When it comes to public speaking, many of us might think, "Oh, no! I can't do that!" Mrs Perera from Yellow Lantern understands this common fear perfectly and presented us with the analogy of feeling somewhere between excited and nervous. Although these are different feelings, our students were able to acknowledge through a brainstorming process that we experience the same bodily sensations such as a racing heart, freezing mentally, goosebumps and cold hands. It was a good exercise to understand that we all feel a certain degree of nervousness. To overcome and manage these feeling, the students learnt about some particular skills. Although the workshop consisted of only two half-day sessions, many students have visibly grown in confidence in speaking in front of others as well as improved in listening actively as good audience members. 

• "I wanted to learn how to kill the nervousness and I learnt how to recover when I am nervous." - Tobin Kroeger (Year 6)

• "I learnt how to make mistakes masterful. I can be funny." - Raphael Cheung (Year 6) 

• "I wanted to feel more confident in public speaking. I learnt that I have a light." - Mark D’Mello (Year 5) 

• "I learnt to use the lantern light to get my confidence up." - Joseph Dalla (Year 5) 

• "I learnt that I should not be afraid of public speaking. I can manage it by deep breathing and not worrying as much and panicking about what people think about me." - Seth Wiemer (Year 5) 

• "I learnt that I should look at people in their eyes when I speak." - Xavier Asalemo (Year 5) 

- Eunice Woo, Primary Extension Program