Sunday, February 19, 2012

You will NOT do these during an Oral Presentation

Common Mistakes; Suggestions for Improvement:
1. Talking without pausing - Suggestions:

  • Don't talk too quickly.
  • Stop and breathe at the end of sentences.
  • The best speakers in the world are not the fastest.
2. No intonation - Suggestions:
  • Don't talk with a monotone voice. You will not sound interested in the film.
  • People usually stop listening when speakers have little intonation.
  • Stress important words by speaking louder, higher, lower or slower.  
3.Too much intonation - Suggestions: Too much intonation is not natural. Other students may laugh at you!  Practice stressing important words by presenting to your classmates.

4. Reading notes - Suggestions:
  • Talk to people, not note cards, in presentations.
  • Students who write too many notes usually look less confident.
  • Looking down stops you speaking clearly and confidently.
5. Mispronunciation of character names - Suggestions:
  • Learn how to pronounce character names correctly.
  • Ask your friends or teachers if you don't know how to say a word.
  • Say other words if you still don't know. e.g. the woman, her boyfriend, the hero, the bad guy. 
6. Plagiarism - Suggestions:
  • When giving a presentation, DO NOT copy a film review from the Internet. 
  • Film reviews often have words that you do not know so you won't sound natural.
  • Your teachers are clever. They will know when you copy! 
7. Becoming the character - Suggestions:
  • Think about the topic you are given.
  • Your talk should be related to the topic.
  • Talk about the characters. Don't become Spiderman, a princess or Seabiscuit!
8. Not listening to others - Suggestions:
  • An interaction means that you listen to other students.
  • You respond to what you say.
  • Don't make a speech or ignore what the last speaker said.  
9. Turn-taking; not giving reasons for opinions - Suggestions:
  • You don't need to take turns one after the other in interactions.
  • Natural discussions are less planned. Speak when you have something to say.
  • Give reasons for your opinions.  
10. Nervous start - Suggestions:
  • Everyone is nervous before an oral exam.
  • Try to use English before your presentation or interaction. Listen to songs and talk to your friends or family.
  • If you talk English to your classmates beforehand, you will understand them more during the interaction.
11. Not interrupting - Suggestions:
  • Some students could speak all day! You must interrupt them to have a chance to speak.
  • Wait until they finish a sentence then speak.
  • Be brave! Say, 'Excuse me...' or 'Sorry to interrupt you...' then begin.
12. Not serious enough - Suggestions:
  • When nervous, some students giggle and can be silly!
  • You can laugh and have fun during an interaction.
  • However, teachers do not like silly comments like 'You're stupid!'  
13. Not asking for clarification - Suggestions: Students may say a word wrongly. You should ask, 'What do you mean by... ?'  This shows you are following the discussion and your teacher will respect you.

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