“ I am not as fearful as before. I am more comfortable presenting in front of my class….”

“If I practice more, I am more comfortable speaking in front of people…”

“I stopped moving around while presenting. I never knew I was moving around so much…”

“I talk louder now…”

“I learned to talk slower. I am not as nervous…”

“I learned to make eye contacts with my audience. I am comfortable doing this now…”

“The teacher really helped me with gestures.”

“I learned how to write better speeches, present it and not move around…”

“I liked practicing speeches everyday during class. It makes me less nervous…”

“This class is much more fun than I thought...”

“The public speaking class has made me more confidant doing class presentations. It has already help me with one subject…”

“I want to come back to practice what I learned, are there other classes I can come to?”

“I wanted to continue debate. It was fun. I wish we had more time…”

“I was really into this issue. Why did he stop the debate?”

“The debate is really fun! I want to come back and debate more…”

“I’m going to take debate classes in high school…”

“I am going to join the high school speech and debate team…”

“ I forced my daughter to come to the public speaking class. She was in tears the first day. Now she is having so much FUN, she comes willingly…”

“I am surprised all these kids spoke clearly, everyone of them…”

“My daughter never spoke to strangers. I am surprised she spoke so clearly in front other parents!”

“I am very surprised you are teaching them these skills. They have learned very important life skills.”

“After watching the video tape I could not believe how much progress my son improved in public speaking...”

“My son seemed to be really enjoying your class…”

“I would recommend that all kids take this class, it really was a life skill…”

“I will recommend these classes to all my friends…”

“All parents will want to send their children to learn how to speak in front of other people...”

“I wish I had taken public speaking years ago before all the fear set in…”

“I want my son to come back and continue these classes…”

“Will my daughter be able to come back for other practice sessions?..”

“Are there any classes for adults? I really need to learn public speaking….”

Why Public Speaking for Caterina?

Caterina’s mother, Jackie, told us she wanted to have Caterina in the Communication Academy because Public Speaking is a critical life skill. Jackie believed that it would help Caterina overcome her shyness.

Communication Academy: Caterina’s Assessment and Monitoring

Caterina was quiet and shy, but very bright and had a wonderful command of words. She wrote some of the best speeches we heard.

Slowly throughout the sessions, Caterina started to develop more and more confidence. First her voice became louder and her gestures and animation began to help give her speech more quality and depth. She also stopped looking down and started using direct eye contact with the audience. As we monitored her progress we watched her performance blossom.

How Public Speaking helped Caterina

We were delighted that Jackie called us several weeks later to tell us that the pastor from their church was retiring and the church wanted a few younger members from the youth group to thank the pastor about his devoted service to the church. No one was willing to stand up in front of the whole congregation and speak except Caterina.

Caterina made eye contact with the audience, and also looked directly at the pastor as she thanked him most sincerely. She was very confident. Her voice would strong and clear, in fact her voice was so loud that they had to turn down the volume on the microphone. After the speech, other parents in the church commented to Jackie that Caterina is not shy at all and is very outgoing. Jackie was so proud of her daughter, she said, “Caterina could never have done that without attending the Public Speaking class”.