Confident Communications Course

Instructor: Ms. Heather

• Beginnger

Course Summary

This course is designed specifically for elementary-aged students who find it difficult to communicate and speak due to introversion, speaking anxiety, behavioral challenges or neurodiversities. This course will create a safe, fun and welcoming space for students to practice using their voice and gaining confidence in a variety of interactive speaking, storytelling, recitation, reader’s theatre and communications activities. All children of all abilities and neurodiversities are welcome in this course, and activities will be customized to the specific challenges and interests of students.

This course is designed specifically for students who sometimes find it challenging to speak up in class or around their peers. Students will also learn breathing and self-regulation techniques, vocal projection techniques, social and emotional skills, and behavioral strategies to help expand what is possible in their social interactions and communications skills.

Assignments

Students will be provided with assignments after each class to continue practicing their communications and public speaking skills at home.

Session Topics:

Each class session will be focused on a specific topic to foster speaking, literacy and communications skills. These topics will change weekly and be customized to the level and abilities of the students. Some class topics may include*:

Unit 1: Storytelling and Recitation

Unit intention: to gradually build confidence and emotional comfort in speaking/engaging verbally with classmates while developing literacy skills.

- Making the World Beautiful: Miss Rumphius

- Believe in Yourself: Super Soren

- Care: The Giving Tree

- Bravery: Mirette on the High Wire

-Using Your Voice- Onomatopoeia and Poetry Recitation: On the Ning Nang Nong

- Using Your Voice- Nonsense Words and Context Clues: The Jabberwocky

Unit 2: Reader’s Theatre

Unit Intention: To develop oral presentation and acting skills and emotional comfort with speaking in front of a room, while continuing to elevate literary and self-regulation abilities and transition into full public speaking.

• Paper Bag Princess

• Sheila Ray the Brave

• Night of the Blizzard

• Miss Nelson is Missing

• The Elephant’s Child

Unit 3 “Toastmaster-Style” Public Speaking and Debate

Unit Intention: To develop confidence and ability in all aspects of public speaking, presentation and debate.

• Intro to Public Speaking and Table Talks

• Presentation Skills and Fear of Speaking

• Passion and Purpose

• Selecting a Topic and Organizing Your Speech

• Improvisation

• Informative Speaking

• Persuasive Speaking

• Motivational Speaking

• Speaking to Entertain

• Special Occasion Speaking

• Recitation/Oratory

• Journalism

• Debate

• Mock Trial

*Please note that literature and theatre piece selections and daily lesson themes are all customized daily to the reading level and abilities of each class of students. Emphasis/sequence of topics may vary depending on the needs and abilities of each unique class.

• Intermediate

Course Summary

Confident Communications Intermediate will build upon the foundational skills of self- regulation, public speaking, debate, and storytelling emphasized in the introductory level to explore the communications skills of more advanced communicators. This course will be informed by the communications methodologies taught by top business schools as well as behavioral therapy, the psychology of communications and connection, and the technical

strategies of world-leading journalists and public communications experts.

This class will place an increased emphasis on personal responsibility, goal-setting and responsibility with increased accountability for caring and responsible communications in a community context. It will also transition from a focus on individual and one-direction communications to communications out in community. Some concrete skills that will be taught include effective goal-setting and producing results, integrity-driven communications, communicating within a team, how to have difficult conversations and communicate in a crisis, standing up against gossiping and bullying, impulse control and active listening and interview skills (including mock job interviews and interviewing peers as a news reporter). This class will

also emphasize how to communicate safely, correctly and responsibly on social media, e-mail, text and vlogging, and some pitfalls to avoid these types of one-way communications.

Course Format

This course will be interactive and involve a great deal of role playing, exercises and activities to encourage students to apply the concepts learned in their real lives. The point system of Confident Communications Level 1 will be replaced with self-reporting, goal-setting and peer feedback to encourage self-accountability (students will be coached in how to give caring, compassionate and constructive peer feedback and how to receive constructive feedback

graciously). Students will set at least one personal goal or project throughout the duration of the course and be held personally accountable for working towards that goal and enrolling others in their vision through effective communications. Students will also complete various projects throughout the course including a peer interview, a vlog entry and a variety of self- reflection and writing activities. Students will also be held accountable to more rigorous

guidelines of public speaking and self-presentation including speaking within time limits, receiving peer feedback, standing up and avoiding fidgeting and filler words, and developing a greater self-awareness of what their body language and facial expressions are communicating and how to regulate these to better communicate their message.

