Oral Presentations

Why do we expect more from drama students in presentations?

Essentially, oral presentations are performances. Since Drama students learn about the elements that are involved in the presentation of a good performance, they are expected to employ the knowledge and skills they have learned when they are offering an oral presentation. As performers, presenters must effectively and efficiently communicate ideas. As producers of a performance, presenters must research and rehearse their performance to ensure the transitions between their ideas, aural and visual stimuli and modes of communication are to maintain the interest of an audience.

Four Basic Steps

1. Strategy:

Be clear on your objectives and what you want to achieve. For example, what are you being asked to present and do you want to teach, persuade or inform your audience of your topic?

2. Structure:

Develop a structure for your material that puts your discussion in some context and accounts for the time limit that you have set for the presentation. Organise the material you are presenting in ways that will help your audience understand the information you are conveying.

3. Style:

While public speaking often causes initial nervousness, your ability to communicate your material effectively is an essential component of maintaining your audiences interest. Rehearsing presentations and monitoring your posture, your physical presentation, your gestures, mannerisms and breathing are good strategies that will enable you to reduce distracting behaviour and to develop confidence and enthusiasm for the material you are presenting.

4. Allowing for Comments and Questions:

Leave room for questions and comments and try to link any questions with your main observations. You may also like to anticipate some difficult questions and prepare some responses to show your examiners your mastery of the material you have presented.

For more information about developing an excellent oral presentation, have a look through the following websites and books:

Websites:

Books:

Making Oral Presentations, Study Skills Advice from The University of Otago, NZ

http://www.slc.otago.ac.nz/studyskills/ch5sect0.asp

Guidelines for Oral Presentations from Political Science Department, Auburn University

http://www.auburn.edu/~burnsma/oralpres.html

Making Effective Oral Presentations

http://web.cba.neu.edu/~ewertheim/skills/oral.htm

Billingham, Jo. Giving Presentations. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003.

Hillman, Ralph. Delivering Dynamic Presentations: Using Your Voice and Body for Impact. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.

Platow, Micheal. Giving Professional Presentations in the Behavioural Sciences and Related Fields: A Practical Guide for the Novice, the Nervous, and the Nonchalant. New York: Psychology Press, 2002.

Stevens, Michael. How To Be Better At- Giving Presentations. London: Kogan Page, 1996.

Tierney, Elizabeth P. 101 Ways to Better Presentations. London: Kogan Page, 1999.

How are marks for oral presentations allocated?

1. Sample criteria used to assess Presentation (Relates to your style)

Fail	Pass	Credit	Distinction	High Distinction
Over/Under Time	Correct Time
No rehearsal	Little evidence of rehearsal	Speech has obviously been rehearsed	Well-rehearsed	Evidence of much rehearsal
Limited preparation	Small amount of preparation	Solid preparation which appropriately covers the topic	Good preparation which thoroughly covers the topic	Excellent preparation which thoroughly covers the topic
Very rough presentation	Awkward presentation	Articulate presentation	Confident presentation	Polished presentation which communicates the material with stylistic flair
Inappropriate method of delivery	Attempts to use body language and appropriate language as a part of the delivery style	Effectively uses body language and appropriate language as a part of the delivery style	Uses good delivery techniques including appropriate use of body language, tone of voice, and register	Outstanding delivery which includes appropriate use of body language, tone of voice, and register
No use of visual aids such as PowerPoint	Very basic use of visual aids	Uses visual aids to support important points	Good use of visual aids which illustrate the key points of the presentation	Excellent use of visual aids which illustrate the key points of the presentation and provide insightful information

2. Sample criteria used to assess Content (Relates to your strategy and structure)

Fail	Pass	Credit	Distinction	High Distinction
Comments show little relevance to topic	Comments relate to the topic	Comments are relevant to topic	Comments appropriately address the topic	Comments discuss the topic in an insightful way
Illogical Order	Attempts to arrange material in some sort of order	Appropriate order for the material	Ideas presented in a logical way	Ideas presented in a surprising and innovative manner which is suitable appropriate for the topic
No evidence of Research	Evidence of small amount of research	Evidence of research that is used to support an argument	Evidence of wide research that is integral to an argument	Evidence of wide scholarly research that is integral to an argument
Much inaccurate usage	Several ungrammatical sentences	Grammatical sentences	Accurate usage of grammar	Grammar used with stylistic flair

3.Sample criteria used to assess Overall Presentation (Relates to your ability to engage your audience)

Fail	Pass	Credit	Distinction	High Distinction
Not really able to sustain the audience’s attention	General coverage of the topic which offers a useful introduction to the material	Good presentation which is interesting to listen to and which adequately addresses the topic	Very good presentation which communicates the material in an interesting way	Dynamic presentation which investigates the topic rigorously and communicates the material in a way that arouses the audience’s interest