Effective Communication Skills on a blogpage!!

ECS Final Exam (Listening & Responding Essay-40%)

2007-01-10T15:28:00.000+08:00

The essay must consist of:-

1. Introduction
-the overview (the bibliography),
-the purpose (to inform/to persuade?)
-the thesis statement of the speech (what do you think of the speech& the 3 key areas covered in the developing paragraphs)

2. The Developing Paragraphs (three)
-responding to the speech by looking at the key areas (Content & Organisation, Non-verbal Communication, Use of Voice & Using Audio Visual Aids-choose 3 key areas)
-responses can be either positive or negative
-please write responses in three organised paragraphs (a paragraph for each key area)

(please refer to the handouts given prior to your persuasive speech presentation for more on presentation skills)

3. The conclusion
-a brief paragraph stating your thesis statement (what do you think of the speech)
-give some constructive suggestions on how to improve the speech

ALL THE BEST PEOPLE!!!!

Group Discussion Assessment (Group C&D)

2006-12-11T10:21:00.000+08:00

The roles below are for Group C & D. Group C will start first and commencement time is at 12.15 p.m. Group D are expected to be at the venue at 12.45 p.m. Only assessed group are given the permission to be in the assessment venue. Gentle reminders to all candidates; please be early at the venue (G2 105) to avoid any unforseen inconveniences.

Group C ( Thursday, Dec 14, 2006, 12.15 p.m.)

Adriana

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Department of Cultural Affairs to look into the issue of legalizing gay marriages, following the trend in some other countries.

Task A:

You are a church pastor. You think gay marriages should not be legalized. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether gay marriages should be legalized.

Ting Ting

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Department of Cultural Affairs to look into the issue of legalizing gay marriages, following the trend in some other countries.

Task A:

You are a parent of two teenagers. You think gay marriages should not be legalized. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether gay marriages should be legalized.

Siaw Chin

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Department of Cultural Affairs to look into the issue of legalizing gay marriages, following the trend in some other countries.

Task A:

You are a social activist. You think gay marriages should be legalized. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:
As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether gay marriages should be legalized

Tong (from the Couple)

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Department of Cultural Affairs to look into the issue of legalizing gay marriages, following the trend in some other countries.

Task A:

You are a political science student. You think gay marriages should be legalized. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether gay marriages should be legalized.

Kiet (from the Couple)

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Department of Cultural Affairs to look into the issue of legalizing gay marriages, following the trend in some other countries.

Task A:

You are a university lecturer. You think gay marriages should not be legalized. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether gay marriages should be legalized.

Group D (Thursday, Dec 14, 2006, 12.45 p.m.)

Ee Tiing

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Ministry of Education to look into the issue of allowing disabled children to join the same schools as able-bodied children.

Task A:

You are a parent of two school-going children. You think that disabled children should be allowed to join the same schools as able-bodied children. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether disabled children should be allowed to join the same schools as able-bodied children.

Siew Ting

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Ministry of Education to look into the issue of allowing disabled children to join the same schools as able-bodied children.

Task A:

You are a university lecturer. You think that disabled children should be allowed to join the same schools as able-bodied children. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether disabled children should be allowed to join the same schools as able-bodied children.

Suk Bing

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Ministry of Education to look into the issue of allowing disabled children to join the same schools as able-bodied children.

Task A:

You are a primary school teacher. You think that disabled children should not be allowed to join the same schools as able-bodied children. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether disabled children should be allowed to join the same schools as able-bodied children.

Dou

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Ministry of Education to look into the issue of allowing disabled children to join the same schools as able-bodied children.

Task A:

You are a school principal. You think that disabled children should not be allowed to join the same schools as able-bodied children. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether disabled children should be allowed to join the same schools as able-bodied children.

Johnny

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Ministry of Education to look into the issue of allowing disabled children to join the same schools as able-bodied children.

Task A:

You are a parent of a physically disabled child. You think that disabled children should be allowed to join the same schools as able-bodied children. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether disabled children should be allowed to join the same schools as able-bodied children.

Group Discussion Assessment (Group A&B)

2006-12-08T12:21:00.000+08:00

Hi Group A&B!

Group A, please be at the venue (G2 105) at 12.45 p.m. on Wednesday ( Dec 13). As for Group B, you can choose to come at early or 30 minutes after Group A commences (that is 1.15 p.m.). Only the assessed Group will be in class throughout the assessment.

Below are the assigned role for both Group members. Bear in mind that you are holding a role, which means you are some else, and not a student doing ECS unit in Curtin. Please be sensitive to/be more aware of the situation/context given to you.

Group A (Wednesday, Dec 13, 2006, 12.45 p.m.)

Ghin Hua

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Department of Home Affairs to look into the issue of reviewing the current death sentence for drug trafficking.

Task A:

You are a human rights activist. You think that drug traffickers should not be sentenced to death. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether drug traffickers should receive the death sentence or otherwise.

