Have you ever watched or listened to a TED Talk? TED is an organization that sponsors conferences around the world and invites exciting, fresh minds to come speak about topics as far ranging as education to prothetic limbs to healthy diets. [Click here to visit the website.] The speakers are experts in their fields with decades of experience; they are teenage entrepreneurs riding the zeitgeist of a new idea; they are mid-career adults who have suddenly decided to dedicate their time to helping others. In short, they come from all walks of life. But there’s one thing many of them have in common: they are excellent public speakers.
Public speaking is an invaluable life skill because even if we all don’t even up standing in front of auditoriums at a TED conference we will inevitably be asked to speak in front of peers and colleagues in whatever career we choose. Being able to stand and deliver with confidence and skill goes a long way both professionally and personally.
Grade 7 is practicing public speaking skills in Humanities. We began by listing the traits of a successful public speaker; then the students created a rubric for grading their speeches [see image below]. The criteria they chose are Speaking, Posture, and Data, and within each criteria and level they specified the requirements. For instance: eye contact, “umms”, organization of speech. This morning the students each gave a two-minute speech about themselves (a favorite topic) to break the ice. As the weeks progress they’ll be challenged to longer speeches about what we’re studying in class. They’ll also be asked to make their speeches before larger and (gasp!) older audiences.
