WEBVTT

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ATISSA BANUAZIZI: when
you're teaching students

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to communicate
orally effectively,

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giving them a real
living large audience

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ups their game considerably.

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Obviously, like,
nobody wants to do

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a bad job in front of their
peers in front of a group.

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And obviously, that's
important because it replicates

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the kind of talks that
they're likely to be giving,

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say, at conferences.

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However, it may not be wise
to throw them in the deep end

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right away.

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And a lot of times
in classes that do

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have an oral communication
component, that's what happens.

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You know, somebody
isn't necessarily

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an experienced speaker.

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And their first
experience of it is an end

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of the semester presentation.

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And that's very, very difficult
for a lot of students.

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So what I think has worked
really well in this class

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is giving them that
practice over and over again

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in a slightly safer
setting, where

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it's just a couple of people.

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When they give the original
practice oral presentation

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it's not even graded,
so it's safe to fail.

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And that sense of
safety and that sense

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of really building up
stage by stage your skills

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is what gives them
the confidence

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to be skilled communicators
by the end of the semester.

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You know by the time
they finish 8.13,

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there is nobody in
the class who doesn't

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understand what they need to
do to make their presentation

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work.

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You know, the moment of
going into the conference

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room or the classroom
and standing up

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in front of their peers, that
makes it possible, that makes

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it maybe even fun.