JAZYKOVÁ KOMPETENCE II Seminar 1 - Thursday 12^th March, 10.40 – 14.00 (200 minutes) 1. Welcome - Structure and style of course: First 2 seminars to discuss the theory around effective presenting, the last will involve a 10 – 15 minute presentation by each student of their own work/research. We will work on correction of errors in spoken and written English during the course also. - Dates / times of the seminars: are on the Information System. Today, next Thursday the 19^th March and Thursday the 2^nd April at the same times / location. - Aims: - to prepare and practice students for presenting academic work at conferences or other suitable occasions. - to discuss the structure, language, grammar and style of academic presentations. - to expose students to intensive sessions in English that involve speaking, listening, writing and reading, as well as active discussion, use of sports science and academic vocabulary. - Assignments and Assessment: - Includes attendance and participation in the seminars, a written summary of your presentation (1000 words) to be submitted by 5pm Thursday 26^th March, and a presentation of your work/research/chosen topic during the final seminar on the 2^nd April. - There are only three seminars so they must be attended to complete the course successfully. - There is only one opportunity to do your presentation (2^nd April) – please be prepared and don’t miss it, otherwise you won’t be able to complete the course. - Why are you here? - What experience do you have with presenting? In English? - Do you find presentations challenging in general? Is it harder in English - What are you hoping to get from the course? * Please use the opportunity here for intensive English – try not to converse in Czech. Any discussion activities, participation etc should be in English – it will help you more that way. 2. Introduction * Work in pairs. Find a person you don’t know and introduce yourselves to each other. Feel free to take notes as you will be asked to introduce that person (name; dept.; research area) to the whole group. Find out about the other persons research, their topic and academic interests….etc. * Each student to briefly introduce their partner, their background, area of research, why they are attending. (John Morgan, 2007) 3. What makes a good presentation? What makes a good academic presentation? * Work in groups of 3. Share ideas on what you think makes a good, effective presentation, then present them to the group. - Features of a good presentation – to be discussed in the following exercises. - A good academic presentation – use of formal language, effective introduction of the presenter to establish credibility to speak about the topic, well structured presentation outlining the research question / relevance to known information / clear outline of methodology / presentation of results in an understandable manner / discussion of results and conclusion – relating the topic to the relevance and academic discussion, well prepared and effective answering of questions. 4. The Structure of a Presentation “Tell them what you´re going to tell them, then tell them and finally tell them what you´ve told them” (Aristotle) Follow this useful, historical advice and remember to include an introduction, main body and an ending in your talks. Visually this may be represented by the following diagram: Introduction main body conclusion/finish 1^st point 2^nd point 3^rd point etc…. 4.1 Introduction What points should be included in an introduction? * Discuss your ideas with the class group. - See below for the answers to this question 4.2 The presentation journey It’s possible to consider a presentation to be like a journey that you wish to take your audience on. The audience needs some basic information to get started on the journey, but once they have the information, you hope they will be engaged and ready to travel where you want to take them – right through to the end point or destination. You can use the headings below to help form your introduction, and to help to get a presentation off to a good start. What information does your audience need from each of these areas to help start your presentation effectively? * Discuss with a partner, then with the class group. - Who: Introduction of yourself, colleagues or study group. Amount of introduction of yourself may depend on the situation, eg to colleagues much less info needed, a conference etc. may require more. Some personal background may be interesting / relevant eg. interest in the area. - Why: Describe what the talk is about – the destination, the reason why the presentation is being given and purpose of the presentation. It will likely link to the end of the talk / conclusion so the audience knows to listen for the relevance to the end point during the presentation. - What: Outline the main points of the presentation, e.g. what the journey will look like. This will make it easier for the audience to follow what is being said and understand the talk as a whole. Research has shown that an audience will listen and understand better when they know the structure of the presentation. Ordering or sequencing your presentation is very important for overall understanding and to get the main points across. - How: Unspoken concerns from the audience….how long is the talk? Do I need to take notes? Will there be a break? Can I ask questions during the talk? Etc. It can be useful to answer some of these questions right from the start so that the audience can focus on the information in the presentation properly. 4.3. Read through the phrases below. Decide whether each would fall under the heading of who, why, what or how. * Discuss with the class group. 1. Good morning. I’m Dan and I’d like to thank you for attending this presentation today. Who. 2. We will have a break for coffee and refreshments at around 11.00 am. How. 3. Today I’m going to be talking about my research on….What. 4. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask them at any point during the presentation, you don’t have to wait until the end. How. 5. I’d like to start my introducing myself and my research group… Who. 6. This talk will be around 45 minutes long, followed by some time for questions at the end. How. 7. I’d like to begin with an outline of today’s presentation…What. 8. There is no need to take notes during the presentation unless you would like to, all the information discussed will be provided on the presentation handouts. How. 9. First I’d like to give you an overview of today’s presentation. What. 10. I’m hoping in this presentation today to give you more information about….Why. 11. On behalf of Masaryk University, I’d like to welcome you to today’s lecture. My name is.. Who. 12. I’ll be happy to have some time for a few questions at the conclusion of the talk today. How. 13. Today I would like to review the work that we have done on ….What, why. 14. The presentation today should last around 30 minutes, with some further time for questions at the end. How. 15. Does everyone have a copy of the handout? It will contain all the information you need from the presentation. How. 16. I’d like to introduce you to several important points, and then expand on them. The first will be….the second is….and then finally …..What. 17. Welcome everybody, please take your seats as we are about to get started. How. 18. The reason for todays presentation is….Why. 4.4 The Introduction How to start your presentation: 4 Step formula for a killer intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGEFtRwPhE4 * Watch the video with the group, then discuss the below questions with the class. * Listen out for the following information: a. How do movies or television often grab the attention of their viewers? By using a hook: an intriguing or attention grabbing opening, leaving the viewer on the edge of their seat as to what will happen next. b. What is a hook? In a presentation, a hook could be a catchy title, an interesting quote, some startling statistics, an interesting image…. c. What does the speaker mean by transition? Moving smoothly from one section of the talk to the next, eg from the introduction to the main body of the talk. d. What does self-introduction involve? Introducing concisely who you are, appropriate background as to why you’re an expert on the topic, perhaps educational or regional background which establishes them, perhaps previous studies and research involved in – and relevance to the topic being spoken about. e. What other information can you give the audience at the start so they will be engaged? As discussed above, also the outline of the presentation, the structure of the presentation (when there is a break etc), topic relevance and background – and the big picture, why it’s important. Does the above information relate to academic presentations? * Discuss with the class group. - As discussed above. 4.5. Introduction – expressing your intentions Think of some examples of phrases that might be contained in your introduction, using the following grammatical forms. * Work with a partner then discuss with the group. Will: eg. I will finish by summarising the main points from the presentation. - I will now go on to speak about….. - I will expand on that point now by discussing….. - I’ll now move on to our methodology and discuss how the study …… going to: eg. Today I’m going to give you some more information on the topic of…. - I’m going to talk today about… - I’m going to leave you with one final thought…. - Today I’m going to inform you about our study findings… would like to: eg. Now I’d like to move on to a different example to emphasize these points… - I’d like to begin by introducing myself and my research group… - I’d like to summarize what I’ve been speaking about now…. - Finally, I’d like to leave you with what we think is the take home point of this talk… 4.6. Main Body of the presentation The main body of the talk is where you give most information and detail on your topic, and gives you a chance to expand logically on what you have introduced earlier. The way you organise the body of your presentation will depend on the topic and the most important information that you would like to get across to your audience. 4.7. Choosing and organising your main points of discussion How to organise main points of a presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqOC58-strg * Watch the video, then discuss the questions below with the class group a. What are some of the different ways that you can organise your topics in the main body of a presentation? - chronological (time), spatial (by area or location), symptoms/causes/treatments, problem/solution/benefits (sales and persuasion), b. What is the correct way to select the topics you would like to speak about? - There is no one right way. Topical – by topic, group things along similar lines into sub-topics, or logical progression. What are the natural parts of the whole. c. What other factors might influence your choice of topics / points? - audience – (local / colleagues / major conference etc), length of time to speak, theme of the event/conference etc. d. How is it logical to break up into main points an academic presentation of your research? - Think about the structure of your own topic. How is it logical to break the information into points to make it clear to the audience and relevant. 4.8. Structuring your presentation – signposting * Work with a partner. Try and think of some example phrases that might help signal to the audience that you are introducing a new topic or idea, or changing from one idea to the next. - See below for examples. Transitions, also called signposting phrases or signposts are an integral part of a smooth presentation, yet many speakers forget to plan them. The primary purpose of a transition is to lead your listener from one idea to another. These words are not difficult to learn but it is essential that you memorize some of them and can use them when you are under pressure giving a presentation. How do signposts work? Text Box: Audience Attention Start SP1 SP2 SP3 SP4 Time It’s natural for audience attention to gradually fall off during the course of a presentation. Effective use of signposts during a talk can help to raise the attention of the audience back to the new point that’s being discussed, helping to revitalise interest in each new section of the presentation. Signposts help you create signals that act like verbal paragraphs, helping to separate one point from another and to raise the attention of the audience when a new point is being introduced. This helps the speaker add structure to the talk, by guiding the audience from one point gradually through until the next with the use of verbal cues. It’s a very simple, effective technique that can help to improve the quality and clarity of your presentations. * Work with a partner again. Group the following signposting statements into where they might best be used. * Then discuss with the class group. a. Transitioning from Introduction to the main body b. During the main body to transition between topics / main ideas / points c. Moving from the main body to the conclusion of the presentation d. Concluding the presentation and moving on to question time Phrases: - So that covers this point….next I’d like to… b. - Lets now turn to ….. b. - I’d