Teachers often give assignments that involve research and sharing with a class presenation. However, teachers who teach specific public speaking skills such as using gestures and vocal variety are developing skills that carryover into all areas of the student's life including college, work sites and recreational situations. Public speaking used as an educational tool may involve giving a well practiced talk about an assigned topic or an impromptu topic-both are valuable training tools. Examples of these might be sharing what one did over the summer vacation with a class or explaining a science fair project to the judge and community. The school environment can provide numerous opportunities to practice the following:
- Organizing and expressing thoughts
- Articulation and speech fluency
- Use of gestures, eye contact and other forms of body language
Public speaking skills learned at school or community programs (such as scouting or 4 H Clubs) can have far reaching impact as shown in the case of thirteen year old Shelby Kilpatrick and her 10 year old twin sisters Lauren and Kaitlyn. They spoke in front of an audience of 14,000 at an environmental conference when they explained how they used a GPS system to create a trail map for their 4- H project. Previous experience with a youth leadership program sponsored by the public speaking club Toastmasters helped them to capture the audience.