Assignments

Students will receive weekly assignments that are focused on applying the skills learned in class in real-world settings and reflecting upon their results through writing, journaling, or producing media that are a self-expression of what they would like to communicate with the world.

Students will be tracking their own goals weekly and holding each other accountable for their communications. Students will also have the opportunity to interview their parents, friends and other peers to discover their strengths and areas where they might improve in their communications and accountability as part of the goal-setting process and to develop additional self-awareness.

Classroom Management Notes

Every attempt is made to lovingly nurture each child to participate equitably in classroom conversations at their level of comfort and engagement ability. It is my intention that every child in this classroom feels loved, heard, honored and appreciated for the contribution that they are to our community, and finds this class a safe space to experiment and grow in their abilities. If your child is ever not experiencing this or feels diminished in any communications

interaction, please get in communication with me right away so that we can work together to resolve any concerns so that your child never sits in a place of feeling disempowered, stopped or unheard. Likewise, if an assignment is too confronting for the student to complete, please let me know and we will work together to modify it.

There is a huge diversity in the communication abilities of each student within a classroom dynamic. I favor an informal, conversational community exchange in the classroom- an environment where every student feels heard, cared for and acknowledged. I try not to mute students or rigidly control and dictate the conversation except when absolutely necessary.

Zoom (and all online technologies) present some unique challenges in nurturing a two-way communications exchange, and we are going to specifically explore some of those challenges in this class and how to navigate online learning more effectively.

Please note that every child’s pace and frequency of communication will vary (even from class to class) based upon a wide variety of factors (including health, nutrition, sleep, individual circumstances, mood, interest, neurodiversities and learning styles, etc). This is normal. Each child is being held accountable to increasing the overall frequency and quality of their own individual conversations, without comparison to their peers and with respect and curiosity for whatever they might be dealing with personally on any given day. Studies have also shown that more introverted children are often participating and engaging in different ways within the community that should also be honored and acknowledged in a trust-building and safe classroom environment.

My goal is to push students to challenge their comfort zones around communications and explore a wider range of communication tactics (whether they over-communicate or under- communicate) without creating any additional aversions or trauma around communication by pushing too aggressively or forcing communications when a student is authentically experiencing fear (although students are encouraged to be with increasing levels of discomfort

and self-regulate through it to the best of their abilities). It takes a lifetime to form communications habits, and it can often take a great deal of time, energy and effort by your child to transform less optimal patterns. The primary strategies I use to support your child in this process include teaching them awareness of what is happening in their brains/bodies/emotions when they are communicating, praise, rewarding and supporting their victories, ignoring or avoiding reinforcing less optimal behaviors (and redirecting to more optimal choices), and building a trusting environment in which they feel comfortable

communicating without judgement or comparison to others.

Lessons:

1 Effective Goal Setting, Follow-Through, and Integrity of Word

2 Generating Motivation Through Communication with Yourself and Others

3 Apologies and Taking Responsibility

4 Building Trust Through Communication Types of Communication (One-Way, Two Way, Group) and How to Navigate Them

5 The Science of Happiness

6 Cooperation, Competition and Comparisons

7 Sharing and Embracing Vulnerability and Making Mistakes

8 Impulse Control, Active Listening (Its Not Enough to Be Right) and Asking Questions to Learn

9 Embracing Optimism and Resiliency

10 Contentious Communication: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation

11 Communicating in a Crisis

12 Standing Up Against Gossip and Bullying: Actionable Communications

13 Giving and Receiving Feedback and Criticism

14 Communicating with Precision and Clarity

15 Deception and Lies (and How to Prevent and Navigate Them)

16 Respectful Communications Via Texts/E-mail/Social Media (and What Not to Do)

17 Leadership: How to Communicate in a Team

18 Communicating with Care and Respect for Neurodiversities and Cultural Exchange

19 Non-verbal Communication

20 Finding Your Authentic Voice and Communicating from Your Self

21 Interviewing for a Job or School

22 Interviewing People for TV

23 Communicating for Television

24 Online Digital Communications

25 The Art of Negotiation

Note: Class sessions may be reorganized or modified based upon the individualized needs, pace and interests of each classroom dynamic. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please reach out to me and I am happy to provide the context. Each class is frequently customized to the unique interests, passions, and neurodiversities of each individual classroom community.