Talk The Talk – Confident Communication
On Wednesday 4th November, Year 8 students from Herschel Grammar School worked with expert trainers from the education charity Talk The Talk.
Talk The Talk’s mission is to improve students’ communication skills to enable positive interaction in all life situations.
Talk About Communication is an exciting and engaging master-class in essential speaking and listening skills within a creative classroom environment teaching students how to use persuasive language techniques to get ‘their message’ across. The day highlights and nurtures employability skills, interview techniques and key presentation skills. Via numerous speaking opportunities, students are coached and supported throughout the day to deliver a structured two-minute presentation to their peers, on a topic for which they have a genuine passion.
Student Reviews
At first, I had mixed feelings as I was both anxious but excited at the same time because this was something that I had never done before and I was curious to find out about it. I couldn’t wait as I remember having my ‘Growth Mindset Day’ in Y7 and thought that it might be similar to that and it was, but I think it benefited me more. We were sorted into our groups and a member of the Four Acre Trust charity was assigned to us for the whole day. The lady explained that this charity helped young people to develop their oral skills which is an essential skill in life. I was a bit uneasy because I am more of an introvert and seldom speak during lessons. However, the activities that we did during the day improved my confidence in speaking in front of an audience. The activities included talking in pairs, groups and individually to the whole class which, believe me, seemed quite alarming but once I did it, it seemed quite fun because once I started talking, I went on and on and couldn’t stop!
Zainab Gillani 8C
Today, some trainers from the Talk the Talk education charity came to explain and teach us oracy skills and how to be confident when speaking with others. A lovely lady (Emma Clarke) came to teach my English class. I really enjoyed the activities we took part in. One of the activities included us working with our partners and describing each other based on what we asked them. We learnt about a few skills to help us. Miss Clarke taught us to stand with confidence; stride with purpose; smile to engage; speak up; and stay. The workshop taught us how to be confident and be comfortable when speaking in front of others. She explained and taught everything really well and I felt that it helped us a lot.
Shamaila Mahek Khan 8H