I will be forever indebted to my parents for encouraging me to take speech and drama classes from a young age. It has helped my self confidence and ability to speak to an audience when the need arises. I in turn have encouraged my children to participate in speech and drama classes, and with very different personalities, they have both benefitted in different ways from their time with Trading Faces Galway. 

As a parent, I honestly believe that speech and drama classes offer students a skill set that will remain with them throughout their lives. And gives them a creative outlet in a safe space while encouraging them the use their voices, facial expressions, body language and movement to convey the message of the pieces they are working on. 

While the benefits of speech and drama are many the seven highlights for me are:

Think back to the last time you had to speak in public or even to a room of your peers, it can often be an overwhelming experience even for adults!

Speech and drama classes encourage children to speak their thoughts, recite what they have learned in front of their teachers and peers and listen to feedback in a safe environment.

Children learn to maintain eye contact, project their voice and mange those nerves. Improving self confidence is a gift you can give your child today, by signing them up to take part in a speech and drama class. 

Children who participate in speech and drama classes develop a wide vocabulary helping them articulate their feelings, thoughts and words with confidence and self belief.

In addition they learn about the rhythm and intricacies of language and words inspiring them to write confidently too.

Speech and drama classes offer students an opportunity to find their voice and use it clearly and with confidence to get their point across.

They learn to listen to and be heard. It equips them with the skills to converse confidently in the group, in any classroom, friend group and later on in interviews and discussions with others. Who wouldn’t want this for their child?

Getting into character, seeing things from a different perspective and listening to others opinions and thoughts improves empathy. Your child will develop this skill through the work they do in speech and drama classes. They become more confident in expressing their own beliefs and views while gaining a deeper understanding of how it feels to be someone else entirely.

Literature of all kinds offers an escape from the world around us and an opportunity to improve our knowledge and feed our imagination.

During speech and drama classes your child will learn prose, poems, monologues, mime and more and will be exposed to a broad range of literature styles, authors, characters and books they may not otherwise read. They become confident readers and orators and it can foster a lifelong passion for reading.

From listening in class to the teacher and other students reciting their work, to finding a system to learn and remember your own work in preparation for exams, speech and drama classes will help improve concentration and self belief.

Students work to find a way to remember and retain information so they can recite it when they need to. These skills translate into everyday life situations such as studying for exams and being more organised with their time, giving your child the confidence to take on the challenges they face throughout life.