Being Yourself in Public Speaking
I teach a public speaking seminar to all of our 9th graders. The classes are relatively small, since we’ve divided up the group into trimester cohorts. It’s a fun way for me to get to know our new students and for them to get some practice with an important set of skills.
But something else is happening too. The first assignment is for each student to prepare and deliver a 3-minute personal narrative – an experience that they learned something from or that helped shape them in some way. Ninth graders in this fall cohort are understandably just getting to know one another, figuring out who their friends are, and finding their place at the school. Given that, it’s been striking that so many of the students have shared stories that are deeply personal and have allowed themselves to be vulnerable: the experience of feeling isolated and invisible; overcoming a long-standing fear; being forgiven for a transgression; dealing with family relocation and separation from friends. I’m proud of these students who shared so openly up at the podium. I’m grateful for the warm and supportive reception from their peers in the audience. And I’m thrilled about what this says about the culture and community these kids are fostering with one another.