BEGLA- 138- UNIT- 17 ( Speaking Activities - 2: Participating in Discussions, Meetings, Presentations) Reading And Speaking Skills

BEGLA- 138- UNIT- 17- Speaking Activities - 2: Participating in Discussions, Meetings, Presentations-  Reading And Speaking Skills IGNOU Subject

INTRODUCTION

• Speaking activities like group discussions, meetings and presentation are essential for effective communication.

• Public Speaking is the biggest fear and the main cause of this fear is stage fright. 

• It happens because of several reasons: being in spotlight, unprepared and lack of experience are the most common ones. 

• In this chapter, we will try to analyze how preparation, practice and presence help for effective communication.

GROUP DISCUSSIONS

• Group discussion is a discussion within a group of people, ideally 8 to 12 members who express their views freely, frankly in a friendly manner, on a topic of current issue. 

Why should one learn group discussion skills ? 

• Group discussion skills is useful in our daily life as we talk with friends, family and colleagues.

• Group discussions are now increasingly used in the job market during interviews and selection procedures.

• Group Discussion method assesses students' personality.

Activity for Classroom

Useful sub- skills for students

• The sub- skills students can use to effectively take part in group discussions.

• Students should develop the skill to analyze, persuade, control emotion, support and use functional language.

Analyze

• To develop this skill, the students should be given topics individually and asked to brainstorm or mind- map all the possible sub- topics they could speak about.

• After that, the students should swap their notes and analyze relevant sub- topics other students have included.

Control Emotions

• For developing the skill, the students can be given fairly controversial topics like "Friends are more important than family" and asked to decide whether they agree, disagree or have no opinion, making notes on their main arguments to support their view point.

MEETINGS

• A meeting means a gathering of two or more people for achieving a common goal through verbal interaction.

• The principal functions/purposes of meetings are to: 

• Take decisions; resolve problems; discuss proposals/ ways of working; inform; seek clarification; seek ideas and settle disputes or disagreements.

Things to do before the meeting

• Reserve a meeting room; arrange the date and time; prepare agenda; send notices to the people who would attend the meeting; plan food and refreshments; create an action list; choose a meeting format; assemble materials; plan for supplies, equipment, software; handle last-minute details; decide how meeting will be

Preparing the Agenda

• Include names of participants, date, time and place of meeting, along with topics; include timeframe and level of action to be taken for each topic; and discuss issues listed on agenda and review follow-up actions.

Handling Last- minute Details

• Conduct last- minute check of all details; Room facilities; Audio- visual equipment; Refreshments; Meeting materials; Miscellaneous and Remain flexible.

PRESENTATIONS

• A presentation refers to the process of presenting a topic to an audience.

• A Presentation can be adapted to various speaking situations such as talking to a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team.

• A presentation may include other 'Speaking Engagements' like making a speech at a wedding, or getting a point across in a video conference.

• It may be a talk about the positive work of your organization, what you offer an employer, or why you should receive additional funding for a project.

• The aspects that influence the presentation are

(i) Presenter : The presenter has to communicate with the audience and control the presentation.

(ii) Audience : The audience receives the presenter's message

(iii) Message : The presenter will deliver the message to the audience.

Advantages of using a PowerPoint

Portable- Professional; Can add graphics; Clear; and Can use for hand-outs.

Disadvantages of using a PowerPoint

Depends on technology; Lack of audience contact

READ MORE- BEGLA- 138- UNIT- 16 ( Speaking Activities-1: Stories, Dialogues, Role Playing, Debates)