Oral communication
Søren Lophaven
Section for Statistics, IMM
Snl@imm.dtu.dk
Literature:

Mundtlig Formidling
Anne Katrine Lund
Frydenlund
Oral communication:
In this context:
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Not just telling the audience about a
specific subject.
But explaining the subject in a way
which makes it understandable and
interesting.
The pentagram
The pentagram
1. Circumstances

Where and why is the communication
happening, and what does it aim at ?
2 and 3. Subject and audience

What is the topic of the communication,
and who are the listeners ?
The pentagram
4.Language

5.
Does the type of audience or the subject of
the communication require you to use a
specific language ?
Speaker

How to talk, how to make your self
understandable. Control nervousness.
Circumstances
Different types of circumstances:
 Introduction of subject in class room
 Presentation of a project
 Answering of questions
 Debate
 Discussion
 Presentation in exam situations
Presentation of a project
1. Describe your work

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Introduce the subject
Describe the analyses (methodology)
Present your results
2. Evaluate your work

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Discuss the work
Conclude the work
Presentation of a project

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Should be reliable
Do not talk about unneccesary details
Use examples
Answering of questions

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Use short answers
Be well prepared
Debate

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Communicate your opinion
Does not aim at agreement
Convince the audience (Requires a good
and precise argumentation)
Used very much by politicians
Discussion

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Communicate your opinion, but also
oblige (listen to) other people.
Requires respect for others.
Aims at agreement.
Circumstances (summary)
Type of circumstances Keywords
Presentation of a project
Introduce, describe, present,
discuss, conclude
Answering of questions
Well prepared, short
Debate
Convince, communicate
opinion
Discussion
Oblige, communicate opinion
The subject
How to find an interesting subject:
 Look in books
 Look in newspapers
 Take a walk
 Ask other people
 Go to the library
How to get more ideas


Look in books
Brainstorming
How to get more ideas
Brainstorming:
Environmental statistics
Biostatistics
Spatial statistics
Survival
Statistics
Simulation
Clinical trials
Design
Longitudinal data
How to get more ideas
Mind-mapping (spider’s web):
Spatial statistics
Design
Clinical trials
Survival
Longitudinal data
Environmental statistics
Biostatistics
Simulation
Statistics
How to get more ideas
Fast-writing:
 Write fast on a piece of paper for eg. 15
min.
 If you do not know what to write, write
the title of your subject.
How to get more ideas


Ask wh-questions (who,what, where,
when, why) about the subject
Talk with other people about the
subject
The subject

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Limit the subject
Argumentation is important (to convince
or sound reliable)
Use examples to present the subject
The audience

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Who are the listeners ?
What do they know about the subject ?
Are they interested in the subject ?
What do they expect ?
Do they know you ?
Make an agenda

Introduction
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Overview
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Presentation of the agenda
Main part

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Should make the audience interested in listening
The content should be made logical
The end

Conclusions
The language

Adjust the language according to the
circumstances, audience and subject
The language

The eye

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Is able to view a text with
the neccesary breaks
Can focus on specific words
Can go back in the text
Is therefore capable of
understanding complex
texts, with respect to
content and sentence
construction

The ear
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The speed of words is
controlled by the speaker
Cannot go back in the text
Must be supported by the
memory to understand the
context
The speaker
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Practice (six times)
In the situation:
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Take your time
Be aware of body language
Try not to say Øhh
Have eye-contact with the audience
Speak loud and clear
The speaker
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Manuscript
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Full manuscript
Manuscript in a scheme
List of keywords
The speaker (nervousness)
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Symptoms
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Speak too fast
Touch face, hair, pen manuscript etc.
Avoid eye-contact
Make øhh-sounds