EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

ORAL COMMUNICATION
PRESENTATION SKILLS
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 Why do we speak?
• Early man and animals make noises to
communicate
• That noise evolved into the complicated
speech we use everyday now
• We take speech for granted
• Speech is necessary to communicate ideas
• Instant writing like SMS, WhatsApp etc cannot
beat the personal touch of speech because we
can see and hear the person.
 Why do we speak?
• A writer cannot see his/her reader, but a speaker can. But a
speaker can and can immediately adapt and adjust to the
situation

• A writer relies on the the written word, but the speaker relies
on the delivery of the words – body language, tone
expression, eye contact …

• A writer has more attention from the reader, because the

reader intends to read. A speaker has to work harder to hold
audience attention.
Is the audience listening?
• It is important to know how the audience
listens. If not what is the point of speaking?
• People are easily distracted and can even
switch off especially in long boring speeches.
Why people switch off
• They can anticipate what is to be said and
decided they know enough
• They are planning and rehearsing in their
mind what they want to say when it is their
turn
• They are preoccupied with own personal
problem
• Speaker’s voice is dull and monotonous
• The topic is too complex and difficult
 Why people switch off
• The topic is too simple or basic
• The speaker has no confidence and this is
detected by the audience
• External factors ( children crying, construction
noise etc)
 Bad listening habits
• Pseudo-listening : looks like listening but is
really not
• Self-centred listening : rehearsing his
response or rebuttal
• Selective listening : listening to parts that
directly concern him or her
 Reading aloud
• We do not write the way we speak and we do
not speak the way we write
• Three elements in reading well :
1. Volume and clarity
2. Pace
3. Tone and Expression
 Bad Reading Habits
• Contractions – ‘gonna’ instead of ‘going to’
• Reversed sounds – ‘perscription’ instead of
‘prescription’
• Omitted letters – ‘don’ instead of ‘don’t’
• Added letters – add ‘s’ when there is none
 Pauses
• Pauses are important
• Use your breathing as a form of measure
• When you run out of breath naturally it is
time to pause
• Look at punctuation to give you clues

Cats have more than 100 vocal chords and dogs

have only ten. Giraffes have none.
 Exercise 3
• Come up with different sentences that would
need ‘really’ as a response

1. Really? (horror)
2. Really? (annoyed)
3. Really? (pleasure)
4. Really? (disbelief)
5. Really? (sarcastic)
 Exercise 5
Read the ‘Oh’ responses. Remember your tone
and expression. List the emotion required.
1.Oh, now I understand (comprehension)
2.Oh, I can’t wait ( )
3.Oh, I’m disappointed. ( )
4.Oh, you expect me to believe that? ( )
5.Oh, that’s great! ( )
6.Oh! Look out! ( )
7.Oh!, That hurts! ( )
8.Oh! How disgusting! ( )
9.Oh, you poor thing! ( )
 Exercise 5
Read the ‘Oh’ responses. Remember your tone
and expression. List the emotion required.
1.Oh, now I understand (comprehension)
2.Oh, I can’t wait (excitement)
3.Oh, I’m disappointed. (disappointment)
4.Oh, you expect me to believe that? (incredulous)
5.Oh, that’s great! (compliment)
6.Oh! Look out! (warning)
7.Oh!, That hurts! (pain)
8.Oh! How disgusting! (disgust)
9.Oh, you poor thing! (pity/sympathy)
 Presentations
3 Ps of Presentations

• Planning
• Preparation
• Practice
 Planning
• Identify your topic
(what do I want to talk about?)
• General & Specific Purpose
(To inform? To entertain? To persuade?)
• How much time do I have?
• What special knowledge do I have?
• What will my audience be interested in?
 Preparation
• Gather information (research)
• Outline your presentation
• Prepare Introduction & Conclusion
• Prepare visual aids (diagrams, graphs, photos)
• Make note cards
• Choose mode of delivery (CHANNEL)
 Practice
• Rehearse
• Rehearse
• Rehearse
• Eg. Read aloud to yourself
• Eg. Record yourself reading
• Eg. Read to a friend (ask for feedback)
 Overcoming
Nervousness/Anxiety
• FACT ONE
Some research shows that most people would rather die than talk in
front of a live audience.

• Top ten global fears:

1. Fear of public speaking (Glossophobia)
2. Fear of death (Necrophobia)
3. Fear of spiders (Arachnophobia)
4. Fear of darkness (Achluophobia, Scotophobia or Myctophobia)
5. Fear of heights (Acrophobia)
 Overcoming
Nervousness/Anxiety
• FACT TWO
• Fear of public speaking:
– Has negative effects on careers
– Influences success in life negatively when you do nothing about it.

