Course Overview

Book in quick before our April School Holiday programs sell out!

Formerly Public Speaking Herons and Experienced Public Speaking

As students progress through late primary and early high school, they’re likely to encounter many challenges – one of which will undoubtedly be public speaking. Each of these opportunities to present will come with a unique set of circumstances, and it’s vital that students are across a range of different speaking styles to meet the trials they’re almost certain to face.

Our Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop seeks to help students not only meet those trials but truly conquer them.

This program changes every holiday and places the focus on a different skill or type of public speaking, and will include the following for 2024:

Summer Holidays – Textual Analysis Speeches;
Autumn Holidays – Engaging Audiences;
Winter Holidays – Mock Trials; and
Spring Holidays – Impromptu Presentations.

Whilst it’s recommended that students give each of these focuses a try, there is no particular need to start with any of them, meaning students are welcome to join at any time!

As with all our programs, we make sure that every classroom environment is nurturing for each individual, and that all the activities are lots of fun for all students. Every focus is an excellent opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of public speaking and build their confidence to take those challenges head-on.

More Information

Learn more about the SSA Credits & Refund policy
Find out more about the type of things students cover in our blog

When audiences listen to a speech, most of their attention – around 93% – is directed not to the actual words, but rather to the speaker’s physical and verbal manner. Given this, it is crucial to get this part of public speaking right to ensure that any audience is listening.

Over the Autumn holidays, our Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop will be focusing on building our students’ speaking manner and helping them persuade their audiences using more exciting and engaging presentations.

Having students hone their speaking manner and develop their own personal style of presentations is a powerful tool for building confidence and helping them feel comfortable in all speaking environments, allowing them to thrive across a range of situations. This workshop gives students the opportunity to try out a range of manner techniques and to hone their own presentation style and personal brand.

Our Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop is a mixed experienced program.

It is designed for three types of students:

those who are in early high school who have been exposed to public speaking, but don’t have extensive experience;
those in late primary school who have completed programs designed for younger students (such as Speak Out Hummingbirds, Debating Hawks, Public Speaking Penguins and Debating Parrots) who want to learn some fun new public speaking skills; and
those who have already completed the Public Speaking Polar Bears program, and want to try a new focus!

If you’re not sure whether your child would be better suited for our Foundations of Public Speaking or Experienced Public Speaking program, please get in touch and we would be more than happy to discuss it with you!

Check out our video on what to expect at our in-person holiday workshops below!

Over the Engaging Audiences program, students will:

look at examples of great physical and verbal manner, and what makes them so engaging;
spend time reflecting on their own abilities and how they might be able to improve their own speaking manner; and
have various opportunities to practice and receive feedback on their speaking style.

Revision of Fundamental Concepts

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

Laying Foundations

Students are taken through a range of different speech structures, each with their own advantages, with the view of getting students to think about engaging ways they might be able to deliver a presentation without worrying too much about their manner. Students are then given the opportunity to prepare a speech that will form the basis of their manner practice to come.

Physical + Verbal Manner

The bulk of the program relates to both physical manner (such as stance, eye contact and gestures) and verbal manner (such as tone, pace and clarity). Students participate in a range of activities relating to both concepts, covering not only how they make speeches more engaging, but how they might be able to implement them in practice.

Our classes vary in size every holiday depending on how many bookings we receive – however, the maximum size of our Public Speaking Polar Bears class is 9 students with one coach.

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 program, students will go home with:

a feedback sheet prepared by their coach (which will be emailed through), outlining 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 Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop;
a completed coursebook that contains all of the theory they’ve covered, as well as any notes that they’ve taken; and
a much better understanding of a specific skill associated with public speaking!

If you’re interested in doing another holiday workshop, we would recommend that students move on to either:

our Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop again – the program changes every holiday, so students will learn something new every time they complete it; or
if your child is looking for something different, either our Debating Hawks (for intermediate debaters) or Practice Debates (for more advanced debaters) would provide a new challenge!

Alternatively, if you’re looking for a weekly term program, we offer:

Public Speaking Penguins, which takes Year 5 – 7 students through various different public speaking skills each term;
Debating Parrots, a mixed experience class that introduces students in Years 5 – 7 to various different elements of debating;
Debating Pandas, an intermediate-level group that takes students in Years 6 – 8 through a range of more advanced debating concepts;
Debating Club, a more advanced class for Year 7 – 10 students to practice their skills each and every week.

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions, or get in touch using our contact form to learn more!