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Module A-E4

Spoken Communication & Presentation

This module develops the student as a confident, credible academic speaker across presentation and discussion contexts. It covers message design, slide and visual craft, delivery, Q&A under pressure, and productive participation in seminars. Mastery looks like a speaker who delivers a clear, audience-tuned argument, handles challenge gracefully and listens as well as they talk.

Learning Outcomes

1.
Design a presentation with a stated takeaway, logical structure and audience-fit scope.
2.
Construct slides that use the assertion-evidence pattern and respect cognitive load.
3.
Apply vocal variety, pacing and purposeful movement to support meaning in delivery.
4.
Evaluate visual aids against principles of clarity, data integrity and accessibility.
5.
Analyse Q&A exchanges to identify question types and respond with structured answers.
6.
Design group-discussion protocols that balance airtime and build on contributions.
7.
Produce a rehearsed, timed talk that opens with a hook and closes with a call to action.
8.
Compare presentation genres (lecture, pitch, poster, seminar) and adapt style accordingly.

Topics Covered

Audience analysis: who, why, what-they-need
Message design: single takeaway and story spine
Structuring a talk: open, signpost, body, close
Assertion-evidence slide design versus bullet-dump
Typography, contrast and the 1-6-6 heuristic
Charts and tables: honest axes and callouts
Delivery: breath, pace, pause, prosody
Non-verbal: posture, gesture, gaze, movement
Rehearsal protocols and timed run-throughs
Managing nerves: cognitive and somatic strategies
Q&A: question types and answer frames (bridge, 2-step)
Seminar discussion: turn-taking and building moves
Poster talks and lightning-talk formats
Virtual presentations: camera, lighting, chat
Feedback cycles: self-review, peer review, video review

Skills Developed

Structuring Designing Delivering Rehearsing Fielding Discussing Visualising Adapting

Suggested Resources

Reynolds - Presentation Zen (New Riders)
Duarte - Resonate (Wiley)
Alley - The Craft of Scientific Presentations (Springer)
Anderson - TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking (Headline)
Tufte - The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (Graphics Press)
Toastmasters International - Pathways learning tracks
LSE Life - 'Presenting at university' video resources

Assessment

Graded through a filmed individual talk, a group seminar performance and a reflective self-review.

Individual 10-minute filmed talk45%
Group seminar / discussion performance30%
Reflective self-review with video evidence25%
Practice bank: 200 MCQs · Timed mock & self-paced modes
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