How to capture the attention of the class and how to communicate effectively?

Public speaking and communication are increasingly important in education and daily life. Both inside and outside the classroom, abilities such as conflict management, assertive communication, public speaking are crucial. Participants in our course enhanced their skills through a combination of theoretical and practical activities.
 
To boost these approaches and aiming to achieve those goals, the latest course « Effective Communication and Public Speaking for teachers​ and education staff » took place in Palermo, from 28/07/2024 to 3/08/2024, with participants across Europe, such as Dunja Petrović from GGSD Nuremberg, in Germany; Katrin Burchhart from IMC Krems University of Applied Sciences, in Austria; and with Anca Maria Peptan, Ioan Romeo Bibirigea and Elena Laura Ditoiu, from ASOCIATIA SMART EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS, in Romania.

At the very beginning of the course, the participants delivered their notions on key competencies and soft skills needed today, either for students or teachers (or education staff) and they also delivered their own fears regarding public speaking.
In an introduction exercise, as first speeches can be very challenging and stressful, the trainer guided the participants to recognize the most effective elements of their own speeches.
During the course, participants focused on different aspects that can help them improving their speaking and communication skills.

First of all, participants could discover how to plan a speech, following three easy steps.  They also learned about effective tips for a good speech – knowing your audience, introducing the topic, the key message, using the appropriate tone and timeline. At this step, they also had the chance to foster their creativity and improvisation skills in public speaking.

Then, participants were taught about the assertiveness, especially the four types of communication (passive, passive-aggressive, aggressive and assertive) during group role plays. In this case, they could debate on those kinds of behavior, so they could better handle this issue afterwards during real-life situations at schools with their students, for example.
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Public speaking is not only a “word” exercise, but also about non-verbal communication, notably body language and its significations and symbols. Both are linked to convey a reliable message to any audience we’re facing. The audience point of view is a key element as well in public speaking – accepting remarks or comments are essential to improve our leaning and skill development, either in speaking and in behavioral attitude. For that, participants needed to give feedback to their colleague and tell them directly with caring and empathy. This could end with the adjustments and/or the validation of the participant who received the feedback.
 
Finally, when dealing with the conflict management topic, we understood that working with others can be difficult, and resolving disputes is not always straightforward. However, by discussing their personal experiences, participants recognized how common these situations are and understood that conflict can also present opportunities for growth and development.

To conclude, workshops and trainings helped participants to identify their strengths and weaknesses, enhance their skills and broaden their professional networks through intercultural exchanges.

Discover more about this course here.