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358 PresentationPublic speaking is a valuable skill, and those who do it well find that their peers prize them highly within virtually any organization. This can range from a classroom, a corporate boardroom, a political campaign, to a parent-teacher association. Sooner or later you will probably have to speak in public, and it is a skill that nobody is born with and does not come without practice. Five percent of your 344 grade will come from YOUR oral presentation, during which which you will gain some of that practice; see the Presentation Checklist. Public speaking also requires good audiences; in fact, being a good listener may be even more important than being a good speaker. Thus, ten percent of your course grade will come from being an attentive, courteous member of the audience--YOUR ATTENDANCE AT THE PRESENTATION OF OTHERS IS FOR PART OF YOUR COURSE GRADE. You know the presentation dates (see the calendar), and no, I do not accept "my ride leaves that day" as a viable excuse. See the checklist. Speaking: Each of you must speak to the class and any visitors present. We will have a workshop session about speaking style shortly before the presentation sessions, but you should be aware that presentation quality depends on more than just your words. Matters of appearance, non-verbal "body language", audio-visual supplements, and timing also affect the worth of your speech. As a guiding rule, I want to see you present as if you were trying to impress a staff of prospective colleagues to hire you. Audio-visuals: Presentations are more memorable, and you gain the advantage of having all audience members focussed on a single display rather than yourself, when you use various supplemental media to illustrate your points. You will use your web page as a display. Browsers are relatively easy and effective software to use live before an audience, and in addition to still images there are capabilities for optional sound and even video. For those of you who have had me in other classes, you might also notice an additional advantage: I never use speaking notes, which is just one less distraction when I present. The graphics are my notes and cues! You
are visitor # N. C. Heywood maintains this page, last updated 21AUG01. |