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There is a lot of fear and excitement around the progress of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. There is also speculation around what jobs are going to be available in the future. With change happening so quickly, it’s difficult to predict what the nature of jobs will be in the next five years, much less in the next decade. Parents and teachers are just as confused as anyone about what the future will hold and what skills children should be learning to be successful.
However, AI cannot replace people when it comes to true human authentic expression and connection.
With these changes in technology, it is more important than ever for children to start learning communication skills, including public-speaking, as early as possible. Public-speaking is one of the most important skills that people can learn to express themselves effectively.
I have worked with countless individuals who have told me that they never learned public-speaking until high school or college. As an introvert, I struggled to speak up in class and didn’t know how to plan and deliver an effective speech. As I started interviewing for jobs, I scrambled to learn how to effectively communicate my knowledge and experience, but it wasn’t until I was breaking into the world of corporate training, that I fully immersed myself in learning public-speaking. There were a lot of bad habits and fears that I had to overcome.
I wondered why this information hadn’t been taught earlier, especially since children are more likely to communicate authentically. Waiting to learn public-speaking just gives the fear a chance to grow.
If I had been a great public-speaker from the time I was young, I wouldn’t have turned into such an advocate for children learning public-speaking. Finding my voice and being able to express myself confidently has helped me in employment and in my personal life more than any other skill.
After years of experience, I came up with a simple five-step method for public-speaking, and I noticed that there were few resources aimed at children to learn public speaking, so I adapted the method to fit their needs.
Many times, public-speaking is taught to kids by adults in a format that was designed for adults.
Telling children that they should learn something because it’s important from an adult perspective isn’t the most effective teaching method. Over thousands of years, stories have proven to be an effective teaching method, especially for children.
In the book, Super Speaker, the protagonist is a sixth-grader who takes on the identify of her favorite superhero to navigate middle school and learn public-speaking. Since the story is told from the perspective of an eleven-year old, it demonstrates why it is important to learn this skill from the perspective of her age group versus from the perspective of an adult. The five-step method is incorporated into the storyline and adds to the plot of a sixth-grader who struggles with the normal aspects of starting middle school including friendships, fitting in, and adjusting to changes. Other themes include friendship, kindness, self-worth, and standing up for yourself and others.
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