US Academic Expectations: Oral Communication Skills By: Jillian Johnston

US Academic Expectations Participation Presentations US Assumptions: Professors and students are partners in learning. Students learn best when they are involved in the learning process. When students participate, they are showing interest and engagement with the materials in class.

Participation How do you participate? Share your opinions Answer questions posed by students and professors Ask questions to clarify or deepen your understanding Actively interact in assigned class groups

Presentations When you present, you are: Sharing your findings on an assigned topic Engaging your audience so they can best learn the information you are sharing

What makes this presentation effective? What does she do well? Stop at 1:19; hand out a transcript of the talk to everyone. How to Make Stress your Friend

What is an Oral Presentation

Oral Presentation Skills Verbal Non-Verbal Breathing Volume Pacing Movement Pronunciation

Verbal Communication - Tips Be sure to enunciate- pronounce the word clearly Practice difficult words (e.g. names or places) Identify words that you are unsure of how to pronunciation that the speaker pronounces clearly. Which part of the word is difficult for you? Are you making the correct mouth movements

Which words should you practice pronouncing? Some people become "hangry," or irrationally irritable, upset or angry because of hunger. But how hunger turns into hangriness is a mystery, says Isabella Martinez, a doctoral candidate at the University of Connecticut in psychoneurobiology, who wanted to understand the phenomenon. “hangriness” People’s name – Isabella Martinez Place – Connecticut “Psychoneurobiology” “Phenomenon”

Nonverbal Communication - Tips Engage the audience with different volume Talk slower than you think you need to. When nervous, people talk faster, which makes a presentation more difficult to understand. Make eye contact with your audience. If possible, move away from the podium to different locations in the room. If your audience looks like they are getting bored: Make your voice louder or softer. Move around the room more. Ask a question. Use exaggerated facial expressions.

What do you notice now? What does she do to keep your attention? How to Make Stress your Friend

Presentation Best Practices Appropriate pauses Know what comes next Make sure your thoughts/ideas flow Can you use reference cards? Practice, practice, practice! In front of a mirror paying attention to other skills With your group too! Avoid filler words Uh, um, & hmm Reference cards: key points that spark interest Why Identify when the speaker pauses to change a thought Does this transition feel “smooth”…why? Which other components affect tranitioning

Power Point Best Practices No death by Power Point!! Use less words, more graphics If you have too many words, the audience will be reading your slides rather than listening to you. Do not read directly from your Power Point. You should be talking to your audience, rather than looking at a screen. And if you can read directly from your slides, you have too many words on them. Practice!! Reference cards: key points that spark interest Why Identify when the speaker pauses to change a thought Does this transition feel “smooth”…why? Which other components affect tranitioning