PHARE project in Advanced Engineering

English Language Module

PRESENTATION SKILLS

(PRE-SESSION ASSIGNMENTS)

Magnuczné Godó Ágnes

Time for completion: approx. 110 minutes

The objective of this module is to focus attention on techniques that can make professional presentations more effective. Such techniques can render the message more accessible and facilitate the successful exchange of ideas. We shall model a situation in which you will be asked to introduce a proposal at a staff meeting, and use this to examine four important features of the preparation and presentation process:

1.collecting and structuring ideas,

  1. effective introductions and conclusions,
  2. visuals and body language, and
  3. communicating with the audience.

This pre-session material will help collect and structure your ideas for this short presentation task and consider the role of visuals and body language. In the contact session, we shall focus on effective introductions and conclusions, as well as on ways of communicating with the audience.

This material contains three basic units: „steps” are thematic blocks focusing on one specific topic; „tasks” (signalled with ) are exercises for individual study the solutions for which (signalled with ) are available in the self-check section; and, finally, „responses” (signalled with ) are exercises that you are asked to complete and bring to class for checking and discussion. Video tasks will be indicated with a . Although the tasks and explanations are presented here in English, if you click on the  sign, you can receive help in Hungarian to understand the instructions (try this one!).

Step 1. Collecting and structuring ideas

Imagine that your company management have decided on a new course of PR activity and intend to advertise your firm in a TV commercial. They invite proposals to determine what aspect of your activities should be advertised and how. One idea that has already come up is that the employees of the company should appear in these commercials instead of professional actors. You will have about 6-8 minutes to present your ideas to your colleagues and the management at the next meeting.

Your task is to prepare ideas for such a proposal with the help of the activities to come, and bring your notes to the consultation for discussion.

Hungarian summary

Response 1. Think over what aspects of your company activities could create a positive picture in a TV commercial. Collect your ideas in a mind map, which can help arrange different types of information in a hierarchical fashion. It is useful as it highlights the different aspects of the topic and signals the relation between subtopics as well. A mind map for advertising Miskolc University may look like this:

Six major study areas at one place / Flexible system: Possibility to combine different areas of study / Possibility to enjoy the benefits of cross-curricular prog-rammes
“Enjoy the benefits of a Universitas”
Why come to work and learn at ME?
Active university life, good community:
Conferences, lectures, debates, parties, sport programmes…
International relations
Student and teacher exchange programmes / Grants, scholarships / Foreign language MBA courses

When collecting ideas to be included (and perhaps not to be included) in the commercial advertising your company, you have to describe possibilities (i.e., list, characterise, classify, etc.) as well as state your opinion about things and justify it by proposing arguments. An especially controversial suggestion that you have to evaluate is the appearance of company employees in the TV ad. First, it is important that you form a clear opinion about this and compose your claim.

Hungarian summary

Task 1. Formulating claims

The claim is usually an important part of presentations which aim to present a proposal or convince the audience of a viewpoint. It is a qualifying or evaluative statement which summarises the speaker’s opinion about the central issue of the talk. Ideally, the introduction should contain this claim so that the audience know what viewpoint is being supported in the course of the speech.

Hungarian summary

Below you can see sentences which speakers or writers presented as claims. Which do you think satisfy the above definition? How would you correct the problematic statements?

1)Well … although American cultural products enjoy …. have enjoyed great popularity in the larger part of the world for the last 30 years, er …. many people believe that this influence is harmful as it ruins local cultures.

2)In my opinion …. I believe that genetic engineering is a revolutionary step in medicine but it won’t benefit people in the future.

3)Personally, despite what "good" may come from genetic experimentation, I think it will do more harm than anything else.

4)As everything else …. er …all problematic decisions … grouping the gifted has many positive and negative sides.

5)I …I don’t think I have exhaustive information on American gun control regulations, so I can’t really say if they can be accept… justified, but in general I don’t think it’s good if many ordinary people can have guns.

Self-check

Response 2. Formulate two central claims for your presentation. The first one should relate to the overall idea of producing a TV commercial (whether or not you think it will be useful by reaching the target audience you want to reach, if this channel of advertising is necessary or better than the other channels you have used so far, etc.). The second claim should reflect your opinion about the appearance of company employees in the ads.

Hungarian summary

Response 3.Now collect arguments to support your claims and refute opposite viewpoints:

Hungarian summary

Is it a good idea to advertise our company in a TV commercial?
YESNO
Reaches larger audiences, both consumers and potential partners. / Does not directly address our target audience.
Fixes the brand name in people’s mind. / Too expensive, there are other cheaper methods which are as effective.
…… / …

You can use the following gambits for giving opinions, agreeing and disagreeing, both when presenting and when discussing ideas:

Opinions:

I think/suppose/guess/believe ....

I'm of the opinion that ...

In my opinion /To my mind, ...

It seems to me that ...

As far as I'm concerned ...

Agreement:

I (absolutely) agree that ...

I find it justifiable to claim that…

It is a great idea/good point that …

Disagreement:

I take/see the point but ...

I know …….. but ...

Although I see sense in …… , I'm not sure ...

