Effective Classroom Communication and Presentation Skills

Most of what you will read here has been taken most liberally from Oral Communication in Business, 9th ed., the packet used for the COMM 312 course. We hope that this helps you get ready to begin teaching.
Anisha Shankar and Amy Shupard, Communication

DIMENSIONS OF CREDIBILITY

Credibility is a perceived phenomenon ö what you students bestow upon you. Therefore, whether or not your audience believes your message and moreover, responds positively to you and your message depends on what Michael Burgoon labeled the five dimensions of credibility.

1. Competence: In other words, ãwhat do you know?ä You must be able to convey effectively what you know and what you have done. Your personal experience and not your degrees, rank, title or position is your greatest ally in appearing credible in the eyes of your audience.
2. Character: Refers to how believable you are. You must be able to tell your audience where you got your information. Always cite your sources!
3. Composure: How can you deal with an unexpected situation? Can you deal with tripping over the projector wire with poise and humor (believe us, this is one commonly occurring situation!)? Your students will see you as highly credible if you can cope with situations that can potentially throw you off track or be embarrassing?
4. Extroversion: How energetic, animated and enthusiastic about your subject are you? Enthusiasm is infectious and generates enjoyment in your students. If you donât care for your subject, why should they?
5. Sociability: You need to demonstrate that you like and respect your students. Your students are more likely to take note of what you have to say if they think you are approachable and communicative.

What makes the introduction so essential?

1. It captures you audienceâs attention.
2. It gives your audience a reason to listen.
3. Sets the tone for your topic.
4. It establishes your qualifications.
5. It introduces the core of your lecture.

1. Ask a question, hypothetical or real.
2. Use illustrations or anecdotes.
3. Present a quotation (possibly, this is more useful for teaching assistants in the social sciences or liberal arts).
4. Make a startling statement.
5. Use humor.

1. The main points should tie together to develop the core of your lecture.
2. Each point should have a single idea.
3. If this idea can only be explained by breaking it up, it should not have more than five points (or sub-points, if you will).

1. It acts as a short and succinct review or restatement of you lecture.

It closes the lecture, while maintaining its tone.
2. You may have just made a powerful lecture, but you could lose some of its impact with a weak or scattered closing.

 Transitions are important because they weave a presentation into a comprehensible whole, knitting together its different ideas, while highlighting the fact that there has been a move from one idea to another.

1. Signposts: are useful in dividing the main point into its sub-points or by verbally marking out distinct parts of the same point. For example, ãThe history of the problem can be divided into four major periods·ä
2. Loopers: express a relationship between two consecutive ideas and therefore facilitates the progression of the presentation from one point to another. For example, ãWhile this was an important phase in the American Civil War, what was to come next was what many historians consider a turning point·ä
3. Internal Summaries: quickly recap the points that have gone before, allowing you to move on to the next part of your presentation. They are particularly useful in cause-effect presentations. For example, ãAs you can now understand, the primary causes of this problem have been·ä

MAKING VISUALS

Whether you use the chalkboard, the whiteboard, a flip chart, overheads or Powerpoint, there are some things that are worth keeping in mind:

1. Instead of using full sentences, use key words.
2. Emphasize separate points using numbering, bullets or bold letters.
3. Try using capitals as against lower case letters.
4. Make sure that there is adequate spacing between words.
5. If you are using several overheads or screens during your presentation, maintain the same background, font and general presentation style throughout.
6. If you are using colors, use no more than four per screen.

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