Public Speaking Vs Speech & Drama, Which Is Better?

The ability to present and communicate effectively is an important ingredient for success. As a parent knowing this, you wish to give your child extra exposure in this area but which is better?

Public Speaking classes or Speech and Drama Classes? We spoke to the people behind BluBricks who runs both types of classes and this was what they told us.....

At Blubricks, we teach both Public Speaking as well Speech and Drama classes. Both share many similarities but also significant differences, which we will talk about to allow you to gain a better understanding of the two.

Speech and Drama classes at our centre are open to kids aged 4 years and above, all the way up to adults! As the word ‘drama’ implies, theatre activities such as role playing are carried out in these classes. The kids get to play all sorts of different characters:  from being a princess or a pirate to being an astronaut or even a ferocious fire-breathing dragon. All these roles allow them to show their individual interpretations of the characters, which encourages creativity and builds up their confidence in performing for an audience, be it just their classmates or during a production where there is a larger crowd watching. Every year, our teenage drama students put up an hour-long production that is open to the public. They all look forward to it very much as they get hands on experience about producing, devising, rehearsing and putting together a performance in an actual theatrical space.

Public Speaking is recommended for kids aged 8 years and above, open to adults too. The classes are about how to deliver a speech, and deliver it well. Kids are given specific topics to speak about and are trained to speak about them in depth and at length. For the teens, these topics can include current global issues such as slavery, abortion, natural disasters etc. Our older ones also learn to pitch ideas to potential clients, which is good training for their future. An understanding and knowledge about the topic is necessary, therefore they learn to develop creative and critical thinking while simultaneously building confidence in addressing an audience. One of the important objectives of Public Speaking is to learn to effectively structure a talk that is both informative, entertaining and persuasive. This is coupled with techniques of how to engage an audience when speaking, so that the message of the speech is properly delivered while the audience's interest is maintained all throughout. Being able to speak in public well is nothing short of an essential life skill, as it is required more and more in today's world where people are increasingly encouraged to voice out.

To wrap it up, Speech and Drama is the path we start our younger ones off on. They have fun playing anything they want, which we hope will pique an interest that lasts a lifetime. Eventually, this path meets the Public Speaking one, where there is a more serious approach and more skills are picked up. Both paths develop confidence and encourage creativity. At the end of the day, it is up to the child to decide if they want to continue with drama for the rest of their lives, or focus on Public Speaking or do both! The wonderful thing is that you don't have to choose between the two.

  

Photo Credit: Photos on this page are provided by BluBricks