oral presentation presentations

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

• Carmine Gallo

Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

• Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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How to prepare and deliver an effective oral presentation

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• Peer review
• Lucia Hartigan , registrar 1 ,
• Fionnuala Mone , fellow in maternal fetal medicine 1 ,
• Mary Higgins , consultant obstetrician 2
• 1 National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
• 2 National Maternity Hospital, Dublin; Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medicine and Medical Sciences, University College Dublin
• luciahartigan{at}hotmail.com

The success of an oral presentation lies in the speaker’s ability to transmit information to the audience. Lucia Hartigan and colleagues describe what they have learnt about delivering an effective scientific oral presentation from their own experiences, and their mistakes

The objective of an oral presentation is to portray large amounts of often complex information in a clear, bite sized fashion. Although some of the success lies in the content, the rest lies in the speaker’s skills in transmitting the information to the audience. 1

Preparation

It is important to be as well prepared as possible. Look at the venue in person, and find out the time allowed for your presentation and for questions, and the size of the audience and their backgrounds, which will allow the presentation to be pitched at the appropriate level.

See what the ambience and temperature are like and check that the format of your presentation is compatible with the available computer. This is particularly important when embedding videos. Before you begin, look at the video on stand-by and make sure the lights are dimmed and the speakers are functioning.

For visual aids, Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Mac Keynote programmes are usual, although Prezi is increasing in popularity. Save the presentation on a USB stick, with email or cloud storage backup to avoid last minute disasters.

When preparing the presentation, start with an opening slide containing the title of the study, your name, and the date. Begin by addressing and thanking the audience and the organisation that has invited you to speak. Typically, the format includes background, study aims, methodology, results, strengths and weaknesses of the study, and conclusions.

If the study takes a lecturing format, consider including “any questions?” on a slide before you conclude, which will allow the audience to remember the take home messages. Ideally, the audience should remember three of the main points from the presentation. 2

Have a maximum of four short points per slide. If you can display something as a diagram, video, or a graph, use this instead of text and talk around it.

Animation is available in both Microsoft PowerPoint and the Apple Mac Keynote programme, and its use in presentations has been demonstrated to assist in the retention and recall of facts. 3 Do not overuse it, though, as it could make you appear unprofessional. If you show a video or diagram don’t just sit back—use a laser pointer to explain what is happening.

Rehearse your presentation in front of at least one person. Request feedback and amend accordingly. If possible, practise in the venue itself so things will not be unfamiliar on the day. If you appear comfortable, the audience will feel comfortable. Ask colleagues and seniors what questions they would ask and prepare responses to these questions.

It is important to dress appropriately, stand up straight, and project your voice towards the back of the room. Practise using a microphone, or any other presentation aids, in advance. If you don’t have your own presenting style, think of the style of inspirational scientific speakers you have seen and imitate it.

Try to present slides at the rate of around one slide a minute. If you talk too much, you will lose your audience’s attention. The slides or videos should be an adjunct to your presentation, so do not hide behind them, and be proud of the work you are presenting. You should avoid reading the wording on the slides, but instead talk around the content on them.

Maintain eye contact with the audience and remember to smile and pause after each comment, giving your nerves time to settle. Speak slowly and concisely, highlighting key points.

Do not assume that the audience is completely familiar with the topic you are passionate about, but don’t patronise them either. Use every presentation as an opportunity to teach, even your seniors. The information you are presenting may be new to them, but it is always important to know your audience’s background. You can then ensure you do not patronise world experts.

To maintain the audience’s attention, vary the tone and inflection of your voice. If appropriate, use humour, though you should run any comments or jokes past others beforehand and make sure they are culturally appropriate. Check every now and again that the audience is following and offer them the opportunity to ask questions.

Finishing up is the most important part, as this is when you send your take home message with the audience. Slow down, even though time is important at this stage. Conclude with the three key points from the study and leave the slide up for a further few seconds. Do not ramble on. Give the audience a chance to digest the presentation. Conclude by acknowledging those who assisted you in the study, and thank the audience and organisation. If you are presenting in North America, it is usual practice to conclude with an image of the team. If you wish to show references, insert a text box on the appropriate slide with the primary author, year, and paper, although this is not always required.

Answering questions can often feel like the most daunting part, but don’t look upon this as negative. Assume that the audience has listened and is interested in your research. Listen carefully, and if you are unsure about what someone is saying, ask for the question to be rephrased. Thank the audience member for asking the question and keep responses brief and concise. If you are unsure of the answer you can say that the questioner has raised an interesting point that you will have to investigate further. Have someone in the audience who will write down the questions for you, and remember that this is effectively free peer review.

Be proud of your achievements and try to do justice to the work that you and the rest of your group have done. You deserve to be up on that stage, so show off what you have achieved.

Competing interests: We have read and understood the BMJ Group policy on declaration of interests and declare the following interests: None.

• ↵ Rovira A, Auger C, Naidich TP. How to prepare an oral presentation and a conference. Radiologica 2013 ; 55 (suppl 1): 2 -7S. OpenUrl
• ↵ Bourne PE. Ten simple rules for making good oral presentations. PLos Comput Biol 2007 ; 3 : e77 . OpenUrl PubMed
• ↵ Naqvi SH, Mobasher F, Afzal MA, Umair M, Kohli AN, Bukhari MH. Effectiveness of teaching methods in a medical institute: perceptions of medical students to teaching aids. J Pak Med Assoc 2013 ; 63 : 859 -64. OpenUrl

How to make a great presentation

Stressed about an upcoming presentation? These talks are full of helpful tips on how to get up in front of an audience and make a lasting impression.

