There are a number of goals we might have when we get up to give a speech, from entertaining our audience to informing them about something they didn’t previously know or understand. Whilst these are definitely important, the most common reason we speak publicly is to make a change in the world – to persuade our audiences to alter their perspective on the world or change the way that they engage with it.

Whilst students do cover basic persuasive speech structure in our beginner level programs, the Persuading Audiences program takes this type of speech to the next level. Over the course of the workshop, students cover a wide range of different persuasive techniques – everything from wow words to repetition – that help make their speeches come across as more convincing. This is then followed by various opportunities to practice their skills in a wide range of circumstances!

During the upcoming holidays, we will be offering many of our workshops both in-person and online.

For the most part, there is very little that separates our online and physical programs – both are interactive, cover the same theoretical concepts, and give students a range of opportunities to practice and develop their skills. Whilst some activities are different between the two, as some activities lend themselves better to physical or online classes, the actual learning outcomes remain the same for both classes.

Importantly, the timing of each workshop does differ:

• Our in-person workshop runs between 8:45am and 2:45pm over two days;
• Our online program runs between 9:30am and 1:30pm over three days, with a half-hour break at 11:30am.

Notably, the difference in price between each isn’t an indication of the quality of the program, or how much students will get out of the experience – both get the same amount of attention and care, and we’ve found some students develop better in an online environment.  The deviation instead is simply a result of the higher costs (such as venue hire, administrative staff and sanitation) associated with running classes face-to-face.

If you’re interested in learning more about how our online programs work or what a day in the life of our in-person workshops looks like, please check out the videos below!

Whilst children appear to not be at particularly high risk from COVID-19, SSA places their safety (and the safety of our coaches) as our highest priority.  This emphasis on safety is the first tier of our teaching policy.

We generally consider the risk of transmission at our programs to be very unlikely.  This is for three reasons:

1. From a general perspective, whilst children are not immune, they do show substantially milder symptoms than adults, and appear to catch and transmit the virus at lower rates.
2. Despite high vaccination levels, the Government is still acting cautiously in removing restrictions – most people who catch the virus are quarantined, which has significantly limited the spread of the virus.
3. We have put in place a range of extra protections that are reviewed continuously for best practice, and seek to keep students as safe as possible.

We have prepared our COVID-19 Action Plan, which outlines the three methods we are using to keep students safe.

Whilst you are very welcome to read the Action Plan in full, the three elements are:

1. Symptom Testing – whilst we instruct all parents not to send students displaying symptoms (or awaiting test results), we will be using coach training to ensure that any students who show symptoms are isolated and removed from programs;
2. Limited Exposure – there are a range of steps in place to help ensure that students (and parents) socially distance themselves and limit the chance of spreading the virus; and
3. Enhanced Sanitation – we have adopted hand and surface cleaning regimens to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Additionally, we will also be continuing to offer online programs for the foreseeable future. This will help ensure that parents and students who are uncomfortable with physical classes have an alternative that allows them to feel safe, whilst still receiving a quality education in public speaking and debating.

Please check out our COVID-19 Action Plan here, or get in touch if you have any questions!

Our Presentation Skills Tigers workshop is designed for experienced students.

There are two groups of students who would benefit from our Presentation Skills Tigers program.

The first group are those who have previous formal coaching in public speaking.  This may be from:

• one of our programs, including our Tabby Cats holiday program, or our Leopards or Lions weekly term programs;
• from another provider; or
• potentially through their school.

The Presentation Skills Tigers program also changes from holiday to holiday, so students are more than welcome (and even encouraged) to try it again and again.  If you’re not sure whether your child has enough experience, please get in touch and we can chat about your circumstances.

The second group is for students who have a little experience, but are naturally more confident and would be able to hold their own with more experienced students.  Whilst we would still recommend that these students still give our Presentation Skills Tabby Cats program a try first, we understand that dates and locations don’t always line up.  Given this, we often enrol a few students without much experience.  If you think your child may fall into this category, please reach out and we can discuss it with you!

After completing the Persuading Audiences program, students should:

• have been exposed to the fundamental principles which underpin persuasive speeches;
• understand a range of new techniques to help them sound and feel more persuasive when giving a presentation; and
• have been given multiple opportunities to present to their class every session.

Revision of Fundamental Concepts

The program starts with a succinct (but important) revision of the essential concepts covered in our beginner level programs, including audience engagement and speech structure. This helps set students up for the remainder of the program, and ensures that everyone starts on a similar level.

Developing Persuasive Techniques

Once students have the basics down, they’ll spend the next few sessions looking at a range of techniques they might be able to use to persuade their audiences to change their mind or do something differently. Whilst taught individually, students are given lots of opportunities to put these techniques to the test in a range of fun speaking activities.

Applying Techniques to Advertising

The remainder of the program will be spent applying persuasive techniques and structures to the realm of advertising – trying to persuade their peers to buy and sell certain things. This is the perfect avenue to help students improve their budding persuasive skills, as it allows them to take what they’ve learned and apply it in a familiar, real-life context.

Our classes vary in size every holiday depending on how many bookings we receive – however, the maximum size of our Tigers class is 9 students with one coach, and 16 students with two coaches.

If there aren’t any spots left, it’s usually because we’ve hit capacity – please get in touch with us and we’ll see what we can do about either opening an extra class, fitting your child into the existing class, or putting you on a waitlist in case any students pull out!

After each workshop, students will get to keep:

• a feedback sheet prepared by their coach, which outlines what they’ve improved on during the course, and what they could continue to work on in the future;
• a certificate recognising that they have completed the Presentation Skills Tigers workshop;
• a workbook containing the key concepts that students covered during the workshop; and
• a better understanding of how public speaking works in a new context!

We have a great Kindy program available for all students who aren’t yet in Year 1 – check out our Speaking Skills Bumblebees workshop to learn more!

We strongly recommend waiting until Year 1 before enrolling in our Tabby Cats or Tigers holiday programs, or our Leopards and Lions term programs. All our Year 1 & 2 programs require students to be able to write at least simple sentences, as well as read their own handwriting and instructions on the board, which most Kindergarten students are unfortunately not able to do.  This may well lead to those students feeling inferior to the rest of the class, creating new fears around public speaking – the exact opposite of what we hope to achieve.

If you think that your child has sufficient reading and writing skills, we would be more than happy to talk it through with you (although we would definitely recommend that they do the Presentation Skills Tabby Cats program first!) – alternatively, we would also be more than happy to add you to our email list (see below) so we can let you know when bookings open when your child is old enough to join!