WAYS TO MAKE ORAL PRESENTATIONS

prof. francien herlen tomasowa, ph.d.

ACADEMIC SPEAKING 4

WAYS TO MAKE ORAL PRESENTATIONS

SPEAKING IN PUBLIC

SPEAKING IN PUBLIC:

• AN INTERVIEW• A DISCUSSION• A DEBATE• A SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION

WHAT TO BE CONSIDERED

• PURPOSE OF THE SPEECH• BACKGROUND OF THE AUDIENCE• ATTITUDE OF THE AUDIENCE• ATTITUDE OF THE SPEAKER• SPEECH HABITS TO AVOID• VISUAL AIDS TO ENLIVEN SPEECH

PURPOSE OF THE SPEECHA TALK IS NEEDED TO PRESENT:

facts and information for: interest, as instruction or, perhaps, for entertainment

information, arguments and opinions, so that the audience are impressed, and will think as you do.

A TALK MAY HAVE TWO TYPES OF OBJECTIVE: to make the listeners take some specific action; or to try to simply strengthen existing beliefs and ideals

BACKGROUND OF THE AUDIENCE

When deciding on a topic that will suit the audience, ask yourself how the subject will concern the listeners. Adjust to the listeners, find out facts about them, such as:

•What prejudices they are likely to have;•Their economic, social, political, educational/ cultural background;•Their knowledge about/ attitude toward the subject;•What they are likely to know about you; and•The local conditions and the person or committee that invited you.

ATTITUDE OF THE AUDIENCE

• INTERESTED AUDIENCE– ONLY NEEDS TO HAVE ITS INTEREST MAINTAINED.

• APATHETIC AUDIENCE– NEEDS TO HAVE ITS ATTENTION CAUGHT, ITS INTEREST AROUSED

AND HELD:A STRONG OPENINGSTEADY, CLEAR EXPRESSION OF IDEAS

• HOSTILE AUDIENCE– MOST DIFFICULT TO HANDLE:

DELAY OF ANY DIRECT MENTION NEEDEDEXPLORE ALL THE COMMON GROUND BEFORE RAISING THE ISSUES

ATTITUDE OF SPEAKER

• ASSUMES THE LISTENER KNOWS LESS;• ANTICIPATES QUESTIONS; • MAKES SURE TO BE HEARD BY EVERYONE;• KEEPS CONTACT WITH THE LISTENER;• TALKS WITH [NOT AT] THE LISTENER;• MAKES THE LISTENER FEEL INVOLVED;• HAS SENSE OF LEADERSHIP;• SPEAKS WITH ENTHUSIASM;• MAKES PERFECTLY CLEAR WHAT WILL BE COVERED;• CONVERSATIONAL RATHER THAN READING MANNER;• USES TIME ALOTTED;• LEARNS TO ACCEPT CRITICISM AND PROFIT BY IT;• RECOGNIZES + ADMIRES FINE QUALITIES OF MORE

EXPERIENCED SPEAKERS.

WHATEVER THE INITIAL ATTITUDE OF THE AUDIENCE, IT MUST BE KEPT LISTENING

A SUCCESSFUL SPEAKER USUALLY:

A GOOD DELIVERY

• The words are directed as often as possible to distant parts of the room;• The talking is clear in an unaffected or conversational manner without

shouting;• The voice is pleasantly varied and readily expresses shades of meaning;• The appeal or challenge is direct, the speaker looks as many as possible

of the audience in the eyes as often as conveniently can;• The carefully organized manner of presenting material by making

progress from point to point perfectly clear;• The facial expressions show an interest in the matters being talked about;• The talk is made livelier, or the material is cut out if listeners become

bored;• The avoidance of mannerisms (fidgeting of clothing/ objects);• The avoidance of use of fillers (er/ ah/ you know);• Standing still (not stiffly);• Not apologizing.

HANDLING UNWANTED INTERRUPTERS

• respond with good humor• maintain dignity and composure• act with knowledge of the audience, keep calm.

SPEECH HABITS TO AVOID

2 aspects of speech impoverishing/ enriching speech image: VOCABULARY (the words used) QUALITY OF SPEECH (the way uttered)

A few negative speech habits/ mannerisms: Use of slang; Passion for detail + wandering from the subject; Meaningless repetitions and clichés [you know/ I mean/ like]; Nonsense words/ phrases (whatsisname/ whoozit/ whatyoumaycallit); Repeating a statement; Overuse of affectionate terms (love/ dear/ mate); Use of pet words/ phrases (‘divine’ for superb/ excellent); Grunting; and Speed, pitch, clarity.

