Write your own humorous material

Go through your speech looking for double meanings of words and phrases; for contrasting relationships between ideas, events, situations and people. All of these are possible sources of humor.
Try free association. Think about your audience: Who do they dislike and why? Who do they like and why? Who are their rivals? What are the hobbies, occupations, and unusual characteristics of well-known people among them? What recent events in the news affect them? What past events? What common sayings or slogans or advertising headlines do they relate to? Take any of these ingredients and search for contrasts, exaggerations, odd juxtapositions, incongruities, ironies. Remember: a joke that relates to the interests of your audience will work three or four times better than one that does not.

9. Hold a silence to demonstrate mastery.Novices are afraid of pause. And they are terrified of silence. Some gabble frantically to prevent the least hesitation in their speech. Indeed, many talented speakers are ruined by breakneck delivery.

Pausation is one of the most effective tools a speaker can use. Pauses in the right places allow significant statements time to sink in; they give the audience space to applaud or to laugh; they separate ideas; they help develop the structure of the speech. Pauses can come at the end of a ‘paragraph’ or group of sentences; at the end of a sentence; in the middle of a sentence; several times within a sentence; or even after every word in a sentence. Pauses can last one second or four or five seconds. Or they can be long ringing silences of eight or ten seconds. Pauses always seem much longer to the speaker than to the audience. This is because he cannot see himself. For the audience, the change of the speaker’s expression, how he moves his head and body, are events that help fill in the gap. To prove this to yourself, record a speech both on a tape recorder and on a video recorder. When the voice tape is played back, some silences will seem quite long; but when the video tape is screened those silences will probably disappear. Silences become awkward when it is obvious they are unintentional. The speaker stops at an inappropriate point, maybe in mid-sentence, his face shows concern, he fumbles with his notes. It is obvious something has gone wrong.

Awkward silences usually occur when the speaker loses concentration and becomes too self-aware. Instead of focusing on what he should be saying, instead of giving out to his listeners, he becomes too conscious of the audience pressing in upon him – and in the worst situation his ‘mind goes blank’. (Actually, it doesn’t go blank. Quite simply he starts thinking of the audience, not of his speech.) The remedy for this is: don’t panic. Above all, don’t look worried. Stay calm as you pick up your thread once more. Generally, however, silences are golden. The ability to hold a long silence and make it seem natural, is the mark of a gifted speaker, which clearly demonstrates his mastery over the audience.

10. Welcome interruptions. Some speakers are terrified that someone will interrupt them with a question or comment. Actually, this is one of the best things that can happen, because it shows that someone in the audience has engaged with what you’re saying, and, if you have the time to offer a brief response, it can actually lead to genuine progress on the point you were making. And two-way conversation (assuming you’re minimally good at it) is always a tension-reducer.

Appendix 4. Oral presentation evaluation form

Name of Presenter _______________________________________________________________________

Topic: _______________________________________________________________________

Rate the speaker on each point listed below by using this scale:

Poor 1

Fair 2

Average 3

Good 4

Excellent 5

Content

______ Extent of coverage

______ Difficulty level of coverage

______ Clarity of coverage

______ Interesting

Organisation

Overall

______ Coherent, good coordination, easy to follow

______ Concise

______ Clear

______ Appropriate

Introduction

______ Gained the audience’s interest and immediate attention

______ Stated purpose clearly

______ Identified the topic and defined the scope of the presentation

Body

______ The main points were supported with details

______ Documented facts where necessary

______ Transitions were made between the main points to enable the listener to follow the development of the presentation

______ Sounded believable

______ Sounded persuasive

______ Informative: something was learnt

Conclusion

______ Signal the ending

______ Summarised main points

______ Closed smoothly

Questions & Discussion

______ Responded to questions well

Visual aids

______ Suitable number

______ Varied

______ Design: clear and well-made

______ Relevance: used appropriate visual aids

______ Used visual aids effectively

Notecards

_____ Used effectively

Delivery

______ Appearance

______ Eye contact

______ Facial expression

______ Hand control

______ Body movements

______ Gesturing

______ Voice: Loudness & softness (in general & for special effects)

______ Speed & pacing (in general & appropriacy of pauses)

______ Humor, relaxed, enthusiasm and interest

______ Confidence of presenter

______ Timing

Language

______ Complexity

______ Grammar

______ Pronunciation

______ Stress & intonation

______ Vocabulary

______ Fluency

Overall

What did you like most about this presentation?