The secret structure of great talks

The beauty of data visualization

TED's secret to great public speaking

How to speak so that people want to listen

How great leaders inspire action

24 Oral Presentations

Many academic courses require students to present information to their peers and teachers in a classroom setting. This is usually in the form of a short talk, often, but not always, accompanied by visual aids such as a power point. Students often become nervous at the idea of speaking in front of a group.

This chapter is divided under five headings to establish a quick reference guide for oral presentations.

A beginner, who may have little or no experience, should read each section in full.

For the intermediate learner, who has some experience with oral presentations, review the sections you feel you need work on.

The Purpose of an Oral Presentation

Generally, oral presentation is public speaking, either individually or as a group, the aim of which is to provide information, entertain, persuade the audience, or educate. In an academic setting, oral presentations are often assessable tasks with a marking criteria. Therefore, students are being evaluated on their capacity to speak and deliver relevant information within a set timeframe. An oral presentation differs from a speech in that it usually has visual aids and may involve audience interaction; ideas are both shown and explained . A speech, on the other hand, is a formal verbal discourse addressing an audience, without visual aids and audience participation.

Types of Oral Presentations

Individual presentation.

• Breathe and remember that everyone gets nervous when speaking in public. You are in control. You’ve got this!
• Know your content. The number one way to have a smooth presentation is to know what you want to say and how you want to say it. Write it down and rehearse it until you feel relaxed and confident and do not have to rely heavily on notes while speaking.
• Eliminate ‘umms’ and ‘ahhs’ from your oral presentation vocabulary. Speak slowly and clearly and pause when you need to. It is not a contest to see who can race through their presentation the fastest or fit the most content within the time limit. The average person speaks at a rate of 125 words per minute. Therefore, if you are required to speak for 10 minutes, you will need to write and practice 1250 words for speaking. Ensure you time yourself and get it right.
• Ensure you meet the requirements of the marking criteria, including non-verbal communication skills. Make good eye contact with the audience; watch your posture; don’t fidget.
• Know the language requirements. Check if you are permitted to use a more casual, conversational tone and first-person pronouns, or do you need to keep a more formal, academic tone?

Group Presentation

• All of the above applies, however you are working as part of a group. So how should you approach group work?
• Firstly, if you are not assigned to a group by your lecturer/tutor, choose people based on their availability and accessibility. If you cannot meet face-to-face you may schedule online meetings.
• Get to know each other. It’s easier to work with friends than strangers.
• Also consider everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. This will involve a discussion that will often lead to task or role allocations within the group, however, everyone should be carrying an equal level of the workload.
• Some group members may be more focused on getting the script written, with a different section for each team member to say. Others may be more experienced with the presentation software and skilled in editing and refining power point slides so they are appropriate for the presentation. Use one visual aid (one set of power point slides) for the whole group. Take turns presenting information and ideas.
• Be patient and tolerant with each other’s learning style and personality. Do not judge people in your group based on their personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender, age, or cultural background.
• Rehearse as a group, more than once. Keep rehearsing until you have seamless transitions between speakers. Ensure you thank the previous speaker and introduce the one following you. If you are rehearsing online, but have to present in-person, try to schedule some face-to-face time that will allow you to physically practice using the technology and classroom space of the campus.
• For further information on working as a group see:

Working as a group – my.UQ – University of Queensland

Writing Your Presentation

Approach the oral presentation task just as you would any other assignment. Review the available topics, do some background reading and research to ensure you can talk about the topic for the appropriate length of time and in an informed manner. Break the question down as demonstrated in Chapter 17 Breaking Down an Assignment. Where it differs from writing an essay is that the information in the written speech must align with the visual aid. Therefore, with each idea, concept or new information you write, think about how this might be visually displayed through minimal text and the occasional use of images. Proceed to write your ideas in full, but consider that not all information will end up on a power point slide. After all, it is you who are doing the presenting , not the power point. Your presentation skills are being evaluated; this may include a small percentage for the actual visual aid. This is also why it is important that EVERYONE has a turn at speaking during the presentation, as each person receives their own individual grade.

Using Visual Aids

A whole chapter could be written about the visual aids alone, therefore I will simply refer to the key points as noted by my.UQ

To keep your audience engaged and help them to remember what you have to say, you may want to use visual aids, such as slides.

When designing slides for your presentation, make sure:

• any text is brief, grammatically correct and easy to read. Use dot points and space between lines, plus large font size (18-20 point).
• Resist the temptation to use dark slides with a light-coloured font; it is hard on the eyes
• if images and graphs are used to support your main points, they should be non-intrusive on the written work

Images and Graphs

• Your audience will respond better to slides that deliver information quickly – images and graphs are a good way to do this. However, they are not always appropriate or necessary.

When choosing images, it’s important to find images that:

• support your presentation and aren’t just decorative
• are high quality, however, using large HD picture files can make the power point file too large overall for submission via Turnitin
• you have permission to use (Creative Commons license, royalty-free, own images, or purchased)
• suggested sites for free-to-use images: Openclipart – Clipping Culture ; Beautiful Free Images & Pictures | Unsplash ; Pxfuel – Royalty free stock photos free download ; When we share, everyone wins – Creative Commons

This is a general guide. The specific requirements for your course may be different. Make sure you read through any assignment requirements carefully and ask your lecturer or tutor if you’re unsure how to meet them.

