How to Make an

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How to Make an Oral Presentation
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Things to Think About 1. Oral Communication is
different from written communication. Listeners
have one chance to hear your talk and can't
"re-read" when they get confused. In many
situations, they have or will hear several talks
on the same day. Being clear is particularly
important if the audience can't ask questions
during the talk. There are two well-know ways to
communicate your points effectively. The first is
to keep it simple. Focus on getting one to three
key points across. Second, repeat key insights
tell them what you're going to tell them
(forecast), then tell them, and tell them what
you told them (summary). 2. Think about your
audience. Most audiences should be addressed in
layers some are experts in your sub-area, some
are experts in the general area, and others know
little or nothing. Who is most important to you?
Can you still leave others with something? For
example, pitch the body to experts, but make the
forecast and summary accessible to all. 3.
Think about your rhetorical goals. For conference
talks, for example, I recommend two rhetorical
goals leave your audience with a clear picture
of the gist of your contribution, and make them
want to read your paper. Your presentation should
not replace your paper, but rather whet the
audience appetite for it. Thus, it is commonly
useful to allude to information in the paper that
can't be covered adequately in the presentation.
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Podium Panic Everyone experiences stage fright,
speech anxiety, or talking terror. Surveys show
that fear of speaking in front of groups is one
of the greatest fears people have. Some surveys
find people actually claiming that the thought of
giving a speech is more frightening than falling
off a cliff, financial difficulties, snakes, and
even death. The following lists some techniques
people use for coping with this fright 1. Your
audience understands your nervousness they know
what you are feeling and will forgive it
similarly they will forgive honest mistakes. 2.
Nervousness is usually invisible most will not
notice the small changes in your voice
or occasional mistakes most speakers who
describe themselves as nervous appear
confident and calm to the audience. 3. Be
yourself let the real you come through relax,
practice some deep breathing techniques. 4.
Begin in your comfort zone practice with
friends check out the room first, the
equipment 5. concentrate on the message begin
with a slow, well-prepared introduction have a
confident and clear conclusion.
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Most important Be prepared and practice!
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STYLE Effective presenters recognize that
communication is both intellectual and
emotional. Organizing your ideas is part of the
task. The other is to gain and maintain
attention. The following lists some basic
techniques to maintain attention 1. Convey
"controlled enthusiasm" for your subject - the
audience will forgive a lot if the speaker is
enthusiastic 2. Pay attention to your posture
and tone don't lean. 3. Your audience will
mirror your attitude - radiate confidence without
preaching 4. Don't confuse enthusiasm with
loudness try to convey a range of emotions from
concern, anticipation, excitement, dismay where
appropriate.
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Are You Distracting the Audience and Drawing
Attention away from your Message? When we want
the audience to focus on what we have to say
rather than on us, it is important to think about
anything that might detract from our
message. This can be a sensitive issue since some
of these factors are personal or "part of who we
are. Regional accents or colloquialisms If we
are in an audience of people who share
our "accent" no one will notice. However, if we
are in a more general audience, our accent may
make the audience focus on this rather than our
message. This is not to say that you should
abandon your ethnic or regional identity and
individuality however, you need to be aware of
the impact of accents on audience. This can be
done positively, but more often these mannerisms
tend to detract negatively. We don't have to talk
all alike, but we need to know how we are
perceived. Physical mannerisms Speakers who
pace, pound the podium, jingle change in their
pockets, fumble with their hair, pick their
noses, or do other similar things can focus
attention on themselves rather than the subject
sometimes this can be done for affect, but more
often it is inadvertent and distracting. It is
advisable to wear moderate clothes
and jewelery. Voice tone Professional speakers
generally emphasize the lower registers of their
voices (both men and women) and avoid dramatic
variations in the pitches of their
voices. Occasionally this "rule" can be broken
for affect.
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A World of Water Water for the World
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Water just comes out of a tap. I dont care where
it comes from.
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Water is more valuable than oil.
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Scan the texts. What do these numbers refer
to? 70 98 1972 300 billion 25 32,000 2.7
billion 150
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1. What is desalination? 2. What is removed
during desalination? 3. Which twi methods are
used in desalination? 4. Name three countries
that use desalination. 5. When was desalination
first used in China? 6. How have the Chinese
made the process of desalination more
efficient? 7. When was desalination first used
in the UAE? 8. Why is there a water shortage in
some countries with adequate rainfall? 9. How
can water be managed more efficiently? 10. How
can the problems of water be solved in the future?
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Some More Exercises on Reported Speech
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1. "Don't touch it," she said to him. 2. "Don't
do that again," he said to me. 3. "Don't talk to
me like that," he said. 4. "Don't repair the
computer yourself," she warned him. 5. "Don't
let him in," she said. 6. "Don't go out without
me," he begged her. 7. "Don't forget your bag,"
she told me. 8. "Don't eat in the lab," the
chemistry teacher said. 9. "Don't give yourself
up," he advised her. 10. "Don't hurt
yourselves, boys," she said.
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1. She said, "Go upstairs. 2. "Close the door
behind you," he told me. 3. "Don't be late," he
advised us. 4. "Stop staring at me," she said.
5. "Don't be angry with me," he said. 6.
"Leave me alone," she said. 7. "Don't drink and
drive," she warned us. 8. "John, stop smoking,"
she said. 9. "Don't worry about us," they
said. 10. "Meet me at the cinema." he said.
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1. He said, "I like this song. 2. "Where is
your sister?" she asked me. 3. "I don't speak
Italian," she said. 4. "Say hello to Jim," they
said. 5. "The film began at seven o'clock," he
said. 8. "Don't play on the grass, boys," she
said. 9. "Where have you spent your money?" she
asked him. 10. "I never make mistakes," he
said. 11. "Does she know Robert?" he wanted to
know. 12. "Don't try this at home," the
stuntman told the audience.