Oral Presentations: 661.150, sections 1 and 2
spring 2009
M: 3:00-5:45 and 6:15-9:00 PM
Dr. Kevin Dungey
dungey@erols.com (phone 410 744-1539; cell 443-562-2383)
Office: Whitehead 104
Office Hours: Mondays, 1:30-2:30 PM, and by appointment
Overview
The goal of this class is simple: I want you to learn how to develop and give
effective oral presentations and be confident doing it. That requires constant
practice. You must organize your presentation so that it is easy to hear and
remember; you must train your voice, body, and mind so that they work in concert
to deliver your talk effectively. You will also learn how to develop effective
supporting graphics using PowerPoint software. (I expect you to learn about this
software mostly on your own. The HAC lab has resources to assist you: They will
provide a self-paced program to help you learn PowerPoint if you tell them that
you are enrolled in this class.)
This is not a lecture class (except as needed to introduce and demonstrate
important concepts). This class is not about mastering a body of content
knowledge or taking tests or writing papers. This class is a workshop; it provides
hands-on opportunities to speak before an audience because that is how you will
learn best. What you decide to speak about is usually going to be your business.
Your topics will always be secondary to your practicing strong oral presentation
skills, good organization, and good delivery.
You will deliver several types of presentations, from a 5-7-minute technical,
informative presentation accompanied by PowerPoint slides, to short impromptu
talks, to job interview questions, to an 8-10 minute persuasive presentation, to
what is called pecha-kucha, 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide, each slide advanced
automatically, delivered in 6 minutes, 40 seconds. All but the first two topics will
be topics of your own choosing. I hope to have you up in front of the class almost
every time we meet. The CA will tape every presentation you make and post it on
WebCT.
Required Books
 A Speaker’s Guidebook, 3rd edition, O’Hair, Dan; Stewart, Rob; Rubenstein,
Hannah; Bedford/St. Martins, Boston/NY: 2007
 Presentation Zen, Garr Reynolds; New Riders; Berkeley, CA: 2008
 The Shortcut to Persuasive Presentations, Larry Tracy, Imprint Books, North
Charleston, SC: 2003
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Academic Integrity
Undergraduate students enrolled in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences or the
Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University assume a duty to
conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to the university’s mission as an
institution of higher learning. Students are obliged to refrain from acts which they
know, or under circumstances have reason to know, violate the academic integrity
of the university. Violations of academic ethics include, but are not limited to
cheating; plagiarizing; submitting the same or substantially similar work to satisfy
the requirements of more than one course without permission; submitting as one’s
own the same or substantially similar work of another; knowingly furnishing false
information to any agent of the university for inclusion in academic records;
falsifying, forging, altering, destroying, or misusing official university documents
or seal.
Questions
Contact me with any questions you have. Please email me at dungey@erols.com.
I will have office hours in Whitehead 104 between 1:30 and 2:30 PM every
Monday I am scheduled to be on campus. If that is not convenient, contact me for
an appointment and I will work out a time and place to meet you on campus. I
encourage you to meet with our CA to practice your talks or to get advice: your
CA has taken the class.
Attendance Policy
You are allowed one excused absence for illness (I will want to see the proof) or
unavoidable conflict (e.g., job interview; athletic event). Excused means that you
have told me about it ahead of time. More than one absence for any reason may
lower your participation points (you can earn up to 10 participation points, which
is 1/10 of the 100 points available for a grade—see below).Lateness is
unprofessional (arriving one minute after class begins, at 3:01 PM or 6:16 PM, is
late). More than one time late may also lower your participation points.
I intend to establish a professional environment. I expect a professional attitude
from you. If some legitimate problem comes up that might keep you from turning
in work on time, you must clear it with me ahead of time; don’t wait until the day
after to tell me why you did not keep up your end of things—I will not be able to
help you. Obviously you cannot be late for or miss a presentation—your
classmates depend on you to deliver when you are scheduled.
