CC BY
59
УДК 81'34
Н. Б. Цибуля
кандидат филологических наук, профессор каф. фонетики английского языка факультета английского языка МГЛУ; e-maiL: cybnb@maiL.ru
ВЕРБАЛЬНЫЙ, НЕВЕРБАЛЬНЫЙ И ПРОСОДИЧЕСКИЙ АСПЕКТЫ СОВЕРШЕНСТВОВАНИЯ УМЕНИЙ ПРЕЗЕНТАЦИИ
В работе рассматриваются проблемы, связанные с публичной речью. Представлен обзор научных публикаций, в которых разрабатываются стратегии успешного выступления с презентацией. Автор, руководствуясь собственными исследованиями и экспериментами в этой области, а также опытом чтения лекций и преподавания фонетики английского языка в университете, предлагает упражнения, направленные на совершенствование невербального поведения и правильного просодического оформления слов и высказываний во время презентации.
Ключевые слова: боязнь публичных выступлений; контакт с аудиторией; умения презентации; просодия; вербальная и невербальная коммуникация.
N. B. Tsibulya
PhD (Philology), Professor of the Department of English Phonetics, Faculty of the English Language of Moscow State Linguistic University; e-maiL: cybnb@maiL.ru
VERBAL, NONVERBAL AND PROSODIC ASPECTS OF MASTERING PRESENTATION SKILLS
The work deals with problems related to public speaking. The article gives a survey of studies on various strategies to deliver successful presentations. Based on own research and experiments in this sphere, as weLL as teaching experience of EngLish phonetics and reading Lectures at the university, the author suggests a number of exercises aimed at mastering skiLLs of verbaL, prosodic and nonverbaL organization of a presentation.
Key words: speaking anxiety; connecting with the audience; presentation skills; prosody; verbal and nonverbal communication.
Introduction
Delivering a public speech, like reading a lecture, a report or making a presentation may be quite a challenge to many people. Even those, who always perform in front of a large audience, like actors, singers, politicians, may experience certain anxiety. Students often feel nervous, embarrassed, uncomfortable, and tongue-tied. Even if public talk does not evoke any
of such emotions, tutees need to develop and polish their skills of using appropriate language, modulating their voice, moving properly around the room, and employing adequate body language.
The aim of the present study is to give a brief survey of classical and recent publications on the problem and suggest exercises aimed at developing and mastering verbal, prosodic and nonverbal skills of delivering a presentation.
The topicality of the subject consists in carrying out research within the framework of multimodal linguistics and receiving new results reflected in the system of exercises worked out by the author.
Speaking Anxiety
According to Engleberg I. N. and Daly J. A., speaking anxiety, or communication apprehension, has been in the focus of scholars since 1970s. Continuing their studies, they worked out strategies and series of exercises the object of which is reducing and overcoming stress and tension. For example, imagining a stress-provoking setting, that is, associating public speaking with fear in a state of relaxation diminishes the link between the two, and helps a person to overcome anxiety in real life situations and build confidence.
They also recommend, what they call, "cognitive restructuring" [Engleberg, Daly 2013, p. 27] - changing negative assumptions about oneself and thinking positively about the motives, aim, contents, and importance of the message.
One more effective and powerful method the authors suggest is visualizing the whole speech delivery, concentrating on such points as picturing oneself confident, energetic, and connecting with the audience. The researchers hold the view that visualization is very useful and favourably stimulates brain activity. Among other means, they make a wide use of video recording of either short sections of the presentation, or the entire speech to monitor their students' level of speech anxiety.
B. Hoogterp, a public speaking coach, has organized courses where he instructs business people, executive officials, politicians, actors and other professionals. He has elaborated special techniques to develop public communication skills of his students. In in-person trainings they drill only one particular device at a time. The coach gives them a tip, and then they practice it at once. He has his trainees speak on camera several times
in a few minutes, video-taping themselves. After that, they play it back and analyze their merits and faults. Then the coach gives them the next instruction, and they practice another skill, and so on.
B. Hoogterp and other scholars assume that in order to overcome nervousness and fear, one should concentrate on the audience, not on oneself. It is important that the listeners get your message, that they learn from you and that they feel your concern about them. Connecting with the audience is an important means of achieving success [Jacobi 2006; Engleberg, Daly 2013; Hoogterp 2014].
Success of a presentation depends not only on its contents, but on the way the speaker gives it. Clear articulate speech, establishing eye contact, and using audience members names while addressing them - are effective means of building rapport.
On the other hand, speakers care, of course, about how they are perceived, because the listeners always judge them. Mastering speaking skills gives people confidence and helps get their emotions under control.