How do you suggest this presentation could be improved?

Appendix 5. Body language

Body language is a form of non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals subconsciously.

· Positive body language
Eye contact Keeps audiences’ attention (Asian audience might feel aggressed.) Facial expressions should be natural and friendly: - raise eyebrows to show surprise -open eyes wide -squint your eyes The hands Gives lots of possibilities to emphasise, to enumerate and to express sincerity or reflexion. Be conscious of what you do with your hands. If you are unhappy, hold notes or cards to occupy them arm – movements back and forth to suggest flow. Open arms to include or welcome ideas.	Body movement Indicates a change of focuskeep audience’s attentionmove forward to emphasizemove to side to indicate a transition gesture. Up and down head motions are movements to indicate importance or acknowledgement. Pen or pointer to indicate part, place (on a transparency) shrug shoulder to indicate I don’t know or care. Posture Stand straight but relaxed (do not slouch or lean sideways). Lean forward to emphasize. No hands in pockets.
· Negative body language
· Failing to make eye contact · Do not look at your notes all the time · Looking at the screen/board means your back is turned to the audience cutting contact · Don’t stare, or look blankly into people’s eyes · Avoid swaying back and forth like a pendulum · Avoid leaning against walls · Be aware of your nervous tics · Do not fold your arms like a barrier While one hand in a pocket gives a very relaxed pose, both hands in pockets looks too casual and should be avoided · Avoid an unblinking stare and the same facial expression. Blink normally and nod your head to show agreement, and that you are still alive and not bored to death. If you are bored, don’t suffer. Go find someone interesting. Life is relatively short. Make the most of it. · Avoid touching face when speaking. Rubbing nose, eyes, ears, head, or neck shows doubt in what you are saying or hearing.	· Avoid mumbling. That is an unconscious need to avoid being heard. Do speak up loudly and with confidence in what you have to say. · Avoid poor pronunciation. Speak a bit slower and get it right. You will attract more people you like being around. · Avoid extraneous body movements that do not positively support what you are saying. Finger drumming, scratching, twitching, and darting eyes around room all discredit what you are saying and your image as a person good to know. · Avoid poor posture. Do stand tall and proud to be you and believe in what you are saying. Losers look like losers a block away. Look like a winner! · Avoid hiding your hands and palms. Evasive people with secrets don’t show their hands. (Women show their soft wrist underside to flirt.) · Avoid touching face when speaking. Rubbing nose, eyes, ears, head, or neck shows doubt in what you are saying or hearing. · Avoid closed body postures, like arms folded across chest.

Appendix6. Samples of grant proposal documents

SAMPLE OF COVER SHEET OF THE PROPOSAL

IREX Special Projects in Library and Information Science with Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia

THE NORTH CAUCASUS AND VOLGA BASIN ACQUISITIONS PROJECT

a proposal submitted by:

Tatjana Lorkovic

Slavic and East European Collections

Sterling Memorial Library

Yale University

New Haven, CT 06520-8240

TEL.: (203) 423-1861

FAX: (203) 423-7231

EMAIL: tlorkov@yalevm.cis.yale.edu

SAMPLE OF TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THE PROPOSAL

The North Caucasus and Volga Basin Acquisitions Project

Contents of this Proposal

Project Summary............................................................................................. 0

Project Description........................................................................................... 0

Reference cited................................................................................................. 0

Biographical sketches...................................................................................... 0

Budget.............................................................................................................. 0

Special information and supplementary documentation............................... 0

SAMPLE OF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE PROPOSAL

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

NAME Hunt, Virginia Lively	POSITION TITLE Associate Professor of Psychology
COMMON USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login)
EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education, such as nursing, include postdoctoral training and residency training if applicable.)
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION	DEGREE (if applicable)	FIELD OF STUDY
University of California, Berkeley	BSc	Psychology
University of Vermont	Ph.D.	Experimental Psychology
University of California, Berkeley	Postdoctoral	Public Health and Epidemiology

Appointments

Positions and Employment

2005- Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Washington

University

2002-2005 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Washington University 2000-2002 Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Middlebury College, Middlebury

2001-2000 Consultant, Coastal Psychological Services, San Francisco, CA

1998-2000 Fellow, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Drug

Abuse