Public Speaking

Welcome to Brain Power’s Public Speaking Academy!

Our Public Speaking programs guide bright and high-achieving students toward reaching their full potential as speakers, rhetoricians, and persuaders.

In our program, students will master the fundamentals of Aristotle’s rhetoric, learning to effectively use ethos, pathos, and logos. They will also discover the science of overcoming the fear of public speaking and how to use body language, voice modulation, and timing effectively.

Develop Real-World Speaking Skills

Students will learn over 20 different speech and presentation techniques, including hooks, evidence, data, humor, and improv.

Advanced skills such as persuasion (using sources like Cialdini), negotiation (with insights from Voss and Sun Tzu), debate (identifying and rebutting logical fallacies), and interview techniques (covering both standard and thought experiments) will be taught.

Practical experience is a key component, with opportunities to participate in the Speaker’s Idol competition, where last year, over 50% of the finalists and the overall winner were Brain Power students. Students will complete over eight written speeches, a major media project, analytical work, and other assignments designed to enhance learning without being overly time-consuming.

Practical experience is a key component.

With opportunities to participate in the Speaker’s Idol competition, where last year, over 50% of the finalists and the overall winner were Brain Power students.

Students will complete over eight written speeches, a major media project, analytical work, and other assignments designed to enhance learning without being overly time-consuming.

Enrichment opportunities include theatre outings and, depending on availability, a visit to Parliament. By the end of the program, students will have mastered Brain Power’s techniques for delivering clear, engaging, and memorable speeches, presentations, and persuasive communications. These skills will help build the confidence needed to achieve their academic and personal goals, growing into leading thinkers and communicators.

Learning Experience

Learning at Brain Power

Our 6 Principles of Public Speaking

Our Public Speaking programs are founded on six core principles designed to help our students reach their full potential as public speakers: evidence-based communication, training and practice, critical thinking, finding your voice, adaptive tool use, and ethical persuasion.

There are five research-backed elements to our unique pedagogy:

1. ACCELERATION

  • Our curriculum is 2-3 levels above ministry standards, consistently challenging students with advanced concepts.
     
  • We use a spiral learning method, revisiting topics at increasing levels of difficulty, reinforcing knowledge and aiding long-term retention, contributing to superior grades.
     

2. COMPLEXITY

  • We focus on higher-order math skills, abstract thinking, and creativity, preparing students for the technological landscape of the future. Many of our alumni are actively engaged in fields like data science, machine learning, and advanced physics, as a result.
     
  • Interpreting text in word problems is a higher-order math skill often missing in school curricula. We emphasize reading comprehension and the ability to extract mathematical meaning from word problems.
     
  • We integrate advanced geometry concepts, which are often overlooked in traditional curricula, to enhance spatial reasoning and analytical skills.
     

3. ENGAGEMENT

  • Our classes blend problem-solving strategies, advanced mathematics, abstract thinking, and creativity in ways that joyfully delight students.
     
  • We use the Socratic method to stimulate critical thinking and meaningful discussions about diverse problem-solving strategies.
     
  • For younger grades, we use manipulatives and group activities to keep students engaged!
     

4. FEEDBACK AND GROWTH MINDSET

  • We promote a growth mindset with continuous, detailed feedback that encourages students to refine their logical reasoning and math skills.
     
  • We discuss homework in class, with expert demonstrations of diverse problem-solving approaches and deep discussions.
     

5. ACADEMIC MENTORSHIP

  • Our faculty includes award-winning PhD-level mathematicians who provide high-quality mentorship.
     
  • Strategies to manage stress and perform well under pressure are critical, especially with fewer exams in day school. These skills are essential for high school and university math success.
     

OTHER BENEFITS

  • Students achieve higher grades and excel in standardized tests like the SAT and LSAT, showcasing academic excellence.
     
  • Students develop the tools for critical analysis, independent thought, and understanding complex information—essential skills in the age of AI.
     
  • Students cultivate a lifelong love of learning, intellectual curiosity, and mathematical literacy through engaging and challenging content.
     
  • Students have the opportunity to participate in exclusive co-curricular activities like math olympiads, field trips to science museums and tech companies, math book clubs, and guest lectures.
     
  • Students have access to a variety of regularly updated workshops, providing additional opportunities for creativity, critical thinking, and intellectual growth.

Discover the Difference!

