Speaking week eight
Planning individual presentations
Discussion
Now that we've had several weeks of class presentations:
- What do you feel are your strengths and weaknesses as a presenter?
- How easy do you find it to incorporate new language into your spoken English?
- Which has been the best presentation so far and why?
Three minute thesis
The idea of a three minute thesis comes from the University of Queensland, where presenters talk about the work their doing as concisely and engagingly as possible within the three minutes.
Click the link on the left to view some examples:
- Explain one of the projects you viewed to a partner.
- What language and presentation techniques did the speaker use to make their talk effective?
Brief for individual presentations
We will be using our next round of speaking classes to practise individual presentations. Whereas in the first term you worked as a group, this time you will be solely responsible for researching your topic and formulating a thesis. Presentations should be approximately 15 minutes long, supported by academic reading and with referenced slides, and should follow a problem/solution structure.
Learning outcomes
- To gain confidence and experience in delivering presentations.
- To develop your spoken language skills.
- To summarise the main ideas of a selection of academic literature in an engaging way.
- To apply theory to a specific context.
Finding a topic
You will be focusing on a topic of your choice which is linked to your subject classes. Business students might want to look at an issue connected to corporate social responsibility; Law students may decide to use a debate that has been covered in class, such as giving prisoners the right to vote. Whatever you decide to talk about in your presentation, remember that you should be discussing a problem or question within the area upon which you would like to comment.
Choosing a context
To help make your presentation more original, interesting and analytical, introduce your audience to a situation or location that you are familiar with but that they may not be. Business students will be familiar with the ideas of corporate social responsibility, but how do individual cultures and countries react to CSR? Social Science students discuss the many implications of globalisation, but what impacts (if any) are felt in your own home country?
Give priority to your thesis
Just as with your essays, always make sure you have a point you are trying to make, and an argument with which you will attempt to persuade your audience. What is the best way for small businesses in Russia to approach CSR? Why should prisoners be (or not be) given the right to vote? This helps us move away from descriptive presentations, which just talk in general terms about a subject.
What have you learned so far?
The SlideShare presentation on the left goes through some universals for delivering good presentations. Thinking about your experience so far, which of the points raised are things that you still need to work on?