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 9:15am and 3:15pm 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, please check out the video 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, as are any known close contacts, 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 four elements are:

1. Vaccination – all of our onsite staff are fully vaccinated, so they pose a substantially reduced risk to our students;
2. Symptom Testing – whilst we instruct all parents not to send students displaying symptoms (or awaiting test results), we will be using temperature checks and coach training to ensure that any students who show symptoms are isolated and removed from programs;
3. Limited Exposure – there are a range of steps in place to help ensure that students (and parents) socially distance, and limit the chance of spreading the virus; and
4. 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 Public Speaking Hummingbirds workshop is a beginner level program.

It is designed for students with little (or even no) public speaking experience at a late primary school level, and is perfect for shy and confident students alike!

We generally recommend that students who have done our Year 3 & 4 holiday programs (such as our Speaking Camp Koalas and Speaking Camp Kangaroos holiday workshops) still do our Public Speaking Hummingbirds course. That said, the content in the program is quite similar to our Public Speaking Wallabies program, so we’d recommend those students to head straight on to our experienced Public Speaking Hawks program.

If your child has some public speaking experience and you’re not sure whether the beginner Public Speaking Hummingbirds or experienced Public Speaking Hawks program would suit them best, please get in touch and we’d be more than happy to discuss which is most appropriate for your circumstances!

Over the course of the workshop, students will be:

• exposed to techniques that help build confidence and overcome fears, particularly by changing the narrative around public speaking more generally;
• introduced to the key components for preparing a speech, with a focus on developing ideas (matter) and structuring them into a persuasive presentation (method);
• shown how to effectively speak in front of an audience (manner); and
• given various opportunities to present both impromptu and prepared speeches to the class.

Connecting with Audiences

The start of the workshop focuses on both creating a supportive and welcoming class environment, as well as the connection that exists between speakers and their audience.  Students will consider the importance of keeping audiences at the forefront when preparing speeches, and strategies that they can use to help engage them more effectively.

Developing Speech Ideas

As students progress, the focus will shift towards brainstorming ideas that they can craft into speeches.  This involves coming up with opinions on various topics, which students are then required to back up through a range of different speaking activities using the online platform.

Forming Persuasive Speeches

Once students are comfortable devising ideas for their speeches, the next step is to turn those ideas into a coherent speech.  Over a number of sessions, students learn how to craft their reasons into arguments, as well as how to both grab and keep their audiences attention using effective introductions and conclusions. Each session focuses on a different concept, and includes multiple opportunities to practice in front of their peers.

Final Presentations

At the end of the final day, students will finalise and give their final presentations to the class. This is a great opportunity for students to present to a more formal audience, which not only helps them develop their confidence, but also represents an opportunity to showcase what they’ve learned to their peers.

Our classes vary in size every holiday depending on how many bookings we receive – however, the maximum size of our Public Speaking Hummingbirds class is 10 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 the workshop, students will get to keep:

• a personal feedback sheet prepared by their coach, which goes through what they’ve improved on, and what still needs some work;
• a certificate recognising their achievement of completing Public Speaking Hummingbirds;
• a booklet that includes all the concepts they’ve covered over the course of the program, as well as any notes that they’ve taken;
• a completed persuasive speech, which they deliver to their peers at the end of the final day; and
• hopefully a changed narrative in their mind, where public speaking is something to enjoy rather than fear!