Speak Out Challenge

On Monday, a group of year 10 students participated in this whole-day workshop delivered by the Speakers Trust, an inspiring charity dedicated to amplifying the voices of young people.

Having worked with the Speakers Trust for several years now, we were of course thrilled to welcome them back for what we knew would be another fantastic public speaking workshop. Our facilitator began by impressing upon the group why public speaking skills are so crucial and how building confidence with these skills can support them throughout their adult life. The facilitator encouraged the group to reflect that they are not merely 14- or 15-year-olds but, in actuality, the future: our future teachers, doctors, lawyers, politicians, decision makers and leaders.

After establishing the boundaries required for the day, including mutual respect, listening, and participation, it was time to get warmed up! The students had a series of ‘would you rather’ statements to respond to for their first taste of taking a stance and expressing personal opinions. A memorable question posed was, ‘Would you rather have integrity or success?’ This encouraged students to justify their position in articulating their response.

Another warm-up activity, working towards the goal of a one-minute impromptu speech by the end of the day, was to go around the circle to introduce themselves; students stated their name, a like, a dislike, and one wish they would like to be fulfilled. This allowed students another opportunity to build confidence with speaking in front of their peers – and to learn some new things about them, too!

Next, our facilitator introduced the ‘communication triangle’: the trifecta of content, delivery, and structure. The students discussed the necessary components of effective delivery such as pace, projection, and eye contact. In order to rehearse delivery skills through a game, it was then time for a few rounds of ‘Ding! Stop the Bus!’ This fast-paced game requires team work, quick thinking, and – crucially – no hesitation or hedging! It also incited the competitive spirit for lots of our students!

Once the ‘PEP’ structure (state your position, explain your position, return to your position) had been introduced, it was time for students to put it into practice with some impromptu speaking topics.

Throughout the morning, the students had multiple opportunities to discover and express their viewpoints on a variety of topics. This meant that when the time came to generate a topic for their speech, they had lots of ideas to draw upon! As the students are encouraged to select a topic that they personally really care about and that matters to them, it was heartening to hear so many students tackle topics such as happiness, motivation, and the need for equality and diversity. As with previous years, it is a privilege to be able to witness students speaking so bravely and passionately about issues they care about in front of their peer group. They were a hugely encouraging and supportive audience for each other and embodied our school values of community, kindness, and participation.

The workshop clearly had a very positive impact on the students. Josie shared, ‘It helped to build my confidence.’ Rosie added, ‘It helped me feel more comfortable around people I didn’t know that well before.’

This group made Speak Out Challenge history for our school as we were unable to shortlist six students from the group to be put forward for the next round of the competition… In fact, we were so impressed by their speeches that we have chosen to take forward eight students to the next round!

We are very proud of all of the students who took part and look forward to the next stage of the competition: the assembly final.