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9. In-class preparation

SESSION 9

Source: engagingworkshop.com

This session is a collection of tips about how to deliver a professional presentation.
Should you have any doubts about your oral presentation, do not hesitate to contact your teacher. We're here to help you out.

PART 1

Oral presentation rules

TEAMS

3-4 students per team.

TITLE

Scientific topic of your choice, related to your field of study and validated by your teacher.

SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT

Three scientific articles must be referred to during your presentation to support your key points.

TIME LENGTH

12-15 minutes in total (4-5 minutes each member of the team).

FORMAT

Due to current situation, presentations will be recorded on video (mp4 preferred).

SUBMISSION

Send your videos to gonzalo.caminarioboo@univ-nantes.fr via WeTransfer.com.
NOTE: It will take some time to download and check that your videos work, so you may need to wait up to 24 hours for confirmation of video submission.

DEADLINE

20 December 2020.

NOTE

According to the "Dublin descriptors" that define international standards for learning outcomes at university, completion of a Bachelor"s degree means that students should be able to "communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and nonspecialist audiences." Your presentation should therefore be clear even to non-specialists.

PART 2

How to deliver effective presentations

A. ORGANISATION

CONTENT
Structure	Your presentation has to be structured AND your structure has to be made apparent (announcing outline in intro, using transitions)
Thoroughness	Even if you do not have much time, you can and should be thorough: focus on the most important things you have to say and be straightforward
Accuracy	Do not assume that your audience is ignorant: be precise and accurate.
COMMUNICATION
Body language	When standing in front of an audience, remember your body says as much as your tongue: do not slouch, fidget, or keep your back to the board. Engage in communication with the whole group!
Volume and speed	Do not read/ hide behind your notes! Articulate and speak loud enough. Remember you WANT (remember TO want!) your message to be understood!
Eye contact	Look at everyone!
Visual aid	Communication tools may include ppt slideshows, diagrams, or other props (experimental setup). Either way, they remain TOOLS that need to be fully integrated in your communication plan. Simple approaches can help enhance the quality of your work!
LANGUAGE
Grammar	Even though grammar mistakes are more acceptable in an oral than written context, basic errors must be eliminated
Pronunciation	It is crucial to check the pronunciation of new vocab as well as key (and therefore recurring) elements in your presentation: not only will mistakes hinder communication, they also discredit your performance
Vocabulary	Use simple language (both in terms of syntax and lexis). But make sure you DO have the right lexical references.

B. PRACTICAL EXAMPLE

Watch this short video with tips and tricks to make your presentation memorable (= more points).

IMPORTANT!!

Due to COVID-19, assessment has changed. Check new regulations

here

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STRUCTURE

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  Reading

• Oral presentation rules

  How to deliver effective presentations

1. Organisation
2. Practical example
3. Video presentations: Michael Kinney's advice
4. Marking grid 2020-21

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COURSEBOOK

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Download a digital copy of your English handout from Madoc or here.

C. VIDEO PRESENTATIONS

This semester's presentations will be recorded on video, so some of the skills we have practised in class over years may not be enough this time.

Michael Kinney is a video expert who owns a YouTube channel that I personally follow regularly to prepare fun contents for my classes.
Watch his video on the 20 tricks that will make you record a pro-style video for your presentations.

NOTE: Obviously, you don't need to follow all his pieces of advice, but he is very good at this and very pleasant to watch, so please listen to what he has to say.

Tips for 2020-21 presentations

D. MARKING GRID

The below rubric (marking grid) will be used to give you your well-deserved points.

Note: This marking will be used for the following groups:

Biology	Chemistry	Physics	Computer Science
500	540 541 545	558 562	580 581 589

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Marking grid for video presentations. 1st semester Academic Year 2020-21.

Categories	Student showed mastery of this competency 2 points	Student showed clear evidence of this competency 1.5 points	Student showed some evidence of this competency 1 point	Student showed little evidence of this competency 0.5 points	Student was absent/Competency not assessed 0 points
Pronunciation Phonology and intonation 10%	Native/Near-native phonology and intonation.	Good phonology and intonation, free from mother language interference. Few errors.	Phonology and intonation influenced by mother language, but understandable.	Mother tongue phonology and intonation. Numerous errors.	Very difficult to understand.
Technical Vocabulary 10%	Excellent use of technical vocabulary.	Good use of technical vocabulary.	Correct use of some technical vocabulary.	Basic words or incorrect pronunciation/use of technical vocabulary.	No use of technical vocabulary.
Grammar/Syntax 10%	Excellent control of language features. Uses a wide range of well-chosen vocabulary, and accurate and varied grammatical structures.	Good language control. Good range of relatively well-chosen vocabulary. Minor problems in usage do not distort meaning or inhibit communication.	Adequate language control. Vocabulary range is a bit lacking or some grammatical errors that do not obscure meaning. Little variety in structures.	Weak language control. Vocabulary used does not always match the task.	Numerous errors and incorrect use of simple structures.
Voice Fluidity, tone, speed 10%	Smooth and fluid presentation, with a lively pace in a perfect tone.	Speech is relatively smooth, correct rhythm and tone.	Some hesitation made the presentation longer than needed. Pausing may cause confusion.	Too many breaks and errr...errr, except for short memorized phrases.	Monotonous presentation in a low voice or with too many hesitations.
Pedagogy How was the message conveyed? 10%	Very entertaining and clear message. The audience enjoyed the talk and learnt something new.	The message was well explained and fairly clear.	The message was more or less clear, but the speech needs some improving.	The explanation was not very clear because the candidate did not seem to master the topic.	The message was not clear at all, and the explanation was difficult to follow.
Freedom from notes Independence from written support 10%	Fluid speech. Hand-free presentation with no use of notes.	Notes were used as a guide but not read.	Some text fragments were read from notes/text.	Mostly reading from notes/text, which affected body language and interaction with colleagues, audience and visual support.	The candidate read everything from notes/text. This led to awkward body language and no eye contact.
Body language Extralinguistic abilities 10%	Active, engaging, good use of hands, eye contact, smile.	Comfortable, pleasant, very good to watch.	Correct, but lacking to engage with camera. Needs to improve on eye contact/ use of hands/ posture.	Displays minimal eye contact with camera, while reading mostly from notes. Speaks in uneven volume with little or no inflection.	No eye contact with camera, as entire report is read from notes. Speaks in low volume and/or monotonous tone, which causes viewers to disengage
Structure Organisation 10%	The speech followed a linear, organised plan, very easy to follow by the examiner. Excellent introduction, development of main points and conclusion.	The speech followed a fairly organised plan, but sometimes the explanation went back and forth.	The speech did not follow a clear plan. The candidate went round in circles to explain the topic.	The speech was rather disorganised, which made it difficult for the examiner to follow.	The speech was a collection of disconnected sentences.
Science Scientific content 10%	Excellent technical presentation that consists of a scientific topic and solid scientific support.	Technical presentation that makes explicit use of some scientific support.	The presentation is slightlty informal. Scientific literature is referenced but only superficially.	No clear connection with a scientific topic or the sources are not explicitly referenced.	The presentation lacks scientific content. It makes no reference to scientific literature.
Video Technical quality 10%	The team submitted a single video, which has been edited and shows clear transitions and interaction between members.	The team submitted a single video, with some editing but no interaction between members.	The team submitted a single video, which is a collection of individual recordings, with no editing or interaction between members.	Individual videos that make some reference to one another, but establishing a connection between them is not straightforward.	The team submitted one independent video per member, without clear connection between them.

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