Basics of Public Speaking
Guest Blog Post from Debave4All + Published Points Of View
From capital riots in America to the increase in extreme nationalism in Europe to police brutality in response to protests in Hong Kong, the beginning of the 2020s has put democracy to the test. We have witnessed firsthand the essentiality of protecting fair and free government by speaking out against injustice; as our world becomes increasingly polarized, it is imperative that today’s youth use their voices to advocate for positive change. The generation of today is the generation of the future, making investments in education absolutely crucial for progress towards a better planet.
Yet, even in today’s modern world, most schools do not teach students the basics of public speaking, effective communication, argumentation, and critical thinking. Students are set free into the world, expected to soar, but lacking the wings to do so. A study published in the Journal of Community Health found that, in their sample, less than 30% of secondary schools offered a debate program; moreover, they noticed that ~82% of independent schools offered such a program, compared to only ~24% of public schools. Finally, their study also demonstrated that minority students were significantly less likely to have a debate program at their disposal: schools with programs had an average non-white student population nearly 20% lower than their counterparts without programs. No longer can we allow students to end their education without having mastered the ability to raise their voice, fight for their beliefs, and exude confidence when speaking to the masses. No longer can we allow debate to be a sport for only the white and wealthy; to foster a free and equitable world, we must ensure that students of all backgrounds have access to resources that are nearly guaranteed to improve their future prospects.
This change starts with students mastering the basics of public speaking. To do so, we are calling all students to practice such skills using the following challenge:
Choose any photo that has a story behind it! It can be something in your camera roll, a printed photo in an album, one you have framed in your house, or in any other form – just make sure that you can talk about the picture.
Write out a speech or some notes about the photo and its story – it should be anywhere between 1-3 minutes long!
Stand in front of a mirror and practice saying the speech aloud. Don’t worry about the tenets of public speaking yet, just get comfortable with the words on your paper.
Next, in front of the mirror, begin using the tenets of public speaking while practicing. Look up from your paper more often so that you have eye contact, use your hands for gestures, make sure you place emphasis on certain words, and more! Keep practicing in front of the mirror, slowly adding more and more public speaking basics.
Then, once you feel comfortable saying your speech in front of a mirror and using effective public speaking, grab a friend, family member, or someone else you trust. Practice saying your speech in front of them while maintaining your public speaking skills.
Then, once you’re comfortable saying your speech in front of one other person, get a larger group of perhaps 4-5 people (you can get even more people if you feel confident enough!) and practice your speech in front of them the same way you did in front of the mirror and the one other person. Do that a few times until you feel as though you’ve effectively used the tenets of public speaking!
Bonus tip: If you really wanna crush it, ask the members of your audience to stop you in the middle of your speech if they notice that you aren’t using an element of public speaking. For example, if you aren’t using eye contact and are staring down the whole time, one of your audience members would tell you to stop and remind you to maintain eye contact with your audience. Start over and make sure to fix that issue!
You got this! We are proud of you and can’t wait to see how you become a master public speaker!
You can learn more about Debate 4 All at our website, debate4all.org, or by visiting our Instagram, @debate4all_. Make sure to follow for more tips!