1. AS English Language Coursework Scripted Presentation Preparation: The non-verbal features of language

2. How to present your speeches: 1. Use of facial expressions

3. How to present your speeches: 1. Use of facial expressions: the mouth

4. How to present your speeches: 2. Use of gesture

5. How to present your speeches: 3. Use of standard paralinguistics Tone – serious, light etc., changing organically according to your script and audience reactions. In general, keep it animated, enthusiastic. Volume – loud, soft etc. Pitch – high, low, imitating others, etc. Inflexion – how you vary all the above Laughs (genuine, ironic), gasps, tuts, whistles, pauses (pregnant, audible ellipses, aposiopesis, etc.), snorts of derision, etc. etc.

6. How to present your speeches: 4. Use of posture Posture (the way we position ourselves) is closely related to gesture:

7. How to present your speeches: 4. Use of posture What does this posture suggest?

8. How to present your speeches: 4. Use of posture Unless you’re acting something out, always keep an open posture, as that creates audience rapport An unchanged posture reflects stagnation, but too many changes of posture are distracting Keep a straight back, whether standing or sitting, as this suggests focus; a hunched posture implies boredom or indifference Subtly mirror your audience to create rapport.

9. How to present your speeches: 5. Use of proxemics

10. Proxemics is related to the idea of personal space – the closer you are to someone, the more intimate the relationship People engaged in a casual conversation are between 1.5ft and 4ft apart; when addressing a crowd, 10-12ft Don’t allow barriers (e.g. the desk) between yourself and your audience Vary the proxemics organically – according to the reactions of your audience.

11. How to present your speeches: 6. Use of gaze

12. A wide range of emotion – including hostility, interest and enthusiasm can be conveyed just through the eyes Frequent blinking – along with dilation of the pupils – indicates that you like whoever you are talking to Psychologists say that to convince people you should make eye contact, at lease every 4-5 seconds.

13. How to present your speeches: 7. Use of haptics Be careful with this one – it’s touching your audience Subtle touching is used to communicate affection, familiarity, sympathy, etc. In an experiment with librarians, it was found that those who touched borrowers on their elbow without them realizing enjoyed much closer rapport with them.

14. How to present your speeches: 8. Finally, the use of appearance

15. Famously, if you dress inappropriately for an interview, you risk losing the job Similarly, if you dress in a distracting way for delivering your speech, you risk taking the minds of your audience off what you’re saying Other factors which will influence your audience would be makeup, hairstyle and colours Best dress neutrally, so they can concentrate on your words.

16. Non-verbal features of language: Recapitulation Facial Expression – Why important? Gestures – Why important? Posture – Why important? Paralinguistics – Why important? Proxemics – Why important? Gaze – Why important? Haptics – Why important? Appearance – Why important?