Last month, Trinity New Zealand organised Word Play - a professional development weekend for teachers of Drama & Performance. The event took place on 13 June in Christchurch and 14 June in Auckland.
Word Play 2015 focused around the topic of Professional Development for Teachers of Public Speaking, with special guest speaker Barbara John. Barbara is consummate ambassador for Trinity and is also a member of Trinity’s Drama & Performance examining panel.
Barbara’s workshop on Public Speaking concentrated on ways to communicate effectively and with confidence, which she showcased through demonstrations and audience participation. Following the workshop, Barbara discussed Trinity’s Drama & Performance syllabuses in an informative Q&A session, which sparked ideas and healthy debate, whilst also raising awareness of the wide scope offered by the syllabuses.
The idea of this workshop was to provide attendees with the skills to teach the finer points of effective communication and also to come away with a toolbox of fun classroom activities, to help their students become confident public speakers from an early age.
On the topic of Public Speaking Barbara commented: ‘I am convinced that the ability to talk about things openly, without fear and with empathy is central to our wellbeing. The way we interact with others has the capacity to strengthen relationships, deepen understanding and create harmony in our lives. Each of us has the potential to be an effective communicator in our personal and professional lives. I am delighted to help others achieve this.’
A selection of Barbara’s key ideas to public speaking were:
• ‘What comes between us and our view of the world is language.’
• ‘Perception rules our reality.’
• ‘Stories illuminate, illustrate and inspire.’
• ‘Charismatic speakers radiate joy.’
The feedback from the attendees was positive and included:
‘It has opened up my mind to a wealth of opportunities for our students with Trinity College.’ – Catherine Attwood, Waiheke Island
‘What an excellent weekend it turned out to be. This was of great interest to me as I truly enjoy working with pupils on Communicaton Skills.’ – Ingrid Prossor, Auckland
