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Chapter 10 - Communicating Orally
Skills Building Exercises
Talking (LO1)
1. Record yourself in conversation with three different audiences (e.g., a friend, your parents,
a customer or client at work, an instructor). Conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, threats) analysis of your talking using the four elements of good talking
discussed in this chapter. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Identify
opportunities for improving your talking. Discuss threats to improving your talking (e.g.,
nervousness, lack of interest). What will you do to address the threats? Present your
analysis in a memo report to your instructor. Be sure to explain to your audiences why
you’re recording your conversation and seek permission as appropriate.
2. Find a video or recording of talking done by some- one you think has good voice quality and
someone you think has poor voice quality. Analyze the speaker’s voice quality in terms of
the features discussed in this chapter. As your instructor requests, present your analysis to
your class or a small group or to your instructor in the form of a memo. Your instructor
may also require that you assess each person’s nonverbal communication skills.
Nonverbal Communication (LO2)
3. Find three to five pictures of men and women with different facial expressions (happiness,
sadness, anger, etc.) or gestures. Ask those native to your area to identify the emotions or the
meanings of the gestures the pictures convey. Then ask at least three others from different
countries (preferably different continents) to identify the emotions. Report your results to
the class.
4. Go to a public place (e.g., your school’s cafeteria, the library, a park, or a mall). Observe the
interaction between two people whom you can see but whom you cannot hear. In a short
memo to your instructor, describe the setting, the participants, the interaction, and the
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Chapter 10 - Communicating Orally
nonverbal behaviors. Analyze their nonverbal communication and present two possible
interpretations of these behaviors. Be sure to justify your interpretations with evidence from
your observation.
5. Record yourself in some type of oral communication setting (e.g., the meetings described in
previous exercises, a mock job interview with your school’s career services office, your next
presentation for this or another course). Watch the recording without the sound, and pay
attention to your nonverbal behaviors. In a short memo to your instructor, describe what
you saw and evaluate what you do well and what you will work to improve.
Listening (LO3)
6. After the class has been divided into two or more teams, the instructor reads some factual
information (newspaper article, short story, or the like) to only one member of each team.
Each of these team members tells what he or she has heard to a second team member, who
in turn tells it to a third team member and so on until the last member of each team has
heard the information. The last person receiving the information reports what she or he has
heard to the instructor, who checks it against the original message. The team able to report
the information with the greatest accuracy wins.
7. This exercise is similar to exercise #2 under Talking, but in this exercise, you will analyze
your listening skills. Reflect on a recent conversation with a friend, oral instructions you
received from your boss, or a class lecture where you demonstrated what you believe is
representative of your listening skills in general. Use a SWOT analysis to evaluate your
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Chapter 10 - Communicating Orally
listening skills. What are your strengths as a listener? What are your weaknesses? Identify
some opportunities for improving your skills. Identify possible threats (e.g., physical
limitations, lack of interest) that may hinder your ability to improve your skills. What can
you do to address these threats? Present your analysis in a memo report to your instructor.
Meetings (LO 4)
8. For one of the topics below, develop a specific problem that would warrant a group meeting.
(Example: For student government, the problem might be “To determine the weaknesses of
student government on this campus and what should be done to correct them.”) Then lead
the class (or participate) in a meeting on the topic. Class discussion following the meeting
should reinforce the text material and bring out the effective and ineffective parts of the
meeting.
