Oral Communications

In recognition of the relatedness and importance of both written and oral communicative competencies, the Connors Writing Center is expanding its capacity to provide support for the latter. Towards these ends, we will be adding resource material on oral communications to our website and building an oral communications consultation capacity, which will follow the model of our writing conferences in appearance, but will address oral presentation tasks. We hope to have our Oral Communications Consultation Center pilot in place in the Fall of 2008.

Watch these pages for updates and resources.

Video and PowerPoint resources

• "Effective Presentations" [PowerPoint, 1.1 MB]: Prepared and delivered by Peter Masucci, who teaches Marketing in the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at UNH. Although it is not intended as a stand-alone vehicle, it is useful as an outline for preparing a presentation and also as a model when viewed in conjunction with other sources.
• Video: Advice on using (and not using) PowerPoint

Handouts for oral presentations [PDF]

• Reducing public speaking anxiety
• Presentation preparation countdown
• Self-coaching worksheet: Planning content
• Self-coaching worksheet: Delivery

Some useful Web resources

• PowerPoint Rules by Michael W. McLaughlin.
• Five Rules for Better PowerPoint Presentations by Michael Hyatt.
• American Rhetoric, a huge database of speeches (many with video), both "real world" and from the movies.