Why Isn't Public Speaking Taught in School to Prepare Kids for Life?

It is America’s number one fear, yet "ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE" said Shakespeare. If public speaking was taught to kids as young as 6 years old in schools, it wouldn't be feared, but recognized as a necessary skill for life. Many adults fill church halls and recreation centers in the evenings at Toastmasters meetings trying to learn to speak in public, when it should be part of the school curriculum.

How many times are adults asked to give a toast at a wedding or give a eulogy at a funeral? These things are part of life, but most of us freeze up when we are called on to get in the spotlight and perform them.

Speaking is a natural extension of writing. The oral tradition predates writing.

You can prepare yourself a little bit for public performance by taking drama classes or joining a rock band to get used to being in front of an audience, but what about an actual course taught by a trained speaker? What about when you have to take the microphone in front of a crowd and you have an anxiety attack because you have never done it before.

I was interested in public speaking from a young age.

I landed the lead role in the school play as the late bunny in The Teddy Bear’s Picnic play when I was in kindergarden. I only had one line but I had to stand up in front of the whole school and speak into the mic. I was paralyzed with fear, but I managed to spit the line out with the teacher coaching me from the side of the stage.

Early failures are good when learning public speaking because you never forget the mistake, and you improve on it the next time.

I once represented my school and made a speech at The Rotary Club. My topic was something like why it is beneficial that kids in Canada learn to speak English and French in school.

I was also a member of the debate club at school, which helped me to organize my thoughts into arguments to persuade others about my opinions. I was in public school and we visited a private school and debated why public school is better than private school. Our main argument was that we could express our individualism with the clothes we wore and weren’t confined to wearing a uniform.

When I was in grade 12, I was the valedictorian for my graduating class. I wrote a speech and delivered it in front of 1200 people. I memorized the speech, and stood at the podium in the gymnasium. I wrote out the speech and carried it with me in case my mind went blank.

Recently, I was asked to go speak at a business event about my blog. I wrote down the main points I was going to say, and mostly winged it from there. I had taken a webinar on speaking a month before, and was advised to speak slowly, which I found difficult to do. It would have been a lot easier if I had taken a course in school teaching me how to pace my words, and what volume and pitch to speak at when I was young.

The main point about public speaking is to be passionate about what you are saying, and to exude confidence to your audience, and express your enthusiasm about your topic, so you connect with them and fill them with enthusiasm about your topic too. This can be achieved by telling your personal stories about your topic, by using humor, and by getting your whole body into your speech by using your eyes, legs, arms and hands to express yourself in an animated way.

I guess I did learn a lot about public speaking while in school, but I had to seek out the opportunities in clubs outside of the classroom. I am currently taking a course on public speaking that teaches the methods used by great speakers, such as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. Who knows? Maybe I will do a Ted Talk one day. If not, I will at least be able to get to the point when speaking to a group of friends.

Images from Pixabay.