Using Visual Aids Effectively

Too often, students make an impressive power point though do not understand how to use it effectively to enhance their presentation.

• Rehearse with the power point.
• Keep the slides synchronized with your presentation; change them at the appropriate time.
• Refer to the information on the slides. Point out details; comment on images; note facts such as data.
• Don’t let the power point just be something happening in the background while you speak.
• Write notes in your script to indicate when to change slides or which slide number the information applies to.
• Pace yourself so you are not spending a disproportionate amount of time on slides at the beginning of the presentation and racing through them at the end.
• Practice, practice, practice.

Nonverbal Communication

It is clear by the name that nonverbal communication are the ways that we communicate without speaking. Many people are already aware of this, however here are a few tips that relate specifically to oral presentations.

Being confident and looking confident are two different things. Fake it until you make it.

• Avoid slouching or leaning – standing up straight instantly gives you an air of confidence.
• Move! When you’re glued to one spot as a presenter, you’re not perceived as either confident or dynamic. Use the available space effectively, though do not exaggerate your natural movements so you look ridiculous.
• If you’re someone who “speaks with their hands”, resist the urge to constantly wave them around. They detract from your message. Occasional gestures are fine.
• Be animated, but don’t fidget. Ask someone to watch you rehearse and identify if you have any nervous, repetitive habits you may be unaware of, for example, constantly touching or ‘finger-combing’ your hair, rubbing your face.
• Avoid ‘voice fidgets’ also. If you needs to cough or clear your throat, do so once then take a drink of water.
• Avoid distractions. No phone turned on. Water available but off to one side.
• Keep your distance. Don’t hover over front-row audience members; this can be intimidating.
• Have a cheerful demeaner. You do not need to grin like a Cheshire cat throughout the presentation, yet your facial expression should be relaxed and welcoming.
• Maintain an engaging TONE in your voice. Sometimes it’s not what you’re saying that is putting your audience to sleep, it’s your monotonous tone. Vary your tone and pace.
• Don’t read your presentation – PRESENT it! Internalize your script so you can speak with confidence and only occasionally refer to your notes if needed.
• Lastly, make good eye contact with your audience members so they know you are talking with them, not at them. You’re having a conversation. Watch the link below for some great speaking tips, including eye contact.

Below is a video of some great tips about public speaking from Amy Wolff at TEDx Portland [1]

• Wolff. A. [The Oregonion]. (2016, April 9). 5 public speaking tips from TEDxPortland speaker coach [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOXZumCXNM&ab_channel=TheOregonian ↵

communication of thought by word

Academic Writing Skills Copyright © 2021 by Patricia Williamson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Oral Presentation Structure

Finally, presentations normally include interaction in the form of questions and answers. This is a great opportunity to provide whatever additional information the audience desires. For fear of omitting something important, most speakers try to say too much in their presentations. A better approach is to be selective in the presentation itself and to allow enough time for questions and answers and, of course, to prepare well by anticipating the questions the audience might have.

As a consequence, and even more strongly than papers, presentations can usefully break the chronology typically used for reporting research. Instead of presenting everything that was done in the order in which it was done, a presentation should focus on getting a main message across in theorem-proof fashion — that is, by stating this message early and then presenting evidence to support it. Identifying this main message early in the preparation process is the key to being selective in your presentation. For example, when reporting on materials and methods, include only those details you think will help convince the audience of your main message — usually little, and sometimes nothing at all.

The opening

• The context as such is best replaced by an attention getter , which is a way to both get everyone's attention fast and link the topic with what the audience already knows (this link provides a more audience-specific form of context).
• The object of the document is here best called the preview because it outlines the body of the presentation. Still, the aim of this element is unchanged — namely, preparing the audience for the structure of the body.
• The opening of a presentation can best state the presentation's main message , just before the preview. The main message is the one sentence you want your audience to remember, if they remember only one. It is your main conclusion, perhaps stated in slightly less technical detail than at the end of your presentation.

In other words, include the following five items in your opening: attention getter , need , task , main message , and preview .

Even if you think of your presentation's body as a tree, you will still deliver the body as a sequence in time — unavoidably, one of your main points will come first, one will come second, and so on. Organize your main points and subpoints into a logical sequence, and reveal this sequence and its logic to your audience with transitions between points and between subpoints. As a rule, place your strongest arguments first and last, and place any weaker arguments between these stronger ones.

The closing

After supporting your main message with evidence in the body, wrap up your oral presentation in three steps: a review , a conclusion , and a close . First, review the main points in your body to help the audience remember them and to prepare the audience for your conclusion. Next, conclude by restating your main message (in more detail now that the audience has heard the body) and complementing it with any other interpretations of your findings. Finally, close the presentation by indicating elegantly and unambiguously to your audience that these are your last words.

Starting and ending forcefully

Revealing your presentation's structure.

To be able to give their full attention to content, audience members need structure — in other words, they need a map of some sort (a table of contents, an object of the document, a preview), and they need to know at any time where they are on that map. A written document includes many visual clues to its structure: section headings, blank lines or indentations indicating paragraphs, and so on. In contrast, an oral presentation has few visual clues. Therefore, even when it is well structured, attendees may easily get lost because they do not see this structure. As a speaker, make sure you reveal your presentation's structure to the audience, with a preview , transitions , and a review .

