Public Speaking Is a Path to Charisma and Confidence

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Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and Michaelle Jean — what do these famous influential people all have in common?  They are all incredible speakers who possess qualities such as charisma, clear and loud voices, body language and confidence.

Speeches are usually known to be stressful and extremely nerve-racking for most students.  Whether you make a speech at school, a wedding, or an interview, the more public speaking you do as a student will benefit you in the future. I believe presentation skills are extremely important and valuable to use throughout a person’s life.

Fear has a big impact on speeches. I remember I had to make a two- to three-minute speech in Grade 2 as a shy seven-year-old and present it in front of my class. I was nervous and I started to cry and ended up saying my speech alone in a room with my teacher. Fear is a hard skill to overcome, but with practice anyone can increase their confidence. I overcame my fear by ignoring the people around me so it feels like you are practically talking to yourself.  Now I’m in Grade 6 and I feel very comfortable speaking in front of an audience and I actually look forward to the public speaking competition at school.

I enjoy challenges and public speaking is definitely a challenge. To me the hardest part of creating a speech is thinking of a good topic that suits you. You want to choose a topic that appeals to you, you would want to talk and hear about and be appropriate for your age.

My past topics have been very captivating for students and teachers. For example, in Grade 3 my speech topic was on the “Success of Webkinz.” That year Webkinz was the most successful toy sold to kids because it incorporated a virtual life on the computer. People were fascinated with this new concept of toys and computers. When I asked the audience “Who had a Webkinz?” everyone raised their hands. Similarly last year in Grade 5 when I did my speech on the “Success of Robert Munsch,” one of the most successful children’s authors of our generation, my opening line was a quote from one of his books. One thing that I have found to be very helpful is when you ask the audience a question and involve them in your speech. You automatically gain their attention. This year in Grade 6 I wanted to discuss a topic that was more mature and thought provoking. The topic was “Are technological devices used today creating a generation who can’t spell or use proper language.” I chose this topic because it is very relevant in our generation.

Overall what I have found to be very useful when writing speeches is picking a topic that is current and interesting. When I relate to a topic I become very alive and passionate when I speak. You want to ask the audience questions and this technique has been very successful because it grabs their attention. Public speaking has been a great experience for me and has helped me gain qualities that some of the best speakers use today. Even though public speaking can be intimidating, by using my tips hopefully it will allow students to overcome their fear of public speaking.

[Marissa Rosenberg, 12, recently graduated from Grade 6 at Fieldstone Day School. In this year’s speech competition, she placed first at her school, first in the branch level and third in the zone level.]

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