Grading
We will develop objective criteria for judging oral presentations, criteria based on
the techniques (such as good eye contact) we discuss and practice. I grade strictly
for what we are working on at the time you deliver. For example, I will evaluate
your first graded assignment only on the structure of your talk. Early assignments
matter just as much as later ones. I assign the following points to our assignments
(100 points total):
Four quizzes (one unannounced)—20 (5 each)
#1: Initial presentation—no points (benchmark evaluation)
#2: PowerPoint team demonstration—5
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#3: Annotated script for technical, informative presentation—10
#4: Technical, informative presentation—10
#5: Impromptu exercise—5
#6: mock interview—5
#7: Seated persuasive presentation—5
#8: Persuasive talk with script—10
#9: Self-critique—10
#10: Pecha-kucha—10
Class Participation—10 (3 response papers, attendance, absence/lateness)
Keep track of the number of points you have earned for each assignment, and you
can keep track of your grade for the term because I grade on a basis of 100 points.
To earn the lowest A-, you must earn 90 points (I do not round up: 89.9 is a very
high B+). An A requires at least 93.50 points.
Syllabus (subject to change)
All readings/assignments must be completed by the day they appear.
1/26
2/2
2/9
2/16
2/23
Introduction to Oral Presentations
Videotape: Speaking to One or One Thousand
Guidance for planning and developing an effective presentation
Organizing an Oral Presentation
Short, prepared in-class presentation: getting to know you [you do
not have to do any preparation for this]
Speaker’s Guidebook [SG], chapters 1-5
Presentation Zen [Zen], Foreword, chapters 1 and 2
Tracy, chapters 1-3, and 26
Assignment #1: Initial (3-4 minutes) Oral Presentation
on an assigned topic—see last page of syllabus
Producing effective graphics/PowerPoint (PPT)
 Response paper #1: write-up of videotape Speaking to One
or One Thousand due in class
Quiz #1- includes today’s readings
SG, 11, 13, 14-16; Zen, 3 and 4; Tracy, 17
Producing Effective PowerPoints
Assignment #2: PowerPoint demonstration (teams)
Tracy, 7-10, 21; SG, 20-22, 23, 28
Zen, chapters 5, 6, 7
Assignment #3: Annotated PPT for technical, informative talk
Quiz #2
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3/2
3/9
Mastering Critical Slide Protocols
Assignment #4: Technical, informative talk (5-7 minutes)
All presentations due in class
 Response paper #2: write-up of first videotape: selfevaluation
Quiz #3
Practicing Vocal Variety and Developing Natural Motion
Assignment #4: Technical, informative talks-continued
SG, 17-19, pages 483-485
3/16
No Class—Spring Break
3/23
Assignment #5: Impromptu exercises
How to deal with impromptu situations/interviews
Tracy, 20
3/30
Assignment #6: Interviews
SG 24-26
 Response paper #3: write-up of Technical Presentation:
evaluation of progress
Zen, chapter 10; SG, 23-25
Becoming Familiar with Persuasive Types of Oral Presentations
4/6
Assignment #7: Seated, reading persuasive presentation
Tracy, 19
4/13
Assignment #8: Persuasive Presentations (8-10 minutes)
4/20
Assignment #8: Persuasive Presentations (8-10 minutes)
4/27
Assignment #10: Pecha-kucha presentations
Assignment #9: Self-critique of final presentation (due via email)
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Assignment #1
Your first talk will be evaluated but not graded. Pick a Public Speaking/Oral
Presentations topic that interests you personally, like dealing with nerves. Find an article
published anywhere on the web on your topic. During your search for a suitable article,
make sure that you consult the Toastmasters’ website; you need not select your article
from it—I want you to know where it is. Please cite the URL and author for the article
you selected when you give your presentation
You will deliver a highlight of the information contained in the article in a 3- to 4-minute
talk for 2/9. It will be taped. If your article is too long to summarize, you must pick what
you can comfortably present in the time allowed. You will also turn in to me a print-out
of the article. Other students may choose the same topic or even the same article that you
have chosen—please don’t worry about this. Trust me that each one will be different.
Practice the good organizing principles we will have talked about. You may choose what
kind of notes you use. You may read what you have written but make eye contact!
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