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Goals

  • Get over the nervousness of initial speaking.

  • Discover students that have serious speech anxiety problems.

  • Discover students with serious difficulties with English.

  • Identify significant problems and work on them.

 

Procedures

  • Explain how important public speaking skills are.

  • Explain how we all need to improve them.

  • Explain that this will be a safe environment for learning.

Eloquence is Crucial
Public Speaking Exercises

TYPES OF EXERCISES

Round One

Students give one-minute speeches

Give all students a topic, something safe:

  • Talk about their school

  • Talk about their home city

  • Talk about their debate program (if they have one)

  • Talk about their hopes for the week here

After each speech tell them two things they did well and two things they need to improve on in their next speech. Make sure they write down what they need to improve. 

 

Round Two

Students speak on a motion for two minutes

  • Put students in pairs. Then give each pair a motion, making one student prop and one opp. 

  • Give them 5 minutes to prepare one major argument for their side. NOT ONE ARGUMENT THAT ENCOMPASSES THE WHOLE MOTION, BUT ONE ARGUMENT ABOUT THE MOTION. Tell them to remember what they need to work on from their previous speech.

  • Have them give their two minute speeches, have the other side take notes.

  • Give them feedback, be positive, but notice whether they improved on their previous challenge. 

  • Have their partner also make comments.

  • Each pair gives their speeches.

 

Round Three

If you have time, give them 3 minutes to prep a one-minute answer to what the other side said.

Each pair speaks.

After each pair, give feedback to them. 

 

Cautions!

  • Be alert for those experiencing a lot of speech anxiety, shyness, etc.

  • BUT, make people speak, then show support for them, “I knew you could do it…”

  • Talk about improvement, it is all that is important, just get better.

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