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The 17th Symposium of Students in English

What is the 17th SSE How you can participate Tips and tricks to making your presentation kick-ass

Dont be that guy Nobody likes that guy!

This is the presentation

This is you

This is the presentation

This is you

What we like to think is that this event offers the possibility for you to experiment with how academic work is done, and to mingle. We know as a fact that you will make some great friends here and that your research skills will improve. In a way this is the best occasion for you to have loads of fun without being in the detriment of you studies.

The symposium aka The Symposium of Students in English- is a yearly event that manages to get together people from all over the country in a nice, comfortable and friendly place. This year the 17th symposium will take place between the 6th and 7th of April

Well basically, here! The University along with the Faculty and the English Department have been, for quite some time now, the hosts of the event.

Starting with the 6th of April (yes, mornings included, so get ready to go overboard with the coffee) until the 7th in the afternoon you will get the chance of participating in a very versatile event. You will be able to attend and deliver presentations and workshops on British and American Literature, Linguistics, Cultural and Gender Studies, and ESL Teaching. We also plan on making you laugh with our Opening and Closing Sessions.

You can deliver presentations on the before mentioned themes. Said presentations will last for 20 minutes each. During this time you will have the possibility of making your presentation the best there is. You can use PowerPoint, handouts, movie or song excerpts; basically everything that will ensure you make a good and valid point. Keep in mind that after the time runs out you will also have some 10 minutes allotted for a short Q&A session.

Workshops are another thing you can do. The workshops are a little longer. You will have 50 minutes to be as good as possible in making a point. Workshops do tend to be more on the interactive side of things. You will be able to talk freely to the people who attend and hopefully they will also try and help you in validating what you want to say.

Now that weve got the technicalities out of the way lets focus more on how to make YOUR presentation a brilliant piece of work.

Have this in mind In modern English, presentations can be either formal or informal. Either way, a good presentation also has a small dose of fun and interactivity.
Being boring = BAD

Being fun = GOOD


*Dressing as a nun optional

Pick a subject and a thesis that you wish to elaborate on. Find arguments and examples for your thesis. Give your research logic.

Introduction: state the main theme and what you are aiming for in your research. Main Body: give arguments, examples (you may use hand-outs, power point slides, audio tapes) for the last two entries do mention that you need a laptop/projector/stereo when you register your paper. Conclusion: state the result of your research. Questions: start a brief discussion, with the other participants, on your subject.

State the focus of your workshop and what you are aiming to prove. Ask the participants in the room to solve an exercise/give examples/discuss etc. (depending on your theme). Give participants your conclusion, result of research etc.

It is important to state your purpose clearly at the beginning of your talk. Here are some ways to do this: talk about = to speak about a subject report on = to tell you about what has been done.. show = to explain something by doing it or by giving instructions. outline = to give the main facts or information about something. highlight = draw attention to or emphasize the important fact or facts.

We use certain key words to signpost different stages in our presentation. These can be useful when you are under pressure giving a presentation. Signposting gives you order and coherence in your presentation Move on; turn to; expand; elaborate; digress; go back; summarize; recap; conclude.

Your presentation might be the best there ever was, but you might feel a little nervous. Believe it or not, this may impact the entire outcome of your presentation.

Dont be this guy

Be this guy instead

So how can you stop yourself from feeling too nervous? Here are a few tips. 1. Dont get hung up about being nervous. Its a normal human reaction. Dont make yourself more nervous because youre nervous. 2. Walk off your excessive nervousness. If possible, walk outside and get some fresh air at the same time. But a walk down the corridor is better than no walk. 3. Dont let your legs go to sleep. Keep the blood supply moving. 4. Work your wrists, arms and shoulders to get the tension out of them. 5. Above all, breathe deeply. Make sure your stomach is going out when you breathe in. Dont be self-conscious about these warm-up activities.

Because of all the pressure you might be feeling, some things may not come out as you would have liked to.

If you get your facts wrong. I am terribly sorry. What I meant to say was this. If you have been going too fast and your audience is having trouble keeping up with you. Let me just recap on that. If you have forgotten to make a point. Sorry, I should just mention one other thing. If you have been too complicated and want to simplify what you said. So, basically, what I am saying is this. If you realize that what you are saying makes no sense. Sorry, perhaps I did not make that quite clear. If you cannot remember the term in English. Sorry, what is the word I am looking for? Sorry, my mind has gone blank. How do you say 'escargot' in English? If you are short of time. So just to give you the main points.

Start looking around your audience. See that big guy with his arms folded and an impress me look on his face? Best not to look at him too much. How about that lady with the big smile, looking encouragingly towards you? OK, thats your mother, she doesnt count. But that other lady with a similar smile is someone you dont know. But from now on shes your friend. Every time that you need any encouragement, look in her direction. Make good eye contact. Establish a form of communication between you. And now youve found one friend, youll begin to see others in the audience. Pick out friends all round the room. If you see an impress me person and get discouraged, switch your view back to one of your friends.

A friendly face always helps Have an inviting posture. Dont try to be intimidating. It never works. Smile, but dont be fake- Take pleasure in the fact that people are genuinely interested in your presentation. Otherwise they wouldnt be there. Keep eye contact. Its the best way of feeling the general pulse of the room.

Time yourself

Present rather than read

Use appropriate intonation

For more information on how to deliver a presentation go to http://www.effective-public-speaking.com/ Or http://www.presentation-skills.org/ For more information about the 17th Symposium of Students in English go to http://timword.ro/studentsymposium Or just knock at room 422 where a friendly face will help

Thursday 22 March you only have to submit the title of the paper/workshop at room 422 just ask anyone there for the submissions folder

Thank you for your patience If there are any other questions, feel free to ask!

Acquiring Know-How in delivering a presentation: ACCOMPLISHED

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