Kimberly

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Department of Home Affairs to look into the issue of reviewing the current death sentence for drug trafficking.

Task A:

You are a parent of two teenagers. You think that drug traffickers should be sentenced to death. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether drug traffickers should receive the death sentence or otherwise.

Ghin Kian

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Department of Home Affairs to look into the issue of reviewing the current death sentence for drug trafficking.

Task A:

You are a university student. You think that drug traffickers should not be sentenced to death. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether drug traffickers should receive the death sentence or otherwise.

Li Ai

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Department of Home Affairs to look into the issue of reviewing the current death sentence for drug trafficking.

Task A:

You are a journalist. You think that drug traffickers should not be sentenced to death. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether drug traffickers should receive the death sentence or otherwise.

Lee Ling

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Department of Home Affairs to look into the issue of reviewing the current death sentence for drug trafficking.

Task A:

You are a businessperson. You think that drug traffickers should be sentenced to death. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether drug traffickers should receive the death sentence or otherwise.

Group B (Wednesday, Dec 13, 2006, 1.15 p.m.)

Gerald

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Ministry of Information to look into the issue of introducing *censorship of the Internet.

Task A:

You are a parent of a pair of 18 - year old male twins. You think that the Internet should be censored. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether the Internet should be censored.

* censorship – the practice of examining books, films, etc and removing anything that is
considered offensive, morally harmful or politically dangerous

Chen Qian

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Ministry of Information to look into the issue of introducing *censorship of the Internet.

Task A:

You are a church pastor. You think that the Internet should be censored. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether the Internet should be censored.

* censorship – the practice of examining books, films, etc and removing anything that is
considered offensive, morally harmful or politically dangerous

Jolene

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Ministry of Information to look into the issue of introducing *censorship of the Internet.

Task A:

You are a human rights activist. You think that the Internet should not be censored. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether the Internet should be censored.

* censorship – the practice of examining books, films, etc and removing anything that is
considered offensive, morally harmful or politically dangerous

Fiona

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Ministry of Information to look into the issue of introducing *censorship of the Internet.

Task A:

You are a university lecturer. You think that the Internet should not be censored. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether the Internet should be censored.

* censorship – the practice of examining books, films, etc and removing anything that is
considered offensive, morally harmful or politically dangerous

Lik

Situation

A committee has been set up by the Ministry of Information to look into the issue of introducing *censorship of the Internet.

Task A:

You are a television journalist. You think that the Internet should not be censored. Give suitable reasons to support your view.

Task B:

As a group, discuss which of the reasons put forth by the speakers are valid. You are encouraged to arrive at a decision as to whether the Internet should be censored.

* censorship – the practice of examining books, films, etc and removing anything that is considered offensive, morally harmful or politically dangerous

ECS Group 3 Buffet Dinner at Imperial Hotel

2006-12-07T09:24:00.000+08:00

Dear all,

Thanks to Johnny for keeping us posted with our planned buffet dinner. It is now confirmed that the dinner will take place in Imperial Hotel in January 12, 2007, at 7.00 p.m. RM38 is payable on the spot. The Menu will be Western with free flow of coffee, tea, and carbonated drinks. All of you are welcome to bring your partners/friends. Dress code? Up to you!!

End of semester dinner

2006-11-30T14:45:00.000+08:00

Hi all!

Everyone has agreed to have a buffet dinner at Imperial Hotel before the Final Exam week. The proposed date is January 12, 2007 (which is next year) at 7.00 p.m. Johnny will be person in charge of the table booking and etc. Thanks to Johnny for voluntarily taking the autonomy to liaise with the Imperial Hotel management for the planned upcoming ECS Group 3 Dinner. Ladies and gentlemen, you are most welcome to bring your partners/guests to join us that night! I really look forward to it! Johnny, please update us next week.

Week 14- The Second Week of Persuasive Presentation Speech Part II

2006-11-17T11:11:00.000+08:00

Hi again!

I purposely came up with two different posts for this week's presentations, otherwise, 1 post for 10 presenters (plus comments plus photos) will be too crowded and that will be an eyesore. Well, there's the last 5 presenters!

Lik

Strengths

He is such a spontaneous presenter. The overview of his speech were given. Arguments presented were convincing, substantiated with credible evidences and visual aids. Slides were creative and the video clip shown was totally hilarious. He presented an audible speech, good pitch, with emotions in both intonation and tone. He built good rapport with audiences and maintained good eye contact. He was well-prepared, made good effort in extending his research by visiting fast food restaurant outlets. During the speech distributed a resourceful brochure on nutritional values of different types of fast food to the audience.

Lik in action-was a genuine presenter!

Areas to improve

There were some prominent mispronounced words such as "argument" which sounded like "agreement" as well as "walking" which sounded like "working". He seemed to have limited understanding of questions addressed to him during the Q&A session.

Lee Ling

Strengths

She is such an entertaining, professional, vibrant, and charismatic presenter! Arguments presented were very much credible and convincing. The organisation of her speech was coherent. Slides management was systematic. She had good voice projection and there were varieties in her tone and pitch. She maintained good eye contact with the audience. She projected such confident front and was comfortable with her speech. She was one of the few who presented the whole speech with fluent and accurate language use. She was over all a resourceful presenter!

Lee Ling was such a powerful and charismatic presenter!

Areas to improve

Conclusion was a bit plain.

Johnny

Strengths

He is such an energetic, enthusiastic and zealous presenter. He demonstrated so much passion in the topic "Bermuda Triangle" that he presented. The whole session was vibrant, with constant interaction between the presenter and the audience. He also built good rapport with the audience and kept them awake with his jokes and sense of humour. The organisation of visual aids used was systematic that it cohered well with the slides and his speech content. He projected brave and confident front, with good posture and gestures. The use of voice was also effective, with appropriate varieties and emotions in his tone and intonation. He showed wide knowledge on the subject addressed. An undeniably a resourceful and reliable presenter.

Another charismatic speaker from Group 3! I wish this was videotaped!

Areas to improve

Pronunciation was quite a problem. :-)

Gerald

Strengths

He was a confident, relaxed, and well prepared presenter. He hardly referred to the text he had in front of him. He was also spontaneous, and a bubbly presenter. His speech session was interactive and interesting. He captivated audience's attention and managed to engage his audience. He kept good eye contact with the audience and addressed his audience every now and then. Attention getter was effective but it really scared the hell out of me! I had goosebumps sometimes and you really scared me Gerald!!!!!!!!

Gerald was standing tall with a great speech

Areas to improve

An identifiable mispronounced word was "haunting" that sounded like "hunting" to the audience.

Ghin Hua

Strengths

A good looking presenter with a deep voice! Well, voice projection was good and his speech was audible. A question was addressed to the audience in The Introduction and there was some interaction involved. He also projected a brave and confident character during the Q&A session. Slides organisation was logical and orderly.

Identified as a good looking presenter by his female coursemates!

Areas to improve

He appeared nervous during the speech and quite dependant on his speech script. There were distracting speech fillers such as "er" and hissing sound he made that showed he was nervous! Eye contact with the audience was limited and he always looked on the PC screen instead of embracing the audience. Conclusion was not appealing and was rather too plain.

Week 14- The Second Week of Persuasive Speech Presentation Part I

2006-11-17T08:08:00.000+08:00

Hello all!

It has been a perfect week this week with 10 impressive presenters! Thanks to the ever cute Prince Fiona and Prince Charming Johnny (remember Shrek?) for all the photographs taken in class. Well, Johnny managed to video tape of the class and I hope I to upload it on you tube and embed some video clips of our very own Group 3 presenters in the blog. Well, ready for comments?

Kimberly

Strengths

She is undeniably a charming presenter. Information presented was credible, validated well by evidences with proper referencing. The organisation of the speech is coherent and well tied up. There was also interaction with the audience during her speech. Speech given was audible, with good voice projection. There was also good eye contact with they audience. All in all, she manage to engage her audience! The power of her charming smile? Probably! :-)

Kimberly, the charming presenter. Wondering who is her "Prince Charming?"

Areas to improve

Well, there was a slight mistake in the PowerPoint slides order but was quickly rectified. Her tone was a bit plain.

Li Ai

Strengths
The striking and vibrant attire she was wearing for her presentation helped colour her presentation! PowerPoint slides were systematically organised and visual aids were explained to the audience. Brilliant recommendations on "Corporal Punishment" issues were also provided in her speech.

Areas to improve

A comic strip was shown to the in the Introduction, but there was hardly any time for the audience to read and grasp the message of the comic and its relevance to the topic. Tone was rather monotonous and was not persuasive. There was also limited eye contact with the audience. She was a bit tongue-tied during the Q&A session. :-)

Li Ai presented in a calm and relaxed manner.

Ting Ting

Strengths

She is such a pleasant presenter! The overview of her speech were given before she started her speech content. Hilarious attention getter that somehow caught her audience's attention. Definitions of jargon were given. The purpose of her speech was addressed directly to the audience. Visual aids were simple and well organised. She maintained good interactions and eye contact with her audience. Appropriate use of hand gestures livened up her dynamic speech.

Ting Ting remarkably presented a dynamic speech!

Areas to improve

There were some grammatical errors on the PowerPoint slides. :-)

Siaw Chin

Group 3's very own nutritionist in action!

Strengths

A smiley, friendly, mature presenter! The nature of her topic attracts audience's attention. Quotations from experts were also given. Information and evidences to support her stance were convincing and appealing. Slides were systematically organised, interesting with effective and graphical supporting materials. She built good rapport with the audience with consistent eye contact.

Areas of weakness

Substitution of the consonant "l" to "r", e.g. the word "conclude" sounded like "concrude". She was also a bit nervous during the Q&A session.

Ee Ting

Strengths

Like Li Ai, she is such a calm presenter. Information provided was brief and concise. Slides were simple and systematic. Speech was audible, presented at a moderate speed rate. During the Q&A session, she never forgot to thank the questioners.

Ee Ting gave a tranquil moment throught her speech.

Areas to improve

Tone was rather monotonous and not persuasive. There was no high and low tone. Eye contact was limited to me only! She could not really handle questions during the Q&A session.

ECS 062 Group 3 Class photograph

2006-11-15T16:28:00.000+08:00

Hello people!
Here are some class photographs taken by Fiona! Thanks to Fiona and I appreciate her efficiency, received a number of photos of presenters in action as well! I will update and upload more photos by Friday! Comments will be posted by Friday as well, so check the blog page out every now and then! Enjoy the photographs below... (wondering why I have such a fat face.... is that a sign of ageing?-a monologue)

More class photos taken by Johnny! Enjoy them people!

Class photograph

2006-11-10T07:23:00.000+08:00

Hi all!

I was thinking if we could take some class photographs sometime next week. Can anyone of you bring a digital camera to class next week? Would be good to take photos of next week's presenters in action! Then I will be more than happy to upload it here on our blogpage! C'mon, give me feedback people!

A photo taken in class with my lovely Group 4!

1st week of Persuasive Speech Presentation

2006-11-06T12:31:00.000+08:00

Hi all!
Below is the list of first ten presenters this week. I will keep updating this post with comments once presentations are made. To all of you, do not hesitate to leave constructive comments as well! You can also post comments about your own presentations. I look forward to every one's contribution and participation in this post! To all first ten presenters ALL THE BEST OF LUCK!!!!!!!!! :-)

Regards,
ms. angel

1st Presenter-Dou

Strengths
Interestingly, Dou was an interactive presenter with good sense of humour. He reflected deep understanding of the topic "Moon landing" that he presented. Explanation made was thorough, and detailed. He handled Q&A session well, providing convincing answers to audience. Although the video clip shown as an attention getter was in Mandarin, translation provided by him was sufficient.

Areas to improve
There were evident typos on slides. Some words were also mispronounced. Use of fillers such as "um... er..." were rather frequent. He lost eye contact easily when explaining details & arguments.

2nd Presenter-Tong

Strengths
An absent-minded presenter I should say! Haha! Anyway, the whole speech was audible, not as robotic as previous presentations. He handled Q&A session well and could handle massive audience who bombarded him with the same question. Q&A is the strength of his overall presentation. The ending was quite abrupt but later he realised it and corrected himself!

Areas to Improve

Eye contact was limited to me! There were some mispronounced words as well. Tone used was not as persuasive.

3rd Presenter-Siew Ting

Strengths

There were proper in text citations made included in slides. There was also interaction with audience during presentation for feedback. Slides were simple and well-organised. There was good eye contact with the audience. Presenter also provided URL links for further information on the subject addressed.

Areas to improve

Some words were mispronounced. Besides, it was quite obvious that the presented read the notes quite often.

4th Presenter-Lee Kiet

Strengths

A professional presenter, speech was rich and informative. A hilarious and interesting comic strip was shown and explained to the audience. The introduction part of her speech was interactive. Charts and their correlations were clearly explained. Slides were simple and systematic. Conclusion was wrapped up carefully. She was one of the rare presenters with good language command. Q&A session was handled tactfully.

Areas to improve

Too much flat facts dampened the speech key content.

5th Presenter-Adriana

Strengths

She could relate a previous presentation (Dou's) to hers, making spontaneous minimal changes to her speech content. Attention getter was interesting, most audience got the message as she explanation on the comic strip used was provided. The presentation was clear and audible, a bonus that she could project her voice well. She was also a friendly, smiley and warm presenter.

Areas to improve

She was seen sticking out her tongues a few times, and she was not really a resourceful presenter.

6th Presenter-Chen Qian
Strengths

A smiley and friendly presenter. Unfortunately, she was down with fever! Slides were systematic. The video clip shown was in Mandarin but sufficient translation was provided. Q&A session was handled well. However, the video was not about animal testing, but about animal surgery.

Areas to improve

Mispronunciation of words was noticeable. It also hindered the message of her speech. Elaboration of arguments/main points was limited.

7th Presenter- Jolene

Strengths

The best part of her speech was the Q&A session. The speech was audible to all.

Areas to improve

She was rather a monotonous presenter, Opening and Closing were a bit too plain. Some slides were crowded with text. Mispronunciation of "Naked Road". Instead of getting it as "Naked Road" I often heard "Naked Rod"! Some commonly repeated mispronounced words were "pedestrian" and "paraphernalia". Frequent use of speech fillers.

8th Presenter-Ghin Kian
Strength

The presenter tried his best to memorize speech content. Diagram used as supporting material was explained. There was some interaction involved with audience in the Opening and Closing.

Areas to improve

Somehow there was no flow in the speech content. No appropriate use of discourse markers. Some slides were too congested with text. Tone was a bit monotonous and boring ( no rise and fall tone)! Common mispronounced words were "rates", "butterflies", and "unfortunately". Frequent use of speech fillers such as "eh" and "um". Audience lost interest as there was insufficient eye contact.

9th Presenter-Suk Bing

Strengths

An interesting advertisement shown as an attention-getter. Slides organisation was systematic. Visual aids were interesting! The Q&A session was handled properly in a professional manner.

Areas to improve

Her speech was audible but the speech rate was quite fast as they were hardly any pauses! Eye contact was also limited as focal eye contact was on me. Some distinct mispronounced words were "taste" and "consumerism". The whole speech was quite monotonous that the speech lost its momentum.

10th Presenter-Fiona

Strengths

She was indeed a bubbly, reliable and resourceful presenter. The speech was comprehensive and clear. The opening of her speech was interactive and captivating. Visual aids used were appropriate and effective as well. Charts used as supporting materials were explained. The whole presentation was coherent and well organised. She handled the Q&A session in an interactive and fun way.

Areas to improve

Hands were restless!!

The time has come for Persuasive Speech!

2006-11-06T11:23:00.000+08:00

Dear all,

I guess the first 5 presenters are already feeling the butterflies in their stomach! Well, stop fretting about your speech presentations now, make full use of the very few days you have to the fullest!

Before the speech:
1. Hand in a copy of your speech outline to me
2. Always remember to be familiar with your topic, rehearse sufficiently well
3. Dress appropriately (preferably formal please)
4. Stand upright, good posture shows confidence!
5. Don't immediately start your speech when you are in front of the class, always take your time finding the comfortable spot to ease your nervousness
6. Project a confident front
7. Start your speech with a smile, not a giggle!

During the speech:

1. Don't turn your back to your audience for a long time
2. Don't read from the slides/notes
3. Don't look on the floor but always keep good eye contact with your audience
4. Don't be panic when you forget your points, take a quick look at your slides or handy notes to help you remember
5. Don't fidget!
6. Deliver your speech at a moderate speed rate.
7. Do not be monotonous! Add emotions to your tone and intonation.
8. Be audible
9. Pronounce difficult words, names, terms correctly (certainly you need practice for this bit!)
10. Don't forget to embrace your audience and smile!

After the speech (The Q&A session) :

1. Always thank the questioner
2. Repeat/restate/rephrase the question to your audience
3. Give short, brief answers
4. Stop a rambling questioner tactfully and politely
5. Don't argue with the questioner
6. If there are no questions, address your audience the anticipated questions (at least ONE) you have prepared before your speech.
7. Don't apologize if you do not know the answer, but offer to get back to the questioner for answers or, alternatively, get responses from your audience in case they know the answer!

For detailed notes on Delivery Skills, please access to your ECS WEBCT.
I will create another post where I will post comments on each presentation made in every session starting this Wednesday. I look forward to your proactive contributions as well! Kindly post constructive comments to your coursemates' presentations.

Look forward to listening your speech people! GOOD LUCK PEOPLE!

"Trouble" by Coldplay

2006-11-01T08:19:00.000+08:00

Hi all!

As requested by Lik. Enjoy the video clip below:

Also, enjoy Coldplay performing live......... such a unique piece of music!

Week 12-Handling Questions

2006-10-31T07:45:00.000+08:00

Handling Questions

Dear students, your individual presentation is expected to run for 20 minutes, 15 minutes on speech delivery and another 5 minutes is allocated for Question and Answer Session (Q&A). Marks are allocated for Q&A therefore audiences have a role to play during each presentation, that is to actively listen to the speech and to formulate questions that will later be addressed during the Q&A session.

What if there are no Questions?????????????

To all future presenters, get ready with at least ONE anticipated question in case there are no questions from the audience. Address the question to the audience, you can either get responses from them, or provide your audience the answer.

For more details and handy tips on Handling Questions, check out the URLs below:

http://cdev.concordia.ca/CnD/studentlearn/Help/handouts/Oral%20Presentations/questions.html

http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/OTEd/jradel/Preparing_talks/180.html

Good luck and see you in class tomorrow! Please post your topics and issue questions in the previous post ASAP!

Topics for Persuasive Speech

2006-10-20T15:11:00.000+08:00

Hello again Group 3!

A gentle reminder here to all that your Persuasive Speech Presentation Assessment will commence in Week 13! So during the break, why don't you brainstorm (in groups, pairs or individual) possible topics that you are interested in and later come up with a finalised topic? I wish to see your finalised topics when we meet in Week 12, on Wednesday. Remember that the key purpose of your speech is to persuade audience to agree with you, to move them into actions, or at least to convince them that your ideas/speech are worth considering (in the case of hostile audience!) Alternatively, in order to save time, you can also use the same topic that you are working on for your WRS Research Essay Proposal assignment. Below are few examples of topics and issue questions for illustrations:

1. Smoking: Should smoking be entirely banned on campus?

2. Blogging: Should blogging be incorporated in teaching and learning process?

3. Dress code: Should there be certain dress code imposed on university students when attending lectures/tutorials on campus?

I appreciate it if all of you could share with me your topics and issue questions by writing them down in the "leave comment" section. Remember that no one student can share the same issue question. This indicates that you can share the same topics, but issue questions should never be identical with one another!

Happy holiday people!

Oct 19 Group Presentations

2006-10-19T14:06:00.000+08:00

Hi Group 3!

Today's session was a bit dull, most of you were fretting about your Business Management exams... I was a bit down when I entered the class the first 10 minutes and no sign of enthusiasm from any of you! But as we went along today, dull moments were cheered up a bit, dim lights turned brighter with the presence of a handful of you, namely Johnny, Fiona, Gerald, Lik, Kiet and Tong! I hope you do not take every session of practice we have for granted as every presentation delivery skill we unravel every week is the essence of a required post graduate quality that you will count on when it is time for you to compete with your counterparts in the working industry in the future.

Well, anyway, good job that every group presented today and please take comments positively and constructively!

Fiona's Group

Fiona and Lee Ling did satisfactory job in maintaining eye contact with the audience as well as using appropriate gestures. Li Ai, however was a bit dull.... and did a lot of reading from the note... I noticed she was unwell... take good care of yourself girl and cheer up!

The Couple

They came up with a new topic on video and computer games addiction, WELL DONE!! Tong, whose last week's presentation was robotic, managed to project minimal emotions to his speech! Still Tong had a shy appearance, and did not really put a confident front.

Kiet is lively, audience friendly, bubbly and confident. She however looked at the floor a number of times and turned her back to audience when explaining charts on the white screen.

Jolene's Group

Ting Ting did tremendously well today! Very well-prepared, with brave and confident front!
Jolene used too excessive finger and hand gestures.... control them please....
Nana, who is normally a bubbly presenter, turned out to be giggly today! Also, too much of hand gestures!

Kimberly & Co.

Both Kimberly and Siaw Chin showed tremendous improvements today! They were confident, and familiar with the speech content. Not only that, both managed to maintain good eye contact with audience and audience were well addressed!

Ee Ting, please work more on eliminating the boring element? I know you can do better if you work on a topic that you are really interested in! Look forward to your individual presentation in Week 13-15!

Johnny'sssssssss

1st presenter failed to address the audience, audiences were not engaged with his presentation bit. Gestures were inappropriate as he kept putting his right hand on his neck while reading away the notes!

2nd presenter showed some improvements.... He tried hard not to rely on the notes and maintained minimal eye contact with the audience,

Johnny is of course, a presenter with a brave and confident front... who always keeps good eye contact with the audience and managed to keep the right gestures....

Please work on your pronunciation guys!! :-)

Suk Bing and Partner

GOOD! Head up, did not rely on notes, familiar with the speech content, but eye contact was only focused on me! Both should have taken the front middle position and the presentation could have been more effective! :-)

Gerald and Lik

Interesting topic-a continuation from last week's presentation-WELL DONE GUYS! Both presenters maintained good eye contact with all audiences! Both put confident and brave front! Plus, they managed to engage audience with their captivating topic! The speech ended properly with a proper conclusion! I observe that both Gerald and Lik have been working pretty hard for ECS recently! 2 thumbs up for both! But Gerald, do not scratch your head if it's not itchy! :-)

Thanks FIONA for addressing an interesting issue about the different interpretations of colours of roses that posed as a challenge to both Gerald and Lik! Gerald, with unaltered confidence, impressed everyone with the most reasonable answer. Keep up the good work Gerald!

Happy holiday people and see you in Week 12!

Enjoy the video clip by ColdPlay playing "Scientist" below for entertainment (Fiona, you sure one of the twins in class is the Asian version of Chris Martin? Don't think so....:

Oct 18's 2 minute presentation

2006-10-18T16:19:00.000+08:00

Dear all,

First and foremost, my utmost gratitude to everyone in class (except the 3 absentees, unless they have got valid reasons for being absent uhum....) for the good work today. I can see progress in most of you... now that I see most of you have not failed to demonstrate the key elements of an effective speech, which are; using the right volume, tone, intonation, gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions. Always remember to build rapport with you audience in order to keep them engaged with your presentation. Good to see Gerald standing tall on the chair when presententing his 2 minute speech today! Also good to see Ee Ting's smile and friendliness when sharing her speech in front of the class! 2 thumbs up for Nana for not failing to keep up the good work throughout our learning journey in ECS! Monie, ooopssssssss.... Ting Ting did exceptionally well today, good voice projection with a confident front! Look forward to enjoying your presentations tomorrow!

Today's learning outcomes:
At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:
1.Deliver a speech in public with appropriate and effective non verbal communication
2.Deliver a speech with a brave and confident front

As requested, enjoy a video clip from Black eyed Peas below!

Week 10-Non verbal Communication

2006-10-17T07:31:00.000+08:00

Hi all!

This week we will unravel a new topic on one of the key concepts in speech delivery, which is Non Verbal Communication. Now, if you can recall how your coursemates presented themselves in front of the class in their presentations, some just could not stand on two feet, some fidgeted, some kept giggling and laughing without any good reasons, some appeared nervous, and uncomfortable. Remember students, when it is your turn to take the floor, take time to make yourselves comfortable, find a comfortable spot in front of the class... do not start your presentation hastily! Never giggle or laugh whenever you present unless you have got jokes to laugh at. Stand up and two feet, head up facing the audience (spot a group of audience where you normally find comfort every time you look into their eyes) stand upright, don't slouch, control your hands movements, project a brave front, be confident! Sure confidence when making a public presentation is achievable, provided that you are well-prepared with thorough practice... always remember, practice makes PERFECT!

For more information on Non verbal communciation, please click at the URL below (don't just click but read it!)

http://ezinearticles.com/?Nonverbal-Communication-in-Business&id=5406#posture

Quite off topic now, but Fiona, the video clip by Coldplay below is specially for you! Enjoy the music piece people!

Any other requests for any particular music? I can probably embed the music clips here in our respective blogpage.. :-)

October 11's class (Feedback!!)

2006-10-12T15:03:00.000+08:00

Hello Group 3!

Today I will only post my personal feedback on your groups' presentations. Do leave your comments and start contributing to our ECS blogpage. I look forward to reading your feedback on your groups members'/coursemates' speech presentation performance today. Below is my feedback and hope it helps in making all of you a better and a more effective presenter!

Chen Qian's Group

I'm quite happy with the latest presentation they did as there were improvements demonstrated in the use of voice. The visual aids were also effective and blended well with the content of the speech! I however, look forward to better presentations! Work more on your pronunciation for accuracy!

Ee Ting's Group

There were problems in both pronunciation and articulation. Perhaps with the help of thorough practice, mispronunciation of words won't happen again. Also, don't fidget when you are presenting. Stand on two feet, head up, face your audience and don't keep looking at the computer screen. Also, a speech should not end abruptly. Anyway, there are improvements in the use of voice, the tiny and soft voices are now well heard!

Dou's Group

This is the best group for the day! 2 thumbs up for them! All three presenters did not depend solely on notes when delivering their speech content. They talked to audience, made sufficient eye contact, built rapport with the audience.... the visual aids were effective, and the speech ended properly with a proper conclusion... for sure the speech content was also captivating!

The Couple

There were some mispronounced words during the presentation. Also, a lot of reading from slides went on! However, the presentation was lively as there were more varieties in tone and intonation!

Nana's Group

Please girls, no giggling during presentation, unless you incorporate jokes in your speech! There use of voice in the presentation was satisfactory, thee are more emotions and varieties in the tone. There are also interactions with the audience. Nana, especially, did a good job. Jolene has also made some remarkable improvements in her tone.

Johnny's Group

There were long timed pauses which indicated the first speaker of the group was not familiar with the speech content. However, his volume was loud and consistent. In the middle of the presentation, audience lost interests....probably topic was boring in nature! There were also noticeable pronunciation problems! Conclusion was rather abrupt!

Fiona's Group

The introduction done by Fiona was vibrant. She managed to make full use of her charms in getting audience's attention. Slides were also effective, as well as well organized. All 3 presenters maintained good eye contact with the audience, and the volume was loud enough for everyone to hear. The speech rate was also understandable.

See you next week in class!!!!

Please start looking, screening and selecting interesting topics for your persuasive speech assessment.

Week 9- The Use of Voice (Feedback)

2006-10-11T14:46:00.000+08:00

Dear all,

First and foremost I would like to thank everyone for your constructive cooperation for today's class. I'm impressed with the outcomes of the group work activity we had in class today. Amazingly, almost every group did almost a perfect job! I believe most of us in the class are potential actors/actresses! Believe me my dear students, if you can really keep up the good work throughout our learning process, I believe all of you can present an effective persuasive speech! A big, round applause to most outstanding groups, The Shrek Scene 2 Group, The Shrek Scene 1 Group, The Mulan Group and the Aladdin Group. I believe The Incredibles Group 1 & 2 made some progress in demonstrating the required effective presentation skills, but there are still more rooms for improvements! Keep the spirits up people and see you tomorrow! Please kindly leave comments for today's lesson....

regards,
Ms.Angel

Enjoy the video clip below taken from the scene "Shrek"!

Oct 5 session (The start of the English Please policy) Share your thoughts and reflections for today's lesson please?

2006-10-05T14:24:00.000+08:00

Hello all!!