The preview provides the audience with a map. As in a paper, it usefully comes at the end of the opening (not too early, that is) and outlines the body, not the entire presentation. In other words, it needs to include neither the introduction (which has already been delivered) nor the conclusion (which is obvious). In a presentation with slides, it can usefully show the structure of the body on screen. A slide alone is not enough, however: You must also verbally explain the logic of the body. In addition, the preview should be limited to the main points of the presentation; subpoints can be previewed, if needed, at the beginning of each main point.

Transitions are crucial elements for revealing a presentation's structure, yet they are often underestimated. As a speaker, you obviously know when you are moving from one main point of a presentation to another — but for attendees, these shifts are never obvious. Often, attendees are so involved with a presentation's content that they have no mental attention left to guess at its structure. Tell them where you are in the course of a presentation, while linking the points. One way to do so is to wrap up one point then announce the next by creating a need for it: "So, this is the microstructure we observe consistently in the absence of annealing. But how does it change if we anneal the sample at 450°C for an hour or more? That's my next point. Here is . . . "

Similarly, a review of the body plays an important double role. First, while a good body helps attendees understand the evidence, a review helps them remember it. Second, by recapitulating all the evidence, the review effectively prepares attendees for the conclusion. Accordingly, make time for a review: Resist the temptation to try to say too much, so that you are forced to rush — and to sacrifice the review — at the end.

Ideally, your preview, transitions, and review are well integrated into the presentation. As a counterexample, a preview that says, "First, I am going to talk about . . . , then I will say a few words about . . . and finally . . . " is self-centered and mechanical: It does not tell a story. Instead, include your audience (perhaps with a collective we ) and show the logic of your structure in view of your main message.

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How to Prepare and Give a Scholarly Oral Presentation

• First Online: 01 January 2020

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• Cheryl Gore-Felton 2  

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Building an academic reputation is one of the most important functions of an academic faculty member, and one of the best ways to build a reputation is by giving scholarly presentations, particularly those that are oral presentations. Earning the reputation of someone who can give an excellent talk often results in invitations to give keynote addresses at regional and national conferences, which increases a faculty member’s visibility along with their area of research. Given the importance of oral presentations, it is surprising that few graduate or medical programs provide courses on how to give a talk. This is unfortunate because there are skills that can be learned and strategies that can be used to improve the ability to give an interesting, well-received oral presentation. To that end, the aim of this chapter is to provide faculty with best practices and tips on preparing and giving an academic oral presentation.

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Strategies for the Preparation and Delivery of Oral Presentation

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Krantz WB. Presenting an effective and dynamic technical paper: a guidebook for novice and experienced speakers in a multicultural world. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2017.

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Gore-Felton, C. (2020). How to Prepare and Give a Scholarly Oral Presentation. In: Roberts, L. (eds) Roberts Academic Medicine Handbook. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31957-1_42

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How to Do an Oral Presentation

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This article was co-authored by Vikas Agrawal . Vikas Agrawal is a Visual Content Marketing Expert & Entrepreneur, as well as the Founder of Full Service Creative Agency Infobrandz. With over 10 years of experience, he specializes in designing visually engaging content, such as infographics, videos, and e-books. He’s an expert in Making content marketing strategies and has contributed to and been featured in many publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur.com, and INC.com. This article has been viewed 49,286 times.

The power of words can control the thoughts, emotions and the decisions of others. Giving an oral presentation can be a challenge, but with the right plan and delivery, you can move an entire audience in your favor.

Researching Your Presentation

• If speaking about the effect of junk food on an adult’s mind, include the increase of serotonin, a happiness hormone. Then inform the audience how fast the hormone drastically depletes to give out worse feelings. This gives the perspective that even the advantages of junk food are outweighed by the negative effects.

Writing Your Script

• Make sure to begin each argument with a clear description of the content such as. "The result of eating junk food has increased negative emotions such as depression, anxiety and low self-esteem". This gives the audience a quick outlook of what the argument is about. Always remember to state how the argument relates and supports the topic question.

• If necessary, this is where you could include, "My name is ___ and I will be speaking about the effect on junk food on our minds." Then you include a brief out view of each argument you will be speaking about. Do not include any information about your arguments in the introduction.

• Some example concluding sentences include, "The entire process of the mind, changed by a simple bite of a cookie. Our entire body's control system, defined by our choices of food. The definite truth. You are what you eat."

Practicing and Performing

• Taking the effort to memorize your script allows you to keep eye contact with the audience and brings confidence to your speech. Reading from an entire script can easily cause you to lose your place and stutter. Also make sure they are the same size and only put important key words or those that are hard to remember. This allows you to easily flip through and read off the cue cards.

What Is The Best Way To Start a Presentation?

