Our Presentation Skills Leopards course is a beginner level program.

This course assumes no particular knowledge – students are more than welcome to join the program with little (or even no) public speaking experience.  We all have to start somewhere – and this is the perfect place to do so.

Keeping this in mind, the program is also appropriate for students who have already completed our Presentation Skills Tabby Cats or Presentation Skills Tigers holiday programs – the Leopards course goes through a range of different skills, and uses a various different activities, meaning that students are able (and encouraged) to do this program, even if they’ve already completed our holiday programs.

That said, if your child has already done multiple holiday programs with us – or has formal public speaking training from another source – they may get more out of our more advanced Presentation Skills Lions program.

Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss what’s best for your child!

After completing the Presentation Skills Leopards program, students should:

• have participated in a number of activities (that feel like games) in a nurturing class environment, which help break down the stigma that public speaking is something to be feared;
• understand the basic elements of a speech, including the three M’s and simple persuasive speech structure; and
• have been given multiple opportunities to present to their class in each and every two-hour session.

Connecting with Audiences

The first few sessions are designed to help students get to know one another, and feel comfortable in the 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 interests and their audience.

Developing Speech Ideas

As students progress, they will spend a couple of sessions working on forming their own opinions, and turning those opinions into speeches.  They will have multiple opportunities to share and justify those opinions to their class – all the while having fun with numerous speaking activities.

Forming Persuasive Speeches

From the mid-point of the term, students will start crafting speeches – starting with their speech bodies, before moving onto introductions and (if there is time) conclusions.  Each week will have a different focus, with the idea that students are able to build their speeches over time.

Parent Presentations

The term ends with a parent presentation – an opportunity for students to present to an adult audience.  This is not only a great way to help them develop their confidence, but also represents an opportunity to showcase what they’ve learned.  Students generally spend the last couple of sessions preparing and practicing their speeches for the presentation.

Our classes vary in size every term depending on how many bookings we receive – however, the maximum size of our Leopards class is around eight students with one coach.

If there aren’t any spots left, it’s usually because we’ve hit capacity, but may also be the result of a miscommunication with the coaching college – 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 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 achievements;
• a course booklet, which covers everything they’ve learned over the course of the term;
• the speech that they prepared for their parent presentations; and
• hopefully a more positive perspective on public speaking!

If you’re interested in doing another term program, we generally recommend that students do our Presentation Skills Leopards program twice – the first time to grapple with the concepts, and the second time to deepen their understanding of public speaking and a whole, and to work more closely on their manner.

That said, if they have completed Leopards twice, or there is no convenient option to do it a second time, they would be very welcome to join one of our more experienced Presentation Skills Lions programs.  This program changes from term to term, so students are able to participate again and again.

Alternatively, if you were looking to do an intensive holiday program, we would recommend that students give our Presentation Skills Tigers program a try.  This holiday workshop teaches a range of different skills, and changes from holiday to holiday, giving students the opportunities to develop their speaking skills in a range of novel circumstances, from advertising to storytelling.