Public speaking for kids 

Is something that I hadn’t thought much about until I realized how much my kids were doing at school.  When you think about it, speaking in front of a class can be just as intimidating for kids as it is for adults!  It is an important life skill to develop.

These public speaking activities will help them become better communicators while having fun at the same time.  Kids Activities Blog is super excited to welcome Andrea Smit from Public Speaking for Kids for being a Quirky Momma for the day to bring us these great ideas.

Public Speaking for Kids

Throughout their lives your kids will have to communicate, persuade and present to other people, both professionally and socially. Many adults clam up when required to do such a thing, especially in front of audiences. But if you encourage your child to learn the many skills required for effective public speaking and presentations from a young age, and you make it fun, they will grow up to be confident communicators who can make a difference to their environment by using the right words at the right times to get the right things done.

Public Speaking Activities

Here are some fun and quirky activities you can do with your child, for free, to equip them with public speaking and communication skills:

1. Observe the Journey: Whilst driving, walking or on public transport, ask your child to describe as much of their surroundings as they can within one minute. Get them to think about shapes, colours and what is happening. After multiple attempts over days/weeks your child will begin to speak more clearly and sharpen their observation skills which are essential for speaking well.

2. The Woof Game: This hilarious game will build your child’s ability to think on their feet- essential for presentation skills. Choose a common word like it or be. Provide your child with a topic to speak on for thirty seconds. Every time the chosen word is to appear in their speech they should replace it with woof. For example: Woof is a sunny day today. I am glad woof is not raining.

3. Imaginary Animal: Get a group of family members , neighbours and friends together with your kids. Ask each group member to think of an animal and give them one minute to think of how they would describe that animal. Each member must then be questioned by their fellow members on the size, colour(s), habitat and other attributes until they discover what animal it is. This will boost your child’s confidence as it will familiarise them with speaking to an audience as somebody with unique information.