Just listen to yourself! Richard Marsden Sarah Williams authored by Emily Danvers
Where we’re going (in the next hour, in reverse order)
• Tripling, contrast and questions • Pitch and emphasis • Hook, line and sinker
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Khan’s show: censorship • visual aids and objects • pauses, space for audience interaction • how much do you think it was scripted? (be careful) • use of pronouns: “you”, “I”, “we” • how was audience curiosity generated? • physical positioning
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Hook, line and sinker How did Khan ‘hook’ his audience? 1. The problem technique: a question to think about to build audience rapport. 2. Amazing fact: an extraordinary fact is revealed first to surprise. 3. Personal anecdote: presenter connects topic to personal experience to convince and build rapport. 5/17/10
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Write ten lines … … promoting your site (think of a ‘hook’ if you can) … now read it to your neighbour in the most interesting way possible … and grade your neighbour’s reading from 1 to 10 (1=deadly bring 1=riveting) 5/17/10
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Here come the Martians (i) The Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art opens today, and the Barbican has been given a Martian makeover, with lots of copper-coloured metallic strips over the floor and walls. Maybe it's a sort of alien feng shui, or a means of making visual connections between the different works and themes. There's a felt spacesuit in the corner, a sausage in a vitrine, and a painting of George Bush in a cowboy hat, done in the style of Jackson Pollock. It's that kind of show. 5/17/10
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(ii) The Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art opens today, and the Barbican has been given a Martian makeover, with lots of copper-coloured metallic strips over the floor and walls. Maybe it's a sort of alien feng shui, or a means of making visual connections between the different works and themes. There's a felt spacesuit in the corner, a sausage in a vitrine, and a painting of George Bush in a cowboy hat, done in the style of Jackson Pollock. It's that kind of show. 5/17/10
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Your turn Mark up your script: Pause = * Emphasis = bold (or highlight) Soften = underline Read and grade again ‌ 5/17/10
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Say it, say it and say it again 1. Opposites and contrasts 2. ‘Tripling’ 3. Rhetorical question 4. Anaphora … pick one 5/17/10
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1. Opposites and contrasts If we don’t think about our target audience somebody else will. Instead of just relying on what we already know, why don’t we think outside the box? Ten years ago he was virtually bankrupt. Today he is a millionaire. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. (Also an example of antimetabole, or reversing.) 5/17/10
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2. Tripling ‘I came, I saw, I conquered.’ Julius Caesar ‘Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.’ Buddhist Proverb Controversy erupted in 2005 when the new sculpture to appear on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square was unveiled. So what was it that was so controversial? Perhaps it was because the figure was naked, pregnant and without arms or legs. Notice the most important item is last in each list.
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3. Rhetorical question How exactly did I achieve this? (Rhetorical Question) Simple. (Short Response) By investing more time into the project. (Three part answer) By making a concentrated effort towards perfection. And by blood, sweat and tears. (Three-part list starting with ‘and’ for emphasis) 5/17/10
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4. Anaphora (repetition of phrase or statement) • I knew it would be difficult…I knew it would be difficult because I had failed once before. Everybody makes mistakes, everybody. • ‘I have a dream’ … Martin Luther King • ‘Hard-working families’ … Gordon Brown (2005) • ‘Totally and utterly’ (and completely) … Margaret Thatcher • Tony Blair (1997 election)?? ‘Education, education, education’ 5/17/10
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…left to your own devices Add an emphasis device to your script Try it on your neighbour
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References Cottrell S (2003) The Study Skills Handbook London: Palgrave MacMillan Murray A (1999) Business Presentations London : Teach Yourself Powell M (2005) Presenting in English Germany: Hueber Max GmbH + Com Van Emden J & Becker L (2003) Presentation Skills for Students London: Palgrave MacMillan 5/17/10
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