What To Do When Your Kid Has Stage Fright

It is not easy to just stand in front of a large crowd and speak out especially when you are not prepared. This is quite hard for adults to talk less of kids that are just learning new things every day. It is very challenging for children to comfortably stand and present a poem speech etc in front of known and unknown faces or even within their class at times. This is normal and your kid should not feel less confident because all that is needed to overcome this fear is practice. First of all, you should know that public speaking for kids has a lot of benefits and this is the most reason why you should help your kid speak in public.

Why your kid should speak in public

1. It is a much-needed skill

There is no way that your kid will avoid ever speaking in public whether he is in a private or public school. They will have to do oral presentations and other activities in front of classmates and teachers. Kids that do not have the ability to speak out are going to get panic stricken and overwhelmed each time they are called and this can be very damaging to a child psychologically. Besides not every school teaches public speaking skills so it is important that you teach your kid so that he or she will excel in his grades and would not shy away from activities that require him or her to speak publicly.

2. It helps boost their confidence

Public speaking skills help your kid to become more confident and develop the character of boldness. By being able to speak in public your kid will exhibit that ability to face a crowd and express himself fluently which will be beneficial to him in the future.

3. It is a life-long skill

It is a life-long skill that your kid will need at some point in time in his life. This is because almost everybody speaks in public at some point in their lives especially if they assume a leadership role. By becoming confident and capable speaking your kid puts himself above many other people who refuse to stand up and speak. You never know what your kid may end up doing so by learning these skills your kid will be able to use it wherever they find themselves.

4. It helps improve their knowledge

Public speaking gives your kid the opportunity to improve on their knowledge. You are given a topic to work on most likely something that you have no clue on and this gets you to research and find out things pertaining to the topic, thereby making you more informed. The fact that your kid has gone through the preparation of the speech and worked on how to communicate with others effectively makes him or her understand the content much better.

Tips on how you can make your kid a good public speaker

• Invite family members who will help rather than be noisy or critical or nice neighbors, pets or even stuffed animals to give your child the feeling of speaking to a larger group of people that represent his or her class or peers. This will give him that real life setting so that he gets to feel the real pressure and make mistakes that can be rectified.
• Do not overcrowd them. Give them room to practice on their own. This could be a designated space where they can freely be themselves and also the time that they could do these things at home. It should be a comfortable place so that they can rehearse before the big day. This is because many kids need privacy so that they can find their confidence and get familiar with their presentation before the big day.
• They are kids and fun is something that should not be forgotten so add a little singing to the practice sessions. Singing is like public speaking but can be quite fun too. You could sing together in the car or pick up a secondhand karaoke machine so that your little one can practice reading and singing at the same time. Encourage your kid to play around with his or voice and to get comfortable with how it sounds.
• Practice modulation and projection. You can try to find out how loud your kid’s voice is when he or she is speaking. Stand far away from your child and try to listen to his voice. Help him or her to project their voice without yelling and alter tone and volume based on the size of the audience and space of presentation.
• Fun fun fun is what keeps kid interested. This is not supposed to be another stressful activity but something that your kid will love doing. Your kid will love to play along with public speaking practice it, he or she feels that they having fun rather than taking on a serious task. You could act all silly at times just to bring humor to the practice by putting in some funny accents or bowing down pretending to receive applause from an imaginary crowd.
• No more public speaking. If your kid has a fear for public speaking, then call it something else. This is because the term sounds so scary to the kids anytime they hear it and so they begin to fear. So you could come up with your own sweet name that would scare your little one. Try to stick the word ‘play’ or ‘game’ in there.
• Kids need a lot of encouragement and you are their first fan. So make sure to cheer them on by being their cheer leader. Give your kid all the positive support and feedback they need before and after the presentation or rehearsal to build up their confidence. Shower them with compliments, to speak alone is worth something.
• Teach your kid the trick of not looking into the eye. When presenting, tell your kid to look somewhere else, this is slightly over the heads of the audience. This system gives your kid a focal point and lets people believe that the presenter is looking right at them. By looking directly into the eyes of people in the audience, anyone could break his or her concentration or create a feeling of intimidation.
• Be an example to your kid and show him how it is done. They will draw inspiration from you and believe that they too could do the same. So, show your kid that you can present in public too and help them overcome the speaking anxiety they go through.
• Use palm cards. Cut pieces of paper small enough to fit into the palm of one hand. Young kids may have picture clues to help them remember each part of their speech. Older kids should plan their speech out on sheets of paper first, then pick out the main points and write keywords for those points on the cards.
• Finally, we live in a tech world and there are many technologies at our disposal. One of which would be videos. Making videos is really fun for kids. So you could video their presentation during rehearsal to create fun and to also watch their body language too. This also helps you to make adjustments on little areas that are needed.

In conclusion, communication is the backbone of any society. It allows us to form connections, influence decisions, and motivate change. Public speaking is one of the most important and most dreaded forms of communication. In the working world, public speaking is a vital skill to have. While some kids take to it naturally, others tend to be more fearful of standing and talking in front of a crowd.