The Importance of Raising Confident Communicators

As Paul J. Meyer, the renowned motivational author and speaker once said, “Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success.” This message holds truer than ever as the world spins faster and faster to keep up with the rapidly changing demands of the 21st century. Indeed, the ability to persuasively bring across one’s opinions and ideas is crucial to one’s success. Even from an early age, clear and confident communication is critical to almost every aspect of a child’s social life: from asking questions in class, to participating in a show-and-tell and even to forging friendships that would last a lifetime. Communication is evidently a modern-day superpower – it allows one to be heard and understood in a world full of competing voices.

In this article, we discuss how developing such vital communication skills in your child from young can have immense effects on their growth and development. Read on to find out more about the importance of developing this invaluable life skills!

Communication and Growth Opportunities

Can we ever expect our children to discover new pathways for their growth if they are unable to express their wants and needs? Confident communication opens up new doors for children to unleash their inner potential and seize priceless opportunities even as they are growing up. Afterall, a confident child is going to be self-assured enough to not shy away from a challenge and convince those around them of their merit. Shyness is the death of experimentation and almost always leads to an aversion to trying new things. Being a confident communicator can surely counter such problems and see children stepping up to the plate. Vocal children will have access to more opportunities to become leaders, competition representatives and stars in school performances. Such avenues for growth can shape your child as a viable candidate to take on Life’s hurdles.

Communication and Independence

As a child grows in confidence and develops their communication skills, they will begin learning how to speak up for themselves and find ways to address their needs. Confident communicators aren’t just able to convey their opinions, they also make sure to clarify their doubts and concerns. This sense of autonomy that stems from a trust in one’s voice can be empowering for a child and be a major step in them taking control of their own learning and even rights. If your child is ever backed into a corner, their ability to communicate confidently and effectively will equip them with what is needed to get out of even the stickiest of situations.

Communication and Active Listening

As your child hones their communication skills, they will soon realise that the art of listening and communication go hand in hand. This is what many experts deem as active listening where a child is encouraged to listen attentively to a speaker, internalise what they say, respond and reflect on what is being conveyed and more importantly, retain any useful information for fresh application in future. Whether at school or beyond its four walls, once your child has developed a comprehension of the fundamentals of communication, they will begin independently identifying and picking up positive communication traits that they would want to emulate. This can easily include ways to organise their thoughts through speech organisation and ways to capture one’s attention through speech aesthetics. Not to forget, listening to and taking in feedback from their communication educators will also encourage them to think critically about their work and develop personal strategies through which they can improve on how they express themselves.

Communication and Preparedness

Time is needed to build great things and as the adage goes, “Rome was not built in a day”. Similarly, both confidence and communication skills are abilities fortified through practice. Afterall, for every 5 minutes spent on stage, countless hours (sometimes even days) are spent planning and rehearsing nuance of their speech. This will shape your child to be goal-driven and imbue in your child a keen appreciation of the importance of individual preparation in attaining one’s dream.

Perhaps most importantly of all, your child will also begin to understand that even the best-made plans can be waylaid. Be it a disinterested audience or nerves, any number of events can disrupt one’s plans. Nurturing a confident communicator also comes with empowering them with the strategies to bounce back from setbacks when facing an audience. This ability to adapt and improvise on the spot is a pertinent skill that would serve them for life.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, raising coherent and confident communicators begins at home. By creating a safe and open space for discussion, parents can create a safe and optimal environment for their children’s growth and development. Parents can begin by encouraging their children to speak up and elaborate on their feelings and experiences at home. Asking questions about how their day is going, who their friends are, or even their hobbies, nudges your children towards donning their thinking caps and practising their communication skills.

Here are some question prompts that you can use to get the ball rolling:

Which part of your day did you enjoy most?
Why did you choose to do things in this manner?
What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
Can you explain to me what this is?
What inspired you to try this out?

You may also consider dedicated learning centres like Wonderlit to help light the spark of learning and set your children on a journey to becoming confident and effective communicators. Wonderlit’s Speak (Public Speaking) and Perform (Speech & Drama) programmes are tailored to ensure that your child is equipped with the necessary skills to communicate clearly and confidently, a skill that will stay with them for life. Curated to not only develop your child’s communication skills, they will also hone their ability to streamline their critical thinking processes; to clearly and confidently present their thoughts in a coherent manner. Drop us an enquiry to find out more or speak to our programme consultants at 6980-5670 (call/WhatsApp).