• FACT THREE
• Three out of every four individuals suffer from speech anxiety: that's
75 percent.
 Overcoming
Nervousness/Anxiety
• FACT FOUR
Up to 5 percent of the world population (yes, hundreds of millions)
aged between 18 and 54, experience this kind of social phobia in
any given year.

• FACT FIVE
Women and men are equally affected.
 Overcoming
Nervousness/Anxiety
• Think about the audience rationally
- They are people too
- They want to listen to you
- They want to be relaxed
- They are not critical of you or your mistakes
- They will be more embarrassed than you
- They will be sympathetic
 Overcoming
Nervousness/Anxiety
• Breathe deeply
• Stand up and walk around
• Be prepared
 The Presentation
• INTRODUCTION
- A good speech needs a good introduction
- A good introduction needs good planning

• Ask yourself: what does the audience want?

- Address the audience: talk TO them
- Gain their attention
- Announce & preview topic of your speech
- Motivate audience to accept your message

What are the functions of an introduction?

GAINING AUDIENCE ATTENTION
• Ask a question
“Have you ever ..?”
“Did you know …?”
“What did you do …?”
“Did you know how ice kachang came about?”
• Stating an unusual fact
“Fear of public speaking is even greater than fear of death”
“8% of men are colourblind compared to only 0.5% of
women”
“10,000 ice kachangs are sold daily in sunny Singapore”
GAINING AUDIENCE ATTENTION

• Telling a story
“Once upon a time …”
“Have you ever heard the story of the ice kachang man?”
• Using a quotation
“I have a dream …”
“It has been said, an ice kachang a day keeps the doctor
away”
• Referring to a historic event
“The first ever recorded Ice Kachang made its appearance in
1936.”
GAINING AUDIENCE ATTENTION

• Telling a joke
“Why did the ice kachang cross the road?”
• Referring to personal reference
“My friend has a pet peeve, ice kachang without kachang.”
Posture

Do Don’t
• Stand tall with weight • Stand stiffly
evenly on both feet • Shift weight
and shoulders back
• Sway
• Move occasionally to
add action • Lean on lectern or
table

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 Presentation
Delivery
MOVEMENT
•Get nearer to the audience

•Move from side to side (don’t stay in one spot)

 Presentation
Delivery
GESTURES
• Use gestures (body language) to emphasise
points being made
 Gestures
Do Don’t
• Use natural gestures • Raise and lower arms
• Make sure gestures repeatedly
not distracting • Point at audience
• Swing pointer
• Fiddle with hair,
jewellery, etc
• Put hands in pockets
• Hold hands awkwardly
• Fold arms
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 Exercise 6
Match these body language to what they really mean.
1. Nodding your head shows relaxation and
interest
2. Rubbing your neck Uncertainty
3. Playing with your hair Stress
4. Showing your palms out Openness
5. Clenching your fists desire to hide
something
6. Clasping your hands behind your head arrogance
7. Flexing your arm strength
8. Hiding your arms behind your back Calmness
9. Putting your hand on your hips stay away from me!
10. Tapping your foot impatience
 Presentation
Delivery
• EYE CONTACT
• Make direct eye contact with audience
• 1-3 seconds per person
• Make eye contact with different parts of a larger
audience (scan from side to side & front to back,
across the whole room)
 Eye contact

Do look Don’t look at

• the ceiling
systematically at
• your notes
different sections of
the audience. • the floor
• the screen
• one individual
• the audience with
glazed expression
• out the window

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 Voice
• Project your voice
• Speak and pronounce clearly
• Vary your volume
• Vary your pitch
Presentation Delivery
USE OF VISUAL AIDS
• Eg. Powerpoint slides, white board, visualiser,
objects that can be handed around

• Are crowded slides effective?

• Why? Why not?

Endings
• Summarise your points in conclusion

• Ask for action – SO when you order your next Ice Kachang,
please remember the story of the ice kachang man.

• Ask a question – so will you order an ice kachang today and

save this legendary dessert from extinction?

• Anecdote – and so I end my speech with the story of the ice

kachang man.
Handling Questions
Before presentation
• Anticipate questions
During question and answer session
• Listen to entire question;
make sure you understand it
• Repeat question out loud
• Credit the person for asking question
• Respond to question honestly and
the best way you can

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Handling Questions
• If you cannot answer,
– Redirect question to audience
– Offer to find out answer later

• Check clarity of your response before taking on

next question

• Try not to contradict each other when giving a

team presentation

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Team Presentations
• Ensure individual presentations are part
of a coherent whole.
• Provide smooth transitions from speaker
to speaker.
• Coordinate handling of questions.
• Present a cooperative outlook.
• Coordinate the handling of AV
• REHEARSE as a team.

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END