Well Spoken: Teaching Speaking to All Students

by Erik Palmer

Overview

All teachers at all grade levels in all subjects have speaking assignments for students, but many teachers believe they don't know how to teach speaking, and many even fear public speaking themselves. In his new book, Well Spoken, veteran teacher and education consultant Erik Palmer shares the art of teaching speaking in any classroom. Teachers will find thoughtful and engaging strategies for integrating speaking skills throughout the curriculum. Palmer stresses the essential elements of all effective oral communication, including:, Building a Speech: Audience, Content, Organization, Visual Aids, and Appearance, Performing a Speech: Poise, Voice, Life, Eye Contact, Gestures, and Speed, Evaluating a Speech: Creating Effective Rubrics,' Guiding Students to Excellence Well Spoken contains a framework for understanding the skills involved in all effective oral communication, offers practical steps and lesson ideas that any teacher needs to successfully teach speaking in a variety of situationsfrom classroom discussions to' formal presentationsand includes a set of tools for studentsfrom how to grab the audience's attention to how to use emphatic hand gestures and adjust speed for effect. Discover why, year after year, students returned to Palmer's classroom to thank him for teaching them how to be well spoken. You may find, after reading this book, that you have become a better speaker, too.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781003844242
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/10/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	450 KB

About the Author

Erik Palmer is an educational consultant based in Denver, Colorado. He didn't start out as an educational consultant, however. Erik left law school and entered the commodity brokerage business. He managed a retail brokerage firm, ultimately incorporated a trading company, and took it public. He bought a seat on the floor of the Mid-America Commodity Exchange in Chicago and spent some time as a floor broker. All of those ventures required strong verbal skills, and those experiences solidified my belief in the need to develop speaking skills, Erik explains. When his children were born, Erik left the brokerage world and entered the education world, but he took with him the beliefs that education has to be relevant well beyond the classroom. How much of what we teach will be forgotten or discarded once students leave school? As a teacher he constantly challenged lessons being taught that did not have real-world relevance, and he sought to keep his teaching current and significant. In all subject areas he taught, he emphasized the importance of speaking well because he saw the positive impact it had in his classroom and because it is a life-long skill. When I had opportunities to use new technologies available in the classroom, I embraced them, says Erik. They helped me connect to the students, increase 'with-it-ness,' foster relevance, and improve instruction. Now as a consultant, I work with teachers to share the successes I have had in those areas.Erik received his bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and his master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Colorado. He was a classroom teacher for twenty-one years before becoming a consultant. His areas of specialty include improving oral communication and updating instruction to incorporate twenty-first-century tools.In his free time, Erik plays baseball and likes to ride his bike. He has two sons and three step-children. His wife teaches fourth grade.

Table of Contents

Foreword viii

Acknowledgments x

Part I The Art of Public Speaking 1

Chapter 1 Can We Talk? 3

Chapter 2 Effective Communication 11

Part II Building a Speech 17

Chapter 3 Audience: Understanding the Listeners 19

Chapter 4 Content: Making the Message Valuable 27

Chapter 5 Organization: Making the Speech Easy to Follow 35

Chapter 6 Visual Aids: Enhancing the Words 47

Chapter 7 Appearance: Dressing for the Occasion 51

Part III Performing a Speech 55

Chapter 8 Poise: Appearing Calm and Confident 59

Chapter 9 Voice: Making Every Word Heard 67

Chapter 10 Life: Putting Passion into the Voice 71

Chapter 11 Eye Contact: Engaging Each Listener 75

Chapter 12 Gestures: Matching Motions to Words 83

Chapter 13 Speed: Pacing for a Powerful Performance 89

Part IV Putting Theory into Practice 95

Chapter 14 Every Day Through the End of the Year 97

Chapter 15 Evaluating Speeches 107

Chapter 16 Speaking Activities Across the Curriculum 125

Afterword 137

Appendix: Frequently Asked Questions 139

References 148

Editorial Reviews

"This is the most comprehensive book, written with delightful style and humor and above all with details that are specific and instructive. Well Spoken has the answers." - The Gifted Education Communicator 
"A must for any educator who values public speaking and wants to impart that value on to their students." - Library Bookwatch
"Palmer's new book is perhaps the best resource for teachers of any content area. It is concise, clear, and organized, with practical ideas and suggestions that can easily be implemented into any classroom, not just English classrooms." - Seeking Serenity in Chaos blog
"I have already seen an improvement based on his ideas for building a speech that enhanced what I was already doing." - Snapshots of Mrs. V blog
"The teaching strategies and curriculum laid out in Well Spoken are very clear and could easily be adapted to any age level." - EducationWorld.com

From the Publisher