like to begin by outlining what I will be talking…a. - Finally, I’d like to round off by ….d. - This leads me to another important point….b. - Moving on now to….b. - That’s all I want to mention regarding …..b. - So, first of all….a. - To begin with, I’d like to discuss….a. - So to summarise overall…c,d. - That completes the talk then, if anyone…d. - It’s logical then to also discuss…b. - Next we come to the idea of…. b. - Now, what about …b. - To bring in a further point, …b. - So to recap the important points…c. - I’m happy to take questions now…d. - My next point is…b. - And to expand beyond this…b. - I think it’s appropriate to commence with…a. * Work with a partner. Read the following texts that include signposts and correct any mistakes in them. Think about correct use of English articles, prepositions and verb tenses. * Then discuss with the class group Let me begin by saying… that the most common causes of sudden death during exercise are abnormalities of the heart and blood vessels. Now, I’d like to broaden that point by discussing … that [DEL: the :DEL] coronary heart disease is a major cause of exercise-related complications in Westernised communities. Nevertheless, our focus on this has been… whether these deaths are causally related from the exercise and thus whether[DEL: the :DEL] exercise can be a dangerous and potentially lethal activity for predisposed athletes. It is also important to mention… that there are many people with latent heart disease who are able to exercise in a variety of situations quite safely without risk of[DEL: the :DEL] sudden death. I would like to point out however, that … clinicians still have not established how to distinguish these people from those who are at risk. To expand on this point I would like to mention… that in the USA the sports that are most commonly associated with sudden death are football and basketball. Now, turning to… the issue of prevention in greater detail. Although sudden death in athletes is devastating, it is very rare and there are many things we can do to prevent it. One further point of note is…that it is recommended to exercise in the morning or in the evening during warm months, drink plenty of fluids and avoid [DEL: the :DEL] alcohol and caffeinated beverages. Finally, I would like to mention that… athletes should have a physical examination before participating in organized sports. Athletes with a family history of sudden death or heart disease at a young age require further evaluation. Finally, I would like to talk about … sudden death at an advanced age. It is often difficult to motivate elderly people to exercise, although a person who begins an exercise programme is at lower risk of sudden death than a sedentary peer. 4.9. The Finish 15 mins There is a skill to effectively completing a presentation in a way that rounds it off nicely, highlights the main points and leaves the listeners remembering the most important points of the talk and it’s overall relevance. There is also a structure in ending that can be useful to think about when you plan your presentation: * In small groups of 3, discuss your ideas on how to effectively finish a presentation, then discuss your ideas with the class group. - See answers below. Completing your presentation: Signal – Pause briefly and signal to the audience that you are ready to finish the presentation… - So….that brings me to the finish of my presentation today…. - OK….to summarise then…. - So that completes the presentation, I’d like to round off by reminding you …. - ….To sum up…. - Well, that completes my talk today… - And so to conclude, I’d like to review… - So let me briefly review what we have discussed today… - …I’ll now finish by …. Sum up - give the main points in a short and clear form. This should be a brief overview of what has already been said during the presentation. Don’t make this part long as you want to maintain the attention and interest of the audience, just with enough detail to cover the main points. A good summary gives the audience enough time and information to think about the content of the speech while helping to build up towards the conclusion. - To sum up…. - I’d like to summarise by… - I’ll briefly summarise the main ideas of the presentation… - Just to cover the key points to finish… Conclusion - Try and leave the audience with an original thought or thoughts based on the information that was presented, but with relevance for why the information was important. This really is a reinforcement of the ‘why’ of the presentation journey, how the topic is relevant and important, and how the information fits into the wider context of known information and discussion. This is the destination of the presentation journey and probably the most important part of the talk. - So…to conclude, I’d like to leave you with the following thought… - In conclusion, I’d like to reinforce that …. - I trust you have gained some insight into this topic, and… - I hope this presentation has made you think a little more about how…. Sources and acknowledgements – It’s likely to be relevant to an academic presentation to give some idea at least on the various sources for your presentation. These can be listed on one slide, or given throughout the presentation in relation to different sources / articles etc that are used to provide information on the overall topic. It may not be possible to list all of the sources, but try and give at least the main ones. It is also important to acknowledge other individuals / groups / institutions that may have contributed to your work to date and outlining their contribution to what was presented. - There are a number of people who I’d like to thank who have contributed greatly to my work… - I’d also like to acknowledge the contribution of… - I work closely with …..and I’d like to thank them for their assistance… - This work would not have been possible without… Closing remarks and questions - thank the audience for attending and listening, leave them with any very brief, final, important take home messages and invite the audience to ask any questions they may have. - Thank you for listening, I’d now be happy to take any questions… - Thank you very much for attending and listening, if anyone has …. - Thank you. There is now time for questions … - If you have any questions, I’d be happy to try and answer them. Thank you. Homework task * Plan your research presentation. Think about how you might structure a presentation on your research topic. Think about including some of the structure and features discussed during the seminar today. * Bring your presentation plan / outline to the next seminar and be ready to discuss it.