Public Speaking Skills Are In The Mix To Increase Salaries For Your Students - Not Just STEM!

You are going to get tired of hearing the former language arts/English/humanities teacher point out the obvious to her, but not so obvious to the STEM heads that the rare student that presents the “complete” package has an increased change of getting a job, getting ahead and getting a bonus!

            To boost your chances of getting hired—or getting ahead—polish “soft” skills such

            as public speaking, writing and listening. And that applies even to rarefied experts. 

            It used to be that tech people could stay in the tech department. Now, says 

            McDonald, “people work in teams. You have to learn how to speak to non-experts

            across the organizational  chart.”
            Read more at http://www.kiplinger.com/article/saving/T012-C000-S002-look-for-

            a- modest-pay-raise-in-2014.html#ZYyw9jUAYtfuhyMR.99

As my rotator cuff heals – I've had a pretty major setback and typing causes me a lot of pain! I’ll start to get back to my longer posts.  I am so sorry that the healing process is not running smoothly, but it’s just one of those things.

The list below provides a few other tips for your students as they learn to become adept public speakers – I used to keep the videos of their reports/speeches so they could review them before their next speech and pick an area for improvement – I let them review their previous reports during lunch or after school:

1.    Loudness doesn't equal emphasis – often stopping and becoming silent and then quietly announcing an important point gets the message across.

2.    This leads to the next point – have a statistic that is a surprise or a piece of information that is contrary to the expected. An important supporting detail will get your audiences’ attention.

3.    Be prepared to wing it!! Your time may be cut, power may fail, and practice – practice – practice! Record your speech (if possible, use your web cam to watch for lazy eyes, too much blinking and other visual ticks) and play it back until when you watch it, you feel it’s on the mark.

4.    Don’t think about yourself during your speech – think about what you are trying to achieve! Don’t market yourself – network with people and make connections. If you are lacking in creativity for the moment, find an object and connect it to your life in a non-traditional way. (We’re back to how is love like a tree?)

5.    My debate team had lucky dimes in their shoes from their fellow students.  They were instructed to wiggle their toes to touch the dimes if they felt nervous and remember all the support their classmates had given them during mock debates and practice – my students were so composed and prepared – I have no real proof that the dimes helped, but in my heart, I like to think they did.

We need all disciplines to be integrated for children to make connections and develop their talents, knowledge and skills.  It is important to devise methods that tap creative solutions to needs in our own country which are also global needs.  Every person is a resource and we must never lose sight of that vision.  Providing all children with an education feeds their soul just as food, water and a healthy/safe environment feeds their body.  Best wishes to all who have courage and care for children around the world.