of our 55 minute class is as follows.
- Introduction and names (5 mins)
- Speech Game 1 - designed to show the importance of tone, facial expression and body language (5 mins)
- Discussion of when we feel happy speaking and when we find it difficult (10 mins)
 - Playing with four techniques to be a more confident speaker (30 mins)
               - Controlling the speed of our talk
               - The power of silence and stillness
               - How is our body part of our speech?
               - Tone of voice, and emphasis
Speech Game 2 - you will be given a short phrase to speak to the whole group, trying to use the four techniques

This structure means that all of you will have the chance to speak up in the class, and practise.

Due to the nature of our class, I would like for all children to have their microphone and cameras on. The learning really depends on it, and children deserve the chance to learn with each other. 

After each lesson, I will share a short speech in the Classroom. I invite the children to practise performing these words after the lesson, thinking about how the words could be said for maximum impact. Children can practise at home, and then record a video of themselves performing the words; we can respond together and I will always give focused feedback for each child who chooses to submit a video (two strengths and one thing to improve).