Expert Q&A

• Research persuasive language techniques. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
• Watch online speeches to get an idea of how to tone your presentation. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
• Color code each sentence on your cue cards to never lose track. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1

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• ↑ https://www.princeton.edu/~archss/webpdfs08/BaharMartonosi.pdf
• ↑ https://education.seattlepi.com/give-good-speech-presentations-college-1147.html

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Ten Steps to Preparing an Effective Oral Presentation

• Determine the purpose of your presentation and identify your own objectives.
• Know your audience and what it knows.
• Define your topic.
• Arrange your material in a way that makes sense for your objectives.
• Compose your presentation.
• Create visual aids.
• Practice your presentation (don’t forget to time it!)
• Make necessary adjustments.
• Analyze the room where you’ll be giving your presentation (set-up, sight lines, equipment, etc.).
• Practice again.
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With some thoughtful reflection and minor modification, student presentations can be as valuable online as they are in person. In deciding how to modify your assignment for remote teaching, it is key to reflect on what you hoped to assess about your students' learning through their presentations in the first place. Were you looking to evaluate how they make an argument in a new form, conduct research, work together in a group, and/or learn to use visuals? You may have had many objectives for your assignment. You still might be able to fulfill all of them; however, you may need to consider modifying or removing one of them if it would be difficult to include all of them in one assignment. (E.g. given that it is difficult for students in disparate locations to present together, it may be worth asking whether it is more important for students to demonstrate their ability to work together to prepare the presentation, or to make an argument on the spot. If you want to assess both, do you need to modify your assignment to have some individual components and some group components?)

Below we suggest three ways to incorporate student presentations into a remote class: (1) live via Zoom ; (2) pre-recorded via Zoom ; and (3) narrated slide decks . (It is also possible to have students submit pre-recorded presentations via Canvas’ media recording function, but we find this option to be less effective than the other three options presented here.)

Live Presentations in Zoom

• courses in which all students have reliable access to the internet and are comfortable with Zoom functions such as screenshare.
• attempting to reproduce the interactivity or spontaneity of live presentations in a classroom.
• assessing/providing feedback on students’ ability to present (and possibly field questions) "live."

Pre-recorded Presentations in Zoom

• presentations that do not rely heavily/exclusively on slides (although a student can use Zoom to record a presentation that includes a slide show).

Here's one way to have students give pre-recorded oral presentations (with or without accompanying visuals) using Zoom. If students are presenting using a slide deck, it may be easier to have them record their presentations directly into Powerpoint and submit those.

1. How to record a student presentation

Students can use Zoom ( harvard.zoom.us ) to create a permanent link that can function as a sort of "private video studio"; any time they go back to their Zoom account and click on the link, it will start a solo "meeting" that is recorded until they either stop the recording or leave the meeting. This is a great way for them to record themselves giving a presentation which they can share with others, in any of their courses. Your students will have all of the capabilities that any Zoom meeting host has—for example, they will be able to share a slideshow or other piece of media from their screen while they talk. Here’s how they can do it:

• Navigate to harvard.zoom.us and login. They should see the button to “Schedule a new meeting” right near the top of the screen. They should select that option. 
• They can name the meeting anything they like—maybe something like “My personal recording studio”—and leave the description blank.
• Continuing onward, they should ignore the “When,” “Duration,” and “Timezone” prompts, and skip right to the checkbox for “Recurring meeting.” They should turn that on.
• In the “Recurrence” dropdown menu, they should select “No Fixed Time,” which will cause all of the date and time information to disappear—that’s good, and means they have succeeded in creating a link that they can re-use again and again.
• Skipping further down the page, they can ignore many of the other options, but they should make sure that “Video” is set to “on” for the host, and that “Audio” is set to “Both.” (These are probably their default options.)
• Finally, make sure that they check the last checkbox, “Record the meeting automatically,” and choose “In the cloud."
• After making their selections, they should click “Save.”
• Now, whenever they visit the “My meetings” page within harvard.zoom.us , they’ll see “My personal recording studio” at the top of the list and can use it to record themselves for any reason, including your presentation.
• While recording, they can speak to the camera, share a slideshow or other media while they talk, etc. Whenever they are sharing something on your screen, the resulting recording will capture what they are sharing fullscreen and overlay the student as a talking head in a small window in the upper righthand corner. Encourage your students to try a quick dry run and then watch the video (see the next step, below) to think through how they want to use (or not use) slides/images/sound in your presentation.
• Whenever they make a recording, the resulting video will automatically appear in their account within a few minutes to an hour after they finish, and they’ll be able to access it by clicking on “Recordings” in the left-side menu in harvard.zoom.us . They can watch it there to make sure they are happy with it; if not, they just need to go back into their “studio” again and re-record. They can delete recordings they don’t want to use (or just leave them there—there’s no penalty to having lots of recordings in an account). (They can also change the beginning and ending time of their presentations using the editing tool in Zoom, though we would recommend that instructors not overemphasize these kinds of polishing touches in assessing the clarity/sophistication/creativity/etc. of the presentation itself.)
• When it comes time for them to share their videos, they will be able to do so through a secure link. More on that next.

2. How to share a presentation with teaching staff

You and your teaching staff will need to let your students know how you would like to receive access to their recorded presentation—whether by email, uploading to Canvas, etc. Your students will be able to share their presentations through any of those methods by sharing a secure link. Students can retrieve that link by:

• Navigating to the “Recordings” page in the left side menu of harvard.zoom.us , and identifying the video they’d like to share with you.
• To the right of the video, they’ll see a “Share” button. They should click that.
• In the dialog box that pops up, students will need to make sure to turn on “Share this recording” and select “Only authenticated users can view.” They should leave the other options turned off.
• Students should look for the link for their recording toward the bottom of the gray box. Once they find it, they should highlight it with their mouse, and copy it.
• They can share that link by pasting it into an email, Canvas, etc.—however you’ve asked to receive it. That’s it!

