Your voice: pauses and pitch — Public speaking for kids

Speaker's tip

Pause, then rise and fall — “silence lets ideas land; changing pitch keeps the voice alive”

1. Four voice tools: volume (loud or soft), pace (fast or slow), pitch (high or low) and the pause (a short silence).
2. Pause after a key point, after asking the audience a question and before a big reveal. Replace “um” with a silent pause.
3. Match the mood: cheerful and lively, calm and gentle, or serious and steady. Stress a key word a little to make it stand out.

Use it for: Storytelling, poem recitation, drama, assembly announcements and every speech you want people to remember.

Worked example: 🎭 Which voice suits giving safety steps for a fire drill? → serious and steady

✏️ Practice

Work it out in your head or on paper, then tap your answer — or type it and press Check. Stuck? Press “Show me how”.

🏁 Lesson 3 test

20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.

🏅 Sign in with Google to earn the 🎵 Pause and Pitch Player badge when you pass — and a certificate when you finish all 8 lessons of Part 1 · Speaking basics. You can still take the test without signing in.

🖨️ Public Speaking Worksheet: Pauses and Pitch

• Worksheet set 1 (PDF)
• Worksheet set 2 (PDF)
• Worksheet set 3 (PDF)