Presentation Skills Lions

When we get up to speak in front of audiences, we may want to teach them something new or entertain them – and both of these are essential purposes for many speeches. However, most commonly, we’re getting up to speak because we want audiences to think, feel or act differently – we want to persuade them of something.

Our Term #1 Lions program places the focus squarely on these types of persuasive speeches. Whilst students will likely have already covered basic persuasive speech structure in our Leopards or Tabby Cats programs, this focus of the Lions program takes this type of speech to the next level. Students learn how they can use various techniques – from chain words to hyperboles – to help make their speeches sound much more persuasive. Students also have plenty of opportunities to apply these techniques across a range of different types of persuasive speeches, with a particular focus on advertising!

After completing the Persuasive Speeches program, students should:

• have been exposed to the fundamental principles that 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 in each and every session.

Our Presentation Skills Lions course is a mixed-experience program designed for all Year 2 students and experienced Year 1 students.

It is tailored for:

• Students in Year 2 who have no public speaking experience (who can join from any term – there’s no requirement to join at the beginning of the year);
• Students who have already completed one or more terms of Lions (the focus changes every term, so there’s no repetition of content for students);
• Students who have been completing our Presentation Skills Leopards program and have either entered Year 2, or have been recommended to move up by their coach;
• Students who have previously completed either our Speaking Skills Butterflies or Speaking Skills Bumblebees workshops for Kindy kids;
• Students in Year 1 who are not able to make any of our Presentation Skills Leopards classes; and
• Any students in Year 1 or 2 who have previously tried our Presentation Skills Tabby Cats or Presentation Skills Tigers holiday workshops and have been recommended to join by their coach!

We usually recommend that students continue with Presentation Skills Lions throughout Year 2 (before moving up to Public Speaking Wombats or Debating Wallabies). The focus changes every term, so there’s always something new for students to learn!

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

Revision of Fundamental Concepts

The program starts with a succinct (but critical) revision of essential concepts, including audience engagement and speech structure.

This helps prepare students for the rest of the program and ensures that everyone starts on a similar level, especially students who have not been exposed to public speaking before.

Persuading Audiences

For the Persuasive Speeches focus for our Lions program, students will generally cover:

• Topic #1 – Introductions, icebreakers & revising presentation skills fundamentals

• Topic #2 – Persuasive techniques and how they make a speech more convincing

• Topic #3 – The best methods to persuade others to buy what you’re selling

• Topic #4 – Various different approaches to advertising products and services to audiences

• Topic #5 – A range of activities to help them build a persuasive speaking manner

• Topic #6 – Pulling each concept together in an end-of-term presentation

Practice Speeches & Activities

The remainder of the program introduces them to various concepts and activities that will help enhance their presentation skills, which are, in turn, reinforced through regular practice speeches and feedback!

End of Term Presentation

Each term ends with a presentation, either to peers or parents (depending on the venue). This is an excellent opportunity for students to showcase what they’ve learned over the course of the term and continue their confidence-building journey.

Students generally spend the last couple of sessions preparing and practising their speeches for the presentation.

Coaches will also provide an update to parents on what was covered during the term, as well as what comes next for the students’ public speaking journeys.

This program is not suitable for nearly every Kindy student.

We have specifically designed two programs for our tiny tots:

• Speaking Skills Butterflies, which runs during the school term; and
• Speaking Skills Bumblebees, which runs over two days during the school holidays.

Given the age group involved, these programs are only in-person – we don’t run any Kindy programs online.

Our Leopards, Lions, Tabby Cats and Tigers programs are designed for Year 1 – 2 students. They 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.

As a mixed-experience program, our Presentation Skills Lions program is designed to be completed multiple times – with a different focus every term, there’s always something new for students to take away from the program!

Alternatively, our Presentation Skills Leopards class has similar but different focuses to our Lions program, meaning you can also attend it interchangeably without repeating content.

However, if you’re looking for something during a school break, you may want to try one of our holiday workshops, such as Presentation Skills Tigers, which builds on the skills learned during the term.

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