a. Student drinking
b. Scholastic dishonesty
c. Housing regulations
d. Student–faculty relations
e. Student government
f. Library
g. Grading standards
h. Attendance policies
i. Varsity athletics
j. Intramural athletics
k. Degree requirements
l. Parking on campus
m. Examination scheduling
n. Administrative policies
o. University calendar
p. Homework requirements
q. Tuition and fees
r. Student evaluation of faculty
s. Community–college relations
t. Maintaining files of old examinations for students
u. Wireless Internet availability
9. Using one of the topics in the above exercise (or another topic as your instructor directs),
work in groups of four to present a solution to the problem you decide to ad- dress. You
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Chapter 10 - Communicating Orally
should meet at least four times. One person should be designated to establish an agenda for
and lead each meeting and another to take minutes at each meeting. Each person in the
group should take a turn leading a meeting and taking minutes. After each meeting, group
members should evaluate the group leader’s abilities. Let your leader know of at least one
strength and one area needing improvement. Submit your agendas, minutes, and leader
evaluations to your instructor as directed. Present your group’s solution to your class as a
short presentation or to your instructor in a memo.
Again, a board or conference room can provide a real-life setting. A good follow-up activity
10. Working in groups of four or five, debate the following statement. As long as the
information they provide is truthful, employers should be able to give a negative reference
without fear of lawsuits or other negative effects for a former employee seeking employment
with another company. Examine arguments that might lead you to agree with the statement
or disagree with it, and come to a consensus. Record the meeting and analyze the group
members’ performances. You may analyze the recording as a group or individually as your
instructor directs. Who emerged as the leader of the discussion? How could you tell this
person was the leader? Did anyone dominate the discussion? Did anyone not participate or
participate very little? Why do you think this person did not participate as much as he or
she could have? What could people in the group do to improve their skills? What did they
do well?
Many students are uncomfortable seeing themselves on video. It’s important, therefore, to make
Talking on the Phone (LO 5)
11. Make a list of bad phone practices that you have experienced or heard about. With a
classmate, first demonstrate the bad practice and then demonstrate how you would handle
it. Some possibilities: rudely putting a caller on hold, using an unfriendly tone,
unintentionally insulting the caller, sounding uninterested.
This phone exercise can produce good in-class performances. We suggest assigning students to
12. Think about your outgoing message on your cell phone or answering machine. For whom is
your message appropriate? Are the voice quality, style, and word choice appropriate? Is it
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Chapter 10 - Communicating Orally
courteous? Is there anyone you would not want to hear this message (e.g., a potential
employer)? Does the message contain sufficient detail? Is it too detailed or too long? In a
memo to your instructor, include the text of your current outgoing message. If your message
needs revision, include the text of your revised message. Explain why you are revising the
message and describe the audience for which you are making the message more
appropriate. If you do not believe your message needs revision, explain how your message
meets the needs of your current audiences. If you do not have a cell phone or answering
machine, borrow a friend’s.
Oral Reports and Public Presentations (LO 6–10)
Scenarios 1-19 in the text provide many rich ideas for oral presentations. Students will want to
apply many of the business communication principles discussed in the course so far, and the
presentation principles shared in this chapter. Consider using the grading rubric that follows the
list of scenarios for evaluation. Follow the grading rubric are checklists students may find helpful
as they prepare their reports and presentations.
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Chapter 10 - Communicating Orally
9. Present a plan for improving some phase of operations on your campus (registration,
academic honesty, housing, grade appeals, library, cafeteria, traffic, curricula, athletics,
computer labs, or the like).
12. Prepare and present a report on how individuals may reduce their federal or state income
tax payments. You probably will want to emphasize the most likely sources of tax
savings, such as tax sheltering and avoiding common errors.
15. As a buyer of men’s (or women’s) clothing, report to the sales personnel of your store on
the fashions for the coming season. You may get the necessary information from
publications in the field.
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Chapter 10 - Communicating Orally
18. Assume again the role described in topic #29, but this time your topic is the comparative
advantages of Prezi, PowerPoint, and SlideRocket. Prepare a report that will help the
bureau’s speakers choose the best tool for a given situation and type of speech.
The following kinds of information might be appropriate to include in your talk:
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Chapter 10 - Communicating Orally
Include at least two Web and two non-Web references in your report (that is, material in a
publication or database).
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Chapter 10 - Communicating Orally
Oral Presentation Evaluation
Presenter
Topic Date
Four aspects of an oral presentation are listed below. Under each of these headings are
descriptions. Circle aspects that are excellent; underline aspects that need improvement; do
nothing with aspects that are average; cross out aspects that are not applicable. Comment on
aspects that are circled or underlined; circle the appropriate rating for each aspect.
CONTENT Comments:
Introduction HIGH
Body 10 9
Conclusion 8 7
Explicit facts and Interpretations 6 5
Preparation 4 3
Use of notes 2 1
Organization LOW
Clarity
Time limit
Thoroughness
NONVERBAL SKILLS Comments: HIGH
Appearance 10 9
Eye contact 8 7
Gestures 6 5
Posture 4 3
2 1
LOW
VOICE Comments: HIGH
Voice volume 10 9
Voice variety 8 7
Effective pauses 6 5
Rate of speech 4 3
Enthusiasm 2 1
Grammar LOW
Enunciation
VISUALS Comments: HIGH
Contribution to presentation 10 9
Neatness 8 7
Visibility 6 5
Clarity 4 3
Correctness
Use
2 1
LOW
OTHER COMMENTS: TOTAL POINTS
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Chapter 10 - Communicating Orally
Checklist #1: Preparing Presentation Slides
Questions about the presentation as a whole:
Is there an attractive, clearly worded, readable title slide?
Does the writer make good use of an outline slide?
Is it titled effectively, and are the items in the list of topics grammatically parallel?
Do the slides seem to cover all the important information?
Do the slides seem to be in the most logical order?
Is there a final slide that sums things up or leaves people with a significant thought or
finding?
Does the whole presentation have a consistent look?
Questions about every slide:
Is there a strong contrast between the background and the text color?
Is there any type that is too small to be read? (Remember, no typeface should be
smaller than 24 points.)
Conversely, is any type too big (yelling)?
Is any typeface hard to read (as with italics or too fancy a font)?
Is there too much or too little information on any slide?
Should any slides be combined or divided up?
If a topic is covered in more than one slide, the title on the subsequent slides should
include “(cont’d).” Is every slide accurately/informatively titled?
Has the writer managed the hierarchy of the information well (not using more than
two levels of information and making clear which is on the top level and which is on
the secondary level)?
Are all headings on the same level grammatically parallel?
Are items in all lists grammatically parallel? Is the wording on each slide clear and
grammatically correct?
If there are borrowed facts or quotes, are the sources named clearly on the slides? Is
each slide visually clean and attractive?
Should/could the writer add visuals anywhere?
Are all visuals appropriately used and clearly labeled?
Are the dynamic elements (e.g., slide transitions) appropriate for the topic and
audience?
Should you use more or less animation at any point?
Checklist #2: Oral Presentation Basics
Be sure your report or speech has a clear, audience-adapted objective.
Organize the talk so that it leads the listeners logically to your conclusion. The
situation may call for either the direct or indirect order.
Plan an engaging beginning.
Plan for appropriate audience participation.
Plan the visuals, if any, that will support your talk.
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Chapter 10 - Communicating Orally
Choose your speaking method (extemporaneous, memorization, reading, or a hybrid).
Choose your presentation tools (if any), and be sure the venue is optimized for your
talk.
Manage any other visual elements of your talk (e.g., your appearance, the
background) to your advantage.
Project confidence, competence, sincerity, and friendliness.
Employ body language to your advantage.
Be relaxed and natural, and use appropriate gestures and facial expressions.
Articulate clearly, pleasantly, and with proper emphasis.
Avoid mumbling and the use of such fillers as ah , er , like , and OK .
Punctuate the presentation with references to well-designed, non-distracting visuals.
Field audience questions and comments with honesty, interest, and professionalism.
End your presentation with a striking quote, statistic, or other comment that will
reinforce your communication purpose.
Provide handouts as needed to enable the audience to follow and use the information.
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