“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
This quote from George Bernard Shaw is one of my all time favourites. On the ASC website you can now access 10 public speaking games and activities designed to explore the oratorical process. They cover a range of topics, are suitable for new and experienced members and the instructions are clear yet flexible. They provide a fun and fresh approach to learning about public speaking as demonstrated by members of Edinburgh SC below playing “Speaking Statues”.
The playful approach to learning and development is often viewed with suspicion. Games are equated with frivolity tarnishing there link to learning. The process of play requires just as much effort as other forms of development but also increases motivation, encourages creativity and teaches resilience. These are all qualities valuable to speakers and they can be nurtured using processes that are enjoyable to take part in. This is especially true when the people we are playing with are supportive, imaginative and friendly. These are qualities that members of ASC clubs hold in abundance.
So get playing! It’s your brain’s favourite way to learn and a great way to showcase the developing skills, confidence and abilities of your members. Whenever I am asked how to reach an audience I always talk about the vitality, sincerity and enthusiasm of the speaker. These three things are enhanced better through play than anything else:
“We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves or more deeply engrossed in anything than when we are playing.” – Charles Schaefer, Father of Play Therapy
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