Breathing deeply to overcome stress, fear and nervousness is another technique B. Hoogterp employs, which is still more effective if one concentrates on the listeners and the presentation delivery. The speaker, who is more concerned about the audience, is more successful in establishing links with it.
The author has also worked out some verbal exercises like creating metaphors and mnemonic hints, and also nonverbal drills using certain gestures and facial expressions aimed at forming images of good and bad speaking.
Series of other exercises focus on training voice modulations. Loudness, for example, is ranged from speaking at the top of one's voice to whisper, tempo is varied from superfast to very slow, and pauses are used to highlight key words.
B. Hoogterp has achieved good results. In his book "Your Perfect Presentation" he gives a lot of examples of his students' positive experience when they followed his instructions and stopped caring about how the audience perceived them. His students overcome their speech problems and develop public speaking skills in a very short time. After the training courses verbose people radically change their manner of presentation. Their speech becomes concise and clear. Those, who are shy and nervous, turn out to be calm and confident [Hoogterp 2014].
Prosodic Means of Enhancing the Presentation
Intonation (prosody) - the pitch, sentence stress, pauses, tempo of speech, loudness, and timbre - imparts various emotional and modal meanings to the utterance, reflecting feelings and attitudes of the speaker.
According to A. Mehrabian, intonation accounts for 38 % of the information received, nonverbal behaviour transmits 55 %o of it, and words - only 7 %> [Mehrabian 2007].
Talking in a monotone, or too softly, too fast or too slowly can distract the audience from the contents of the presentation.
Delivering a speech one should avoid monotony, and use appropriate intonation in accordance with the verbal message. Increased or decreased loudness, fast or slow tempo, the number of pauses and their duration, the incidence of logical stress should be in conformity with the contents. When the presenter speaks too fast, the message may appear less significant. Fast tempo is appropriate on low key words and phrases, while slowing down the tempo makes the key words more pronounced.
Correct division into sense-groups is very important. They are usually rather short consisting of three or four stressed words, and are separated by pauses enabling the speaker to get the message across more effectively. Various lengths of pauses - from rather long to very short - play an important part in the oral presentation. They separate semantic units, emphasize words, and show the speaker's attitude. However, inserting too many filled pauses like "uhs" and "ums", that may be the result of nervousness, can spoil the impression of the presentation.
The text structuring function of prosody, on the one hand, organizes the text into a whole and, on the other hand, delimits it into smaller units - supraphrasal unities, or paragraphs, and further - into phrases, and sense-groups.
Text coherence largely depends on connectives, linking words and phrases, which are usually pronounced with certain prosodic patterns. In an oral presentation they make connectives still more effective. They bring into the focus the key points of the information and demonstrate how they are related to each other. They also elicit how parentheses and other low key information units support the main idea. Connectives and their correct pronunciation help to structure the discourse, thus, making it easier for the audience to follow the presenter's speech, as they signal transitions from
one idea to another, from one supraphrasal unity (or paragraph) of the text to the next one.
Modulating one's voice is a powerful means of structuring the text, stressing the most important parts of a sentence, as well as to build rapport with the audience, interest it and have impact on the listeners.
Nonverbal Means of Effective Presentation
People always send messages by hand-gestures, body movements, postures, and facial expressions. Their body language is always communicating even when they are not speaking
The lecturer should be aware of the nonverbal cues he is giving. The way the presenter looks at the audience, the way he sits, stands, moves and uses space may have a great impact on the success of his presentation.
According to researches, nonverbal communication accounts for over 90 % of the first impression. So it is recommended to avoid stiff body language and send appropriate nonverbal signals the moment one enters the lecture hall [Jacobi 2006].
Eye contact and Facial Expressions
Half of bodily behaviour is displayed through the face [Hoogterp 2014]. The face reflects the speaker's attitudes and emotions by which the audience judges him.
Establishing and maintaining eye contact with the audience is one of the most effective ways of connecting with it, and in this way, being successful in one's speech. Looking directly at the audience members when walking into the lecture room helps to begin and provide further communication, controlling it and making the listeners' feedback available to the speaker [Jacobi 2006; Engleberg, Daly 2013; Hoogterp 2014].
It is not advisable to scan the audience, look sideways or at the back wall. Some coaches in public speaking recommend looking at individual people in the audience and maintaining eye contact long enough to express a full thought or part of it, thus, focusing on different faces when delivering the presentation [Jacobi 2006]. Others suggest making visual contact with as many audience members as possible [Engleberg, Daly 2013]. Too much eye contact with one person may cause embarrassment. Too little eye contact may be interpreted as lack of interest and involvement.
