Thanks for joining us this summer! Please return to our website later this fall to see the dates of our 2021 programs which we anticipate being fully online, see the SNFI Online Program Experience page for more information.
Public Speaking Programs
Public speaking is a crtically important skill for almost every profession in today's world, yet many people harbor a fear of speaking in front of others - in fact, speaking in front of others is often ranked near the top of many people's lists of most-feared activites. It shouldn't be that way!
Public speaking doesn't have to be scary or intimidating, and like the common saying goes, practice does absolutely make perfect! Our Public Speaking programs are designed to break down the barriers to speaking in front of others through a variety of structured activities that build baseline fundamental logical and rhetorical skills in addition to practicing speaking in a public setting.
SNFI is proud to share our speech & debate education expertise, accumulated since 1990, with students looking to learn the art of public speaking! Our Public Speaking Camps are perfect for students looking to learn and practice many critical academic and professional skills, including:
- logical thinking and argumentative structure - which directly mimics the academic and professional writing process
- confidence when speaking in front of others - including eye contact, posture and poise
- thinking quickly on your feet - be prepared for the questions at the end of your presentation or pitch
- speaking extemporaneously on subjects that you have not yet thoroughly researched - take the initiative and impress someone with your ability to quickly break down and analyze a new problem or opportunity at a high level
- and many more highly transferrable academic and professional skills
Our Public Speaking programs teach many of the same skills as a traditional debate program, just without the focus on direct head-to-head competition, including:
- targeted research skills
- logical argument development
- organization of material into a methodical presentation
- classic Aristotelian logic through the "claim, warrant, impact" model
- how to think adversarially
- analytical responsiveness
- see our skills page for more information on the power of speech & debate-based education
2021 Public Speaking Programs Staff Members Include:
Check back closer to the start of camp for details on our 2021 staff
We will continue to add additional staff members as enrollment and availability dictate. Details are posted on additional staff members as they are confirmed and as we have complete biographic information available. Staff listing may not be fully up to date or reflect all hires to date.
2020 Public Speaking Programs Staff Members Included:
Upcoming Camps
1-Week Advanced Public Speaking
SNFI is proud to share our 29 years of speech & debate education expertise with students looking to learn the art of public speaking! Our Public Speaking Camps are perfect for students looking to learn and practice the critical skills of logical thinking, confidence when speaking in front of others, and the ability to think quickly on your feet in a supportive, noncompetitive environment.
Our Advanced Public Speaking program is designed for students that have prior ...
1-Week Middle School Public Speaking
SNFI is proud to share our 30 years of speech & debate education expertise with students looking to learn the art of public speaking! Our Public Speaking Camps are perfect for students looking to learn and practice the critical skills of logical thinking, confidence when speaking in front of others, and the ability to think quickly on your feet in a supportive, noncompetitive environment.
Our Public Speaking Introduction program is designed to be a student's fir...
1-Week Public Speaking Introduction
SNFI is proud to share our 29 years of speech & debate education expertise with students looking to learn the art of public speaking! Our Public Speaking Camps are perfect for students looking to learn and practice the critical skills of logical thinking, confidence when speaking in front of others, and the ability to think quickly on your feet in a supportive, noncompetitive environment.
Our Public Speaking Introduction program is designed to be a student's fir...
2-Week Middle School Public Speaking + Debate Basics Experience
Our 2-Week Middle School Public Speaking + Debate Basics Experience is designed to be a student's first structured experience with public speaking, debate and formal argumentation - no prior experience is necessary. Speech & debate is a very powerful activity which teaches students many skills which are in high demand in the contemporary world: public speaking, research skills, writing and logical thinking!
This program starts from the grou...
2-Week Public Speaking + Introduction to Debate Experience
Our 2-Week Public Speaking + Introduction to Debate Experience is designed to be a student's first structured experience with public speaking, debate and formal argumentation - no prior experience is necessary. Speech & debate is a very powerful activity which teaches students many skills which are in high demand in the contemporary world: public speaking, research skills, writing and logical thinking!
This program starts from the ground up with...