Public speaking can feel like a big ask for a small child. Between classroom orals, group work, and show-and-tell, many primary school learners are already expected to stand up and share their ideas, often long before they feel ready.
The good news is that public speaking is a collection of learnable skills. With gentle guidance at home and the right support at school, children can learn how to use their voices clearly and handle those butterflies. It’s an essential skill that you, as a parent, can coach with simple games and a supportive approach.
Why public speaking matters in primary school
Public speaking is part of primary school learning
Every time your child is speaking on the playground or in the classroom, they are practising the skills that improve public speaking. Children who can express their ideas clearly are more successful at sharing knowledge and opinions and at building positive relationships. In South African CAPS and IEB curricula, orals are a core part of education. Even in the early grades, teachers expect pupils to present information to an audience.
Public speaking and academic performance
When it comes to building an academic skill set, studies show that public speaking skills tie in with how well children do at school and their academic growth. When a child can speak well, it becomes easier for teachers and classmates to follow their ideas.
That means your child is more likely to get credit for their thinking. For example, if they can explain how they solved a maths problem, the teacher can reward the process. It also allows for those small corrections and stretch questions that build good marks.
As much as there are direct marks for orals and public speaking in school, the real benefit lies in how they affect all subjects. Strong oral skills support the ability to reason out loud before putting ideas on paper. When your child practises explaining a science project or retelling a story to classmates, they are strengthening the mental organisation and language that underpins classwork.
Public speaking improves confidence
Confidence is another powerful reason to focus on public speaking in the primary years. It is not the absence of butterflies, but rather the feeling that “I know what to do, even if I am a bit scared.” When children learn a few clear steps for planning and delivering a talk, speaking becomes a skill they can practise, fostering a growth mindset.
Each time they stand up, remember their opening, get through their points and sit down to a friendly response, they collect small “mastery experiences” that quietly tell them, “I can do this.” These experiences can gradually help your child become more self-assured when speaking to a group.
For some children, the idea of speaking in front of others brings intense nerves rather than excitement. That often comes from self-perceived communication competence, which supports a child’s willingness to talk. If they believe they are poor speakers, they’re less likely to join activities that build the skills needed for good public speaking.
A study on targeted exposure to speaking tasks shows that anxiety symptoms can be substantially reduced as kids give more speeches. There is real value in gentle speaking experiences in primary school. It’s one of the first times children learn that nerves are normal and can improve through practice and supportive feedback.
Building a foundation for later school and work
On top of public speaking being a great subject to tackle when marks dip, it also lays the groundwork for later school and work demands. The importance of public speaking steadily increases from primary through secondary and higher education, where oral exams and presentations are common.
For work, public speaking includes explaining information to colleagues, presenting to clients, taking part in meetings and interviews, and sometimes teaching or training others. All of these ask for exactly the skills children start building in classroom talks. Every show-and-tell builds a lasting foundation of speaking skills that will support your child far beyond the primary years.
Public speaking skills parents can coach
You cannot change your child’s personality, but you can help with the skills that make public speaking feel manageable. Focus on manageable skills. Regular practice matters the most.
Coaching body language for public speaking
One area where parents can quietly coach is body language. Help your child find a steady, comfortable way to stand, with feet planted and hands relaxed, instead of hiding behind a desk or fidgeting.
You can practise eye contact by asking them to look up from their notes and speak to one person at a time, perhaps by taking turns around the table. Simple games can also help show children how much meaning they can convey without adding extra words. These are the same visual skills teachers look for in orals, and short practice at home can make them feel much more natural.
Voice work for public speaking
Many children mumble, race through sentences or speak so softly that teachers cannot hear them. You can practise clear speech by reading a short paragraph together and asking your child to slow it down, or by timing how long it takes to say a few lines at a comfortable pace.
