Objective:
- To provide students with an understanding of the techniques behind effective public speaking, presentation and communication.
- To provide students with practical opportunities to develop their public speaking and communication skills.
- To provide students with a greater understanding of the importance of public speaking and communication skills to their own lives and careers.
- To provide students with opportunities to reflect on how to employ communication strategies, in a variety of contexts.
Overview:
Skills in public speaking, public presentation, and communication of any form are essential for any student: both for success in their academic pursuits,and for their future careers. Such environments are also ones with can be a cause of stress to many students, and an impediment to their progress. For those who master these skills however, they are often able to quickly reach the head of the pack.
'How to Speak in Public' is a presentation / workshop which can be delivered to a group of any size, and tailored to ensure its relevancy to any audience. It is designed specifically to endow students with a greater understanding of why skills in public speaking, presentation and communication are so importantto them, and to equip them with strategies and practical skills to be more effective communicators in the future. This is inclusive of structuring presentations, integrating tools and resources into them, effective delivery techniques, managing nerves and dealing with questions.
The activity is designed to fit within a typical one hour lecture session, but inclusive of ample opportunities for extension, through practical activity, group discussion or independent research, and could easily form the basis of a more comprehensive scheme of work on the subject. It was originally developed through the HEFCW funded pan-Wales Enterprise Support Programme. Lesson plans and AV presentations for use in the delivery of the workshop can be downloaded via the link to the 'ZONE Enterprise Hub' webpages listed in the references at the end of this document.
Activity:
(See resources / references for materials to accompany the delivery of this activity).
Preparation
- For the learners, preparation for this activity is not essential, but you might want to recommend prior research into presentation skills, or time the activity to correspond with an upcoming presentation the students are due to deliver. For teachers, using the materials provided here, preparation time is minimal, other than familiarising yourself with the presentation content, ensuring all media accompanying the presentation are working correctly, and that the learning environment has the appropriate AV equipment.
Activity Part 1: Introduction
- Introduce class to the theme of the session, and the elements to be covered.
- Discuss with students why these skills are important, and where they are likely to be used in the future.
Activity Part 2: Structure
- The importance of a well-structured presentation is discussed, inclusive of; knowing your objective when communicating; managing audience expectations; ensuring adequate knowledge of your subject and identifying an appropriate narrative.
- At this stage, students are presented with a variety of public speaking scenarios, and for different scenarios have to discuss and identify both the objective of the communication, and the most appropriate narratives to employ to meet that objective. There is opportunity for debate here, regarding the conclusions drawn.
Activity Part 2: Tools
- Tools and resources that can bolster a presentation are discussed at this stage. Various examples are offered to the group, and the audience are invited to offer further examples of their own.
- When to integrate tools into delivery, and when to avoid it is discussed.
- At this stage, the examples from part 2 are re-introduced to the group, and the appropriate tools to support the narratives and objectives identified are discussed.
- (If desired, you may wish to perform a demonstration at this stage, to demonstrate the efficacy of tools when used well. For example, in past deliveries of this presentation, non-science students have been introduced to the mathematical relationship between force, pressure and area, first descriptively, then formulaically, and finally with a volunteer being invited to the front of the class to sit on a chair of nails!)
Activity Part 3: Delivery
- The techniques behind effectively delivery when speaking in public are discussed at this stage, inclusive of; speaking with passion and enthusiasm, controlling the speed of speech, using the appropriate language and tone, and using body language to best effect.
- Examples are offered and discussed on each of the points noted above.
- At this stage, student practice these skills with several activities. To practice controlling the speed of speech, students are given a transcript which they time one another reading aloud. They then watch a film of the transcript being read aloud (at a clear and steady pace) and repeat the activity aiming to amend their pace appropriately. To consider the importance of using the right language in communication, students are asked to consider how they would describe their programme of study to; a) a five year old, b) an academic, c) a grandparent. Students to this in groups, and the reasons for their decisions are discussed and debated.
Activity Part 4: Nerves
- The reasons why nerves may arise are discussed amongst the group.
- Measures and coping strategies to control nerves are suggested and discussed (including practice, preparation, release of nervous energy etc.).
- (You may wish to use your own presentation as an example of how such strategies allow you to present, without being impeded by nerves).
Activity Part 5: Questions
- Fielding questions is discussed. The group are asked to reflect on what a questioner wants, when asking their question, and strategies for various scenarios are suggested.
- If and how the presentation skills covered in the session can be applied to a Q and A session are also discussed.
Activity Part 6: Conclusion
- The key themes covered by the session are re-capped.
- If desired, you may wish to field any questions from the audience at this point.
Post-Activity
Following this activity, students may be set a presentation to deliver (as individuals or as groups), or they may be set further questions for reflection and investigation. General questions on presentation, communication and public speaking which have been set to such groups include;
- How would you define public speaking?
- How many different public speaking environments will you encounter as a student?
- Can you find examples of both good and bad public speeches, the impacts of which have changed the course of history; for individuals, for organisations and for nations?
- Who are the teachers, speakers and presenters that have made a positive impact on you? What common traits do they possess?
- What are the benefits of a structure / narrative to a presentation?
- How will enhanced skills in public speaking benefit you in your future life and career?
- Is the ability to speak in public more or less important today than it was in the past?
Equally, you may wish to set such questions prior to the session, and debate them after the session.
Skill Development:
- Following this session students should have a much greater understanding of the importance of skills in public speaking, presentation and communication, their relevance to their own studies and careers, and a greater understanding of how to develop and nurture those skills in themselves.
- For these skills to be consolidated, the session must be supported by opportunities to further discuss, explore, and importantly, practice these techniques, by presenting in a wide variety on environments and contexts.
Resources:
- Lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations to accompany this activity can be downloaded via > https://moodle.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=37§ion=11 or copies of slides can be downloaded here > How To Speak In Public [PDF]
- A film of this session being delivered to an audience of art, media and design students at the Creative Futures Conference, March 2015 can be viewed via >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMnh02odBNA
- An extension of activity connected to this workshop can be found in the How To Guide 'One Topic Three Audiences.'
- For Case Examples of the workshop in action, see 'Communication, Media, Film and Cultural Studies', and 'Engineering.'
References:
- BBC - The Speaker - Improve your public speaking. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/speaker/improve/ . [Accessed 28 July 2015].
- Corcoran, Mike. How to Speak in Public - YouTube. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMnh02odBNA. [Accessed 29 July 2015].
- McCarthy, Patsy, 2002. Presentation Skills: The Essential Guide for Students (Study Skills). Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd (pp70-106 & 219-236).
- Shephard, Kerry, 2005. Presenting at Conferences, Seminars and Meetings. 1 Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd (pp1-18 & 138-148).
- Van Emden, Joan, 2010. Presentation Skills for Students (Palgrave Study Skills). 2 Edition. Palgrave Macmillan (pp1-61).
- Zone Enterprise Hub, Topic: ZONE Resources. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://moodle.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=37§ion=11. [Accessed 28 July 2015].
Author:
- Originally produced at Glyndwr University, as an Entrepreneurial Effectiveness (EE) Session, for the Enterprise Support Programme (ESP), funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.