What is required for an Oral Presentation? Some Tips

Discusss
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. Don't talk with a monotone voice. You will not sound interested.
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. - When giving a presentation, DO NOT copy a film review from the Internet.

6. Plagiarism - Suggestions:
- Published articles and books often have words that you do not know so you won't sound natural.
- Your teachers know your level. They will know when you copy!

7. Think about the topic you are given.
Your talk should be related to the topic.
Interaction means that you listen to others.

8. Becoming a character - Suggestions:
- You can respond to what you say yourself.
- Don't make a speech or ignore what the last speaker said.

9. Turn-taking; reasons for opinions - Suggestions:
- You don't need to take turns, one after the other, in interactions.
- Natural discussions are less planned. Speak as soon as you have something to say.
- Give support for your opinions.

10. Nervous start - Suggestions:- Everyone is nervous before an oral exam.
- Try to use English before your presentation or interaction.
- 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.

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.