What does it take to Raise Confidently Speaking Kids

How do you feel when you find your child shying away from speaking in public? You wish if your child could have had the skills to speak confidently amid the crowd. Well, we, at JP International School, would like to assure you that even if your kid feels scared to speak among the public, there’s actually nothing to panic about. In fact, except a few, most children become uncomfortable speaking in front of a large audience, and sometimes, even in a smaller circle.

Having said that, we also understand that as a parent, you want your little one to speak confidently to their peers as well as adults in all situations. But the good news is that there are ways to arouse the natural ‘performance gene’ in children and instill in them the confidence to communicate effectively without fear. And on that note, we, at JPIS, have brought forth for you today a set of tips and confidence-building activities that would help you to boost the confidence level of your little geniuses and raise them into confident speakers.

Strengthen their listening skills

To help your child grow into an effective speaker, it is important to first work on his/her listening skills. Hence, do encourage your children to practice listening skills right from a young age. Listening is a vital part of any conversation, and only those who are efficient listeners can master the communication skills in the true sense. Teach your children that carefully listening to what others have to say is a crucial part of any conversation. It not only gives an insight into the thought process of the person you are speaking to but also instills the confidence to take the communication on the right path. Make your kids understand that listening is as important as talking and is extremely crucial when it comes to engaging in conversations.

Practice role-playing conversations

When it comes to speaking, role-playing games work out as a fun-filled way to boost your child’s confidence level. You can ask your child to act out situations they are particularly nervous about, and you can then help them successfully overcome their fear and anxiety. You can encourage the child to practice role-play conversations and know how he/she interacts with others. You can also allow them to pretend to be like their peer or teacher and talk to you about the happenings at school. To enable them to speak confidently in all situations, you will need to introduce them to different scenarios and topics of conversation and help them come up with appropriate responses. This can be a real eye-opener for the child as he/she will get to know his/her capability of conversing really well with others.

Encourage them to socialize

One of the best ways you can practically engage your child in is by exposing him/her to social situations to learn the speaking skills. When you allow them to socialize with others, they get accustomed to mingling with the people of their age as well as those who are elders or even younger to them. This will help them develop skills to converse appropriately with people of different age groups, it will consequently work as a big-time aid in improving their confidence in socializing and speaking in public.

Provide positive reassurance

When your child is too shy to talk confidently, try to know the underlying reason. Talk to the kid about his/her fears and anxieties and provide the kid with positive reassurance. Avoid complaining or criticizing his/her talks as it will instill negative feelings in the kid. At JP International School, we have seen that only when children feel good about themselves, can they bloom into confident speakers. Hence, do encourage your kids to talk to different people in different situations. You can begin with making them communicate with the close family members and friends and then move on to the extended community. This way, your child will slowly get adapted to speaking up and will eventually learn the finer nuances of speaking confidently in public.

At JP International School, one among the Top Ten schools in Greater Noida, we firmly believe that children, being porous minds, are mostly quick at absorbing whatever is taught to them. When they are provided with the right kind of environment and support, they readily learn to discover, explore, and connect with the world around them, and attain a lot of vital skills in the process. Effective communication is one of such skills that children learn the best when they are allowed to unleash their inner potential by providing them with the opportunities to speak up. And only when the kids learn to speak confidently, it lays the path ahead for them to grow into the leaders of tomorrow.

- JP International School