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[Volver]

I have to teach presentation skills to high school students bound for the US, but I have never had any formal training in it. Pretty good at public speaking myself and have been a member of Toastmasters for some time. Can anyone recommend a good teacher training book for learning how to teach public speaking?

Thanks.

V

[nomad soul]

No need for a book; there are plenty of good lessons and tips available on the Internet via a search on teaching public speaking.

For starters, take a look at:

Speaking with confidence: A teaching guide to improve public speaking in youth
Public Speaking and Communication Lessons
Public Speaking Activities

[shamblaram]

If the students are aiming for universities in the US, try 'Passport to Academic Presentations'. Pretty good textbook with audio/video extras.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Passport-Academic-Presentations-Course-Audio/dp/1859644007

The students would need to be at least intermediate level before starting it.

(it's a British textbook, with Brit accents in the audio/video; not sure how relevant that is...)

[spiral78]

Hopefully the books will tell you this, but as someone who's listened to literally thousands of academic presentations over the years:

Academic presentation skills and public speaking are not equivalent! Your students more likely need academic presentation skills - these are more closely related to IELTS type writing than toastmaster-style public speaking.

I recommend that you don't teach them to 'grab the listener's attention' or to use jokes/humour - these things often fall very very flat in an academic setting.

Their instructors (who will be their real audience for academic presentations) are paid to listen to them. A dry, but logically organized and well-researched presentation will be more successful than one with too much flash and gab.

Beware 'elegant variation' in terms - an academic presentation is not a display of vocabulary skills. Teach them to choose a few key terms for the main ideas in their work, and to stick to them.

Focus on how academic writing and academic presentations are similar in structure, and on signaling transitions and considering speaking to an international audience. The people your students will be speaking to may not understand their accents well - they should know how to restate and repeat main points, and to have visual back-up (not too much text!) for all main points.

I could go on and on here, but hopefully the books will cover the main points. Basically, don't send them out prepared to absolutely ANNOY their academic listeners with jokes, flashy bling, and a poetic vocabulary. Please!!

[Volver]

I am kind of a book-reading guy so that is why I was asking about a book. That is just the way I think. However, very good suggestions, nomad soul, and I am currently in the process of checking out your suggestions. The book also looks interesting.

All these kids are going to be taking Speaking/Communications/whatever classes in the fall at American junior colleges. This means they will probably have to be more attuned to the entertainment value of their presentations vs. a graduate school student. I do not allow them to use humor because it more than likely won't work in America.

V

[spiral78]