This document provides an overview of a course on advanced presentation skills. It outlines the course learning outcomes, assessments including assignments, speeches, and presentations, topics that will be covered in the course, and definitions and concepts related to communication and public speaking. The key goals of the course are to develop advanced presentation skills, ability to structure clear content and visuals for different audiences, and critical thinking in developing and responding to questions about presentations. Students will be assessed through participation, assignments, an informative speech, and a persuasive presentation.

1. ENG366 ADVANCED PRESENTATION
SKILLS
WEEK 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE
COURSE
Dr. Russell Rodrigo

2. CLASS 1

3. COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Demonstrate effective advanced presentation skills through communicating ideas
clearly and persuasively using a strategic choice of structures, voice, tone,
vocabulary, body language, logic, and rhetorical strategies.
2. Demonstrate abilities to plan and structure clear and concise content and
compelling visuals that appeal to the audience
3. Demonstrate critical thinking in structuring presentations, integrating research
sources, and in responding to questions
4. Evaluate their presentation skills through identifying strengths, weaknesses, and
ways to overcome weak points through reflective exercises

4. ASSESSMENTS
Assessment
Method
Details
Course
Learning
Outcomes
Weighting Due
Participation
Overall effort, attendance, homework,
and class participation
1,2,3,4 10% Continuous
Assignments:
Discussion Boards
& Short Speeches
(Video recorded
& Asynchronous
Online Class)
Discussion boards/forums and shorts
speeches to strengthen students’ ability
to deliver public presentations.
1,2,3,4
40%
Weekly
Informative
Speech
This speech will inform your audience
on an issue, event, or concept through
demonstration and description.
1,2,3,4 25% Week 6
Persuasive
Presentation
This presentation will require you to
focus on a single issue/assertion and
convince your listeners of your
position. The issue must be significant,
controversial and debatable.
1,2,3 25% Week 12

5. TOPICS
Topics
Practical/Wor
kshop/Mini
Lectures
Guided &
Independent
Learning
Student Learning
Time (SLT)
Introduction to the course 4 4 8
Narrative Speech 4 4 8
Using Language to Style the speech 4 4 8
The Informative Speech/Presentation 4 4 8
TheVoice in Delivery 4 4 8
Informative Speeches & Peer Evaluation 4 4 8
The Persuasive Speech/Presentation 4 4 8
The Body in Delivery 4 4 8
UsingVisuals 4 4 8
Extemporaneous Speech/Presentations 4 4 8
Persuasive Presentations & Peer Evaluation 8 8 16
Total SLT 48 48 96

6. DEFINING COMMUNICATION THROUGH
WORDS & PICTURES

8. WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?
• Communication is a dynamic process that takes place around us all the time. In
fact we spend 70% of our time receiving and sending messages.
• The origin of the word “communication” is “communicare” or “communis”
which means “to impart”,“to participate”,“to share” or “to make common.”
The sense of sharing is inherent in the very origin and meaning of
“communication.”

9. PUBLIC SPEAKING AS A FORM OF
COMMUNICATION
• Communication is often described as according to the number of people involved. Communication
scholars typically identify four forms of communication.
1. Dyadic Communication occurs between two people.
2. Small group communication involves a small number of people who can see and speak to one
another.
3. Mass Communication is a form of speech in which the receivers of the message are not present
or are part of such an immense crowd that there can be no interaction between speaker and
listener.
4. Public speaking occurs when a speaker delivers a message with a specific purpose to an audience
of people who are present at the deliver of the speech.

10. PUBLIC SPEAKING AS A FORM OF
COMMUNICATION CONT.
• Public speaking shares many characteristics with other forms of communication,
including the following:
1. Sensitivity to listeners
2. Organization of the message
3. Believability
4. Relevance
5. Interesting
6. Speaker’s knowledge, unbiased, clarity

11. THREE SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS THAT SPEAKERS NEED
TO BE AWARE OF.
1. Context - includes anything that influences the speaker, the audience, the
speech, the occasion, or the situation.
• For example, speech assignment, previous performance, physical setting, the order in
which speeches are given, the quality of other speakers’ presentations, and recent
events on campus or in the outside world.
2. Goals - A clearly defined goal is a prerequisite for an effective speech.
3. Outcome - A speech is not truly complete until its effects have been
assessed.

