Practicing Introduction / presentation skills for kindergarteners

One of the most important tools that leaders use to succeed is effective communication. Kids must learn the importance of communication skills and what does it mean to communicate effectively.
Kids must develop communication driven problem-solving skills as early as possible to be prepared for a global and diverse environment. By learning to collaborate and effectively communicate, kids can drive their social influence, a skill critical in the workplace of the future. Effective communicators are good problem solvers - because they can observe & understand both sides of a story.

Here is a quick video for you and your 3-6-year-old child to practice the basics of communicating with others. You can use this video in conjunction with instructions/activities recommended below to internalize learning.

Interpret:
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Talk to your child about the importance of communicating effectively.
Explain to the child that when we talk to others, we should talk in a way that others can understand, because if others cannot hear you or understand what you are saying then they will not be able to help you with what you need ...

Connect:
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Watch the video and practice the basics of presentation. Start by demonstrating the 4 skills listed in the video.
Step 1: Gather the family in your living room
Step 2: Watch the video together
Step 3: Discuss the four key aspects listed in the video with your child.
- Stand tall: Show them the correct posture, ask them to mirror your posture.
- Look: Look at the family (audience) directly while standing in a good confident posture - ask your child to do the same. Talk about the importance of a good and confident posture.
- Smile: Look at your audience and show them your beautiful smile. Ask the child to demonstrate their smile while looking at family members. Encourage the audience (family to smile back) - have a conversation with questions like: "would you prefer to talk to a person who is smiling or someone who is frowning?", "what does our body posture show tell you about me?"
- Be loud: Demonstrate by speaking to the audience. Help the child differentiate between whispering, speaking loud and clear, or screaming. Practice speaking to the audience with some basic statements like
"Hello, my name is ......., and I am happy to be part of this family, because ...."
or
"Hello, my name is ....., and I want to tell you about ....".

Go ahead, create your own questions, presentation topics.

Have the child Practice, Practice, Practice.

Lead:
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Now that your child has practiced, gather the family around in the living room (we are sure some of them would have disappeared to do something else ;)) You can make the presentation fun, by announcing right before the child presents e.g. "Presenting the world famous story teller (Name)!! - She is going to share an interesting story" ... Clap, clap, clap ...
Then have the child demonstrate their acquired skills. e.g. The child presents in front of the family: The child stands tall and confident, looks at the audience, smiles, and speaks loud and clear.
The child introduces and then talks, the family may ask questions and encourages positive skills.

Celebrate with an ice-cream!

Remember:
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The intent of this activity is to help the child be able to better express themselves, not make them a champion public speaker. The intent is to make conversations clear, engaging and fun.

Remember, great presentations are not about being able to stand and speak in front of an audience, they are about great storytelling - if your elementary school child learns to converse by expressing their stories. They will surely be on the path to developing strong communication skills.