Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Analyze persuasive messages, strengthen your delivery, and present a ten-minute capstone speech in this 3-week program for middle school students on Yale University’s campus.
Rated 4.3 out of 5 for overall experience by students surveyed across the broader program in 2026.
Course Description
A speech can change a mind, tell a story, or mark a moment. Start with something worth saying and decide how you want an audience to respond.
In this course your student will compare informative, persuasive, entertaining, and ceremonial speeches. Hooks, evidence, stories, tone, pacing, body language, and visuals show how a speaker earns attention and credibility. Professional speeches and advertisements give them choices to examine.
Short speaking activities offer room to practice, including an impromptu two-minute story. Workshops, discussions, outlines, and peer critique help your student shape both the message and the delivery.
For a ten-minute final speech, they’ll research a topic they care about, submit a written outline, rehearse, and revise using feedback. The format may be a demonstration, dramatic reading, persuasive or special-occasion speech, debate, or congressional-style argument. Choosing the words and delivery becomes a way to make the idea their own.
This three-week course for middle school students is part of Summer Discovery’s Institute for the Gifted program on Yale University’s campus in New Haven, Connecticut. Residential and commuter options are available.
What Will You Do?
• Compare informative, persuasive, entertaining, and ceremonial speeches
• Analyze hooks, evidence, stories, tone, pacing, body language, and visuals
• Practice impromptu speaking and audience-focused delivery
• Organize research and ideas in a written speech outline
• Give and apply specific peer feedback during workshops
• Rehearse and deliver a ten-minute capstone speech
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Explain how language, evidence, and delivery affect an audience’s response
• Organize and improve a speech using research and feedback
• Use voice and language to communicate a sustained, clear message
You’ll leave with your speech outline, ten-minute capstone presentation, rehearsal feedback, and a certificate of completion.
Why Public Speaking Skills Matter
Public speaking develops the ability to turn an idea into a message another person can follow and remember. Rhetorical analysis helps students notice how language, evidence, stories, tone, and visuals shape credibility. Delivery practice shows how pacing, posture, and vocal variation can either reinforce or distract from meaning.
Rehearsal builds confidence through preparation, not performance tricks. Giving and receiving specific feedback strengthens listening, empathy, and revision. These habits support classroom presentations, leadership, debate, interviews, advocacy, and any setting where students need to explain an idea clearly.
Who Should Attend?
For students who have completed 6th, 7th, or 8th grade.
Your student may enjoy telling stories or debating a point, or simply want to feel more prepared for class presentations. This course gives them low-pressure ways to practice before building a longer speech. They don’t need polished delivery at the start.
The work includes a written outline, rehearsal, peer feedback, and a ten-minute presentation to the group. Institute for the Gifted eligibility requirements apply; see the program FAQ.
Recommended by Nearly 9 out of 10 Students
Based on students surveyed in 2026 about Summer Discovery programs at Yale University campus.
Your Summer at Yale University
The Institute for the Gifted program takes place on Yale University’s campus in New Haven, Connecticut.
The setting gives middle-school students a memorable place to learn, have fun, and experience campus life. New Haven’s connections to law, theater, science, and the arts, along with the campus’s courtyards and academic spaces, make exploring a subject feel different from an ordinary school day. The program combines active academics with friendships, campus activities, clear routines, and support as students grow comfortable in a new community. Students can try challenging ideas, meet peers who share their interests, and build age-appropriate independence.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive