Speaking Well Is Not the Same as Being Followed
A student can speak really well in front of the class and still leave the group lost.
A presentation is one place students speak. But much of the communication they do happens somewhere else: in a project group, a class discussion, a CCA meeting. MOE's own description of project work puts it plainly: "Students collaborate with their peers and communicate their ideas effectively to achieve a common objective." That is where communication is really tested.
Communication education should not teach students merely to speak. It should teach them to speak so others can understand, trust, and act.
When the Speaker Is Strong but the Group Is Lost
I have seen this many times in my workshops. A participant starts strong, and the delivery is good. But the listeners are visibly not following. Some look down. Some fiddle. Some start small conversations of their own.
That has nothing to do with the speaker's skill as an orator. It has to do with whether they connect with the people listening.
When I see it, I let it run, and then I ask the listeners what they understood. A number of them give superficial answers. When I dig deeper, they cannot answer at all. The speech looked fine. The communication did not happen.
Three Things to Set Up in Any Group
These are not a formal model. They are three things I would set up in any group, whether it is a project group in class or a CCA committee.
1. Know each other first. Give the group a low stakes activity before the real task, so they are comfortable talking to one another.
2. Everyone gets a turn. Put a simple structure in place, so that every person is allowed to speak.
3. Purpose before instructions. Say why the task matters, then what to do, and then leave space for questions.
The Speaking Marker
The easiest of the three to start is the second. In my workshops I use what is called a speaking marker. Only the person holding the marker may speak, and everyone else listens. The marker has to be passed to every person in the group.
Any whiteboard marker on the table will do. Picture a Secondary 1 project group, or a CCA committee planning its next event. The quiet student who would never cut in now has a turn that is clearly theirs. The student who usually does all the talking has to wait, and listen, until the marker comes back round.
When the turn is clear, the quieter voices in the group finally get heard.
Get Them Talking to One Another First
In one of our activities, students hold hands in a circle and pass a hula hoop around the group as fast as they can. The first attempt is usually slow. When they start talking to one another, questioning, suggesting and building on each other's suggestions, they get much faster.
None of that comes from one person. It comes because they are willing to speak up, to share and to accept other people's opinions.
Comfort comes first. In some of my workshops the participants come from different schools or organisations, and at the start they are unsure how comfortable they are talking to one another. A short icebreaker, where nothing important rides on the outcome, lets their own nature come through. Then the ideas start to flow.
What to do: before your next group task, give the group five minutes of something light where nothing is marked.
The Strong Voice and the Quiet One
The mistake is to leave the group to sort itself out. Two things typically happen in group work. Someone overpowers the others, and some students do not dare to speak up at all.
There is nothing wrong with strong, opinionated students. They simply need a gentle reminder that others need to speak as well. You cannot fix a time for everyone, because some will always speak more than others. What matters is that everyone gets a time to speak.
Telling students to share the airtime rarely sticks on its own. It needs an adult close by.
What to do: in your next group lesson, stand beside the group with the most opinionated student for the first five minutes, and quietly check who has not spoken yet.
What Seven CCAs Taught Me
In my upper secondary years I was in seven CCAs at the same time. It taught me a lot about myself, especially about speaking up. I was often the one who had to instruct others and tell them what was required.
It taught me to be very clear about what I needed done and why. The goal and purpose came first, then the instructions. And I learnt to finish by asking for clarifying questions, because being told is not the same as understanding. Those moments never really came up in a class presentation.
Work will ask the same of students. At a youth forum in October 2025, where the Singapore University of Social Sciences released a study on young Singaporeans and work, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower Shawn Huang stressed that "soft skills like teamwork, problem-solving, and communication are becoming just as important as technical skills" (as reported by People Matters).
What to do: when a student speaks for their group, ask them to make the point, explain what they mean, give an example, and then come back to the point.
Your Plan for the Next Seven Days
Step 1: before one group task, run a five minute icebreaker where nothing is marked.
Step 2: put a speaking marker on the table in one group, and make sure it reaches every person.
Step 3: before you brief a group or a CCA committee, say why the task matters first, then give the instructions, then ask what is unclear.
Then keep a short note. Who spoke for the first time?
A good presentation gets a student noticed. Clear talk inside the group is what gets the shared work done.
Read the companion piece: Public Speaking Tips for Students: Why Polish Does Not Build Trust.
What communication skills do students need for CCAs and teamwork?
Being clear about what needs to be done and why, giving others a turn to speak, and asking what is unclear before moving on. These matter more in a group than in a solo presentation.
How can teachers get quiet students to speak in group work?
Start with a low stakes icebreaker so the group is comfortable, then use a simple structure such as a speaking marker, where only the person holding the marker speaks and it passes to everyone in turn.
What should a teacher do about a student who dominates the group?
Strong, opinionated students are not a problem in themselves. Remind them gently that others need to speak, and stay close to that group so the quieter students are not left out.
How should a student structure what they say to their group?
Make the point, explain what it means, give an example, and come back to the point. Then check what the group understood.
Helping students talk to each other with clarity
If you are a school leader or a teacher who wants students to communicate well in groups and CCAs, not just present to a room, tell us what you are seeing. We will tell you honestly whether we can help.