House captains polish speaking skills

Speaking to an audience can be quite daunting for many people. The house captains of Macleans College know the importance of having this skill as they take on their roles as leaders of their school in 2023.

On January 27, as the students prepared themselves for their leadership roles, they took part in a special speaking skills course run by iSpeak Trust. This course is designed to help senior secondary students gain speaking skills and grow their confidence in public speaking. They learn to manage nerves and any fears they may have when speaking to a group of students or adults. They are supported to find their own voice.

The house captains met in Te Kanawa House and quickly found out how easy it was to speak in public if equipped with speaking skills and strategies. Led by Gaye Stratton, the group listened and participated in speech making for the morning. They were given feedback by their peers and facilitators. They all made visible improvements as the course progressed.

From impromptu speeches about unusual animals and interesting homes to live in, to presenting and polishing a prepared speech, the students all remarked on how their speaking confidence grew when they were well prepared.

iSpeak Trust is a charity. The course was funded by The ANZ New Zealand Staff Foundation.

Feedback from students who completed a questionnaire after the course showed they all would recommend this course to fellow students.

There is no cost to the school for this course, it is available for all senior high school students.

For further information about iSpeak Trust and how it can help your senior students you can contact Gaye Stratton on 021 778810 or check out the website on ispeaktrust.com.

Gaye Stratton
iSpeak Trust