|
ORAL
PRESENTATION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STUDENTS
PHOENIX COLLEGE
There are eight
major competencies to keep in mind as you prepare your oral presentation
PLANNING YOUR ORAL PRESENTATION
1. Choose
and narrow a topic so that it is appropriate for the audience and
occasion.
• Your topic or theme is chosen based on the needs
and interest of your audience.
• Your topic or theme can
be discussed in the time allotted for the oral presentation.
2. Communicate
the thesis/central idea in a manner appropriate for audience and occasion.
• You have one sentence (thesis/central
idea) that essentially will communicate to your audience “what
your oral presentation is about.” (See
reverse side for detail.)
• This sentence will be delivered in the introduction
and summarized in the conclusion.
3. Provide
appropriate supporting material based on the audience and occasion.
• The information you provide in the body of your
oral presentation supports your thesis/central idea (see #2) and
does not stray into other central ideas.
• The material in the body of your oral presentation
serves to clarify, prove, provide examples, share research findings,
provide opinions, etc., that all relate to your thesis/central idea.
(See reverse side for detail.)
• Visual or audio support is used if it will assist
in the communication of your ideas.
• Verbally acknowledge research and/or other sources
used in the oral presentation.
4. Use
an organizational pattern appropriate to the topic, audience, occasion
and purpose.
• There is a clear introduction,
body and conclusion in your oral presentation.
• Introduction - opening words, thesis/central idea, preview
of supporting points to
be discussed in the body,
why topic is of interest or need to audience
• Body - main supporting points are
discussed one at a time
• Conclusion - summary of thesis/central
idea, closing words
• Transitions are used that allow your listeners
to follow the organization of your oral presentation. These transitions
are found from the introduction to the body, between main points
in the body, and from the body to the conclusion(See
reverse side for detail.)
DELIVERING
YOUR ORAL PRESENTATION
5. Use
language appropriate to the audience, occasion and purpose.
• The language you use is
clear, vivid, memorable and non-offensive.
• You use a conversational
style of speech as opposed to a written style of speech.
6. Use
vocal variety in rate, pitch and intensity to heighten and maintain
interest.
• Your voice varies and changes as it relates to
the information in your oral presentation.
• You speak so that you are heard and understood.
7. Use
pronunciation, grammar and articulation appropriate to the designated
audience.
• You know how to properly pronounce all words
in your oral presentation.
• You obey the grammatical rules of the language
you are using.
• You aim to get rid of “verbal junk”
such as uh, um, er, like, y’know, OK, etc.
8. Use
physical behaviors that support the verbal message.
• Your dress and appearance are appropriate for
the occasion.
• You maintain eye contact with your audience as
much as possible.
• Your body movement is deliberate and non-distracting.
• Your face and body reflect the mood or emotional
tone of your words.
Detail, Competencies #1 and #2 - Topic vs. thesis/central
idea.
A topic
is a broad theme. A thesis/central idea is the specific idea you want
to communicate about that theme. Here are some examples of related
topics and thesis/central ideas.
|
Topic
|
Thesis/Central Idea
|
| Elephants |
Elephants organize themselves in various social circles within
the herd according to their status and relationship to the matriarch.
These social circles are known as the central circle, the main
family unit and the bond group. (Informative thesis)
|
| Sculpture |
Greek sculpture from the early Archaic period differs from the Greek sculpture we see later
in the Hellenistic period. The sculptures tend to differ in
clothing, body movement and emotion expressed. (Informative
thesis)
|
| Internet |
The Internet
should be filtered to prevent minors from accessing age-inappropriate material. (Persuasive or argumentative
thesis)
|
Detail, Competency #3 - Forms of support
Here are several ways in which you can support your central
idea:
• Example – clarifies an idea with a specific instance.
• Statistic – numbers that support the point you’re
trying to make.
• Description – words that bring an idea to life
through details.
• Anecdote – a small story that illustrates a point.
• Testimonial or quote – words spoken by a person
that support an idea.
• Exposition – gives the necessary background
information needed to understand a later point.
• Analogy – explains an unfamiliar concept by relating
it to a familiar one.
• Visual – allows your audience to see that which
you are trying to explain.
Detail, Competency #4– Transitions
A transition
is a sentence that takes your listeners from one main idea to the
next. Here are some examples of transitions:
• In the first place, let’s
look at X.
• Another consequence of X is Y.
• Now that we’ve examined
X, let me move on to the third and final benefit, which is Y.
• So X is clearly the problem,
now let me convince you that Y is the solution.
• We’ve seen how X is
a cause of Y, now let’s look at Z.
|