Today, on 5 October, I have just reinforced the use of English in class, in a gentle but stern way, of course. This simply means every student must only communicate in English! Should you hear your course mates speaking Mandarin or other languages, please remind them this; "English Please.."

6 groups did their presentations today, as an enforcement task to yesterday's session on Using Visual Aids. I noticed one group was missing!! No worries people, this group owes us a presentation next week. Fair enough? Or should they give each one of us a Hershey chocolate?

I would like to thank all 6 groups for your efforts and co-operation in running the whole (almost 2 hours) show today. The only 2 groups that survived without having instructed to stop and to redo their presentations were Jolene & Company, as well as The Couple (give them a round applause every one!!!). 2 thumbs up for their ppt slides, which were simple and well organised. However, Jolene could have done better if she maintained her eye contact with the audience. Not only that, she must work more on adding more varieties in her tone and intonation. I look forward to your progress Jolene!! The next surviving group was The Couple group. Bravo Lee Kiet! She might look fragile, demure and vulnerable to you, but hey guys, looks can be deceiving! Her voice was audible, loud enough to reach every one in the room!!! Lucky Tong to have such a dynamic girlfriend!

My apologies to Gerard & Company, Fiona & Company, The Bermuda Triangle Group, as well as the Mobile Phone Group. Sorry to have stopped your presentations.... but fair enough that I gave each group 10 minutes to make necessary changes in order to fine tune their presentations. No doubt the second round shows were done with more enthusiasm. I however, are still keen on anticipating more alive, vibrant, and exciting group presentations from each and every one of you.

Can't wait for the next lesson!!! We shall all work together in moulding every one to become a lively presenter. Be alive and lively!!!!!!!!!! :-)

Cheers everyone!!

Week 8 -Visual Aids

2006-10-03T15:18:00.000+08:00

Hello!!!! I believe most of you participated quite well in last week's sessions on "Supporting Materials". I would like to express my gratitude to those who are really focused in building up your presentation skills in this unit and hopefully everyone will be able to do well in your Persuasive Speech Assessment, which will take place in Week 13-15. This week, we will embark on a new topic, "Using Visual Aids" as an echo of last week's topic. I advise every group to hold on to your last week's supporting materials as you will need them this week. This time around we will refine and fine-tune your previous supporting materials to transform them into effective visual aids. Please be more at ease with the open/constructive feedback session that we will have after every group has presented. Remember that presentation skills learning process involves making improvements and improvements are made feasible by taking into account contructive comments your audiences leave to your piece of work.

Need more fun clips to inspire you with Visual Aids? Enjoy the clips below!!!

Click at the play button below and watch Sesame Street characters demonstrating a short speech with the help of a "smashing" visual aid on Number 2!

The Use of Voice - Week 9

2006-10-03T12:15:00.000+08:00

Tone and Intonation in Spoken Discourse

Week 9 of ECS lesson looks into the use of voice in presentation skills. Thus I have embedded a few movie clips from youtube.com as well as a few links to animated movies in my last 3 posts. With the help of some movies scenes, I do hope all of you (if not most) will get some ideas on how significant varieties of tone and intonation in spoken languages ( specifically English in our current learning context). Unlike written discourse, spoken discourse allows us as speakers to make full use of our voice in making our verbal messages eloquent and more effective. This week there will be some group work in class that involves short screening of movie clips in class, distributing of lines, choosing roles, and reading out lines with emotions using appropriate tone and intonation. Sure this task has nothing to do with talent hunting for the next movie making in Hollywood big screens, but I see it as an interesting as well as challenging group work that we can work on in class to practise using varieties of tone and intonation. I look forward to your keen engagement in our teaching and learning process!!!

Cheers people!!!!!!!!!

Sneak Previews on Mulan, Aladdin & The Incredibles!!!

2006-10-02T15:30:00.000+08:00

Take a look at the sneak previews on Mulan, Aladdin and The Incredibles by simply clicking at the URLs below and study how varieties in tone and intonation add more meanings and attitudes to spoken discourse/verbal communication. Remember that intonation enables speakers to express their emotions as well as attitudes when they speak.

Please click at this URL http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/mulan/home.html
http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/mulan2/

or click at this URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH1D9VAyglE

or click at the player button below:

For Aladdin, please click the URL below: http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/aladdin/

For The Incredibles, please click at the URL below:
http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/incredibles/

A nerve wrecking scene from Collateral

2006-10-02T11:25:00.000+08:00

Take a close look at this movie clip below and watch how important varieties in tone and intonation are!!

A hilarious scene from Austin Powers!!

2006-09-29T17:29:00.000+08:00

Interested in sneaking at a more hilarious movie scene? Take a close look at the movie clip below and take note of how the cast express themselves with emotions.

Click at the URL to view the movie clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV3dva0lu9Q

or click at the play button below:

Hilarious, isn't? That's the beauty of tone and intonation in spoken discourse. Would the movie be as effective as it is if lines are uttered in a monotonous tone?