Posture
Straight posture and head up position support proper breathing and give confidence. One should avoid slouching posture and drooping shoulders.
When addressing the audience in a seated position the speaker is advised to sit up straight, bring his shoulders back, move closer to the table, keep his arms in front of him, and slightly lean towards the listeners while speaking [Jacobi 2006].
In a standing position, with one's feet about one foot apart provides a steady balance, gives confidence and makes it easier to start moving and change the spot of speaking (Driver, van Aalst 2010).
Gestures
Delivering a presentation the speaker should not keep his hands down or at his sides, or clasp them at the back. It is better to have them in front of oneself using them to reinforce important points of the verbal message.
In a sit-down talk the speaker should also place his hands in front of him, not under the table. The latter position usually gives the impression of the speaker's discomfort and closed in attitude [Driver, van Aalst 2010].
Research shows that employing hand gestures while speaking stimulates brain activity and helps people think better. Using appropriate gestures makes the presentation delivery more expressive [Jacobi 2006]. Hand gestures and body movements reinforce the verbal message, as well as demonstrate the speaker's attitudes, intentions and emotions.
Space
Any change in the speaker's nonverbal behaviour should go in accordance with the message and enhance the attention of the audience. Appropriate use of space, moving around the room is very important. It is not advisable to stand in one and the same spot all the time, or pace back and forth. They both create a nonverbal monotone and the latter may also distract the audience's attention from the contents.
Moving around the lecture hall should be purposeful and natural. The speaker can reposition himself for a while when shifting to a new idea. Moving to a new topic should be synchronized with changes in posture, hand gestures, body movements, facial expressions [Engleberg, Daly 2013; Hoogterp 2014], and, of course, intonation. Introducing a new idea
is always characterized by increase in volume, pitch raise, slowing down tempo and change of timbre.
Feedback
One more aspect of connecting with the audience is to understand their feedback, to see the listeners' nonverbal reaction, change in their postures, facial expressions, eye contact, etc.
It is well known from psychology that the usual attention span of an adult person is about 20 minutes. Changing the subject, giving a new direction of the speech in accordance with this rule, one can prolong listeners' concentration span. It is also advisable to periodically give them a rest by telling a short joke, or digressing from the topic linking it with some academic procedures, like taking exams or further discussion of the problem at seminars.
Listening implies not only understanding the contents of the presentation. It also involves decoding the speaker's nonverbal cues, such as body movements, gestures, and facial expressions. Listeners' feedback, on the other hand, also comes in nonverbal cues. To read their visible responses is very important to the presenter.
Speakers should develop their sensitivity to listeners immediate nonverbal reactions, that is, to learn to read their faces and eyes, as well as take in account their questions and comments, and use this feedback to adjust their talk during presentations [Hoogterp 2014].
Erect posture, smiling, and nodding are signs of interest, involvement, and attention. A puzzled look, frowning, raising eyebrows, and other negative signals from the audience members can demonstrate disagreement, lack of understanding, or misunderstanding.
Some scholars assume that the most important characteristics of the audience feedback are eye-contact and body posture. The expression of the listeners' eyes tells the speaker whether they are interested or bored, agree or disagree with the message, attentive or distracted. Maintaining straight postures usually signals interest of the audience members. In a seated position, leaning towards the speaker demonstrates even a greater degree of involvement and undivided listeners attention [Miller 1994; Engleberg, Daly 2013]. When they begin yawning or making restless movements, it may be a sign of weariness and decrease in concentration.
Positive or negative audience feedback can help the lecturer evaluate his message and its delivery, both, from verbal, and nonverbal points of view, and adapt quickly to the responses. Eventually, he can make necessary changes in his style of speech, and display of gestures and facial expressions.
Adapting to the audience also presupposes the speaker's background information about its members: their motivations, interests, level of knowledge, their manners, behaviour, and other things.
Ethics and Cultural Sensitivity
Scholars point out an important issue of being ethically acceptable when speaking publicly, following certain principles and rules of conduct, understanding what is right and what is wrong. The speaker's appearance and his unusual nonverbal behaviour can be a cause of distraction.
This is true in any presentation situation, but when the lecturer delivers his speech to foreign students, his manners are still more important because audience members usually come from various cultural backgrounds. In such cases, the presenter should be sensitive to these differences and try to adjust to them.
It may appear rather difficult because certain gestures, postures, facial expressions, and proxemics strategies vary from culture to culture. What is acceptable in one cultural space turns out to be a taboo in another one.
