It’s not often that you’ll see a headteacher stand on his head in a bowl of porridge with a daffodil between his teeth, while singing the national anthem. It’s even less likely that you’ll then witness the deputy head arrive with a glass of water that he throws over the headteacher, while telling him not to be so ridiculous.
I believe it was my best assembly, because people still come up to me and remind me of it, even today. And it was a good way of teaching a difficult message – I’ll tell you what it was at the end.
Thinking back on it, it was effective for several reasons, and the lessons we can learn from it go beyond simply ‘how to engage children’s interest in assemblies’. The same simple principles can be used to help sharpen our public speaking skills when communicating with parents, during staff meetings, when addressing senior leadership meetings and when interacting with children in the classroom.
1. Make an impression
With assemblies in particular, aim to create something that will grab children’s attention and stick in their memories. Things that are unusual, funny, shocking or curious will work well (though it doesn’t necessarily need to involve turning cartwheels or eating flowers).
Sometimes a planned interruption can be effective. Having a TA call out during an assembly to raise an objection will mark a departure from the norm that your children are used to – and that will make it memorable. Whatever it is you do, though, don’t just do it for the sake of being amusing or surprising – use it to create a situation that will convey a clear message.
2. Simple can be good
You don’t have to make something complicated for it to be memorable. Your approach could involve something as simple as using a picture or a photograph that everyone can see clearly.
For example, the photographer Yann Arthus- Bertrand has produced amazing collections of photographs of the world taken from the air, which present striking, unusual images of this incredible planet. Combine something like this with a simple, yet searching question and pupils (or other audiences) will start to draw out all kinds of meanings for themselves.
Great questions about pictures that spring to mind might include; ‘Would you trust this man?’; ‘If this picture was in a story, what might have led up to it?’; or, ’What title would you give this picture?’
3. Tell a story
A vital piece of equipment in the leader’s toolbox is storytelling. Every teacher should be a storyteller, and a good one at that – no exceptions. They should be able to tell stories that they know with expression and enthusiasm. There’s nothing quite like the collective groan of a class when you come to the end of the chapter, nor the collective enthusiasm at taking on the challenge of continuing the story in their own words. The ability to tell stories is an ancient tradition, but one that I fear that we may be in danger of losing unless we keep passing it on.
Storytelling might have its most obvious uses with children, but it has far wider applications too. I can’t think of a single public speaker I admire who doesn’t pepper their presentations with funny, inspiring or thought-provoking stories. Stories bring public speaking to life. They personalise presentations and give them a human quality that would otherwise be missing. I can’t imagine giving a public presentation without stories. Storytellers can open up whole worlds to people who would be unable to access them in any other way.
4. Draw on personal experience
This won’t come easily to some leaders, but don’t shy away from it. Think of a story you can tell new parents about a pupil who flourished at your school against the odds (though no names, of course). Seek out a story for your staff about the value of persistence, or curiosity or some other quality you’re seeking to embed in the school. Tell a story from your own schooling, or your own catalogue of memories. Practise storytelling regularly and encourage your staff to do the same.
When I taught a more able maths group in recent years, I used to start the lesson not so much with a story, but with a narrative: ‘We are about to enter the fog of learning,’ (spoken in hushed tones). ‘It’s a strange, almost scary place, because nothing here is quite familiar, although there are some things that we recognise a bit. But we mustn’t be nervous, or give up if things become hard. If we keep going the fog will clear and we’ll discover that we’ve learned something new and have skills that we don’t have right now…’ Such narratives can offer real richness to learning, in lessons, in staff meetings and with parents.
5. Treat powerpoint with caution
When preparing for public speaking engagements, large meetings with parents or key staff meetings, I would encourage leaders to think carefully before using PowerPoint. Without question, the worst use of PowerPoint I’ve ever had to suffer through was during a talk by a very eminent figure in education who had an excellent message to convey. However, the text was crammed onto the screen in such density that it was quite impossible to read a word of it – nor was it necessary.
The best advice I can offer is three short words: Only. Use. Pictures. When asked to give a presentation on ‘the journey to outstanding’ at my interview for headship, I used a small selection of photographs. I could tell you what they were now, and so could a number of my staff, as they told me when I left. They were all carefully chosen to draw out the principles of the book Good to Great by Jim Collins, and said much more than any number of words could have done. Using text might reliable and easier, but using pictures is a far more powerful way of getting your message home.
Oh, and the daffodil story? I told it at Easter one year. I told the children that they would go home and get the usual question about what happened at school today, but that they might struggle getting people to believe their story. Just like the disciples after that first Easter Sunday.
Bruce Waeland is a former headteacher, a trained Ofsted inspector and educational consultant
