Seminar 1

2nd year ACCS

Tutor: Simona Mazilu, PhD

An Introduction to Presentations

1. Write down 10 words related to the topic of presentations that first come to your mind.
Audience, talking, speaker, worry, challenging, powerpoint, engaging, thrilling, interaction,
preparation, attention, outfit, pressure, nervous, topic, anxiety, stressed

2. Group the words from the task above around the following wh- questions.
Who? ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
What? ………………………………………………………………………………………………
To whom? …………………………………………………………………………………………..
How? ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

3. What feelings or emotions do you experience when you speak in public?

Nervous, stressed, scared, uncomfortable

4. How do your feelings and emotions manifest themselves in bodily reactions?

Shaking my hands, moving from a foot to other, looking everywhere in the room

5. On a 1-4 scale (1-poor, 2-satisfactory, 3-good, 4-very good), where would you place your
public speaking abilities? If you are not satisfied with your current level, what do you think you
could do to improve your public speaking skills?
2-satisfactory. my fear of failure in front of so many eyes

6. Name 5 qualities of a good presenter/public speaker.

Confidence, passion, ability to tell a story, audiencde awareness, well-prepared, charismatic

7. Give examples of public speakers (politicians, actors, scholars, etc.) that have impressed you
and motivate your answer.
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8. Is there a best and a worst presentation/public speech that you have witnessed? What made
these experiences be the best/worst?
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9. What is the role of the audience in the success/failure of a presentation/public speech?

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10. Do the audience’s expectations from a presentation/presenter differ according to their
nationality/culture? Describe the Romanian audience.
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11. Provide some strategies a public speaker/presenter could use in order to attract/maintain the
audience’s attention.
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12. Name at least 3 things a public speaker/presenter should never do in an oral

speech/presentation.
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13. What is the role of VOICE, BODY LANGUAGE and SILENCE in a public
speech/presentation? Provide arguments.
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14. Say the sentence “You’re here.” in such a way as to mean: surprise, fear, joy, disgust, anger.
Make use of body language and voice inflections to sound as credible as possible.

15. What advantages and disadvantages do PowerPoint presentations have? Read the following
excerpt from an article on the use of PowerPoint.
Not being the self-promoting type, neither of the men are particularly bothered about
being much less famous than their creation. (…) If they have a lament, it's that complaints
about PowerPoint are usually not about the software but about bad presentations. "It's just like
the printing press," says Mr. Austin. "It enabled all sorts of garbage to be printed."
(http://www.ditii.com/2007/06/20/powerpoint-turns-20-as-its-creators-ponder-a-dark-side-to-
success/)
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16. Make an elevator pitch to promote your university.

Elevator pitch = a brief, persuasive speech that you use to spark interest in what your
organization does. You can also use them to create interest in a project, idea, or product – or in
yourself. A good elevator pitch should last no longer than a short elevator ride of 20 to 30
seconds, hence the name. (https://www.mindtools.com › Communication Skills)
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