Intermediate +
skill integrated lesson
A. CHOOSE FROM THE BOX THE STATEMENTS THAT ARE TRUE TO YOU AND SHARE THEM WITH YOUR PARTNER. EXPAND ON EACH STATEMENT BY PROVIDING MORE PIECES OF INFORMATION:
I never have to give presentations in my job.
I usually present to colleagues/ clients/visitors/other firms/ Head of the company.
I last gave a presentation a long time ago.
I have given at least one presentation that I’m proud of.
I usually receive very good feedback.
I can easily catch my audience’s attention.
The hardest/easiest part for me is to keep calm.
My nerves usually hinder my presentation skill.
I know how to present very well.
I’d like to know more about how to design a PowerPoint/KeyNote/Prezi presentation.
I can name at least two good presenters.
I remember am outstanding/dreadful presentation I have attended.
I know what a good presentation consists of.
B. YOU’LL READ PART OF THE TEXT BELOW. GET TOGETHER WITH OTHER PEOPLE WHO READ THE SAME PART AS YOU AND PARAPHRASE THE MAIN IDEAS.PART A
A good presentation contains at least four elements: Content - It contains information that people need. But unlike reports, which are read at the reader's own pace, presentations must account for how much information the audience can absorb in one sitting. Structure - It has a logical beginning, middle, and end. It must be sequenced and paced so that the audience can understand it. Whereas reports have appendices and footnotes to guide the reader, the speaker must be careful not to lose the audience when wandering from the main point of the presentation. Packaging - It must be well prepared. A report can be reread and portions skipped over, but with a presentation, the audience is at the mercy of a presenter. Human Element - A good presentation will be remembered much more than a good report because it has a person attached to it. However, you must still analyze the audience's needs to determine if they would be better met if a report was sent instead.
PART B -
The voice is probably the most valuable tool of the presenter. It carries most of the content that the audience takes away. One of the oddities of speech is that we can easily tell others what is wrong with their voice, e.g. too fast, too high, too soft, etc., but we have trouble listening to and changing our own voices.
There are five main terms used for defining vocal qualities (Grant-Williams, 2002): Volume: How loud the sound is. The goal is to be heard without shouting. Good speakers lower their voice to draw the audience in, and raise it to make a point. Tone: The characteristics of a sound. An airplane has a different sound than leaves being rustled by the wind. A voice that carries fear can frighten the audience, while a voice that carries laughter can get the audience to smile. Pitch: How high or low a note is. Pee Wee Herman has a high voice; Barbara Walters has a moderate voice; while James Earl Jones has a low voice. Pace: This is how long a sound lasts. Talking too fast causes the words and syllables to be short, while talking slowly lengthens them. Varying the pace helps to maintain the audience's interest. Color: Both projection and tone variance can be practiced by taking the line “This new policy is going to be exciting” and saying it first with surprise, then with irony, then with grief, and finally with anger. The key is to over-act. Remember Shakespeare's words “All the world's a stage” - presentations are the opening night on Broadway!
- The Body PART C
Your body communicates different impressions to the audience. People not only listen to you, they also watch you. Slouching tells them you are indifferent or you do not care... even though you might care a great deal! On the other hand, displaying good posture tells your audience that you know what you are doing and you care deeply about it. Also, a good posture helps you to speak more clearly and effective. Throughout your presentation, display (Smith, Bace, 2002): Eye contact: This helps to regulate the flow of communication. It signals interest in others and increases the speaker's credibility. Speakers who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest, concern, warmth, and credibility. Facial Expressions: Smiling is a powerful cue that transmits happiness, friendliness, warmth, and liking. So, if you smile frequently you will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm, and approachable. Smiling is often contagious and others will react favorably. They will be more comfortable around you and will want to listen to you more. Gestures: If you fail to gesture while speaking, you may be perceived as boring and stiff. A lively speaking style captures attention, makes the material more interesting, and facilitates understanding. Posture and body orientation: You communicate numerous messages by the way you talk and move. Standing erect and leaning forward communicates that you are approachable, receptive, and friendly. Interpersonal closeness results when you and your audience face each other. Speaking with your back turned or looking at the floor or ceiling should be avoided as it communicates disinterest. Proximity: Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance for interaction with others. You should look for signals of discomfort caused by invading other's space. Some of these are: rocking, leg swinging, tapping, and gaze aversion. Typically, in large rooms, space invasion is not a problem. In most instances, there is too much distance. To counteract this, move around the room to increase interaction with your audience. Increasing the proximity enables you to make better eye contact and increases the opportunities for others to speak.
