How To Help Kids Deliver A Confident And Compelling Speech

o you remember preparing a speech for school? It was probably one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of your young life. But it's also one of those defining moments when you realize that if you can get through this, you can pretty much get through anything.

Now imagine being a parent and having to help your child prepare for a speech. It can be just as daunting, especially if your child is shy or doesn't like public speaking. But there are ways to make the experience more positive and even fun for both of you.
It was a little different for Adi because he had to make a video for submission where he had to speak about education.

It's common these days to create videos and talk about specific topics. Children see a lot of videos these days, so they're used to the format. And because it's not live, there's no pressure of performing in front of an audience.
This also gives you, as the parent, a chance to be more involved in the process. You can help your child choose a topic, do some research together, and even act as the cameraman or editor.

of course, it was not new for Adi but what was different this time is that he had to talk about his personal views on education and how it has helped him so far.
We then went on to talk about what his video would be about, how he would go about it, and what kind of feedback he would need from me.
We drafted a speech together and he practiced it in front of the mirror

I gave him suggestions on where he could improve and we worked on those areas. The best part of the whole experience was when we were recording the video and he would make mistakes. We would just stop and start again and he would laugh at himself.

What I realized was that the whole process was bonding for us. We were both learning new things and it was a fun experience. If you're struggling with helping your child prepare for a speech, try some of these tips. They might just make the experience more enjoyable for both of you.
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Here are some tips to help kids prepare for a speech or talk

1. Talk about why you're doing the speech. Help your child understand that speeches are a way to share information with others and that they can be fun.

2. Talk about what the speech will be about. If your child is passionate about a subject, they'll be more likely to get excited about giving a speech on it.

3. Choose a topic that's appropriate for the audience. If your child is giving a speech to their classmates, make sure it's something that will interest them.

4. Help your child practice their speech. This is probably the most important step. You can do this by reading the speech together or even recording it so they can hear themselves.

5. A true experience will make the speech more personal for your child and the audience. If your child is comfortable, have them share a personal story that relates to the topic of the speech.

6. Encourage your child to be themselves. The more they can be themselves, the more natural their speech will sound.

7. Give your child feedback. After they've practiced, give them some constructive feedback on what they did well and what they can improve.

8. There is nothing called perfection, so don't strive for it. Help your child understand that everyone makes mistakes and that it's okay to make them as long as they learn from them.

I'm sure there are many other tips out there, but these are the ones that worked for us. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them in the comments!

I was so proud of him for doing something that was so out of his comfort zone. And he did great! The whole experience was bonding for us and I think it helped him feel more confident about himself.

Surprisingly it didn't take much time for us to go through all of this since he was already very passionate about education. We then spent some time practicing his speech and making sure he felt comfortable with the material.

The same exercise can really become tough if your child is not passionate about the topic you've chosen. It might be best, in that case, to let them choose their own topic so they can put their heart into it.

When kids draft their own speeches, they're more likely to be engaged and enthusiastic about the material. If they're struggling to come up with ideas, you can give them some prompts to get them started.

Like we used some videos and did some reading together on the topic of education which helped him a lot to come up with his own ideas for the speech.

The experience will really become worse if kids are forced to memorize and compete with others in the class.

I think the key is to find a balance between helping them and letting them do it on their own. If you do too much, they won't learn anything new. But if you don't do enough, they'll get overwhelmed and frustrated.

Sometimes children are not comfortable being recorded, so if that's the case with your child, don't force it. You can still help them by reading the speech together and giving them feedback.

If your child really gets passionate about speeches and wants to continue doing them, you can look for opportunities for them to give speeches in front of larger audiences. This will help them build their confidence and public speaking skills even more.

There are some great speeches that kids have given that are really inspiring. You can look for these online. Some famous speeches
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech
Malala Yousafzai's United Nations speech
And there are many more.

Some famous speeches from kids to inspire kids
A Pep Talk from Kid President to You
Why I Hate School but Love Education - MoGraph
The Power of Reading -April Qu
The Mindset of a Champion-Carson Byblow
We Are All Different - and THAT'S AWESOME! - Cole Blakeway

You can also find organizations that host competitions for kids to give speeches on various topics. This is a great way for them to practice and get feedback from others.