VISUAL AIDS TO ENLIVEN SPEECH

• NEVER BE IN THE DARK

• CHECK BEFOREHAND THAT VISUAL AIDS USED CLEARLY SEEN FROM ANY PART

• RIGHT-HANDER STANDS TO THE LEFT OF A CHART/MAP/PICTURE WHIE DRAWING ATTENTION TO ITEMS ON IT

• USING A POINTER: NEVER POINT ACROSS YOUR BODY

• WHEN CHART IS PUT UP BEFORE THE TALK: NEVER OBSTRUCT VIEW

• BE SPECIFIC IN POINTING/ INDICATING ON A CHART

• USE CLEAR + CONSPICUOUS PICTURES

• WHEN DISPLAYING AN OBJECT, MAKE SURE AUDIENCE CAN SEE EVERYTHING POINTED OUT ON IT

• DO NOT HANDLE AN OBJECT BEFORE IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO DEMONSTRATE IT IN YOUR TALK.

USING SIGNALS

USING SIGNALS

THREE MAIN PARTS OF A GOOD PRESENTATION :

– an introduction– a body– a conclusion

THE INTRODUCTION

• FIVE ITEMS TO BE INCLUDED:

GREETING

PERSONAL INTRODUCTION

THE SUBJECT: what you are going to talk about

THE MAIN POINT: why what you are going to talk about is important

THE ORGANIZATIONAL OUTLINE: how you are going to present

INTRODUCTION: an example

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Dr. Soon Sing Swea from the Department of Languages, Jaw Ngown Know University, Malang.This morning I’m going to describe the Academic Speaking material used at the international forum.Our data show that insufficient mastery of how to speak academically fails appropriate interpretation of the transfer of expertise at the international level in Indonesia.I’ll start by looking at overall figures so far, and then look at the results of including the Academic Speaking Subject in the curriculum in turn.Finally, I’ll make recommendations for including the Academic Speaking Subject in the undergraduate curriculum in Indonesia.At the end of the presentation there will be time for any questions you have

greeting

personal introduction

subject

main point

outline

THE BODY

• SEQUENCING• REFERRING TO TEXTS OR VISUALS• CHANGING A TOPIC• CONCLUDING• ELICITING QUESTIONS

FIVE ITEMS TO BE INCLUDED:

THE BODY: an exampleFirst of all, let’s talk about iron and steel production in Europe in 1972 and 1981.As you can see from the bar graph, the UK’s steel production stood at 25.3 million tons in 1972.In 1981 this figure was 15.3 million tons, a difference of roughly 10 million tons.Now, let’s turn to another large steel producer, France, we can see that the situation is different. …. etc.Finally, let’s look at Italy, one of the countries in which production has risen. ……..etc.In conclusion, we can observe that there is a general fall in production, although this is not true for Italy.Well, that is all I would like to say about the European steel production in 1972 and 1981.If you would like to know more, do not hesitate to ask.

sequencing

inviting to refer to the UK

Sequencing:

UK to FranceFrance to Italy

concluding

closing

Eliciting quesions

THE CONCLUSION

• A SUMMARY OF AREAS COVERED• A REPETITION OF MAIN POINT(S)• A MENTIONING OF THE FUTURE WORK IN LINE WITH

THE MAIN POINT(S)• A CLOSING

FOUR ITEMS TO BE INCLUDED:

THE CONCLUSION: an example

In summary, I’ve explained …In conclusion, I’ve talked about …In conclusion, I’ve shown …

My main point was …I, therefore, recommend …I’ve also explained …

In the next few years we will …

Thank you for your attention.Thank you for listening. Do you have any questions?

summary

main point

future work

closing

DESCRIBING TRENDS

DESCRIBING TRENDS

DIFFERENCE OF < 5%

DIFFERENCE OF ≥ 5% ≤ 10%

DIFFERENCE OF ≥ 10% ≤ 50% DIFFERENCE OF = 50%

DIFFERENCE OF ≥ 50%

fractionally higher / lowermarginally higher/ lower

slightly higher/ lower

somewhat higher/ lower

a great deal higher/ lowerfar higher/ lowermuch higher/ lowerdramatically higher/ lower

DEALING WITH NUMBERS

DEALING WITH NUMBERS

• FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY• FOUR HUNDRED THIRTY

• FORTY-FIVE POINT SEVEN THREE• FORTY-FIVE POINT ZERO SEVEN THRRE

• SIXTY-SEVEN PERCENT

• FIVE EIGHTHS• THREE QUARTERS

430

45,7345,073

67%

5/83/4

SYMBOLS

SYMBOLS

3 + 7 = 10 eight TIMES four

three PLUS eight

seventeen MINUS six

six DIVIDED BY three

three TO THE POWER OF five

THE SQUARE ROOT OF seven

three PLUS seven EQUALS ten

A is more/greater than B

C is less/ smaller than DE is more than or equals FE is greater than or equals F

G is less than or equals HG is smaller or equals H

twelve CUBED

3 + 8

17 – 6

8 X 4

6 ÷ 3

3^5

8^2

12^3

√7A > B

C < DE ≥ F

G ≤ H

eight SQUARE

God Bless you !