Studies have show that 60% of bright and talented students underachieve relative to their potential. Our specialty is to help them realize that potential through the five main elements of our pedagogy: acceleration, complexity, engagement, feedback, and academic mentorship.

There are five research-backed elements to our unique pedagogy:

1. ACCELERATION

  • Our curriculum is 2-3 levels above ministry standards, consistently challenging students with advanced concepts.
     
  • We use a spiral learning method, revisiting topics at increasing levels of difficulty, reinforcing knowledge and aiding long-term retention, contributing to superior grades.
     

2. COMPLEXITY

  • We focus on higher-order math skills, abstract thinking, and creativity, preparing students for the technological landscape of the future. Many of our alumni are actively engaged in fields like data science, machine learning, and advanced physics, as a result.
     
  • Interpreting text in word problems is a higher-order math skill often missing in school curricula. We emphasize reading comprehension and the ability to extract mathematical meaning from word problems.
     
  • We integrate advanced geometry concepts, which are often overlooked in traditional curricula, to enhance spatial reasoning and analytical skills.
     

3. ENGAGEMENT

  • Our classes blend problem-solving strategies, advanced mathematics, abstract thinking, and creativity in ways that joyfully delight students.
     
  • We use the Socratic method to stimulate critical thinking and meaningful discussions about diverse problem-solving strategies.
     
  • For younger grades, we use manipulatives and group activities to keep students engaged!
     

4. FEEDBACK AND GROWTH MINDSET

  • We promote a growth mindset with continuous, detailed feedback that encourages students to refine their logical reasoning and math skills.
     
  • We discuss homework in class, with expert demonstrations of diverse problem-solving approaches and deep discussions.
     

5. ACADEMIC MENTORSHIP

  • Our faculty includes award-winning PhD-level mathematicians who provide high-quality mentorship.
     
  • Strategies to manage stress and perform well under pressure are critical, especially with fewer exams in day school. These skills are essential for high school and university math success.
     

OTHER BENEFITS

  • Students achieve higher grades and excel in standardized tests like the SAT and LSAT, showcasing academic excellence.
     
  • Students develop the tools for critical analysis, independent thought, and understanding complex information—essential skills in the age of AI.
     
  • Students cultivate a lifelong love of learning, intellectual curiosity, and mathematical literacy through engaging and challenging content.
     
  • Students have the opportunity to participate in exclusive co-curricular activities like math olympiads, field trips to science museums and tech companies, math book clubs, and guest lectures.
     
  • Students have access to a variety of regularly updated workshops, providing additional opportunities for creativity, critical thinking, and intellectual growth.

Look Inside a Classroom!

Each class is structured to balance theory, application, and group engagement. Intellectual discourse is woven throughout to promote deep understanding. We prioritize higher-order math skills, abstract thinking, and creativity over rote drills and memorization.

There are 4 integral elements to our math & problem solving classes:

THEORY

  • Advanced concepts are taught by math experts, encouraging different approaches to problem solving.
     

APPLICATION

  • Higher-order and creative tasks, along with exploration exercises, enhance students’ ability to apply complex mathematical concepts.
     
  • Examples include reading comprehension and active reading, the 4-step problem-solving practice, modeling and simplifying problems, guess and check, forward solving strategies, backward solving strategies, Venn diagrams, logical trees, logical charts, organized/systematic lists, problems on lowest common multiple, and discovering patterns.
     

GROUP ENGAGEMENT

  • Logic and strategy exercises, stress and test anxiety management, and reasoning activities foster collaboration and strengthen critical thinking skills.
     
  • Examples include strategy games, magic squares, crack the code, find the mystery number, Sudoku, mazes, optical illusions, and memory development with Brain Power memory techniques.
     

HOMEWORK FEEDBACK & DISCUSSION

  • Brain Power classes include thorough discussion and feedback on homework. This approach ensures that students fully understand the material and can apply their knowledge effectively, making math learning a collaborative and supportive experience.
     

Each Brain Power class upholds rigorous standards, challenging students and fostering a high level of intellectual engagement and achievement.

Learning Experience

Learning at Brain Power

Classes are held once a week for two hours. Full-year (34-lesson) programs are available for Grades 4-5, 6-8, and 9+. Skills are scaffolded carefully across each level from introductory to mastery.

More Insights

Watch Some of Our Amazing Public Speakers In Action!