ADVANCED ASSOCIATE OF SPEECH NEW ZEALAND
IN
TEACHING PUBLIC SPEAKING AND COMMUNICATION
PAPER FIVE
Teaching Materials and Methods
TIME: One hour
QUESTION:
Either
A:
One of your students is going to sit a Grade One exam and is worried about the role-play, in
particular the telephoning exercise.
i)
ii)
Or
State and explain four methods or exercises that you would use to help prepare
your student for the telephoning exercise.
State the age of your student.
B:
One of your students is sitting Grade Eight Public Speaking and Communication. She wants
to use a PowerPoint presentation as part of the persuasive speech in Module One.
i)
ii)
Discuss three techniques that you would use to help your student to use a
PowerPoint presentation and keep the audience engaged.
Give two examples of practical considerations for using any electronic equipment
in an examination.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
B
When one of my students sits any public speaking examination, at any level and especially
at senior levels, I always give them the same advice and techniques to help them perform at
their best and maintain the audience attention.
i)
The first technique I tell them is something that I reinforce whenever they are to
give a speech or performance of any kind, and that is voice techniques and
modulation. We all know how boring talks are when the speaker talks with a
monotonous voice. No-one in the audience is engaged and they all lose focus.
This is why I tell my students to practise to modulate their voices. I tell and them
over the years to improve their skills and vary the pitch of their voice while
speaking; change the pace and pause when it is required. I help them learn how
to use the tone of their voice in order to keep the speech interesting and
engaging. They clearly need to articulate their voice so that the audience can
understand what they are saying. As this particular student is sitting Grade 8
public speaking and using a powerpoint, I would reinforce this idea to her. She
will need to use all of these techniques to ensure that the examiner is focussing
on her and what she is saying rather than on the powerpoint as the biggest
disadvantage of this technology is that it is distracting. If she is able to modulate
her voice, then the powerpoint should enhance what she is saying and would be
an important resource for her.
I would next help her by teaching her more about gestures. Since she is already
Grade 8, she has a good knowledge of gesture as she would be one of my
advanced students. I would go over the basics again and help her improve her
technique. Gestures are very important when delivering a speech with a
powerpoint as they help bring the audience attention away from the screen and
back to her This does not mean the gestures should be overdone as that would
distract audience attention even more. Her gestures need to be meaningful and
provide the audience with explanation to help them understand what she’s
saying. They need to support and emphasise a point. They need to be natural
and enhance what is being said. If she does this using an appropriate level of
gesture, it will add to the speech, help her use powerpoint even more effectively
and keep the audience engaged in her message.
The final technique that I will use to help her to use the powerpoint presentation
is to teach her to use space effectively. The screen will be behind her and it is
important that she does not turn to speak to that rather than to her audience. If
she is using it to help her recall, then she needs to stand in a position where she
can glance at the screen but speak to her audience. If she does not have a
remote control or there is no one to do it for her, she needs to position the
computer so as not to distract the audience. She should never walk across in
front of the screen but have the computer on the side she is standing so there is
a clear sight-line between the audience and her. She needs to take care of this
when setting up her equipment.
These three techniques are crucial for my student to use when giving a speech
with a powerpoint as they ensure that the powerpoint does not detract or take
over from the presenter and the message.
ii)
Before my student prepared her powerpoint, I’d give her two examples of
practical considerations that she needs to think about before she uses any
electronic equipment in a presentation.
The first thing is to keep the wording as minimalistic as possible in the largest
font. She is sitting a public speaking exam, not a powerpoint exam. There is no
point in using powerpoint unless it is going to add to the speech and her
performance. The writing needs to be short, sharp and to the point using
headings, bullet points and pictures. They are listening to the address not
reading a book or watching a DVD. She is giving information not a sideshow. The
powerpoint will remind her of her main points and emphasise them to the
audience but it should never be the focus of attention. The font needs to be clear,
legible and in a colour that has impact.
I’d also make sure that she never relies on the powerpoint. It is a tool to help her
and she should be able to give the talk without it. Technology has been known to
fail and she needs to be prepared for the worst. If she is dependent on
powerpoint and the technology fails, she’ll fail.
After I have taught her these techniques, I am sure she will get the best mark to
reflect her ability. She will make her voice interesting and engaging using
modulation techniques, she will use gesture appropriately, holding the audience’s
attention rather than distracting them. Her powerpoint will be used as a tool, a
resource to help her speak. With all of this knowledge I am confident she will do
well in her exam.
EXAMINER’S REPORT:
You have structured your essay very well, discussing each point in turn and
making concluding remarks at the end. Your discussion on the three techniques
that you would teach your student was very well developed and you gave good
examples to support your answer. The discussion on the use of space was
particularly good.
In the second part of your essay, you gave two relevant practical considerations
for using electrical equipment. Your second example could have focussed more
on what your speaker should do if the equipment fails, rather than repeating the
point that equipment is only an aid for the speaker. What should speakers have
as a contingency plan?
Well done.