Designed to help students build confidence in their public speaking skills, our Public Speaking Institute trains students in public speaking, logic, and rhetoric through an interactive and dynamic curriculum that encourages incremental progress through ongoing practice and exercise. Over the course of the 5-day program, students will participate in two main courses: Delivery and Debate.
Delivery/Persuasive Speaking
- This useful activity teaches students to craft and deliver convincing speeches. We begin the week with exercises to practice delivery skills such as voice, gestures, timing and intonation. When students display comfort with delivery, they will begin to construct speeches based on a topic of their choosing. Students learn to refine a topic, establish captivating introductions, organize speech content, and deliver compelling conclusions! the focus is on speaking in a natural voice, with few or no notes, rather than writing an essay and merely reading it out loud, the form of "public speaking" taught by most teachers. All students end the week by presenting a speech to their fellow campers.
Intro to Debate
- Note, this unit is offered for 6th-8th grade and 9th-12th grade sessions only.
Learn the art of verbal combat! Students will learn how to construct persuasive positions, defend against and attack each other's arguments, and cross-examine effectively. Students will debate a variety of age-and experience-appropriate topics, form teams, and pit themselves against their co-campers.
Note: Friday Schedule 09:00am - 11:15am