Principles

The Principles of Becoming an Effective Public Speaker

Public speaking, debating and formulating an argument are key skills that all students should have the opportunity to learn and gain experience of.  As well as fostering intellectual curiosity and rigour and a deeper understanding of the questions and issues that history often throws up, the skills associated with public speaking and debating are considered desirable in many different sectors of business, finance, commerce, politics, civil service and academia.

Our Great Debate competition regularly gives students the opportunity to hone their public speaking prowess, but the skills and confidence of public speaking can often come to some more readily than others. This guide to public speaking was designed for the 2016 Agincourt Tournament competition, and takes students through the all-important principles behind learning to become an effective public speaker. It is free to download below.