Essential Speaking

Hello there! 

If you have landed here, it is because you are curious about communication coaching– for classes, performances, or maybe even for competition.

I had this little brain child recently (when I was supposed to be sleeping… isn’t that the nature of all things?), and decided it was worth a shot.  I’m thinking this online venue will allow for the customized feedback you and your students are wanting without all the scheduling headaches.  Let me pitch the idea and see what you think.

The Plan

A private, feedback-rich Facebook group called Essential Speaking. 

The Perks

• Teaching: I will upload weekly speech tips and chats from me, ranging on a variety of topics, from how to create a speech from a topic, improve speech writing, creating scripts, acting tips, performing, etc.
• Two opportunities for customized feedback. Your student will have the ability to upload two recorded speeches (up to 10 minutes a piece) a week for me to give detailed feedback on.  They can pre-record these speeches and upload them, or do them via facebook live in our private Facebook group.  (“Private” meaning only those in the group can see it.)  Within 24 hours of the upload, they will get specific, directed feedback on what works, what doesn’t work, and specific ways to change or practice for improvement. (The feedback will either be written in the group on the speech post itself or sent via voice recording as a private message.)  All speech types are welcome— impromptu or prepared.
• Reduced tutoring rates: If you are finding that you and/or your student is wanting the added benefit of “live” feedback (where I can see, stop, have them immediately implement or retry something), you qualify for a $10 per hour discount on my tutoring rate (normally $30 an hour). If you are only needing 30 minutes of tutoring, then a $5 discount will be applied.
• Small group critique: You/Your student will be able to specifically note in each upload whether or not they would like fellow student feedback on their speeches as well.  Student feedback will be in the form of comments on Facebook and will be monitored by me.  The Facebook group itself will be kept to no more than 10 enrollees at a time.  I’m hoping this amount will prove a good size to allow a sense of community and be manageable for me, while allowing enough people in there to offer peer feedback, if desired.
  

The Price 

• The price for group access per month is $10 per student.  This fee gives all of the perks listed above.  You can see that if you still decide to tutor individually, the “reduced tutoring rate” perk makes the group access pay for itself.
• Tuition will need to be paid on the first day of the month.  The tuition fee of $10 will need to be sent to me via PayPal (I’ll email you the details with that information once you contact me) by the 1st of the month in order for the students to remain in the group for that month.  If the payment isn’t made, I will assume that you don’t wish to participate in the group that month, and will remove the student from the group.  If the tuition wasn’t received due to a forgetful moment, no worries.  Just send the tuition, message/email to let me know, and I can re-enter the student at any time.  
• Membership is on a monthly basis.  You can join or leave the group at any time, and re-enter at any time.  Just know that if you choose to enter (or re-enter) in the middle of a month, the tuition will still be $10 for the month you are entering. 

Admittedly, all of this is in experimental, guinea-pig mode right now.  I haven’t done something like this before, and honestly don’t know how much interest there will be or how well it will work.  There’s no harm in sharing the idea and testing it out though.  I figure since it is competition season for those in homeschool speech leagues, there’s no better time like the present. 🙂

If you are interested in trying this new Facebook feedback format, let me know in the contact form below.  I’ll be making a list of people, and the first 10 on the list will be contacted about securing their place in the group via tuition payment by the first of March.  If there are more than 10 interested, the rest will be placed on a waiting list to be contacted when space is available in the group.