Developing the Young Leader – How to Nurture Your Child into a Leader in the Classroom and Beyond?

How can my child be a leader? Leadership skills are one of the more vastly relevant skillsets in the modern classroom and workplace. One of the queries we often receive from parents pertains to the relevance between public speaking skills and leadership skills. We believe that strong communication skills form one of the core basis of leadership abilities. Building your child’s leadership communication skills will equip them with the necessary techniques to apply in a leadership setting. As they become comfortable with the techniques, they will naturally develop the confidence crucial for leadership roles.

On the topic of “natural”, some parents may hold the view that their child is not a “natural” leader. While the process of developing a young leader is not easy, we believe that every child can be nurtured through a healthy habit-building process. In today’s article, we will dwell into common communication techniques that your child can apply to better equip themselves for their future leadership roles. Here are three techniques for them!

💡 Technique #1:

Impress with Charismatic Empathy

Empathy is a strong element in building trust with an audience. In a leadership setting, being able to show empathy is crucial in showing that you are a leader that cares. In this case, empathy is your child’s ability to be aware, understand, and care about the perspectives of others. This is often seen as a strong, mature trait to have, especially for your child!

*** When your child is able to eloquently put across that he knows how it feels to be treated differently 👇 WATCH ***

💡 EMPATHY is the new leadership currency 💡

There are two methods for your child to develop an empathetic leadership style. The first is a focus on body language techniques that your child can apply in day-to-day communication settings. For example, adopt more open gestures (e.g. wider hand gestures, welcoming) to create an engaging environment. Other body language elements, such as sustained eye contact, can help your child show genuine interest. The second focuses on building trust through sincerity. Have a frank conversation with your child about the challenging/leadership settings they go through in school and how they manage them. By creating an open channel, you can help your child to develop the self-awareness an empathetic leader needs!

💡 Technique #2:

Build Communication Confidence

We believe that strong communication skills form one of the foundational pillars to a strong leadership style. The common misconception is the idea that a leadership communication style must be one that is energetic and loud. In this vein, some parents may hold the view that if their child is an introvert, they may be disadvantaged when considering leadership roles.

This may not necessarily be the case. Rather, the focus should be on developing strong communication skills to give your child that confident base to grow. Start from home by introducing them to body language elements such as posture or vocal pacing. For example, have them experiment with different vocal speeds when presenting (e.g. slowing down when emphasising a point). As they build their communication confidence, your child will be better placed to take on that leadership role!

💡 Technique #3:

Motivate with Power

Finally, an important facet of leadership is the motivational role. A leadership role may require your child to motivate his/her team or rouse them into action, especially before a high-stakes situation. Some of our students, for example, have experienced having to deliver a motivational speech to their sports team before they head into an important competition. These students were able to harness the relevant techniques in ensuring that their motivational powers are maximised.

One aspect of motivational presenting is to present with a balance of power and empathy. Presenting with power may involve techniques such as having a clear structure or using a strong vocal tone to emphasise key messages. For example, a powerful motivational speech will rarely come across as untidy or messy – they tend to be well-structured instead. As we have shared, empathy will allow your child to acknowledge the perspectives of his/her team. In a motivational context, this may involve highlighting the efforts or sacrifices made by the team members. By combining both aspects, your child can come across as a powerful but empathetic leader!

Be that Leader in the Classroom!

Leadership roles can be a rare opportunity. In fact, not everyone will get an opportunity to challenge themselves in such a role. This makes it even more important to ensure that your child is ready to ace such a role when given a chance. The aim is to build a versatile leader who will endear themselves with their team and still hold power to move and motivate them. We hope that with the tips we have shared, your child can emerge as that leader!

By The Way…

This article is more than just a selling pitch. For us at the Public Speaking Academy, we wish to let you know that we UNDERSTAND the importance of communication skills in a student leader, and we are COMMITTED to helping Singapore’s students acquire and sharpen their abilities to communicate & lead with eloquence and impact! That said, if this has piqued your interest in our courses, feel free to reach out to us to design the perfect, tailored course for you!

Attention all Teachers and Training & Development Heads:

If you’re keen to take your students’ public speaking & leadership presentation skills (kids in-class presentation) to the next level so that they may public speak and present with flair and charisma, feel free to check out our public speaking corporate training offerings below!

List of customizable skill-sets from our Public Speaking Course for Kids / Children:

https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/group-classes-students-age-9-18/

*To seek a quotation for your students’ next customized public speaking training/ leadership communication skills training:

Feel free to drop us a message at: https://publicspeakingacademy.com.sg/contact/