Hassan II University Oral Communication

Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences (S2)

Department of English Groups: 1, 2, 3

A. BELHAJ

Oral communication (w1)

Presentations:

Preparing for your oral presentation

In some classes, writing the research paper is only part of what is required in
regards to presenting your work. Your professor may also require you to also give
an oral presentation about your study. Here are some things to think about
before you are scheduled to give a presentation.

1. What should I say?

If your professor hasn't explicitly stated what the content of your presentation
should focus on, think about what you want to achieve and what you consider to
be the most important things that members of the audience should know about
your study. Think about the following: Do I want to inform my audience, inspire
them to think about my research, or convince them of a particular point of view?
These questions will help frame how to approach your presentation topic.

2. Oral communication is different from written communication

Your audience has just one chance to hear your talk; they can't "re-read" your
words if they get confused. Focus on being clear, particularly if the audience
can't ask questions during the talk. There are two well-known ways to
communicate your points effectively. The first is the K.I.S.S. method [Keep It
Simple Stupid]. Focus your presentation on getting two to three key points
across. The second approach is to repeat key insights: tell them what you're
going to tell them [forecast], tell them [explain], and then tell them what you just
told them [summarize].

3. Think about your audience

Yes, you want to demonstrate to your professor that you have conducted a good
study. But professors often ask students to give an oral presentation to practice
the art of communicating and to learn to speak clearly and audibly about yourself
and your research. Questions to think about include: What background
knowledge do they have about my topic? Does the audience have any particular
interests? How am I going to involve them in my presentation?

4. Create effective notes

If you don't have notes to refer to as you speak, you run the risk of forgetting
something important. Also, having no notes increases the chance you'll lose your
train of thought and begin relying on reading from the presentation slides. Think
about the best ways to create notes that can be easily referred to as you speak.
This is important! Nothing is more distracting to an audience than the speaker
fumbling around with notes as they try to speak. It gives the impression of being
disorganized and unprepared.

NOTE: A good strategy is to have a page of notes for each slide so that the act of
referring to a new page helps remind you to move to the next slide. This also
creates a natural pause that allows your audience to contemplate what you just
presented.

Strategies for creating effective notes for yourself include the

following:

 Choose a large, readable font [at least 18 point in Ariel]; avoid using fancy
text fonts or cursive text.
 Use bold text, underlining, or different-colored text to highlight elements of
your speech that you want to emphasize. Don't over do it, though. Only
highlight the most important elements of your presentation.
 Leave adequate space on your notes to jot down additional thoughts or
observations before and during your presentation. This is also helpful when
writing down your thoughts in response to a question or to remember a multi-
part question [remember to have a pen with you when you give your
presentation].
 Place a cue in the text of your notes to indicate when to move to the next slide,
to click on a link, or to take some other action, such as, linking to a video. If
appropriate, include a cue in your notes if there is a point during your
presentation when you want the audience to refer to a handout.
 Spell out challenging words phonetically and practice saying them ahead of
time. This is particularly important for accurately pronouncing people’s
names, technical or scientific terminology, words in a foreign language, or any
unfamiliar words.

Organizing the Content

Begin by thinking about what you want to achieve and how are you
going to involve your audience in the presentation.

Then...

1. Brainstorm your topic and write a rough outline. Don’t get carried away—
remember you have a limited amount of time for your presentation.
2. Organize your material and draft what you want to say [see below].
3. Summarize your draft into key points to write on your presentation slides
and/or note cards and/or handout.
4. Prepare your visual aids.
5. Rehearse your presentation and practice getting the presentation completed
within the time limit given by your professor. Ask a friend to listen and time
you.

GENERAL OUTLINE

I. Introduction [may be written last]

 Capture your listeners’ attention. Begin with a question, an amusing
story, a provocative statement, or anything that will engage your audience and
make them think.
 State your purpose. For example, "I’m going to talk about..."; "This
morning I want to explain…."
 Present an outline of your talk. For example, “I will concentrate on the
following points: First of all…Then…This will lead to…And finally…"
II. The Body

 Present your main points one by one in a logical order.

 Pause at the end of each point. Give people time to take notes, or time to
think about what you are saying.
 Make it clear when you move to another point. For example, “The next
point is that...”; “Of course, we must not forget that...”; “However, it's
important to realize that....”
 Use clear examples to illustrate your points and/or key findings.
 If appropriate, consider using visual aids to make your
presentation more interesting [e.g., a map, chart, picture, link to a video,
etc.].
III. The Conclusion

 Leave your audience with a clear summary of everything that you

have covered.
 Summarize the main points again. For example, use phrases like: "So, in
conclusion..."; "To recap the main issues...," "In summary, it is important to
realize...."
 Restate the purpose of your talk, and say that you have achieved
your aim: "My intention was ..., and it should now be clear that...."
 Don't let the talk just fizzle out. Make it obvious that you have reached
the end of the presentation.
 Thank the audience, and invite questions: "Thank you. Are there any
questions?"
NOTE: When asking your audience if anyone has any questions, give people
time to contemplate what you have said and to formulate a question. It may seem
like an awkward pause to wait ten seconds or so for someone to raise their hand,
but it's frustrating to have a question come to mind but be cutoff because the
presenter rushed to end the talk.

ANOTHER NOTE: If your last slide includes any contact information or other
important information, leave it up long enough to ensure audience members
have time to write the information down. Nothing is more frustrating to an
audience member than wanting to jot something down, but the presenter closes
the slides immediately after finishing.

Delivering Your Presentation

When delivering your presentation, keep in mind the following points to help you
remain focused and ensure that everything goes as planned.

