Communication, oral presentation and reflection on experiences Lars Peter Jensen

Agenda Communication Oral presentation Experience exchange

Communication - a definition - from ancient Latin: communis - ”common” - sharing, making commonly known Merriam-Webster: ( www.m-w.com ) a: to convey knowledge of or information about : make known <communicate a story> b: to reveal by clear signs <his fear communicated itself to his friends> c: to transmit information, thought, or feeling so that it is satisfactorily received or understood

Ways of communication One-on-one Few-on-few One-on-many Participants Characteristic Two-way ’Multi-way’ One-way Oral Discussion Group discussion Presentation Written Letters, e-mail Working papers Notes for a course

Active Listening Builds on the ability to: ’Mirror’, (repeat with your own words) what the other person says Communicate on the other person’s premises Show understanding and respect for the other persons opinion Interpret – not judge or condemn. Be silent Express acknowledgement Invite others to go into details using encouraging words: ”Yes”,”No”,”I see”,”Hmmm” and Use openers: ”Tell more”, ”How would you” etc.

Body language of a listener A listening person: Has eye contact Has an open posture Is leaning slightly forward Nods at intervals Is conscious of own and receiver’s body language

Positive discussion Contributions furthering the discussion Make proposals Search for information via questions Give information Summing up the discussion Elaborate and further develop ideas Test own and others’ understanding of the topic under discussion

Positive discussion Contributions improving the ’climate’ Praise and encourage others Support others in being listened to Follow and support ideas of others Openly express change of opinion Show openness Listen actively

Negative discussion Contributions blocking the discussion Disagree without constructive alternatives Attack proposals of others Defend own proposals aggressively Speaking all the time without listening Talk about other subjects

The short presentation plan Tell them what you are going to tell them! Tell them! Tell them what you have told them!

Plan - rehearse - evaluate – review – rehearse etc. The longer presentation plan Things to think about: Content - message, structure Appearance - confident, open, lively (eye-contact, hands) Articulation - clear, fluent, correct terminology (write) AV-aids - blackboard, OHP, PowerPoint, posters, film Time-management - organise, message Group collaboration - organise, message Plan - rehearse - evaluate – review – rehearse etc. Content work backwards from the point it makes it clearer Appearance (hands- body language) Eye contact - slides Lars Peter Articulation AV-aids not telling the story but supporting it Excepting title and agenda OH you should count on 3-5 minutes talk for each overhead - you need to have something to say. Time-management practice Group collaboration support each other do not criticise

© SLP-gruppen, Aalborg Universitet Find the balance Use eventually several media at once, e.g. Slides blackboard Consider the flow of the presentation Congestion thin periods Use multiple codes Photos Graphs Tables Words Stories Inspireret af Eisenberg, 1982 © SLP-gruppen, Aalborg Universitet

Oral presentations - body language Elements in body language eyes facial mimic gesture posture position dressing

Oral presentations - body language Be aware of your body language – often there is a contradiction between what you say and what your body tells Some examples which may well be culturally biased??

How do you think of these?

How do you think of these?

How do you think of these?

How you see yourself are important Picture: http://www.degyldne.dk/midtstartside.htm

Picture: http://tinlala.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/target.jpg

Picture: http://mozziestar. files. wordpress

Nervousness . . . . . . . Everyone is nervous, insecure and/or exited - the only thing that helps is practice. Prepare Rehearse in front of friends in front of mirror Write introduction + conclusion It is also a positive thing, it makes you think faster! Remember I are the one knowing the subject in most details, often much better than censor and lecturer.

Strategies Using manuscript Using clue card with keywords Design of slides (put more words) Choosing certain audience to have eye contact Remember: You are the one knowing the subject in most details, often much better than censor and lecturer.

Reflection and learning WHAT is reflection? WHY use reflection? HOW to reflect? Introduction to cross-group work

WHAT is reflection? Examples of reflection: A student is reflecting when: She notices that important information is missing in a text, thinks about possible reasons for leaving out the info and looks up the info in other places. She realises that the given math exercise is different from the standard exercises in the book, identifies the difference and knows what to do differently. He looks back at an overruled time plan, identifies the time-consuming activities and makes allowances for these kinds of activities in the next time schedule.

WHAT is reflection NOT? Examples of lack of reflection: A student is NOT reflecting when: He inserts numbers in a given formula and calculates a result without understanding the context She re-formulates an explanation and passes it on without having understood it herself He describes the time schedule for the P0-project without noticing and commenting on the mismatch between planned and realised time consumption.

WHAT is reflection? Oxford English Dictionary The action, on the part of surfaces, of throwing back light or heat (beams, etc.) falling upon them But also The action of turning (back) or fixing the thoughts on some subject; meditation, deep or serious consideration. From the examples: Notice Think about Look back at Identify Plan based on experience

WHY use reflection? Engineers of today need methodological competencies, such as: Flexibility and capacity for change. Such competencies are closely connected with ’lifelong learning’ which can be achieved through awareness about learning processes. Awareness about learning processes can be achieved through reflection upon learning processes.

HOW to reflect? Make conscious observations by asking questions: WHAT went well until now? … and WHY did it go well? WHAT went wrong until now? and WHY did it go wrong? The reflection is embedded in the WHY? questions

Introduction to cross-group work Start out with a round of presentation, giving name, project topic and supervisor Do a series of rounds describing how your project group organises the following: Project management, team work, co-operation with your supervisor. Do a series of rounds of analysing and assessing your project process, taking your point of departure in the questions: WHAT went well until now? … and WHY did it go well? WHAT went wrong until now? WHY did it go wrong?

Introduction to cross-group work (cont.) 4. From the answers to the above questions generalise in the following format: What we will continue to do in the future What we will do differently and better in the future What we will not do again Give ’Good advice’ to yourself and your fellow students (and possibly also to your supervisors) aimed at improving the project work process in the rest of this semester and in the future Write down the ’Good advice’ on a PC for a presentation.

…and now the cross-group work! At 3 p.m. the presentation starts – please select one member from each cross group to present your slides.