Public speaking

Olia | Jul 08, 2026Jul 07, 2026

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this ESL lesson on public speaking are to:

• discuss experiences and strategies for public speaking;
• practise useful verbs and collocations;
• watch a video about sharing ideas;
• give a short talk and exchange peer feedback.  

In this lesson, students talk about public speaking experiences, hurdles and strategies. They explore the definition of public speaking, discuss questions and share opinions. Students watch a video (to 04:04) about the importance of an idea in a speech, debate what makes a speech impactful and review collocations with ‘idea’ (e.g. clarify an idea, come up with an idea, develop an idea). They also analyse a potential speech-opening quote, prepare a two-minute talk and exchange feedback in pairs.

WARM-UP AND VIDEO

This ESL lesson on public speaking starts with a warm-up. Students read the definition of public speaking and think of situations where it might be expected. After that, they discuss questions about public speaking experiences, challenges and tips. Then, students examine pairs of scenarios involving public speaking (e.g. giving a talk online OR giving a talk to a live audience in a lecture theatre). They choose the options they’d prefer and explain. Students also think of reasons why someone might choose the other option. Moving on, they watch the first part of a video about the importance of an idea in a speech and list examples of speech ideas that are mentioned. Afterwards, students watch the second part of the video and answer questions by choosing the correct options. They then discuss questions about what makes a speech powerful and memorable.

COLLOCATIONS AND DISCUSSION

In this part of this ESL lesson on public speaking, students match the halves of sentences (e.g. A speaker should always support their ideas with examples or facts.). They then look at the sentences again and find the verbs that collocate with ‘idea’ (e.g. express an idea, support an idea, challenge an idea) in each sentence. Afterwards, students review the statements from the previous task again. They choose three that they think are the most important for a speaker to remember and explain. Moving on, students read a quote which could be used to open a speech on education. They answer questions to discuss its meaning, think of examples and challenge its idea. Finally, students work in pairs. Each of them chooses a topic (e.g. Everyone should have a hobby.) and prepares a two-minute talk. Then, students exchange talks and feedback using the target vocabulary.

HOMEWORK/REVISION

This ESL lesson on public speaking also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students examine tips for delivering a presentation and complete gaps with the target verbs from the lesson. They then add one more piece of advice. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.

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