build their confidence for public speaking Speaking in front of others is something that your child will encounter throughout their life. Whether it's reading a book report to their class, interviewing for their first job, or presenting to an important client during their career, being able to speak to the public or a group of people confidently is a vital asset they will need throughout their life. Some children are naturally outgoing, but others are shyer requiring you as a parent to help instill the confidence in them they need to be able to speak to others without anxiety or fear. To help your child achieve better public speaking abilities, there are a few tips you can try.

Put the Concept to Practice Early in their Life

While most young children may not want to play public speaking as an activity, making it a part of fantasy play can get them used to having attention on them while they are speaking, and teach them how to speak more naturally when addressing others. Create plays where you can give them roles such as the king delivering a speech to their citizens or make them president of the family and have them deliver an acceptance speech.

Give Them Feedback, But Wait Until the End

It is important to give your child a lot of positive feedback when they are practicing for public speaking but make sure you give them feedback. Simply saying "it's great," or "I liked it," does not help them make improvements where they are needed. Remember to wait until your child is through the piece before providing feedback instead of constantly interrupting them to make corrections. This will be distracting and most likely add to their nerves.

Record Their Practice Sessions

It is sometimes easiest to see where you need to make improvements when you can view the speech the same way the audience does. If your child is preparing for a presentation, or even something as simple as a book report, record their speech and play it back to them, providing them on positive feedback about what the strengths were as well as areas they can improve on.

Encourage Confidence Throughout Their Daily Lives

Confidence is not something that comes overnight. Confidence needs to be instilled from a young age and nurtured throughout life. Little things can instill great confidence in children, such as being able to order their own meals, encouraging them to have some time to discuss the events of their day at dinner, and allowing them to do things on their own even if you know they will make a mistake. It is also essential that you model confidence in front of your children because they learn the most from watching others. Try to be less timid or nervous. When you are calm and confident, your child will see this behavior and mimic it.

Becoming a good public speaker does not always happen overnight, and while it may come easy for some children, it can be extremely difficult for others. By trying the tips above you can help prepare your child to be a better speaker and instill the confidence they need to interact with others no matter how large the crowd.

Genie Academy's English Language Arts program offers weekly classes in creative writing and public speaking, These classes are held to the same standard and philosophy of out math classes. Students will be reading their own essays aloud to their class and will even receive positive peer feedback from their classmate. The confidence increase in just one class is outstanding. Sign up your child for Reading Genie today.