1
00:00:05,940 --> 00:00:09,120
ATISSA BANUAZIZI: when
you're teaching students

2
00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:14,290
to communicate
orally effectively,

3
00:00:14,290 --> 00:00:18,730
giving them a real
living large audience

4
00:00:18,730 --> 00:00:20,590
ups their game considerably.

5
00:00:20,590 --> 00:00:23,200
Obviously, like,
nobody wants to do

6
00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:26,990
a bad job in front of their
peers in front of a group.

7
00:00:26,990 --> 00:00:29,800
And obviously, that's
important because it replicates

8
00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,290
the kind of talks that
they're likely to be giving,

9
00:00:32,290 --> 00:00:34,630
say, at conferences.

10
00:00:34,630 --> 00:00:38,440
However, it may not be wise
to throw them in the deep end

11
00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:39,770
right away.

12
00:00:39,770 --> 00:00:42,280
And a lot of times
in classes that do

13
00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,280
have an oral communication
component, that's what happens.

14
00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:47,260
You know, somebody
isn't necessarily

15
00:00:47,260 --> 00:00:49,360
an experienced speaker.

16
00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:55,000
And their first
experience of it is an end

17
00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,250
of the semester presentation.

18
00:00:57,250 --> 00:01:00,760
And that's very, very difficult
for a lot of students.

19
00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,900
So what I think has worked
really well in this class

20
00:01:04,900 --> 00:01:09,010
is giving them that
practice over and over again

21
00:01:09,010 --> 00:01:11,470
in a slightly safer
setting, where

22
00:01:11,470 --> 00:01:15,010
it's just a couple of people.

23
00:01:15,010 --> 00:01:19,300
When they give the original
practice oral presentation

24
00:01:19,300 --> 00:01:24,040
it's not even graded,
so it's safe to fail.

25
00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:26,830
And that sense of
safety and that sense

26
00:01:26,830 --> 00:01:30,850
of really building up
stage by stage your skills

27
00:01:30,850 --> 00:01:33,190
is what gives them
the confidence

28
00:01:33,190 --> 00:01:36,850
to be skilled communicators
by the end of the semester.

29
00:01:36,850 --> 00:01:40,810
You know by the time
they finish 8.13,

30
00:01:40,810 --> 00:01:47,550
there is nobody in
the class who doesn't

31
00:01:47,550 --> 00:01:52,320
understand what they need to
do to make their presentation

32
00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,110
work.

33
00:01:55,110 --> 00:01:59,550
You know, the moment of
going into the conference

34
00:01:59,550 --> 00:02:02,160
room or the classroom
and standing up

35
00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:06,420
in front of their peers, that
makes it possible, that makes

36
00:02:06,420 --> 00:02:08,750
it maybe even fun.