Assignment:

Discuss some ideas about what elements you might want to incorporate in your oral presentation, following the three part format below.

It is important to organize your thoughts in a clear manner in a short length of time. Assignment must be a maximum of two pages.

Don't forget to provide APA citations and references! You must have a reference page that includes the TedTalk you analyze.

Part One (max. 1page).

a) Summarize Public Speaking Basics: Consider criteria that you think are important building blocks of a good presentation.

List the specific aspects of a speech or presentation that you think makes the difference between an effective, entertaining presentation and one that is not as successful.

Provide a short explanation of each element you want to look at. Try to be quite specific in terms of what you are looking for or evaluating when you watch a speech.

You can include different components of speaking skills (posture; body language and hand gestures; voice volume, pacing and pauses), content development (slide design; the use of evidence and examples; how the speaker structures the talk; how they incorporate storytelling techniques), and the connection with the audience (How does the speaker keep the audience entertained and interested? How effective are these appeals? Effectiveness of persuasive or argumentative techniques and calls to action?).

Part 2 (1 page):

b) Analyze Examples (1/2 page): Choose one talk from the Ted talks website and watch it.

Using the criteria you listed previously, evaluate the speeches, making notes discussing the different techniques the speaker uses, identifying whether they are successful or not, and noting if there are techniques you didn't think of in your initial list of criteria.

Were there any surprises or things you saw that you didn't expect?

What did you notice while watching?

Try to be very specific in your evaluation and make a note of the time at which a speaker uses a particular technique.

c) Make Specific Recommendations (1/2 page): Based on your research findings, recommend the three most important techniques that you and your fellow postsecondary students should use this semester to make your online presentations more professional, entertaining, and motivating.