Pay attention to language!

 Keep it simple. The aim is to communicate, not to show off your vocabulary.
Using complex words or phrases increases the chance of stumbling over a
word and losing your train of thought.
 Emphasize the key points. Make sure people realize which are the key
points of your study. Repeat them using different phrasing to help the
audience remember them.
 Check the pronunciation of difficult, unusual, or foreign words
beforehand. Keep it simple, but if you have to use unfamiliar words, write
them out phonetically in your notes and practice saying them. This is
particularly important when pronouncing proper names. Give the definition of
words that are unusual or are being used in a particular context [e.g., "By
using the term affective response, I am referring to..."].

Use your voice to communicate clearly

 Speak loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear you . Projecting
your voice may feel uncomfortably loud at first, but if people can't hear you,
 they won't try to listen. However, moderate your voice if you are talking in
front of a microphone.
 Speak slowly and clearly. Don’t rush! Speaking fast makes it harder for
people to understand you and signals being nervous.
 Avoid the use of "fillers." Linguists refer to utterances such as um, ah, you
know, and like as fillers. They occur most often during transitions from one
idea to another and, if expressed too much, are distracting to an audience. The
better you know your presentation, the better you can control these verbal
tics.
 Vary your voice quality. If you always use the same volume and pitch [for
example, all loud, or all soft, or in a monotone] during your presentation, your
audience will stop listening. Use a higher pitch and volume in your voice when
you begin a new point or when emphasizing the transition to a new point.
 Speakers with accents need to slow down [so do most others]. Non-
native speakers often speak English faster than we slow-mouthed native
speakers, usually because most non-English languages flow more quickly than
English. Slowing down helps the audience to comprehend what you are saying.
 Slow down for key points. These are also moments in your presentation to
consider using body language, such as hand gestures or leaving the podium to
point to a slide, to help emphasize key points.
 Use pauses. Don't be afraid of short periods of silence. They give you a
chance to gather your thoughts, and your audience an opportunity to think
about what you've just said.

Use your body language to communicate too!

 Stand straight and comfortably. Do not slouch or shuffle about. If you

appear bored or uninterested in what your talking about, the audience will
emulate this as well. Wear something comfortable. This is not the time to wear
an itchy wool sweater or new high heel shoes for the first time.
 Hold your head up. Look around and make eye contact with people in the
audience [or at least pretend to]. Do not just look at your professor or your
 notes the whole time! Looking up at your your audience brings them into the
conversation. If you don't include the audience, they won't listen to you.
 When you are talking to your friends, you naturally use your hands, your
facial expression, and your body to add to your communication. Do
it in your presentation as well. It will make things far more interesting for the
audience.
 Don't turn your back on the audience and don't fidget! Neither
moving around nor standing still is wrong. Practice either to make yourself
comfortable. Even when pointing to a slide, don't turn your back; stand at the
side and turn your head towards the audience as you speak.
 Keep your hands out of your pocket. This is a natural habit when
speaking. One hand in your pocket gives the impression of being relaxed, but
both hands in pockets looks too casual and should be avoided.

Interact with the audience

 Be aware of how your audience is reacting to your presentation . Are

they interested or bored? If they look confused, stop and ask them [e.g., "Is
anything I've covered so far unclear?"]. Stop and explain a point again if
needed.
 Check after highlighting key points to ask if the audience is still
with you. "Does that make sense?"; "Is that clear?" Don't do this often during
the presentation but, if the audience looks disengaged, interrupting your talk
to ask a quick question can re-focus their attention even if no one answers.
 Do not apologize for anything. If you believe something will be hard to
read or understand, don't use it. If you apologize for feeling awkward and
nervous, you'll only succeed in drawing attention to the fact you are feeling
awkward and nervous and your audience will begin looking for this, rather
than focusing on what you are saying.
 Be open to questions. If someone asks a question in the middle of your
talk, answer it. If it disrupts your train of thought momentarily, that's ok
because your audience will understand. Questions show that the audience is
listening with interest and, therefore, should not be regarded as an attack on
 you, but as a collaborative search for deeper understanding. However, don't
engage in an extended conversation with an audience member or the rest of
the audience will begin to feel left out. If an audience member persists, kindly
tell them that the issue can be addressed after you've completed the rest of
your presentation and note to them that their issue may be addressed later in
your presentation [it may not be, but at least saying so allows you to move on].
 Be ready to get the discussion going after your presentation.
Professors often want a brief discussion to take place after a presentation. Just
in case nobody has anything to say or no one asks any questions, be prepared
to ask your audience some provocative questions or bring up key issues for
discussion.

Speaking Tip

Your First Words are Your Most Important!

Your introduction should begin with something that grabs the attention of your
audience, such as, an interesting statistic, a brief narrative or story, or a bold
assertion, and then clearly tell the audience in a well-crafted sentence what you
plan to accomplish in your presentation. Your introductory statement should be
constructed so as to invite the audience to pay close attention to your message
and to give the audience a clear sense of the direction in which you are about to
take them.

Another Speaking Tip

Talk to Your Audience, Don't Read to Them!

A presentation is not the same as an essay. If you read your presentation as if it

were an essay, your audience will probably understand very little about what you
say and will lose concentration quickly. Use notes, cue cards, or overheads as
prompts that emphasis key points, and speak to your audience. Include
everyone by looking at them and maintaining regular eye-contact [but don't stare
or glare at people]. Limit reading text to quotes or to specific points you want to
emphasize.
Lucas, Stephen. The Art of Public Speaking . 12th edition. Boston, MA: McGraw-
Hill Higher Education, 2015.