Higher talk planning sheets and completed work

There are 2 poly-pockets pinned to my classroom door containing the above, should you wish to pop into the school over the weekend to collect and prepare for Monday!

Thanks,
Ms B.

Higher Talks

Please remember that Higher talk assessments begin on Monday. Here is the advice that I was going to give you today:


‘The bottom line is, public speaking isn’t drilled into us at school the way it is American kids – and it ought to be. Most of us only find ourselves in the spotlight as adults, having built it up to A Big Scary Thing in our minds. But because this now feels natural to me as breathing – I don’t just like it, I really and truly enjoy every last second of it – I’m constantly amazed by how many women say they couldn’t possibly do it. How unconfident they feel, in front of an audience. (It’s not exclusively a female issue – but perhaps men feel less free to admit it.) Fact is, today – even if it’s presenting a report to a board of executives, or standing up at the annual staff get-together to offer a few words of praise to a departing colleague – most of us are going to have to open our mouths to speak in public. Josephine Fairley-‘The Telegraph’



Hate giving presentations? You are not alone

Wallechinsky et al (1977):

Asked 3000 pupils “What do you fear most?”

41% placed public speaking at the top of their list

(above the fear of sickness, loneliness or death…)


Why do we hate talks so much?

Mostly we are scared of making a fool of ourselves in front of others, but please remember that you are in a HIgher class- evenryone is in the same boat and they all know how nerve-wracking it is. No-one is going to make fin of you, and since your talks are on an essay that you have already written and had marked- you can guarentee that your subject and techniques used are going to be good!

Why do we have to perform solo talks?

• It is highly unlikely that your career path will allow you to avoid speaking your mind publicly.
•  Information is redundant if it is not shared.
•  Organisations are aware that people prefer listening to messages rather than reading them.
•  Speaking to more than one person allows a healthy and dynamic exchange of views and is the quickest way to exchange information to a large number at once.
• There are also many cases outside of a career where an ability to speak publicly is incredibly useful: including interviews etc

Performing

What makes a good talk?


In order to produce a good talk you must be able to


• Organise and summarise complex information effectively.


• Communicate this information clearly.


• Manage time efficiently.


These are all skills which will help you learn.

 These are also highly marketable skills.


General performance tips



1. Finding the right register:

Most speech is conversational.

Most written text is grammatically convoluted.

 Getting the right balance between formality and informality in a presentation is very tricky.

• Avoid colloquialisms (“sort of” or “kinda”)


• Try to avoid erms and ums.


• You want your audience to respect you, not like you.


• Try to speak more slowly than you would normally.


• Use pauses for emphasis (as opposed to raising your voice)


• Don’t let your voice fade away at the end of sentences.

 Anxiety reduction


The easiest way to reduce anxiety is to have a well prepared and well rehearsed presentation.

However, if nerves are still a problem, try the following…


• Visualisation: Imagine yourself giving a brilliant presentation.
• Breath deeply.
• Relax muscles / Release tension.
• Take a script which you can read if all else fails.
• Do something else really stressful just before…(drastic, but works!)

Unfortunately, the most effective treatment for public speaking anxiety is exposure. E.g. it gets better with practice


Know your audience:

This is easy for you - they will be fellow students plus me.

In other words, the majority will know as much or less than you do about the topic.


Academics have to face a wide variety of different audiences.

I have talked about my research/teaching to:


• Members of the public


• Other teachers and SMT- including those outwith this school!


• Parents and pupils


• University pupils

In each case, the talk had to be tailored appropriately, but a good general rule is that it pays to keep things simple.


Practice


• Practice giving the presentation to a friendly audience and ask them for honest and constructive criticism.

• Be prepared for it to hurt!

• Act on it.

• Meeting the time-limit is very important, and requires practice.


• So practice out loud on your own with a clock.


• Practice can be counter productive - if its just winding you up, stop!

•Record yourself and watch back- embarrassing perhaps but then you can see your mistakes and fix them!

Misc

• Make eye contact.

• Talk clearly to the back of the audience.

• Don’t mumble the ends of sentences.

• Be enthusiastic (or pretend…)

• Ask me to warn you when you have two minutes left.

• The only way it gets better is to give more talks. So practice!

• Book yourself a treat for immediately afterwards.

 

Good Luck!

L- Nat 3 Media Creation design