3. How to share a presentation with peers / generate asynchronous discussion

As the instructor, you can choose to give students individual feedback on the recordings they share with you. But you can also choose to share them with your class and to create opportunities for peer feedback by using the same link through which students shared their videos with you. You might, for example, create a Canvas discussion forum for each student presenter, paste the link for the respective student’s video in the prompt (which will lead Canvas to embed the video right in the page), and encourage their classmates to watch their presentation and leave feedback or questions in the discussion forum.

Narrated Slide Decks

• Projects where students were already asked to create slide decks.
• Presentations where the slide deck matters more than seeing the student talk about the slide deck (this format can be helpful for students who have had difficult participating synchronously and/or using their camera).

It is relatively easy for students to record over a PowerPoint presentation. They can insert an audio file on each page by selecting the “Insert” tab and then the “Audio” icon. Students can also create narrated presentations that include slide transitions. Microsoft offers useful advice on how to record a presentation with slide transitions and narration. (N.B. Students could use Google Slides, but they would have to pre-record the audio, which they could do using their phone or Quicktime if they have a Mac.)

If your students are creating a presentation with transitions, here are some tips for recording:

• To pause recording, use the option from the menu bar
• To record narration on your last slide, you need to advance to the black screen that tells you the slide show has ended before ending the recording
• PowerPoint will not record while slides are transitioning so it can be helpful to build in a pause before transitioning to the next slide
• If you have transitions between the slides, you may need to change them so they do not truncate your audio recording

You can use similar strategies to those described in the section on pre-recording presentations in Zoom to share the recordings and create discussion.

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Jerz's Literacy Weblog (est. 1999)

Oral presentation tips: how to deliver a speech for school or work.

Jerz >  Writing > [ Academic |  Technical ] This document briefly describes how to  write and deliver a formal oral presentation on an academic or professional subject. It should be useful for anyone who wants to know how to speak in public.

Note: by “formal presentation,” I don’t necessarily mean a Shakespeare monologue or a scientific treatise on robot-assisted microsurgery. Giving an oral presentation on  any subject–your favorite book, current events, a family story–can be “formal” and “technical” whenever its primary purpose is to communicate complex information.

The  content is the most obvious component of any oral presentation — after all, if you are talking, you had better have something worthwhile to say.  But a presentation is only as effective as its  delivery .

Part 1: Planning the Content

1.  Determine your goals. 2.  Prepare your material. 3.  Study a model. 4.  Arrange with your strongest points first . 5. Practice, practice, practice .

Part 2: Delivering the Content

6.  Make eye contact with your audience. 7. Engage actively with the audience. 8. A slide show is not a speech. 9.  Watch the time! 10.  Take questions in the middle, not the end?

1) Determine Your Goals as a Speaker

2) Prepare your material

Plan. Practice. Keep what’s good and try again. 

Good speakers usually aim to look like they are speaking effortlessly, tossing off words as they come to mind. What you don’t see is the preparation that paved the way for the polished performance. It’s all an act! You can do it too, if you plan ahead.

Once you know what your goal is, and you know what your audience wants, you can start strategizing. There is no single strategy that will guarantee success. How you plan depends on many variables.

How many minutes long is your speech? About how many words do you speak per minute?

Will your audience be lost if you use jargon? Will they feel talked down to if you spend time defining terms they already know?

Do you expect that your audience will disagree with you? (If so, you might need to give more examples and more evidence and spend more time addressing reasonable objections in order to sound convincing, which may mean talking a little faster.)

Do you expect your audience already agrees with the position you will take? (If so, they may check out if your speech simply rehashes arguments they already accept without question. What can you say to an audience that already agrees with you? Why would you listen to a speaker who is restating things you already accept as the truth?)

Graphics, inspirational quotations, and anecdotes are all well-respected methods of maintaining audience interest. However, Pinterest clip art, fancy computer transitions between slides, and vaudeville tricks get old pretty quickly (see Don McMillan’s hilarious “ Death by Powerpoint “), and they eat up time that you could use more effectively.

3) Study a Model

The internet is of course full of examples of good speeches, but the YouTube users who vote on videos may not have much in common with the audience who will hear your oral presentation.

Do you have access to speeches that your discourse community values? Your instructor or supervisor may not have ready access to video recordings from last year’s class or last quarter’s budget meeting, but you can pay attention to the speaking techniques deployed by people with authority in your field.

For instance, I have a colleague who never says, “This is taking too long, and I’m watching the clock, so let’s get on with it already.” Instead, this person says, “I’m conscious of everyone’s time, so shall we move on to the next item?”

Bear in mind that

• if you have been assigned to deliver a speech that defends a position on a topic (such as, whether Huckleberry Finn should be taught in middle school)…
• but your instructor usually refrains from stating any one answer is the best (preferring instead to present several viewpoints and letting the students decide for themselves)…
• then your instructor’s open-ended lecture (intended to spark a discussion) is not a good model of a position statement (intended to showcase your ability to latch onto a specific solution).

While this handout aims to provide general tips, you should ignore any general tip that contradicts something specific you learn about the goals, context, or genre of the specific speech you are preparing.

General Model

Successful oral presentations typically share some basic characteristics, owing to the nature of the spoken word.

