Learning styles..

Environmental factors are only part of many components identified as affecting how individuals learn.

Some children love to tell stories, others seem to be constantly asking questions, while still others are always on the move. Some are quiet and prefer to be alone. Some always seem to have at least one project underway.
Numerous factors affect learning, and it is illogical to expect all children to function the same way in the same environments with the same materials and the same instructional methods.
Rather than thinking of these characteristics as idiosyncrasies, think of them as built-in tools for learning.

There are a number of ways to label, or categorize, learning styles. The terms we choose to use are not that important; in fact, like any use of labels, we must be careful not to put a child in a neat cubbyhole and base all of our planning and teaching on that assessment.

What we want to look for are tendencies, preferences, areas of success, and areas of difficulty. Then through trial and error we discover ways to adapt our teaching methods and materials to each child’s style.

No person has totally one style. In fact, some people seem to have strengths and preferences which cut across nearly all styles. But for the child who seems to be particularly difficult to motivate, it pays to try
to identify the predominant learning style and then adapt methods and materials accordingly.

Learning Styles

Style	Learns best by:	Methods & Materials
Visual Learner	Seeing, drawing, visualizing experience approach, computer-assisted instruction	Maps, charts, diagrams, language
Auditory Learner	Hearing, saying, telling	Music, tapes, choral readings, phonics, linguistics, computer with audio
Kinesthetic Learner	Moving, manipulating, touching	Model building, tracing, writing, physical activities, computer with graphics
Analytical Learner	Working from parts to the whole, solving problems, reasoning, likes following directions	Working with abstracts, categorizing, classifying, self-paced instruction
Global Learner	Seeing the whole, working from whole to parts	Whole-word reading integrated subject matter, cooperative project

Public speaking.....overcoming FEAR.

The number one fear in the world, ahead of even the fear of death, is the fear of public speaking. 
Regardless of what anybody says, the fear of public speaking is extremely common — even the most polished speakers have experienced a fear of public speaking.
Being able to get over your fear of public speaking can have huge impact in all aspects of life.

Here are a few tried and tested ways of polishing your speech.
Practice your speech in front of a mirror
Deliver your speech from beginning to end in front of a full length mirror. Practicing your speech in front of a mirror is invaluable. Speaking in front of a mirror is important because every move you make is distracting.You will notice if you are getting sweaty. 
Essentially, the mirror allows you to be cognizant of the subtle distracting actions you make. “Subtle distraction actions” often are the reason a quality speech turns into a terrible speech.
Practice your speech facing a wall
Practice your speech from beginning to end facing a wall. This is the exact opposite scenario as compared to speaking in front of a mirror. Speaking in front of a wall will allow you to block out all distractions and focus exclusively on the content of your speech. Speaking in front of a wall will help you identify the parts of your speech that you are struggling with, in which the content is weak, or that you cannot gracefully convey to your audience.
Practice with a friend
You tend to be more relaxed delivering the speech to a friend. Also, a friend will hopefully be able to understand your topic, ask questions, and give honest and candid feedback.
After you finish delivering your speech, probe your friend to find out what parts of your speech were easiest to understand and what parts were most difficult.
Practice with a non-friend
Delivering your speech to a non-friend peer is useful because it adds some pressure. 
It will be useful because you will have the opportunity to deliver the speech under pressure.
Record yourself
Recording your speech and critiquing yourself is extremely important because you will be able to identify and correct any flaws in your speech and stammers in your presentation. This is a simple tip, but very useful.
Do a dry run
Practice your speech exactly as if there was an audience, this includes using the microphone. Don’t show up in flip flops and shorts if your speech will be in a tuxedo. Make your dry run as realistic as possible. The more realistic you can practice your speech before actually delivering it, the easier it will be when you actually have to deliver.
Practicing your speech in various scenarios and under various conditions will make you more relaxed and reduce your feelings of anxiety when speaking publicly. Speaking publicly is no different than any other activity — practice makes perfect! Delivering your speech four to five times privately will not be fun. It will be downright annoying, and can be very time consuming depending the length of your speech. However, it will certainly be worth it. Every time you practice your speech you will notice drastic improvements in the quality of your delivery. Having a well-practiced speech will definitely curb your fear of public speaking.

Gestures....The unspoken words.

Gestures - hand and arm movements - are an important part of our visual picture when we speak in public. 
They are reinforcements of the words and ideas we are trying to convey and a non-verbal representation of how we feel.
If we use gestures correctly, they will help us enhance our message and we will appear confident and relaxed. .....Used unconsciously or incorrectly however, speaker can distract their audience or send the wrong message......

Every speaker who stands before an audience is anxious . Our primal instincts jump into action and we unconsciously use our arms to protect ourselves. It is a natural reaction, yet totally unnecessary and  it sends the wrong message to the audience

What do we do with your arms and hands when standing in front of a group of people? Cross them in front of our chest, clasp our hands together, or thrust them into our pockets so they are neatly tucked away they all tell a lot....about how we are actually feeling.
For example:

     Hands on hips = condescending, parental, overbearing
     Crossed arms = cutting off, disagreeing, wanting to protect
     Hands crossed in front (fig leaf) = feeling weak, timid, needing protection.
     Hands joined behind your back = you’re on parade!
     Hands in pockets = nervousness.  
   Sometimes it is our intention to look nervous, condescending, overbearing, weak or    protective because your speech calls for it, then use these gestures, but do so with      purpose
   We  will automatically bring them up when we make gestures or comments. Just remember to rest them down from time to time and you will look relaxed and develop a strong, positive posture.

Gestures are 3 types

1.Symbolic Gestures communicate words, numbers, position. 

2.Descriptive Gestures communicate an idea or movement.

3.Emotional Gestures suggest feelings.

 gestures are purposeful. They are the outward expression of your inner thoughts and feelings.

Use gestures with purpose in public speaking situations and you will engage your audience, and help them comprehend and remember your message