UB00702

ENGLISH FOR OCCUPATIONAL

PURPOSES
CHAPTER 3:
Oral Presentation Skills
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
ORAL PRESENTATION
Its the most challenging thing when it comes
to presenting in front of your classmates.

Presentation : delivering speech, presenting a
proposal, emcee-ing, etc.
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
PRESENTATION INVOLVES THE
FOLLOWING STAGES:
Oral
Presentation
Planning and
Preparation
Visual Aids
Practice
Overcoming Stage
Fight
Knowing the
Audience
Delivery
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
ORAL PRESENTATION (CONT.)
Delivering an oral presentation requires certain
skills and ability to impress people in order to
make them listen to you.
Before planning and organising your speech,
you should first determine the type of speech
you want to deliver.
Then you decide the topic that you may want
to present.
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
CHOOSING THE TOPIC
It is advisable for you to choose a topic that is
not only of interest to your audience but also
which you posses knowledge and with which
you are familiar so that you can talk about it
confidently.
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
It is always good to do an audience analysis
first to find out more about your audience
before you start planning your speech.
These could be by looking at their age group,
gender, educational background, profession or
even their social status.
This information should be available from the
organisers or you might have to conduct a
survey if necessary.
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
BRAINSTORM IDEAS FOR TOPICS
Before deciding on a particular topic, use five
minutes to brainstorm some possible topics
either on your own or with a group of friends.
List the topics that may be of interest.
Write your topics down on a piece of paper.
DO NOT evaluate their suitability at a moment.
What is most important is to gather as many
ideas as possible first.
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
NARROW DOWN YOUR TOPICS
Once listed possible topics, narrow down by
answering the following questions:
1. Which among all these topics would I be most interested
in?
2. Do I posses any background knowledge on this topic?
3. Do I posses any relevant experience that I could share
with my audience?
4. Would it be easy to gather reading materials on the topic?
5. Do I have sufficient time to do some research on
the topic?
6. Would I be able to find or prepare suitable visual
aids to support my presentation?
7. Would I be able to make the topic interesting for
the audience?
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
PLANNING A SPEECH
Your speech should be clearly divided into
three distinct parts:

1. Introduction

1. Body

1. Conclusion

23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
PLANNING A SPEECH (CONT.)
THE PURPOSE OF THE SPEECH:
Decide what you wish to speak about
Decide what is the primary purpose of the
speech.
Do you wish to:
(a) instruct and inform
(b) convince, persuade, influence or motivate,
or (c) amuse and entertain

23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
PLANNING A SPEECH (CONT.)
What are you trying to achieve
What are the objectives of your speech
Know your audience (see separate topic
below)
Know the venue
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
INTRODUCTION
The introduction is most important as your
audience will accept your message in the first
30 - 90 seconds, or they will switch off and
ignore the rest of the speech.

It is usually brief and simple, will take around
10% to 15% of the whole presentation time.

23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
INTRODUCTION (CONT.)
In the introduction you (a) introduce the theme
(b) set the scene (c) establish a direction (d)
gain the attention of the audience and get
them involved.

The introduction should be short, positive,
easy to handle, generate interest and
expectancy and you must feel comfortable with
it. It should create a vivid image and possibly
an image that the audience can identify with.

23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
INTRODUCTION (CONT.)
DO NOT repeat the title, read the introduction,
apologize, explain, complain or make excuses.

Ideas for an attention gaining opening:
Use a question related to audience need.
Pay a sincere compliment
Use a quotation. This reinforces your
opinion. Remember to state the author.

23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
EFFECTIVE INTRODUCTION: 4
ASPECTS:
Attention
Grabber
Attract the audiences attention.
Reveal
Topic
State your topic and purpose clearly.
Relevanc
e
Statemen
t
Tell them why they should listen to you talking about your topic.
Preview
of Main
Points
Tell them what you will talk about in your speech.
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
BODY
The body of a speech is the most important
and longest part.
It should contain the main points of the speech
with supporting details and examples.
Hence, the body usually takes up about 75%
to 80% of the whole presentation time.
For a short presentation of about eight
minutes, there should be at least three main
points.
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
BODY (CONT.)
Each of these points should be well developed
and supported with evidence, reasoning,
examples, illustrations, explanations,
elaborations, etc.
Organise points clearly and systematically with
good use of transition markers.
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
BODY (CONT.)
Transition markers are words or phrases that
help you link your ideas smoothly and allow
the audience to follow your presentation. The
usually occur between:
a) The introduction and the body;
b) The main points within the body; and
c) The body and the conclusion.
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
BODY (CONT.)
The body should flow naturally from the
introduction and lead the audience to the
conclusion you wish to accept.
Be sure to stick to your theme.
DO NOT try to cover too much ground - three
or four main points are sufficient.

23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
BODY (CONT.)
Use stories, anecdotes, examples to keep the
audience interested.
Pause after each major point, example or
illustration for effect and to allow the audience
to consider your point.
Remember the audience likes to be
entertained as well as informed, convinced or
motivated. Try to include some humour, if
appropriate to the topic.

23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
CONCLUSION
The conclusion of a speech will take about
10% of the whole presentation time.
This is the part that most audience look
forward to.
It should contain the following aspects:
Summary of Main Points
Memorable Closing Statement
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
CONCLUSION (CONT.)
Summary of
Main Points
Summarise the main points
identified in the speech.
Memorable
Closing
Statement
Provide a memorable closure with
impact.
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014
CONCLUSION (CONT.)
Keep your conclusion short and simple.
Once you have signalled that you are about to
end, briefly summarise your main points one
lat time and end your presentation
appropriately with a memorable closing
statement.
23 MAY, 2014 UB00702 SEMESTER 2 2013/ 2014