JE high school students polish public speaking skills during presentations
For some folks, nothing conjures the feeling of butterflies in their stomach more than public speaking. And that’s on top of the sweaty palms, dry mouth and overall jitters.
But in college, and more importantly, in a competitive working world, people are faced with high stakes presentations where public speaking skills are a necessity. That’s why Jordan-Elbridge High School teachers Lucia Smith and Linda Falk are teaching a unit aimed at honing those skills and helping students achieve success.
“We believe public speaking is an extremely important skill to have, and one that is often ignored in the high school classroom,” Smith said. “As teachers, it can be difficult to push students to speak who are uncomfortable in front of a group of people. But those kids may get to college and not have any of the knowledge necessary to be successful. Or they go to a job interview with more than one person, panic, and can’t speak clearly about their skills. We hope this unit can help them feel prepared.”
Smith is currently teaching a public speaking unit to her 55 students in grades 11-12 in her Onondaga Community College (OCC 103/104) English class, and Falk is working on a similar unit with 38 students in her English 12 class. Smith and her students studied three types of speeches: informative, demonstrative, and persuasive.
Falk and Smith both started out with informative speeches and asked students to research and talk about anything that interests them.
“I told them to speak to something they are passionate about. If they’re excited, the audience will be excited,” Smith said. “And that’s what makes a good basis for a speech.”
Junior Emily Jennings decided to talk about dance (e.g. its history, styles and how it affects people), and says getting up in front of the class helped her.
“I’ve learned how to relax and to not let everyone staring at me to affect me,” she said. “I’ve also learned to make an outline of my main points. This is giving me the experience to get out and talk in front of people.”
For Abbey Karlik – who’s looking to major in English – she sees the immense value in public speaking skills.
“It’s important to be able to talk to people and speak persuasively,” she said.
Smith assesses the students in two ways, on their speech delivery and their formal outline. The delivery includes their style (projection, engagement, clarity) and their visual.
“I grade both their formal outline and the organization of their speech, which includes the opening, body points, and conclusion – all of which should be engaging,” she said.
Students in Smith’s class also receive two semesters of OCC credit (six credits total) along with high school credits. And the OCC credits will transfer to any SUNY school.
“At a private or out-of-state school, they will translate as either freshman English credits or an elective credit (depending on the school). This is a great opportunity for our students to take a college level class while acquiring essential skills that will help them in the long run,” Smith added.