12. BENEFITS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
1. Speakers become more knowledgeable people as they learn about the craft of constructing speech or
presentations and become exposed to a wide variety of topics to speak about.
2. It allows people to hone critical thinking and listening skills
a. Speakers learn to evaluate claims and logic.
b. Listeners learn to evaluate speaker’s credibility and trustworthiness, as well as the logic and truthfulness of messages.
3. Public speaking skills will enhance careers.The same skills necessary for delivering a public speech are
useful in writing and composition.
4. Public speaking allows individuals to realize personal and professional goals. In particular, oral
communication is the top skill that employers look for when deciding to hire graduates.
5. By encouraging civil dialogue, public speeches allow speakers and listeners to explore and share values.

13. FACTORS DISTINGUISH PUBLIC SPEAKING
FROM OTHER FORMS OF COMMUNICATION
1. Opportunities for feedback are more limited than in dyadic or small
group communication, but greater than those provided by mass
communication
2. Because of feedback limitations in public situations, preparation
must be more careful and extensive.
3. Public speaking is often more formal than other forms of
communication.

14. PUBLIC SPEAKING AND THE COMMUNICATION
PROCESS
1. The source is the person who creates and delivers a message through a process
called encoding.
2. The receiver is the recipient of the sources’ message.The receiver interpret the
message through a process called decoding.
3. The message is the content of the communication process. It is thoughts and ideas
put into meaningful expression.
4. The channel is the medium through which the speaker sends a message.
5. Noise is physical, psychological, emotional, or environmental interference that
serves as a barrier to effective communication.
6. Shared meaning is the mutual understanding of a message between speaker and
audience.The creation of shared meaning is the primary purpose of communicating.

15. HOMEWORK: IDENTIFYING PUBLIC
SPEAKERS
• Watch a movie/video, then analyze why the speaker has engaged in public speaking.
• This source can be someone in the news, politics, or business (public figure), or a
celebrity giving a speech, or even a clip from a sitcom or movie.
• Answer the following questions:
1. Who is the speaker and what is the topic he/she is speaking about?
2. Is the speaker effective or ineffective? List the specific qualities that make the speaker good or bad.
3. What are the benefits of the speaker’s speech?
4. What, if any, speech mannerisms do you find particularly annoying about the speaker?
5. What speech mannerisms do you engage in that others may find annoying?

16. CLASS 2

17. HOMEWORK PRESENTATION & PEER
EVALUATION

18. LISTENERS AND SPEAKERS
Discussion Questions
1. What is listening and why is it important?
2. What is the relationship between listeners and speakers?
3. What are the major obstacles to active listening?
4. What steps can you take to become a more active listener?
5. What is critical thinking, and how does it relate to active listening?
6. What do you need to consider as an evaluator of speeches, and what are the some key points
to consider when evaluating speeches?
7. What are the strategies for active listening?

19. LISTENERS AND SPEAKERS
Discussion Questions
1.What is listening and why is it important?
• Rather than being a reflexive response, listening is a complex, learned behavior. Listening is the process
of recognizing, understanding, and accurately interpreting the messages communicated by others.
2.What is the relationship between listeners and speakers?
• Listeners and speakers participate together in co-creating meaning.This is seen in the circular response,
or the way that both speakers and listeners adjust their reactions based on each other’s cues.
3.What are the major obstacles to active listening?
• Obstacles to active listening include cultural barriers; environmental, emotional, and physiological
distractions; daydreaming; scriptwriting and defensive listening; and laziness and overconfidence.
4.What steps can you take to become a more active listener?
• Monitor your listening to avoid the poor listening habits noted above.As you listen, do so consciously
and try to apply these steps: set listening goals; focus listening efforts; concentrate; watch for the
speaker’ s nonverbal cues; listen for the speaker’ s thesis, or main point; and evaluate the speaker’s
evidence.