• Tell them what you’re going to tell them.
• Tell them what you told them.

When we read, we can go back and reread passages we skimmed over the first time, and we can skip ahead when we’re bored. In a live oral presentation, the audience can’t re-read or skip ahead. If the audience doesn’t know why they are listening to your anecdote about winning the spelling bee, or why they should care what version of the software was installed on the computer that you used to crunch your numbers, their attention will wander and it will be hard to get it back.

When we listen, we gratefully cling to orientation phrases that help us understand what the whole shape of a speech is, where we are within the overall structure, and when we are transitioning from one section to another.

Your specific occasion for delivering a speech may involve specific contextual details that don’t mesh with the general advice I’m providing here.

• Introduction :   "I am Pinky J. Witzowitz from the U.S. Department of Bureaucracy, and I have been asked to speak for 20 minutes on 'The Government's Plan for Preventing Situation X in America's Heartland.'"
• "Situation X is the worst thing that can happen to you and your family." [ Startling claim ; follow up by citing the source of this quote, or giving evidence that supports it.]
• "It happened once to a family in Dubuque, and they were never heard from again." [ Anecdote ; follow up with details.]
• "I am here today to tell you how to prevent this terrible tragedy from striking you." [ Demonstrates relevance ; move directly to your  road map ]
• Main Content :  Put up a slide with topics to cover, a specific problem to solve, or a series of questions to answer. Promise that your talk will address the material on that slide. You might even return to that slide each time you start a new subsection, with the current place in the talk highlighted.

• Questions/Comments from the Audience? Even though most people save the question period until the end, they lose the opportunity to modify their conclusion to address the interests of the audience.
• Recap :  Our earnest “Situation X” speaker might give microencapsulated answers to all the questions on the main road map:  "We have learned that Situation X is a blah blah blah; that we should all care about it because yada, yada, yada..."
• Wrap it up : After reminding the audience how all these factors fit together, the speaker might say,  "Now that you understand how the U.S. Department of Bureaucracy helps you keep Situation X out of your life, please take one of our pamphlets home to your family and put it by the telephone where you can get it in an emergency; your family will thank you."
• Invite Questions :   If there is time, and if you haven’t already done so.

4) Arrange with Your Strongest Points First

In rare cases — such as when you are facing a hostile audience, you might want to start out by emphasizing where you agree with your audience, and then carefully working your way towards your most divisive, most daring claims.

• If the question is actually important to your talk,  you’ll probably be able to answer right away.
• If you can’t answer right away, or you don’t want to take the time, just promise you’ll follow up via e-mail , and then go right back to your presentation. Most  audience members will probably have been annoyed by the interruption.  They will be  delighted that you  didn’t take the questioner’s bait .

5) Practice, Practice, Practice.

Set a timer, and deliver your speech to a willing co-worker or family member, your pet fish, or the bathroom mirror.

My students are often surprised at how hard it is to fill up 3 minutes for an informal practice speech early in the term, and how hard it is to fit everything they want to say into a 10-minute formal speech later in the term.

Once you have the right amount of content, make a video recording of yourself practicing. If you plan to show a video clip, or ad-lib an explanation of a diagram, or load a website, or pass out paper handouts, or saw an assistant in half, actually do it while the camera is rolling, so that you know exactly how much time it takes.

Time it out.

• Script out a powerful introduction and conclusion.
• Know how long each section of your speech should take.
• which example or anecdote you will cut if you are running long?
• what additional example you can introduce if you need to fill time?

If you know your conclusion takes you 90 seconds to deliver, make sure to start your conclusion when you have at least 90 seconds left.

At several key points during your speech, maybe while you are playing a video or while the audience is taking in a complex image, glance at the clock and check to see — are you on track?

If you notice you’re starting Section 3 60 seconds later than you had intended, try to make up for time by rushing through your second example in section 3 and cutting the third example in section 4, so that you still have the full 90 seconds at the end to deliver that powerful conclusion.

Technological Considerations

• Do you know how to connect your computer to the overhead projector? (If you don’t know, who does?)
• What will you do if you can’t get your computer connected to the projector? (Back in 2003, when I applied for my current job at Seton Hill University, I was asked to give a teaching demonstration. I couldn’t get my laptop to work with the overhead projector, but I had posted the most important links on my blog, and I had brought along a printout of my speech, just in case. My preparations have paid off, because I got the job.)
• In the room where you will be speaking, will you be using a microphone, or relying on your unamplified voice?
• Will you be able to walk around with the microphone — perhaps to gesture at details in the slides — or is the mic attached to a stand? (Do you need to borrow a laser pointer, or get a volunteer to advance slides for you?)

6) Make Eye Contact With Your Audience.

I once sat through a four-hour training session, during which this was all I could see of the instructor.

Go ahead and write your whole speech out so you can read robotically if you blank out, but you should practice your speech so you know it well enough that you can glance up from your notes and look at your audience as you speak.

7) Engage with the audience.

Pay attention to the audience, and they will pay attention to you.

Don’t try to recite from memory . If you spend your energy worrying about what you’re supposed to say next, you won’t be able to pay attention to whether the audience can hear you, or whether the overhead projections are focused.

Preparation : Set up before the audience files into their seats. If you have scheduled a presentation for a class, don’t sit in your seat like a lump while your professor calls the roll and hands out papers. Few things are more boring than watching a presenter log into the computer, fiddle with the video data projector, hunt around for the light switches, etc.

