How can students develop their public speaking skills?

Who hasn’t felt a few cold chills at the idea of public speaking? We all agree that public speaking is so intimidating for everybody. But we know from our experience that practice helps, so today, I want to share a fantastic idea for building public speaking into your curriculum so it can be something you and your students look forward to.

Watching a Ted Talk to improve public speaking skills.

Watching Ted Talks with your learners might be a great idea to deepen their understanding of a topic or practice listening comprehension skills. However, Ted Talks can also serve as a springboard for students to learn how to speak in front of an audience. You might ask these questions to your students after watching a Ted Talk: What did the speaker do to engage the audience? How did the speaker use body language? Does the speaker read a script? What does the speaker do to support their talk? These questions will make students think critically about what key elements make a speech great.

Crafting a Talk

One of the best ways to start on the road to success in delivering a Ted Talk is to start writing. Writing a few drafts of the speech will help students to organize their thoughts. First, ask your learners to start by jotting down some of the main ideas or key points they want to make. Then, brainstorm the stories, examples, and statistics they want to use and how they will use them for maximum impact. Once those items are firmly in place, ask them to create an introduction that captures the audience’s attention. Finally, students prepare a PowerPoint presentation with images that support their talk. Once this is all set, it is time to start rehearsing! Download a worksheet for students to start crafting their talks HERE!

This project is perfect to walk students through the process of ….

Writing a speech
Learning how to engage an audience
Learning public speaking skills
Improving pronunciation

Your students are right around the corner from achieving Public Speaking Skills! If you need a step-by-step lesson plan to carry out this project with your students, look no further! I’ve put together a TED Talk project that provides students with the tools and support they need to plan and deliver an impactful presentation. What’s more, this project will empower students to confidently express their thoughts and opinions, enabling them to become better communicators and lifelong learners.