20. 6.What is critical thinking, and how does it relate to active listening?
• Critical thinking is the ability to evaluate claims on the basis of well-supported reasons. It
involves both a set of skills and the willingness to use these skills in the service of objective
judgment.
• Critical thinkers evaluate evidence; analyze assumptions and biases; resist false dilemmas,
overgeneralizations, and either-or thinking; identify contradictions; consider multiple
perspectives; and summarize and judge. Critical thinking goes hand in hand with active
listening.
7.What do you need to consider as an evaluator of speeches, and what are the some key points to
consider when evaluating speeches?
• Try to be honest and fair in your evaluation.Adjust to the speaker’s style.When you offer
criticism, try to be compassionate and constructive. Say something positive. Focus on the
speech, not on the speaker. Keep your criticisms specific.

21. 8. WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIES FOR
ACTIVE LISTENING?
A. To become an active listener, people should set listening goals, listen for the
speaker’s main ideas, and watch for the speaker’s nonverbal cues.
B. Set listening goals by identifying needs, indicating performance standards, thinking
of an action statement, and assessing goal achievement.
C. Listening for main ideas involves listening for the organizational pattern,
introduction, transitions, and conclusion.Taking notes and watching for a direct
eye gaze from the speaker are also important steps that should be taken by active
listeners.
D. Watching for nonverbal cues as an active listener involves “listening” with your
eyes. Speakers give important messages and add clarity to the words they use
through nonverbal communication

22. KEY TERMS
1. Circular response —a process of constant feedback in which speakers continually adjust their
remarks based on their listeners’ reactions, and vice versa.
2. Listening—the process of recognizing, understanding,and accurately interpreting the messages
communicated by others.
3. Selective perception —the process by which people pay attention to certain messages and
ignore others.
4. Message-perception gap —misunderstandings that arise between a speaker and a listener
because each person’s knowledge base and life experience are unique and no two people interpret
a message in exactly the same way.
5. Active listening —focused, purposeful listening that involves a multi-step process of gathering and
evaluating information.
6. Defensive listening —“closed” listening in which the listener blocks out certain messages that
may challenge his or her attitudes or opinions.
7. Critical thinking —the ability to evaluate claims on the basis of well-supported reasons; involves
a set of skills and the willingness to use those skills in the service of objective judgment.

23. ACTIVITY: WHISPER DOWN THE LANE
1. How does the final version differ from the original message?
2. Where did the breakdown in communication take place?
3. What were the barriers?

24. LISTENING ACTIVELY

25. LISTENING ACTIVELY
Answer the following questions after listening to the story:
1. What time did the man come out of the bar?
2. Which man had been drinking?
3. Who started the fight?Who shoved whom first?
4. What were the two men arguing about?
5. Who had the heart attack?
6. How long was it before the policeman broke up the fight? (Was the uniformed person a
man?
7. Who administered first aid?
8. Where did the incident occur?

26. SEMANTIC BARRIERS TO
LISTENING (P.121)
Below is a list of words to which some people may have strong
reactions. In the space provided, indicate your own reaction to or
first impression of each of those words or phrases. Record your
first response; work through your list quickly. Use the following
scale: 5 (highly favorable), 4 (favorable), 3, (neutral), 2 unfavorable, or
1 (highly unfavorable).
_______ animal rights
_______College tuition
_______ Affirmative actions or quotas
_______ Capitalism
_______ Gun Control
_______ School prayer
_______ Pornography
_______Violence onTV
_______ Illegal Alien
_______ Racism
_______ Religion
Discussion:
1. To what extent do you think your reaction
to each of those phrases would affect your
ability to concentrate fully and listen actively
to a speaker’s message?
2. In other words, based on your varied
emotional responses to these phrases, how
would each phrase tend to distract or assist
you in listening actively to a speech on that
topic?
3. What other words or phrases could a
speaker use to replace or neutralize those
phrases?
4. List alternatives to each phrase.

27. ASSIGNMENT 1: SELF INTRODUCTION
• Self introduction speech (video)
• Length: 1 minute
• Post your video on Blackboard.
• Comment to at least 3 other posts to get a full mark.
• Due: Saturday, 11:59 p.m.