Speaking is a skill you build

Every day you speak to teachers, friends and family — but speaking effectively means being understood and being convincing. The KS3 National Curriculum expects you to:

• use Standard English confidently in formal and informal situations;
• give short speeches and presentations, expressing ideas clearly;
• take part in formal debates and structured discussions;
• listen and respond to others, and adapt your tone for the audience.

Good news: these are all learnable techniques — a nervous speaker who plans and practises will beat a confident one who doesn't, every time.

Give your talk a clear shape

A strong presentation has three parts. The audience can only hear your talk once, so you must signpost — tell them where you are going and where you have been.

Signposting means signalling your structure out loud: "Firstly… secondly… finally… to sum up…". It helps a listener follow you even though they can't re-read.

A weak vs a strong opening

Compare two openings for a talk on why schools should have longer breaks:

Which opening works best?

What is Standard English?

Standard English is the widely-understood form of English used in formal writing and speech — with agreed grammar and vocabulary. It is what you'd use in a job interview, a debate, or a presentation to people you don't know well.

• Standard: "We were going to the shop." · "I did my homework." · "There weren't any left."
• Non-standard: "We was going…" · "I done my homework." · "There weren't none left."

Formal ↔ informal register

Register is how formal or informal your language is. You adapt it to your audience and purpose — chatting with a friend is different from presenting to the head teacher.

Formal doesn't mean stiff — it means avoiding slang and contractions where they'd be too casual, and choosing precise words. A debate needs a fairly formal register; a group chat with mates can be informal.

A Standard-English fix

Here's a sentence from a class debate, "fixed" into Standard English for a formal register:

What changed: the double negative ("ain't got no") became "there is no"; the slang ("well comfy", "and that") became precise, standard vocabulary. The point is the same — the register is now right for a debate.

Pick the Standard-English version

Formal or informal?

Tap the register that best fits each phrase.

How you say it matters

Even brilliant ideas fall flat if they're mumbled. Delivery is about your voice and your body language:

• Pace — don't rush; a slightly slower pace sounds confident and is easier to follow.
• Pause — a short silence before a key point makes the audience listen.
• Emphasis — stress the important words so your meaning lands.
• Eye contact — look at your audience, not your notes or the floor.
• Posture & gesture — stand tall; use natural hand movements, not fidgeting.

Try this: read the sentence "This. Changes. Everything." aloud with a pause after each word. Notice how the pauses add power — that's emphasis and pause working together.

Spot the delivery technique

Making a point that counts

In a debate or structured discussion, a good contribution isn't just an opinion — it has a point, a reason, and some evidence or an example:

This works whether you're agreeing, disagreeing or building on what someone else said.

Taking turns in a debate

A discussion is a conversation, not a competition to talk loudest. You listen, then build on or politely challenge what others said:

Building on: "Building on Sam's point, I'd add that…" · Challenging politely: "I see what you mean, but have you considered…?"

Challenging politely

Listening is part of speaking well

Speaking effectively includes listening. You can't build on or challenge an idea you didn't really hear. Active listening means:

• Focus on the speaker — don't plan your reply while they're still talking.
• Show you're listening — nod, make eye contact, don't interrupt.
• Summarise — "So you're saying that…" to check you understood.
• Respond to what they actually said, not what you assumed.

Active listening in action

Read the room

The same idea should be said differently depending on audience and purpose. Good speakers adapt their tone — friendly, serious, persuasive, or calm — to fit the moment.

Notice the message stays the same — only the register and tone shift to suit who's listening and why you're speaking.

Improvise, rehearse, perform

The curriculum also asks you to improvise, rehearse and perform play scripts and poetry for dramatic effect. Many delivery skills carry straight over:

• Rehearsal — practising makes delivery smooth and confident.
• Expression — vary your voice to show emotion (angry, hopeful, sad).
• Pace and pause — a well-timed pause in a poem creates tension.
• Volume and emphasis — stress the words that carry the meaning.

Performing a scripted line and delivering a presentation both reward the same thing: rehearsed, expressive, deliberate delivery rather than a flat read-through.

Technique → purpose

Tap a technique on the left, then tap its purpose on the right.

Myth-busting

• Myth: "Standard English means a posh accent." → No — it's about grammar and word choice; you can use it in any accent.
• Myth: "A presentation just needs good content." → No — without signposting and clear structure, listeners get lost.
• Myth: "Speaking well means talking the most." → No — listening, summarising and building on others are part of speaking well.
• Myth: "Being nervous means I'll be bad." → No — planning, rehearsal and pauses turn nerves into a controlled, confident delivery.

Choose the best structure

The skills to remember

You've covered the KS3 National Curriculum expectations for Spoken English. Press Finish to see your score.