The Many Benefits of Public Speaking for Children
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Multiple studies show that when surveyed, many people rank public speaking amongst their top fears, right up there with everything from bugs to clowns to claustrophobia. While this may make sense to some, getting over the fear of public speaking is actually something that can be incredibly beneficial, regardless of the stage of life that you may be in. In this blog, we will take a look at some of the main benefits of public speaking.
Face Your Fears
One of the first things to talk about is the obvious-for many, public speaking can be terrifying. While for many, a fear of public speaking stems from already high levels of anxiety coupled with a self consciousness about their appearance. One of the benefits of public speaking, especially if you are someone that finds it to be terrifying, is that it helps you see that you can face and eventually conquer your fears. Taking a public speaking class not only forces you to overcome this obstacle, it forces you to do it well (after all, you’re being graded). In having to give multiple speeches throughout a semester, you only improve this skill as time goes on. You’ll be able to speaking comfortably and confidently about your topic, making eye contact and engaging with your audience. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and in the case of public speaking, this is very true. Once you face and overcome your fear, you will have overcome one of mankind’s most common fears.
Failure is the First Step to Success
Like most courses, many people don’t acquire a new skill immediately. As stated earlier, practice makes perfect, but everyone starts out at the same place, having had little public speaking experience prior to taking the class. We learn from our mistakes, and having given one or two speeches helps us figure out what we need to work on and improve. Whether if it’s speaking too quickly, not making enough eye contact or not allowing ourselves to loosen up, these are all things that we can make note of and learn from, so as to improve our overall abilities. In doing this, once we look back and see how far we’ve progressed in a short amount of time, it can help us see that failure isn’t always a bad thing, and that we can learn from failure and use the knowledge we’ve gained to eventually succeed.
Excel in Other Classes
Even though public speaking seems like a relatively simple concept on its own, the principles you learn by studying it can help you in other courses. Plenty of courses in school outside of a dedicated public speaking class at some point require some level of public speaking. Whether it’s explaining your process on how you solved a math problem, reciting a work of poetry in English class, giving a presentation in Geography class or otherwise, the skills and confidence gained from having taken a public speaking class can allow you to excel in other courses as well.
Real World Experience
While all courses in school have real life applications, being a good public speaker is a skill that is transferrable in many applications outside of the classroom. Being a good public speaker helps develop a large variety of skills within itself, from listening to organization to perception. When writing a speech, one must do their research and organize their speaking points in a way that is concise, clear and convincing. Getting too off topic can be hurtful to the strength of your overall argument, and bombarding your audience with too much information can prove to be confusing. Wanting to do this and provide your audience with a speech of the highest quality helps you earn a newfound respect for your classmates. It makes you listen more intently, as you understand the level of preparation that it took to develop the speech into its final form. When you deliver your speech, you pay attention to your audience and their behaviors. Are they engaging with your words? Are they understanding the points you’re trying to make? Paying attention to their behaviors and body language helps you understand if you’re achieving the goals you set out for yourself when preparing the speech.
Applications
So how do all these things transfer into real world applications? One of the first examples is an interview of any kind. Aside from having experience that’s relevant to the position, one of the biggest parts of interviewing is being able to speak clearly and confidently, while also having fantastic listening skills. In a lot of ways, interviews are no more than just conversations, its just that the conversation is of a higher level of importance than everyday small talk. Those who study and develop the skill of public speaking take those skills with them as they grow, whether if it’s continuing to develop the skill into high school and college, giving them the confidence to engage in social settings, or just giving them an overall boost of self confidence in knowing that they can comfortably speak on a topic if need be. Whatever the case may be, studying public speaking has many applications outside of the classroom, ones that can stick with a person for years to come.
Those are just a few ways that public speaking can be beneficial to a student. While it ranks high amongst the most common fears in the country, overcoming the fear and excelling at it is something that can surely be a rewarding experience. At The Academy of Arts and Knowledge, your child’s success is our number one priority, and we aim to be Fort Collins’ premier charter school, providing our students with an educational experience that is as enriching as it is fun. For more information, contact us today.