EAP presentation Skills-Unit 1 (pages 13-23

PRESENTATION

SKILLS

BUILDING PRESENTATION CONFIDENCE

LET’S START WITH A

QUESTIONNAIRE

Poll

the idea of giving a speech to an audience scares me

• agree

• undecided

• disagree

Poll

When the instructor announces a speaking assignment in class, I start getting nervous.

• agree

• undecided

• disagree

Poll

I am worried about making a fool of myself while speaking

• agree

• undecided

• disagree

Poll

I avoid speaking in public as I believe I have poor speaking skills

• agree

• undecided

• disagree

Poll

when I make a mistake while giving a speech, I find it hard to continue speaking as I have planned

• agree

• undecided

• disagree

Building

Presentation
Confidence

Worry is a very natural
feeling while you are
preparing yourself for a
presentation.

All you need to do is to
equip yourself with
the right strategies.

The speech anxiety

◦ Feeling anxious is a healthy sign that you are getting mentally and physicologically

redy for your upcoming performance

◦ It is perfectly normal-even desirable- to be nervous at the start of a speech and

experience some symptoms as follows;

RACING

HEART

BLUSHING

SHAKING

DRY MOUTH

SWEATING

Dizziness

Being

tongue-tied

Butterflies in

stomach

Rapid-

breathing

Mental
block

Interview with Stephanie Montgomery –
Overcoming Speech Anxiety

https://una.edu/faculty/slmontgomery.html

​listen to track 3 and take your notes in the next slides.

Open Ended

strategies suggested:

Open Ended

strategies for nonnative speakers of English

Let’s Talk

◦ From the strategies mentioned, which ones do you think are the most effective?

◦ Which strategies would you consider using to overcome your speech anxiety?

◦ What other strategies do you think may be helpful to build confidence in speaking?

GROUP WORK

(WORK IN YOUR GROUPS TO FIND MORE SOLUTIONS /DISCUSS THE GIVEN SOLUTIONS TO THE FEARS)

“I HAVE NOTHING INTERESTING TO
SAY, AND THE AUDIENCE WILL BE
BORED BY MY PRESENTATION.”

PEOPLE CANNOT UNDERSTAND

ME BECAUSE I TALK TOO QUICKLY

OR TOO SOFTLY WHEN I AM

NERVOUS

I WILL RUN OUT OF TIME

OR I WILL FINISH WAY

TOO EARLY

I WILL FORGET

EVERYTHING THAT I

WANTED TO SAY

MEMORIZING

◦ Trying yo memorize actually paves the way to forgetting even more!

◦ Problems you may face if you try to memorize;

◦ not being able to continue spontaneously if memory falls

◦ Not being able to adapt your speech since you wil be preoccupied with your script

◦ Sounding mechanical, lifeless and unconversational

◦ Speaking faster than usual

◦ Speaking in a monotone fashion with the same vocal variety throughout

◦ Leaving long silences in between sentences to remember what to say next.

Preparing Effective Note Cards

◦ Take notes on index cards

◦ Write only key words & short phrases

◦ Write your notes in dark in with large font size/double-triple spaced

◦ Write only on one side of each card

◦ Underline, WRITE IN CAPITAL LETTERS, boldface and use larger font

◦ Practice your speech several times using the note cards to become familiar

◦ Number each card

◦ Use different colours

◦ Avoid tiny marks- they could be confusing.

Physical Delivery

Appearance

Eye-Contact

Facial Expression

Gestures

Posture

Movement

Some Distracting Gestures

Folded arms

Hands behind your back

Adjusting eyeglasses, accessories, hair, etc.

Hands in pockets

Leaning on the podium

Pointing at the audience

Some Distracting Movements

◦ Swaying or rocking

◦ Pacing too much

◦ Thumping or tapping on lectern

◦ Tugging at your ear

◦ Playing with your hair

◦ Jingling coins in your pocket

◦ Clinging to the lectern

Vocal Delivery

◦ Voice

◦ Volume

◦ Vocal Variety- pitch, intonation & tone

◦ Pace

◦ Fluency

◦ Posing

How do I
use my
voice?

Phrasing - do not break up phrases aas it will destruct the flow of
your speech

Pitch-avoid a tense and irritating high pitch. Use your middle
ranges as a base from which to move upwards or downwards

Speak clearly- clear articulation is essential, don’t be lazy in your
speech. Use your tongue, move your mouth, pronounce your
consonants and verbs sharply, produce them deliberately,and
don’t swallow or allow your words to fade away.

Flow- do not speak in chunks; remember to include pauses, both
for emphasis and for allowing the audience to think and absorb

Tone- try to aim to convey interest and enthusiasm in the tone of
your voice. If you sound bored, your audience will pick up on it
and they are more likely to find your material uninteresting.

Knowing when to pause

Transition: a well-placed
pause will help you and
them prepare for the next
portion of your presentation.

Emphasis: your audience
needs a moment to absorb
what you said.

Practice Your Delivery-I

◦ Study the delivery of one of your instructors during a lecture. Write a description of their body

language, voice and facial expressions and reflect on how effective they were.

◦ Listen to a live speech delivered in person or on television. Give particular attention to the use of visual

code. Write a description of the speaker’s delivery with these questions in mind: What does the speaker
do to support ideas visually and vocally? What does the speaker
do with his or her body that detracts or adds to what is being said?

◦ Watch a 10- minute segment of a TV drama without sound. What do the characters say with their

clothes, gestures, facial expressions etc.? Do the same with a TV comedy.
How do the nonverbal messages in the two shows differ? Share your findings with the class.

◦ Tape-record yourself while having conversations in as many situations as possible outside

of class. Listen to the recording and analyze how you sound, and determine whether you have any
distracting vocal habits. Share what you discovered about yourself in class in groups.

Practice

Your

Delivery-II

Improve your eye-

contact

Improve your

physical expression

Improve your vocal

flexibility &

expressiveness

DRAMA TIME!

“Hello”

to a friend

to a friend you

haven't seen for 3

years

to a neighbour that

you don't like

to a 6 month old

baby

to someone on the
phone when you're
not sure if they are

still on the other

end

“Goodbye"

◦ To your sibling before they go to a long journey

◦ To someone who has been annoying you

◦ To your fiancee who is going abroad for a year

“How are you?”

◦ To someone you haven’t seen for a long time

◦ To someone who has recently lost a family member

◦ To someone who has just been discharged from the hospital

What have you done?

◦ To your colleague/classmate who has failed to complete his/her part of an important

report you are supposed to submit today

◦ To your girlfriend/boyfriend who made a mess in the kitchen

◦ To a child who has just done something very bad

Time to
Practice!

◦ Form groups of 3-4.

◦ Ask each person in the

group read a sentence in
a manner that each time
someone reads a
sentence it changes its
meaning

Put it All
Together

TOPIC SELECTION

◦ Choose a demonstration speech topic that is free of

technical words.

◦ Do not choose a topic that is unnecessarily complex as your

audience will quickly become disinterested in your speech.

◦ Do not choose a topic that is unnecessarily simple, like

making a sandwich; this will also cause audience members
to lose interest in what you are saying.

Some possible topics for a demonstration presentation may
include how to:

make a web page

make chocolate

organize a one-day trip in Istanbul

Plan a menu

take a good photograph

interpret a modern painting

Put it all
together