You can play with volume by pretending you are speaking to someone across the room, then to someone very close. If your child has a prepared oral, encourage them to mark pauses and key words on their cue cards. That can help indicate when to breathe and where to put a bit of emphasis. These are small adjustments, but they make a big difference to how easily others can follow their ideas.
Helping kids handle speaking nerves
Most children feel nervous before they speak in front of a group. It could be a fast heartbeat, shaky hands, a dry mouth, or feeling sick before an oral. You can reassure your child that this does not mean something is wrong with them. It usually means that the task feels important, and their body is trying to help them get ready.
You can say something like, “Those butterflies are your body warming up. They are uncomfortable, but they are not dangerous, and they usually calm down once you start.” Naming the feeling and treating it as usual can help reduce the shame that can worsen nerves.
The thinking side of public speaking
Parents can also support the thinking side of public speaking. Before your child writes a speech, spend a few minutes in oral rehearsal. You can prompt with questions such as “What is the main idea you want your class to remember?” or “If you only had three points, what would they be?” Writing those points on sticky notes and moving them around helps them see that structure is flexible. This habit of talking ideas through out loud before writing improves the speech.
The shape of a great speech for kids
A great kid’s speech does not need to be long; it just needs a clear shape that your child can remember. Think of it as three parts: an introduction that grabs attention and tells the class what the talk is about, a middle where they explain two or three main points with examples, and a conclusion that quickly sums up what they said and leaves one clear message.
You can help at home by practising a strong first sentence, then choosing three key ideas for speech notes. Finishing with a simple line such as “So today I have shown you…” Over time, this basic structure becomes automatic. Your child can use it for almost any oral presentation, from show-and-tell to more formal class presentations.
Easy everyday speaking games at home
- Dinner Table Newsreader: Take turns sharing one thing from your day as if you are a newsreader. Use a clear opening line, full sentences and look up from your plate while you speak.
- Show and Tell from the House: Ask your child to choose any object at home and speak for one minute about what it is, where it came from and why it matters to them.
- Explain It to a Five-Year-Old: Invite your child to explain something they learnt at school as if they are talking to a much younger child. You can help them slow down, choose simple words and check that each step makes sense.
- Teach the Parent: Let your child be the expert and teach you how to do something they know well. It could be a game or a simple recipe, with clear step-by-step instructions and a check to see whether you can follow them.
- Three Things About My Day: In the car or at bedtime, ask your child for one fact, one feeling and one question about their day. Let them practise giving clear spoken summaries without needing to prepare.
- Story Relay: Start a story with one sentence and ask your child to add the next one. Take turns building the tale and encourage them to add a descriptive word, a feeling, or a reason each time they speak.
- Topic in a Hat: Write simple topics on scraps of paper, let your child pick one and talk about it for thirty seconds. Keep it playful and light so that they think on their feet.
- Describe and Guess: Ask your child to describe an object in the room without naming it, while the rest of the family guesses. Nudge them to notice its size, colour, shape, and use, so they can make their description as precise as possible.
- Frozen Speaker: Let your child speak on a favourite topic and gently say “freeze” when they fidget. In that way, they pause, reset their posture and then continue, helping them become more aware of calm, steady body language.
- Echo with Style: Read a short sentence aloud in a calm, clear voice, ask your child to repeat it, then both try it in an excited, serious, or mysterious way. Talk about which version would suit a real speech and why.
Learning to listen to improve public speaking
Listening is one of the foundations of good speaking. Active listening means paying attention to how others talk, and allows kids to collect examples of clear explanations and interesting openings.
In class discussions, listening helps them follow the thread of what is being said, so their own contributions fit the topic. At home, when they really listen to family members, they notice how people take turns, how voices change to show interest or humour, and how small phrases like “I see” or “That makes sense” keep a conversation moving.
Listening also gives children the feedback they need to grow as speakers. When your child tells a story or practises a speech, the most helpful thing you can do at first is simply to listen closely and show it with your body language. Then you can ask one or two genuine questions, such as “What happened next?” or “Why was that important?”, so they learn to check whether the audience is keeping up and to fill in missing details.
