Tips

1) TIP 1 - Involve your child
Now this might seem obvious however to a time poor parent it can be tempting to write the speech for your child or find one already written. The level of parental involvement depends on many things such as the age of a child, school requirements, parental ability etc. Both of my children were expected to present speeches in kindergarten and lets face it most kindergarten kids are not able to put a speech together without significant assistance. They can certainly contribute with the topic, content ideas and presentation. Once my children were a bit older I would help them to bounce around ideas, perhaps based on their interest or personality (both my kids love making others laugh). They would then complete a draft to which I would offer suggestions. I believe your child will learn more through participation in the speech writing process rather than having it completed for them. There is also a sense of pride in the elements of the speech that are their own. As you child gets older you will notice that they require less and less assistance and they develop their own style.

2) TIP 2 - Aids and props
Firstly be aware of any rules set out by the school in relation to the use of aids such as palm cards or props. My children have always had palm cards with them when they present a speech. Hopefully they know the speech off by heart or almost at least however the palm cards are there for a back up and in case of stage fright or nerves. Not all competitions will allow the use of palm cards so make sure you check. If your public speaker is more seasoned or unlikely to get nervous you may not need palm cards. We learnt a lesson in relation to palm cards very early in my sons school career. He was in year 1 and presenting his speech in the finals. Right near the beginning of his speech he dropped his palm cards and they scattered all over the ground. Luckily they were numbered however the regathering of palm cards detracted from the presentation. The next idea was not my own but something we observed when attending public speaking competitions. Some of the other children had their palm cards laminated with a ring through the top corner (see below). This helps avoid the scattering palm cards and also prevents nervous fiddlers from getting their cards out of order.

One or two visual props can also help your presentation. Once again you need to check the rules for your competition. You don't want too many props which will detract from the content and flow of the speech however one or 2 can help with audience engagement. It may be something as simple as crazy hair or dressing a particular way. For example my son did a speech on soft drink in the school bubbler and we blackened out a couple of his teeth. PowerPoint presentations are not the kind of speeches that I will address on this page however can be useful for longer factual presentations.


 

3) TIP 3- Writing a speech
Most importantly consider the rules or guidelines provided by the school. For example length of time, topic etc. If your child is given a specific topic think about including simple elements of audience participation. For example asking the audience a question and getting a show of hands in response. Speeches that motivate or inspire your audience are powerful as well. Think about the topic given and think about how can I make this real for my audience in their lives. Consider you audience and their age etc. Judges look for how captivated your audience is. Remember that the teachers/judges are part of the audience as well.
When my children are given free choice for a speech topic they always try to choose a funny topic as this gives them the most enjoyment. There are some good web pages that give great ideas. I have gained a few ideas from this great website https://www.write-out-loud.com/fun-speech-topics.html Taking an everyday topic and having fun with it seems to work well. Also speeches in which you laugh at yourself or a family member seem to be popular. Try and choose something unique. Teachers have heard 100 speeches about homework over their years of teaching.