A practical and hands-on workshop that looks to provide students with a basic but important introduction to presentation skills, and focuses on forming good speaking habits rather than teaching abstract theory.
Student to Teacher Ratio 8:1Provide early primary students with their first public speaking experiences.
Utilise activities that feel like games to help students feel comfortable in the learning environment
Put an emphasis on habits over theory, noting students lack abstract thought.
Help students develop a love for presenting in front of audiences.
Register your interest for our upcoming Holiday programs.
Bookings are also open at St Michael’s Grammar School in St Kilda – learn more and book here!
This fun and interactive program is designed to equip students with the tools they need to present to any audience.
Recognising that students in this age group have not yet developed abstract thought, the program places emphasis on experiential learning – using activities and games to help students build their confidence and form positive speaking habits.
Students are exposed to crucial ideas such as speech structure and strong speaking manner, but in a scaffolded format that is easy to replicate and sets them up well for a future filled with public speaking.
To help all our students flourish, we make sure that classes are kept small, that the classroom environment is welcoming to students of all abilities, and that every student is given plenty of opportunities to practice and develop their own voice.
More Information
Our Presentation Skills Tabby Cats workshop is an introductory level program and is designed to be completed once.
In recognition of the importance of learning presentation skills from a young age, it has (since 2012) formed an essential part of the Stage #1 (Year 1 – 2) syllabus for NSW schools. Given this, even younger students are no longer able to escape the obligation to speak in public.
Presentation Skills Tabby Cats is designed as a program for students – confident and shy alike – who do not have formal public speaking training. We all have to speak to audiences at multiple points throughout our lives, but we’re of the firm belief that not only is everyone capable of doing this, but that everyone is capable of enjoying it too.
If your child already has public speaking experience (including through one of our term programs, such as Presentation Skills Leopards or Presentation Skills Lions), they may be better off in our Presentation Skills Tigers group – get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss which workshop would be better for you, or check out our video below to see how our holiday workshops function!
After completing the Presentation Skills Tabby Cats workshop, students should:
Connecting with Audiences
The beginning of the first day is designed to help students get to know one another and feel comfortable in the online classroom setting. Amongst various speaking activities, students will be exposed to the concept of an audience, and come to understand that speeches are about finding a connection between their own interests and those of their audience.
Structuring Speeches
As students progress, they will look more closely at speech structure as a whole, focusing on the unique roles of an introduction, body and conclusion in crafting a persuasive speech, and how each can help persuade their audience. They will also spend time looking at their own personal speaking manner, and have plenty of opportunities to present speeches to the rest of the class, allowing them to receive personalised feedback and improve their speaking skills.
Forming Persuasive Speeches
As the workshop proceeds, students will start crafting complete speeches, with a particular focus on speech bodies and elaborating on their points. Students will also learn handy scaffolds for introductions and conclusions, which give them all the elements they need to put together a complete speech.
Students will also continue to be exposed to various manner and other speaking activities, including a number that masquerade as games to help them have fun while presenting!
Our classes vary in size every holiday depending on how many bookings we receive – however, the maximum size of our Presentation Skills Tabby Cats class is 8 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 program, students will get to keep:
We have great Kindy programs available for all students who aren’t yet in Year 1 – check out our Speaking Skills Bumblebees holiday workshop and Speaking Skills Butterflies weekly term program to learn more!
We strongly recommend waiting until Year 1 before enrolling in our Tabby Cats or Tigers holiday workshops, 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 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 – 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!
As an introductory program, our Presentation Skills Tabby Cats class is designed to be completed once, and it remains the same every holiday.
Once completed, it’s recommended that students:
Check out our Frequently Asked Questions, or get in touch using our contact form to learn more!
Location was great and the girls were both keen to come back on the second day. They both said that they enjoyed it and learnt some new skills. They also liked their instructors.
I think that the course is excellent, and the guide/workbook provided to the kids was well put together. Certainly able to refer back to it again in future.
My son enjoyed the holiday program and was very excited each morning to start the lesson. It has helped him build confidence in presenting and has definitely learnt new skills.
I am very impressed in the course and will continue to enrol in the term programs.
According to the 300+ Tabby Cats and Tigers surveyed in 2023...
had fun!
felt more confident!
improved their speaking manner!
could better structure their speeches!
wanted to come back again next time!