While delivering a lecture to foreign students it is advisable to be aware of cross-cultural rules in employing body language.
Fundamental studies of this problem and recent publications may help to avoid possible inadequacies, and develop cultural sensitivity [Hall 1989; Hall 1990; Hall 1990; Axtell 1998; Hofstede 2001; Lefevre 2011]. Recognizing cross-cultural differences, one should speak clearly, distinctly and more slowly, be rather formal, avoiding colloquial expressions, culture-bound gestures and jokes. Cultural sensitivity is still more important when teachers give a lecture or discuss the topic of inter-cultural interaction at seminars with students of various cultural backgrounds.
Scholars justly point out that both, presenters and listeners should behave with civility. The word means politeness, good manners, respect and consideration of others [Forni 2003; Engleberg, Daly 2013].
Exercises
Russian-speaking students are often apt to make mistakes in the prosodic organization of a presentation. The following exercises are aimed
at reducing or eliminating them, and thus, mastering students' skills in using certain prosodic patterns as well as developing their nonverbal skills.
1. Emphasizing an important word in the middle of a phrase you can pronounce it with an incomplete falling tone, high or mid, depending on the degree of emphasis. Simultaneously, you accentuate it with a downward hand gesture and / or a head move, and / or a slight body movement.
A key word in the middle of the sentence can also be singled out by means of a special rise, being pronounced a bit higher than the previous stressed word. Usually, it is accompanied by a minute upward head move.
Single out important words in your presentation and practice them accordingly. For example:
1) 'Hamlet 'uses vthou to the xGhost.
2) There is a 'marked 0 increase in the cpitch.
2. Two important words which are related to each other and form a semantic unity are connected with a falling-rising tone. The fall usually correlates with a little downward gesture or move, whereas, the rising tone coincides with a slight head rise. The key words are marked by slowing down the tempo.
When two key words stand apart, having low key words between them, the latter are characterized by an increase in tempo and a low pitch level which is nonverbally supported by a still position of the head.
Find patterns of two connected words in your speech and read them according to the tips above. For example:
1) Of particular /interest: are 'cases of incongruence} between 'verbal and ,non>verbal ,messages.
2) Ad'dressing /people,} 'Quakers 'tried to a^void unnecessary social dis/tinction} and be gram'matically Tmore pre>cise.
3. Connective words like: in fact, really, thus, so, now perhaps, furthermore, in addition, next, moreover, however, meanwhile, therefore, consequently, alas and others - are often pronounced with a fall-rise and slow tempo. Linking two ideas, they are followed by a pause. A minute falling-rising head move can accompany this prosodic contour.
Pay attention to the pronunciation of connectives in your presentation and practice them. For example:
1) By convtrast,} the , boy was 'brave and \smart.
2) Occasionally,} she , felt 'lonely and \miserable.
4. The beginning of a new paragraph means shifting to a new idea in your report. It is usually marked by a longer pause after the previous paragraph, increase in the volume of the voice, a higher pitch level, slowing down the tempo and change of the timbre. Nonverbally, it coincides with a slight head up movement and establishing visual contact with the listeners. Moreover, one usually changes his posture or position and may move from behind the lectern, or go to another place in the lecture hall. For example:
There exist different cross-cultural dimensions, like: high context and low context, collectivist and individualist, polychronic and monochronic, feminine and masculine cultures, and others. Now, I am going to briefly characterize each of them.
Passing over to the analysis of each particular cultural dimension, that is, each time defining a new concept, try to follow the instructions concerning prosody and nonverbal cues.
5. Russian-speaking students, talking too fast, often tend to slur word endings in a phrase or a sense-group. They reduce or assimilate sounds in unstressed or partially stressed syllables that come after the nuclear syllable pronounced with a terminal tone. For example:
The 'criminal was ar'rested in a \nightc/wb.
The 'talks will be'gin \later tonight.
To prevent or eliminate the mistake, one should pronounce such syllables clearly, with a greater force of exhalation and moderate loudness, and slightly lengthen them.
Find in your presentation words with unstressed and semi-stressed syllables at the end of phrases and practice their distinct pronunciation, avoiding reduction, assimilation or elision.
Try to keep correct posture: sit upright and bring back your shoulders.
6. One more common mistake occurring at the end of sense-groups and phrases is pronouncing indistinctly the word with a terminal tone, especially, the falling tone. The mistake consists in replacing the English falling tone by the Russian one and weakening the force of articulation at the end of the phrase / sense-group. For example:
A 'language 'changes with \time.
The 'scholar 'intro'duced a Tnew \term.
