public speaking

[wapiti]

My poor ds11 is about to suffer from his own procrastination...  This morning he will be presenting his science fair project - I'm not sure, but I think it's to small groups only (including random teachers and possibly some real life scientists the school has brought in). 

 

He has issues with speaking generally.  His speech isn't perfect - he received speech therapy until 9 y.o. - though he has the capability to speak nicely if he tries.  To a large group, he tends to mumble, too quiet, etc.  I think he'd be self-conscious even without the speech issues, but with the fear of public speaking or speaking to people he'd prefer to impress combined with the lingering speech stuff, it can be a bit of a disaster.

 

So, here's what I'm hoping for (a miracle?!!!), that not having the note cards will actually lead to a better oral presentation.  He'll have to "get outside his head" so to speak, without relying on the sequential rote-ness of reading off note cards.  I know it's possible because his teacher has told me that occasionally she asks him to explain some math concept to a group of classmates and apparently he does an ok job in those situations, standing at the white board, speaking extemporaneously to students and a teacher he has known for years.  In contrast, when I've gone to school to watch him do his history presentation with note cards, we could hardly hear a word he said, though there, the audience includes the entire class and some parents.

 

ETA, nevermind - he did great!!!!  My heart was breaking for him this morning so I emailed his teacher and that's what she said.

[OneStepAtATime]

Yeah!!!   As the parent of a child (13) that until just a couple of years ago had panic attacks and nightmares, rarely spoke above a whisper or made eye contact and was known to run off stage in tears during public appearances, school performances and speeches, my heart went out to you both.  Then I got goosebumps when I read what his teacher said.   Awesome!  :)

 

 

[Jennifer-72]

So glad to hear he did well!

[IsabelC]

:party:

[PeterPan]

Maybe if he has language issues, reading the cards is more processing?  Maybe he'd like to use visualization techniques to remember his outline... He can envision it as a tree or a house he walks through or something that he can call up visually without having to process the cards.

 

And yes, unresolved speech issues can definitely affect demeanor and how they carry themselves and feel about themselves.  I see it in my ds, who literally perks up with confidence when we get breakthroughs on things.