Encouraging them to listen to classmates in the same way, and to notice what works in other children’s talks, turns speaking into a shared learning activity rather than a lonely performance. Children who have learnt to listen well tend to give clearer, more audience-aware speeches because they are used to thinking about what it feels like to be on the other side.
Working with teachers and homework clubs to support speaking
Teachers see your child speaking in a different context from home, so it helps to think of yourselves as a small support team rather than separate worlds. However, many teachers say they feel less confident about teaching oral language than reading and writing. Oral tasks are often not broken down into specific skills.
You can gently close this gap by giving very practical teacher feedback. You can ask how orals are assessed in the grade, whether there is a simple checklist that explains what a good talk looks like, and whether pupils get a chance to practise skills like eye contact or structure in smaller steps rather than only in full presentations. When you know what the teacher is looking for, you can echo the same feedback at home.
How homework clubs support public speaking
The benefits of homework clubs are that your child can gain public-speaking skills in a structured yet inclusive environment. Clubs typically include clear goals for each task, regular practice with different kinds of speaking, and simple feedback from adults and peers. Ask club staff whether children get to work on low-pressure speaking activities as well as formal orals, and whether they use tools such as planning forms, cue cards or video clips of good speakers.
A good club should be able to tell you how they help children participate. They should have staff on hand to give kind, specific feedback on how they link speaking tasks to what pupils are doing in class. When homework clubs treat speaking as a real skill with clear steps, your child gets many more chances to practise and to feel supported. Learn more about the iRainbow homework club and how it can aid your child’s public speaking skills.
Speech anxiety and neurodivergent kids
Speech anxiety can be especially strong for neurodivergent children. They don’t lack ideas, but speaking in front of others often combines several difficult tasks at once. For an autistic child, public speaking may mean managing bright lights, noise, eye contact and reading social cues while also remembering what to say.
For a child with ADHD, staying still, holding a sequence of ideas in mind and ignoring distractions can take effort. Research on speech anxiety in young people shows that fear of speaking in front of others is one of the most common social fears, and when it is intense and long-lasting, it can disrupt learning.
For neurodivergent children, that anxiety often sits on top of genuine sensory or processing differences, so a standard presentation task can feel overwhelming before they even begin.
The good news is that you can adapt the same practical ways that help other children with speech anxiety for neurodivergent kids.
How to help speech anxiety as a parent
In everyday terms, that might mean starting with one sentence to a trusted adult, then a short turn in a very small group, and only later building up to a whole class presentation. For autistic children, it often helps to make the situation as predictable as possible. You want to try using written scripts or prompt cards. Allow them to practise in the actual room where they will speak beforehand.
ADHD children might need support, including extra preparation time, a chance to move before and after the talk, and clear cues about how long they have to speak.
As a parent, you can also advocate for reasonable adjustments with teachers and homework clubs. It is acceptable to ask for options such as speaking to a smaller audience, presenting while seated, using slides or visuals to reduce memory load, or recording a video talk first and then sharing it with the class.
Suppose your child has intense distress about speaking, frequent meltdowns before presentations or ongoing worries that affect sleep and daily life. In that case, it is important to talk to their teacher and consider contacting your paediatrician, a psychologist or a speech and language therapist.
Key takeaways
Help your child practise public speaking by practising short talks often, coaching calm body language and a clear voice and using simple speech structures. Try to include speaking games and gently build up from friendly audiences to bigger groups.
Conclusion
Helping your child with public speaking is not about turning them into a polished presenter. It’s about giving them tools and many gentle chances to use their voice. In this case, practice really does make perfect.
Over time, each attempt, with your support, becomes a brick in the foundation for later school and work. iRainbow’s educational software gives you a practical way to put all of this into action with interactive ways to practise these skills and language. Contact us to get started.
