Today’s guest, Erik Palmer, is an educational consultant from Denver who focuses on showing teachers practical, engaging ways to teach oral communication skills, and showing educational leaders how to be more effective communicators.

He’s the author of several books, including Well Spoken: Teaching Speaking to All Students, 2nd Edition (Routledge).

We discuss:

• Defining modern, effective oral communication today
• What most teachers struggle with, when it comes to teaching speaking
• What is uniquely important about learning speaking? How does it expand on/reveal other skills?
• Building a Speech: Audience, Content, Organization, Visual Aids, and Appearance
• Performing a Speech: Poise, Voice, Life, Eye Contact, Gestures, and Speed (PVLEGS)
• Evaluating a Speech: Creating Effective Rubrics, Guiding Students to Excellence
• Digital speaking contexts including podcasts, webinars, and video/audio apps

Learn more about Erik at www.pvlegs.com and find the book from Routledge

About today’s guest

Erik Palmer is an educational consultant from Denver. Prior to becoming a consultant, he had a successful career in business managing a commodity brokerage office and trading on the floor of a Chicago commodity exchange. He was the national sales leader for a large commodity trading firm. In his second career, he spent 21 years teaching English, math, science, and civics, earning Teacher of the Year in one of the nation’s top school districts. Now in his third career as a consultant, Palmer focuses on showing teachers practical, engaging ways to teach oral communication skills, and showing educational leaders how to be more effective communicators.

Palmer is an internationally acclaimed speaker. He has given keynotes and led in-service trainings for districts across the US and for educators around the world. Palmer is a frequent contributor to educational magazines and is the author of several books: Well-Spoken: Teaching Speaking to All Students (Routledge, 2024), Teaching the Core Skills of Listening & Speaking (ASCD, 2014), Researching in a Digital World (ASCD, 2015), Good Thinking: Teaching Argument, Persuasion, and Reasoning (Stenhouse Publishers, 2016), Own Any Occasion: Mastering the Art of Speaking and Presenting (ATD Press, 2018) and Before You Say a Word: A School Leader’s Guide to Clear and Compelling Communication (ASCD, 2024). He is a program consultant for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Into Reading and Into Literature language arts programs.

About the host

Ross Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn

I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt