From Playpen to Podium

I cannot recommend this book enough to teachers AND parents alike. It is organized with 16 concise, detailed chapters and ends with a chapter for each age group 3-7, 8-12, and teens complete with timely tips, "make it memorable", How to and Future Adventures sections for each project for each different age group. Example: biographical sketch, impromtu, persuasive speech, advertisement,slide show, informative speech for the teen section alone. At the start of the book we learn the structure for communication excellence which is 6 pillars (I'll tell you 2 of the 6 as you really need to buy this book: creativity and awareness.) Then the author explains how to set up your home environment where communication excellence begins. Other chapters are Toddler communication, Infant communication, helping your child relate to others and so forth. Mr. Myers, the author, speaks to more than 20,000 teachers, parents and teens a year and he has this fine tuned for even begining beginners.

Communication skills gained through speech and debate are the #1 predictor of success in business and in life. Unfortunately, many students today are woefully unprepared to communicate their ideas clearly (whether on paper or in spoken form). This book gives excellent, easy to understand and use, techniques, projects and other helps for parents who want to help their children develop or improve the communication skills they will need for everything from interpersonal relationships, to group settings to the business world. It is excellent!

This book very effectively guides parents in raising children with the skills they will need to be successful in all areas of communicating with others. There are ideas for raising your child to be a better learner and a more creative thinker. There are ideas for increasing your child's communication skills at every stage of life from infancy on! The chapter for children ages 13 and up has information helpful to anyone who wants to motivate others, give well-organized presentations, be successful in an interview, be assertive in argument or give a speech--planned or impromtu. Very highly recommended!