PART D- Nerves
The main enemy of a presenter is tension, which ruins the voice, posture, and spontaneity. The voice becomes higher as the throat tenses. Shoulders tighten up and limit flexibility, while the legs start to shake and cause unsteadiness. The presentation becomes canned as the speaker locks in on the notes and starts to read directly from them.
First, do not fight nerves: welcome them! Then you can get on with the presentation instead of focusing on being nervous. Actors recognize the value of nerves... they add to the value of the performance. This is because adrenaline starts to kick in. It's a left over from our ancestors' “fight or flight” syndrome. If you welcome nerves, then the presentation becomes a challenge and you become better. If you let your nerves take over, then you go into the flight mode by withdrawing from the audience.
Tension can be reduced by performing some relaxation exercises. Listed below are a couple to get you started: Before the presentation: Lie on the floor with your back flat on the floor. Pull your feet towards you so that your knees are up in the air. Relax. Close your eyes. Feel your back spreading out, feel your neck lengthening. Work your way through your body, relaxing one section at a time — your feet, legs, torso, etc. When finished, stand up slowly and try to maintain the relaxed feeling in a standing position. If you cannot lie down: Stand with your feet about 6 inches apart, arms hanging by your sides, and fingers unclenched. Gently shake each part of your body, starting with your hands, then arms, shoulders, torso, and legs. Concentrate on shaking out the tension. Then slowly rotate your shoulders forwards and then backwards. Move on to your head. Rotate it slowly clockwise, and then counter-clockwise. Mental Visualization: Before the presentation, visualize the room, audience, and you giving the presentation. Mentally go over what you are going to do from the moment you start to the end of the presentation. During the presentation, take a moment to yourself by getting a drink of water, take a deep breath, concentrate on relaxing the most tense part of your body, and then return to the presentation saying to yourself, “I can do it!” Never drink alcohol to reduce tension! It affects not only your coordination but also your awareness of coordination. You might not realize it, but your audience will!
C YOU’LL WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT HOW TO PREPARE A FANTASTIC POWERPOINT PRESENTATION. BEFORE YOU WATCH, TALK TO YOUR PARTNER AND DECIDE WHETHER THE SENTENCES BELOW ARE TRUE OR FALSE.
( ) 95% of the PowerPoint presentations are awful.
( ) A person should use bullet points on the slides.
( ) Slides should convey lots of information to guide the presenter.
( ) The presenter should use very few images because they might distract the audience.
D. WATCH THE VIDEO AND CHECK.
E. MATCH THE WORD TO ITS TRANSCRIPTION
F YOU WILL WATCH A VIDEO: HOW TO DELIVER A GREAT PRESENTATION LIKE STEVE JOBS. 1. BEFORE WATCHING THE VIDEO, READ THE OPENING BELOW AND TRY TO GUESS WHAT TIPS THEY SUGGEST.
Steve Jobs is probably one of the most polished presenters in the world. He doesn't use any bullet points in his presentations, his keynote addresses are free of any jargon, there are very few words in the slides but they have photographs and headlines that are hard to forget (everyone still remembers "the world's thinnest notebook," a phrase that Steve used to describe Macbook Air). HOW TO PRESENT LIKE STEVE JOBS
If you’d like to learn some of the techniques and styles that make Steve Jobs such a great presenter, here's some excellent advice [video + slides] from BusinessWeek columnist Carmine Gallo, who is also the author of the book - The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs.
2. NOW, WATCH THE VIDEO AND CHECK IF YOU WERE RIGHT.
3. AFTER WATCHING THE VIDEO, WORK IN SMALL GROUPS AND SUMMARIZE THE MAIN IDEAS IN THE VIDEO.
G. GO TO THE SITE www.TED.com AND FIND A PRESENTATION THAT HAS SOME OF THE FEATURES DISCUSSED HERE.
H. NOW, PLAN THE OPENING OF A PRESENTATION. REMEMBER TO…
Look at the example:
Welcome the audience.
Introduce yourself.
Say what the topic is.
Explain why the audience will be interested.
Good morning, everyone!
As you all know, my name is Lydia and I am here today to tell you about San Francisco. I spent two weeks in San Francisco last summer and I thought you would love to learn a little bit about the city that we have all heard of and seen in all kinds of American movies.
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