PIE2411 PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATION

SEM 3, 2019/2020
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

SUPPLEMENTARY
PIE2411 PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATION

MATERIAL 3
Semester 3, 2019/2020

Topics covered in this supplementary material are:

 3MT presentation
 Direct and indirect quotations
 Reporting verbs
 Language expressions for source citation

3MT PRESENTATION
 PIE2411 PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATION
SEM 3, 2019/2020
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

Introduction and Overview of the 3MT

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a research communication competition that

requires postgraduate students to present an oration on their research project/ thesis
topic to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes. It is an annual competition
held by many universities worldwide. 3MT competition is open to all postgraduates
particularly PhD students to present their research work in a fun and interesting way
but in a very short amount of time.

There are several benefits of participating in 3MT competition.

1. It allows students to develop presentation skills and public speaking.
Competitors have an opportunity to overcome public speaking anxiety and
practice effective presentation skills.
2. Graduate students will be able to enhance their ability in explaining the
significance of their research to the non-experts.
3. It helps to develop graduate students’ research perspectives that could
contribute to their writing and research process.
4. It provides a valuable opportunity for graduate students to network and
discuss about their research.
5. It helps students to develop the skills that are highly valued by employers
such as public speaking and communication skills.
6. It promotes professional development and makes your CV stand out whether
you are a participant, volunteer or finalist.
7. Winners of the competition will be given cash awards as a recognition.

Every year, the School of Graduate Studies in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) holds
its 3MT competition at the faculty/institute level as well as at the university level. As
an incentive, prizes are awarded to winners of the competition. The following link
shares the news and information about 3MT competition held in UPM in year 2019.

https://sgs.upm.edu.my/news/upm_three_minute_thesis_3mt_2019_final_competi
tion-48367

Before participating in any 3MT competition, competitors should be familiar with the
presentation rules and judging criteria.

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SEM 3, 2019/2020
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Presentation Rules and Judging Criteria

1. You can explain your research to a non-specialist audience
To be able to do this you should:
 avoid jargon and academic language
 explain concepts and people important to your research
 imagine that you are explaining your research to a close friend or fellow
student from another field
 convey enthusiasm for your own research

2. You should have a clear outcome in mind.

The audience should leave with an understanding of what and why you are doing
the research.

3. You should tell a story.

Present your 3MT like telling a story. There is a beginning, middle and an end. As
it is challenging to condense your research into 3 minutes, it would be easier if
you break the presentation into sections. Write an opener to grab the audience’s
attention, then highlight the different main points, and finally make a summary to
restate the importance of your research.

4. You must not write your presentation like an academic paper.

 Use shorter words, sentences and paragraphs.
 Humour can also be inserted into your speech; however, do not dumb down
your presentation.

5. You should create your 3MT presentation slide by taking into account the
following factors:
 Prepare a single static Power Point slide
 No slide transitions, animations or movement
 No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files)
 The slide is to be presented from the beginning of the presentation and
remain in view throughout the presentation.

6. You should prepare your presentation based on the following rules:

 No additional props (e.g. equipment, costumes, musical intruments)
 Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum.

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 PIE2411 PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATION
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SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

 Presentations have to be memorised (no cue cards).

 The competition is administered in English.
 Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter
starts their presentation through movement or speech.

1. Watch the following videos of some 3MT contestants in action.

a) Analyse how they engage with their audience. ACTIVITY 1
b) Identify their strengths or weaknesses.
c) Work on your weaknesses and think of how you can exploit your strengths.

After viewing presentations by these 3MT finalists, you may start thinking of how
you can make your own 3MT presentation.

https://vimeo.com/292832662

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMrjnCP2aeg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbvyNXlS1A4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI8XOGubJyY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K9iYUBCG_o

2. Watch this video and list down the tips Sean McGraw shares on how he prepared
his 3MT presentation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_1MK3Ub9QM

Tips for preparing a successful 3MT presentation:

 Prepare a single static Power Point slide
 No slide transitions, animations or movement

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 PIE2411 PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATION
SEM 3, 2019/2020
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

 No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files)

 The slide is to be presented from the beginning of the presentation and
remain in view throughout the presentation.

3. Watch this video of a 3MT presentation by Ankur Sharma.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=-fcCHWN0aig

a) Draw an outline of the speech given by Ankur Sharma following this format.

Title :

Mobile phones
Introduction:
Technology is highly

Attention grabber:

Australia alone produces e-waste than can fill 90000 garpages.

Body:
Main point :technology

Sub-point : electronics

Sub-point :materials

Sub-point :

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 PIE2411 PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATION
SEM 3, 2019/2020
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

Conclu ACTIVITY 2
mobile phone and electronic devices made from my organic nonomaterials will
always keep up with lastest technology.

b) Analyse Ankur Sharma’s speech by answering these questions:

Yes No
1. Did the presenter clearly outline the nature and aims
of his research? yes
2. Was the slide clear, legible and concise? yes
3. Did the presentation follow a logical sequence? no
 Was the presentation divided into different
sections (introduction, body, conclusion)
yes
4. Did the oration make the audience want to know
more? no
5. Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for his work?
yes
6. Did the presenter capture and maintain the audience’s
attention?yes
7. Did the presenter use language and terminology that .
was clear and understandable?no
8. Did the presenter use non-verbal communication
effectively? (sufficient eye contact and vocal range,
maintain a steady pace and a confident stance) yes

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 PIE2411 PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATION
SEM 3, 2019/2020
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

In Week 6, you will be presenting to the class your thesis/research project in 3

minutes. Draw an outline of your own 3MT presentation by completing the following
table.
Title :
The importance of Concrete
Introduction:
Concrete constitutes cement, sand, course aggregates, fine aggregates and water.

Attention grabber:

Do u that nearly 50% of concrete uses in china.

Body:concrete is used in constructions.

Main point : in bluildings, bridges, roads and so on

Sub-point :
Tall buildings are more appropriate to use concrete.

Sub-point :
Bridges should be used mostly by concrete

Sub-point :

Conclusion :with out concrete, no more houses are available the world, nor more
bridges are being done the world today.

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 PIE2411 PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATION
SEM 3, 2019/2020
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

DIRECT AND INDIRECT QUOTATIONS

Direct speech reports what someone said using the speaker’s exact words. You can
use direct speech when you think the original sentence or words are precise, and by
changing the original structure, the idea could not be delivered as accurately as the
original.
For example:
Steve Jobs’ stated in his words “Simple can be harder than complex; you
have to work hard to make your thinking clean to make it simple”.
ACTIVITY 3
Indirect speech reports what someone said in your own words without changing the
original meaning. It puts emphasis on the content rather than the exact words of the
speaker.
For example:
Steve Jobs is known for his passion towards simplicity where he believes that
it’s hard to have a clear thought in achieving simplicity.

When you are using indirect speech to report what a speaker has said in the past,
the verb the speaker used must be changed to a past form.
Direct Gunther said, “The whole idea is to bring together people with
speech vastly different backgrounds”.

Indirect Gunther said the whole idea was to bring together people with
speech vastly different backgrounds.

When using indirect speech to report someone’s belief, it is not necessary to shift
the verb to a past form.
Direct Meyer said, “It’s fun learning using virtual reality”.
speech

Indirect Meyer said that learning is fun using virtual reality.

speech

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 PIE2411 PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATION
SEM 3, 2019/2020
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

Rewrite each sentence by changing the direct speech to indirect speech. Then work
with a partner to practice both versions of each sentence.

1. Martha Teichner said, “The list of serendipity stories is as long as the history of
discovery”.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

2. The professor said, “Some 90% of American household own a microwave”.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

3. Andrea said, “I was shocked looking at the statistics of teen suicide”.

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

4. The scientist said, “I invented a technology that would revolutionise waste

management”.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

5. The Head Scientist asked the team, “Who’s going to bear the additional cost of
this invention?”
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

REPORTING VERBS

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 PIE2411 PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATION
SEM 3, 2019/2020
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

When reporting information from a source, you can use reporting verbs to signal the
audience that you are presenting someone else’s idea. These are a number of verbs
to show different meanings.
1. Reporting a statement neutrally
The speaker says …
A study states that …

2. Reporting the presentation of examples or evidence

The speaker shows that …
The research demonstrates that…

3. Reporting a speaker’s position or stance

The speaker argues that …
He believes that …
They suggest that …

It is crucial that you understand the information that you want to report. You need to
choose the appropriate reporting verb that really conveys the intention of the original
speaker or author. This is to ensure that you report others’ ideas accurately. These
are examples of reporting verbs that you can use in your presentation when reporting
information from sources.

LANGUAGE EXPRESSIONS FOR SOURCE CITATION

When referring to sources, you can use more than one style of citation.
1. Statement + reference

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 PIE2411 PUBLIC SPEAKING AND PRESENTATION
SEM 3, 2019/2020
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

This style emphasises statement instead of reference.

Marx believed that ‘capitalism is very unequal’ (Wetherly and Otter, 2011, p.34).
Marx believed that ‘capitalism is very unequal’, as stated by Wetherly and Otter
in their 2011 article.

2. Author-focus
This style emphasises the author rather than statement.
As reported by Wetherly and Otter, Marx believed that ‘capitalism is very
unequal’.
According to Wetherly and Otter, Marx believed that ‘capitalism is very
unequal’.
Wetherly and Otter state that Marx believed ‘capitalism is very unequal’.

Read the text and complete citations 1-4 using the appropriate reporting verb.

But wherever and whenever capitalism took hold, people’s incomes and
consumption levels began to rise in a sustained way. […] In the U.S. the
buying power of the average income in 2002 was 32 times what it was
ACTIVITY 4
in 1789 (the year the U.S. Constitution was adopted). This does not
mean, of course, that Americans are now 32 times happier than they
were in 1789, but does indicate an unprecedented growth in the
availability of material goods.

Source: Bowles, S. , Edwards, R., & Roosevelt, F. (2005). P.8. Understanding Capitalism:
Competition, Command and Change. Oxford:Oxford University Press

state that as reported by describe according to

1. The buying power of the average American rose by an extraordinary 32 times

between 1789 and 2002, __________________ Bowles, Edwards and Roosevelt
(2005, p.8).

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2. Bowles, Edwards and Roosevelt (2005, p.8) __________________ the 200-year

growth of material goods in the U.S. as ‘unprecedented’.

3. Bowles, Edwards and Roosevelt (2005, p.8) __________________ capitalism led

to an ‘unprecedented growth’ in the U.S. economy after 1789.

4. __________________ Bowles, Edwards and Roosevelt (2005, p.8), there is a

clear link between capitalism and growth.

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