|
|
490 PresentationPublic speaking is a valuable skill, and those who do it well find themselves highly prized by their peers within virtually any organization. Speaking 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, but it is a skill that nobody is born with and does not come without practice. A percentage of your 490 grade will come from YOUR oral presentation, in which you will gain some of that practice; see the Presentation Checklist below; five percent more derives from your respectful presence as an audience. Public speaking also requires good audiences; in fact, being a good listener may be even more important than being a good speaker. Thus, some of your presentation score will come from being an attentive, courteous member of the audience--YOUR ATTENDANCE AT THE PRESENTATION OF OTHERS IS MANDATORY FOR PART OF YOUR COURSE GRADE. You know the presentation dates (see the calendar), and no, I will not accept "my summer job is starting that day" as a viable excuse. See the checklist; you know when you must be present. Speaking: Each of you must speak to the class and any visitors present. 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 for 490, present as if you were trying to impress a staff of prospective colleagues to hire you. You must EACH present your own component. The team leader, or a spokesperson selected by the team members, should conclude for the group with remarks from your joint "Topic Placement" statement. Audio-visuals: Presentations are more memorable, and you gain the advantage of having all audience members focused upon a single screen display rather than yourself, when you use various supplemental media to illustrate your points. You will all create and use such displays with the campus load standard, MicroSoft PowerPoint. This is easy and effective software to use live before an audience, and in addition to still images, it has capabilities for 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 written speaking notes, which means just one less distraction when I present; the graphics are my notes and cues! Shortly after submitting your final report you should assemble your PowerPoint presentation, and practice delivering it as a team. Student teams in past years came up with a really valuable innovation that resulted in superb final presentations; over pizza one evening they did a collegial "dress rehearsal" for various faculty members, followed by a critique that provided useful feedback for fine-tuning. Another team on the course evaluation requested another good suggestion--videotape and review your presentations. N. C. Heywood maintains this page, last updated 14JAN10. |