(I'm afraid) I can't accept that …

Task 2. Facts and figures

Besides arguments, you can present various facts and figures to support your opinion. Visualising this information in the form of various graphs, diagrams, charts and tables can be a powerful way of conveying your message.

Hungarian summary

View the following visual examples. What type of information is best presented by each?

Example 1. Pie chart


Figure 1. Distribution of course work at an English language training course in Advanced Engineering


Example 2. Bar chart

Figure 2. Number of local representatives in the regional offices of “Mentor” publishing house (UK)

Example 3. Graph



Figure 3. Number of students majoring in foreign languages between 1995 and 2002 (KSH, 2003)

Example 4. Diagram

Assessment of resources
SWOT analysis
Partnership agreements
Project proposal

Figure 4. Procedure of project preparation

Self-check

Response 4.

Design appropriate visuals for your presentation and bring them along in a disc format. Remember that quality is more important than quantity. Handling too many visuals may divert your attention from the information and the audience, while 2-3 good, suitable visuals can greatly enhance the effect of your talk.

Hungarian summary

Overall, the presentation outline that you should fill with information looks like this:

Shall we advertise our firm in a TV commercial?

If not, why? If yes, what areas and how?

l. Introduction

1)Statement of topic

2)Speaker’s position statement

3)Outline of presentation structure

ll. Body

1)Why or why not advertise our company through this channel?

Arguments for my position

Arguments against the alternative position

2)If yes: Aspects of company life and activity that should be included

Reasons why

Any company features that should not be highlighted

Reasons why

3)What should this TV commercial look like?

Should company employees appear? Reasons

Alternative ideas

lll. Conclusion

Step 2. Body language

Establishing and maintaining contact with the audience is an important aspect of speeches. This time we shall focus on two key strategies: body language and visuals.

 Task 3. “The silent movie task”

Body language is a dominantly unconscious aspect of our general appearance which is difficult to control. This, however, is no reason to neglect it as body language conveys important messages and largely determines the image that our conversational partners will associate with us. In any public appearance, our movements and stance reflect our attitude to the situation, topic, audience or our partners. If we are unaware of this information channel, we might find it difficult to hide our embarrassment or uncertainty. If, on the other hand, we learn to use the possibilities of body language, we can strengthen our message by reflecting confidence, self-consciousness and a relaxed state of mind.

Hungarian summary

VIDEO TASK 1

Watch the silent video recording of a council meeting. What can you learn about the attitude of the participants to each other and to the situation? What aspects of body language can you observe? Answer the following questions:

1)What do you think is the role of the participants in the meeting? What body language and facial expressions reflect their real or 2assumed hierarchical status?

2)What body language does the man in the blue shirt use to demonstrate that

  • he feels disrespect for his conversational partners,
  • he considers the meeting useless and he is bored by the whole discussion?

3)What is the difference between the gesticulation of the man in the white shirt, apparently chairing the meeting, and the woman in black, who acts as an invited expert?

4)What kind of body language demonstrates that the brown-haired woman sitting between the expert and the chair feels embarrassed and lacks confidence? What body language does she use to emphasise the important aspects of her message?

5)Finally, some more bits and pieces.

Is it right

  • that the man in the white shirt first introduces the other man to the two women?
  • that the women give their hands first when being introduced?
  • that, during the discussion, the man in the blue shirt is having the snacks served on the table?

Self-check

Response 5. Aspects of body language

VIEWING PHOTOS

View the photos illustrating various aspects of body language. Note down the messages they convey and the feelings they create in you as audience.

Focus on

  • stance, posture
  • gestures
  • facial expression.

Indicate the types of body language that are to be avoided in your opinion and give your reasons.

Hungarian summary

Response 6. Adding emphasis by body language

VIDEO TASK 2

Watch four presentation extracts and note down what aspects of the message are emphasised, or what extra information is conveyed by body language. If you could give advice to these speakers, which bad habits would you call their attention to?

Hungarian summary

Task 4. Rules

Formulate some rules about the controllable aspects of body language. Produce 4-5 dos and 4-5 don’ts.

Hungarian summary

Self-check

Step 3.Visuals

Visuals or visual aids are images (maps, pictures, posters, graphs, charts, slides, etc.) that accompany verbal information and help the audience understand, learn, or remember information. We perceive about 65% of the information about our environment through our eyes.

Hungarian summary

 Task 5. Examples

VIDEO TASK 3

Watch the presentation extracts illustrating the use of visuals. Take note of the different techniques and note the ones that were the most effective.

1)What information was conveyed by the different visual devices?

2)What is the specific purpose one or the other visual aid is particularly suited for?

3)What problems could you notice?

Collect 2-3 advantages that the power-point presentation has over the other visual support types.

Hungarian summary

Self-check

By the time you come to the consultation, please

collect your ideas for your speech,

prepare an outline of your presentation,

make sure you have formulated your main claim and at least one sub-claim,

decide what arguments you will use to support your opinion,

collect (or make up) some facts and figures which you will use as evidence and design minimally two visuals to present these facts and figures,

analyse the features of body language presented in Responses 5 and 6, and

think over if there is any “bad habit” in your body language (e.g., scratching your ear, covering your mouth with your hand, fiddling with your wedding ring, etc.) that you will need to try to control while you are presenting.