Educators | Ignite CSP

Communication Skills for Educators and Students

One of the comments we hear most often when working with adults is, “I wish I had these skills when I was younger.” Ignite CSP has created programs for students to develop skills in teamwork, intentional communication, and public speaking, including use of media in presentations. Having skills in different types of communication helps students gain confidence. We also provide professional development training for educators so they can bring these skills to students year after year.

Ignite CSP can tailor its process for use with students from grade school through graduate school.

Students and Teamwork

Ignite CSP’s “Better Communication through Creative Play” workshop series coaches participants in the fundamentals of communication. Students learn to listen deeply, respond thoughtfully, and work collaboratively to produce better results than any one person could create alone. Additionally, this workshop typically results in a special bond in the participating group—they have played and created together, and it really changes how they interact!

What is Intentional Communication?

It’s never too early to start learning about how communication works and to be intentional about how we connect with other people. Students are in an ideal situation to learn and practice these skills, since they are in a stable environment with the same people day after day.

Ignite CSP has developed a specific process we apply to everything we do. Essentially, we ask clients to identify their intention—how do they want to affect their audience? Then we work on alignment—ensuring the body and voice support the intention. Finally, we discuss practice. Practicing isn’t complicated, but there are definitely methods that help you reach the desired outcomes. Students participate in exercises to identify both their strengths and the gaps where they can develop their skills, and each participant creates a practice plan to continue working after the course is completed. This three-part process is described in the video at the bottom of this page.

Students Are Public Speakers?

Absolutely. Students at every level are asked to present in front of the class, both individually and as part of group projects. Typically they get no coaching in public speaking, don’t practice the presentation, and get little usable feedback afterwards. As a result, students have ingrained bad habits by the time they get to college or a career. Many have already decided, “I’m a terrible speaker.” As we know, being able to present yourself in meetings, interviews, and in front of groups and audiences is a feature of many careers. It’s important to equip students at all levels with these skills. Ignite CSP’s workshop Authentic Public Speaking coaches students to build effective public speaking habits and techniques.

Another challenge is the immense rise of use of PowerPoint and other multimedia software in presentations—we can coach students in best practices around these types of public speaking events.