Try to articulate the words with the terminal tone clearly, with a greater force of exhalation. Do not reduce loudness. Make the falling tone sound more categoric and decisive.
Maintain correct posture: do not slouch, sit up straight, and breathe deeply.
7. Some students make mistakes in pronouncing the ending -ing or the sound combination -ing- in the middle of a verb form, for example: ringing, bringing. The mistake is of a two-fold character. Learners replace the backlingual sound [g] by the apical alveolar [n]. In addition, they may pronounce [g] or [k] at the end of -ing- or -ing.
To prevent or eliminate the mistake one should pronounce the backlingual sound [g] observing a somewhat backward head position and keeping the tip of the tongue at the base of the lower teeth.
To avoid pronouncing [g] or [k] it is recommended to lengthen the sound [g] and remove the back part of the tongue from the soft palate very slowly.
Find words with the -ing ending, and -ing- in the middle of verb forms, make sure you pronounce them correctly. Follow the tips above.
8. One of the most common mistakes made by Russian-speaking students is pronunciation of words with two stresses, that is, having the following accentual patterns:
1) secondary stress + primary stress: , - ' - , e.g. revo' lution, texhi 1 bition;
2) primary stress + tertiary stress: A - B - , e.g. ' body building, water ,softener.
In the first case, they either pronounce only primary stress, or shift it onto the second or first syllable. Thus, the word comBmuni cation often sounds as communi cation or com munication or communication. In the second case, they replace the model by the first pattern - secondary stress + primary stress, for example: ' bodybuilding may be pronounced as fiody-building.
In order to correct the mistakes one should practice different degrees of word-stress in comparison, paying attention to the lower pitch, weaker force of exhalation and decreased loudness of secondary and tertiary stress as compared to the higher pitch, greater force of exhalation and amplified volume of the primary stress.
Find words with two stresses in your presentation. Consult the dictionary and practice them following the above instructions.
As you read them try to keep upright posture, observe the pitch, loudness, and force of exhalation.
9. Correct pausation often presents difficulty to Russian-speaking learners. They can use a long pause where a shorter one belongs, and vice versa. Distribution of pauses largely depends on the hierarchical structure of the text. Semantically close units are connected with shorter pauses, the more independent text parts are linked with longer ones.
Preparing a presentation one should analyze each paragraph of the text from semantic and syntactical points of view, read it out loud observing the length of pauses connecting sense-groups, phrases and those between paragraphs.
For example:
'George vWashington| 'did not xlive in the ,White House.| He 'died in
'17 ' 9 >9. | The 'White "House has been 'used as Residence} ,since ' 18>00.|
' John /Adams} was the \first president} who > lived ,there. 9
During pauses speakers often shift their glance from one listener to another and change posture.
10. Students usually face difficulty dividing the phrase, especially a long one, into sense-groups. Giving a presentation one should pronounce rather short sense-groups, consisting of two or three / four stressed words.
The typical mistakes consist in reading a long phrase without dividing it into smaller units, or dividing it incorrectly, making pauses in the middle of a sense-group. In the first case, students read the phrase on a monotone and with fast tempo. In the second case, they distort its meaning.
The division into sense-groups should be in conformity with the semantic and grammatical structure of the phrase. After segmenting it into smaller parts, one should analyze their prosody - the pitch of the pre-head, the type of the scale (head), and the terminal tone - and then practice their reading.
The division into sense-groups may vary, of course. For example:
' Pennsyl ' vania vAvenue} ' runs from the /Capitol} to the \White House.| It
is ' often /used} for of ficial pro/cessions and pa\rades.|
This phrase can be divided into longer sense-groups.
' Pennsyl ' vania VAvenue} ' runs from the TCapitol to the \White House. | It
is ' often 'used for ofTficial pro ' cessions and pa\rades.|
Pauses often coincide with establishing a visual contact, and change in body posture. Terminal tones are emphasized by gestures and body movements.
Practice dividing phrases into sense-groups. Think of their prosodic organization, read them out loud according to the intonation marks, observing rhythm.
Conclusion
To deliver a good speech or a presentation one must be motivated, know the subject, set a definite goal, and be able to adapt to the audience. The presenter should have certain background information about its members: their ambitions, interests, and attitudes, preferences, level of knowledge, patterns of behaviour, and other things.
To become an experienced public speaker one should practice, develop, and master his verbal, prosodic, and nonverbal skills. Training and controlling one's body language and voice modulations are important means of connecting with the audience, building confidence, and achieving success.
Following certain rules of delivering a presentation students are advised to develop their own style of public speaking.
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