Introduction : As the audience files into their seats, have a title card displayed on the screen — or at least write your  name and the title of your talk on the whiteboard.  In a formal setting, usually a moderator will usually introduce you, so you won’t need to repeat everything the moderator says.  Avoid canned introductions like “Principal Burch, members of the faculty, and fellow students, we are gathered here today…”

Hashtag : If it’s likely that many people in your audience use the same social media network, consider encouraging them to post their thoughts there. When you introduce yourself, give your social media handle and suggest a hashtag.

Handouts : Consider distributing handouts that present the basic facts (names, dates, timelines) and your main points.  You can keep the conclusion just slightly mysterious, if you don’t want to give everything away immediately, but the idea is to free the audience from the feeling that they have to write everything down themselves. (Note: Simply printing up all the overhead slides wastes a lot of paper.)

Grabber : Grab the attention of your audience with a startling fact or claim, an inspiring quotation, or a revealing anecdote.   This is not the time to try out your nightclub act; the “grabber” is not just comic relief, it also helps you set up the problem that you are going to address.  If the audience will be diverse and general, you can use the “grabber” as a metaphor, helping the audience see why the topic is so important to you, and how it might be important to them, too.  If your audience shares your technical specialty, and thus needs no special introduction to the topic, feel free simply to state your purpose without much to-do; but bear in mind that even technical audiences don’t want to be bored.

Road Map : Once you have established the problem or the main point of your talk, let the audience know how you are going to get to a solution.  You might put up a series of questions on a slide, then as your talk progresses, proceed to answer each one.  You might break each question down into a series of smaller questions, and answer each one of these in turn.  Each time you finish a subsection, return to the road map, to help your audience keep track of where you have been and where you are going.

Conclusion : To give your presentation closure, return to the “grabber”, and extend it, modify it, or otherwise use it to help drive home your main point.  Recap your main points, and demonstrate how they all fit together into a thought that the audience members can take with them.

8) A Slide Show Is Not a Speech

Don’t read word-for-word with your nose buried in a stack of papers . If you bother to show up to hear a person speak, how do you feel when the speaker mumbles through page after page of written text? Do you feel you should have just asked for a copy of the paper in the mail?

When you present, make every effort to include your audience; after all, they are the reason you are speaking in the first place.

If you do feel that you must write out your speech word-for-word, you should be familiar enough with it that you don’t need to look at the paper all the time. (And hold the page up when you glance at it, rather than bending down to look at it.)

9) Watch the time!

To help pace yourself, at the top of each page of your notes,  write down what time it should be ; as you turn each page, you can glance at the clock and see whether you are on track.

(The first time I gave this advice to a technical writing class, I mimed the action of “looking at the clock” — and noticed that I was running ten minutes behind, eating into time that I had promised to a student for an in-class testing session.  That was a rather humbling experience!)

See the “preparation” section above. If you have already practiced your speech and timed out the various sections, you’ll know whether you are running long. If you are, don’t talk faster — cut  something that you already marked out as optional.

Decide in advance which examples, which anecdotes, which subsections you can drop, without damaging the whole presentation.

I was at a conference in 1998 where the first speaker talked for 40 minutes — double  her allotted time.  (Why the moderator allowed this is a mystery to me.)

• None of the other speakers on the panel felt like cutting their talks to compensate.
• The result was that the last scheduled speaker — who had paid for an international plane ticket and a week in a hotel — did not get to speak at all.

10) Take questions in the middle, not at the end?

The benefits include:

• If you spark a good Q & A session, your audience will remember and appreciate it.
• If nobody has any questions,  you can just fill up the space with more of your own material .  That would be much harder to do if you have already wrapped up your talk and had nothing left to say.
• If you really know your material, you can  adjust your conclusion to address the questions raised by the audience.  Even if someone in the audience steals a little of your thunder by bringing up points you were saving for your big finish, you will appear smart for having predicted that audience response. At the same time, someone in your audience will feel smart for having anticipated what you were going to say.

Dennis G. Jerz , 01/27/2009 07:24:28 Oct, 1999 — first written 03 Dec, 2000 — posted here 03 June 2003 — tweaked and updated 30 Oct 2011 — updated and added video links 31 May 2016 — major update; separated into “preparation” and “presentation” sections. 26 Jan 2018 — blackboard -> whiteboard

50 thoughts on “ Oral Presentation Tips: How to Deliver a Speech for School or Work ”

Thanks alot for your teachings

Thank a lot , really great tip for oral presentation, i’ll implement these tips, and will let you know.

Very helpful tips.

this is awfully helpful. I am a teacher in France and my students have to do presentations in English. I wish they could read this and understand.

Thank you for these very useful tips on Oral presentation. I am taking an Organizational Behavior class and need to do a 5 minute oral presentation on a real life situation about Conflict Management in the Workplace. I am not sure how to structure or begin the presentation.

I like it Really helpful for me

Thank you for helping me to do my presentation…..and I have learned so much from oral presentation.

thankyou thankyou thankyou this helped me so much!!! : )

thankyou thankyou thankyou this helped me so much in english!!! : )

Thanks. Really helpful

Hi, I going to do 3 minute presentation and my topic is My son. what is a best tips to talk about the this topic. I am not sure where to start. Any tips to help me with.

Is that the topic you were assigned? Are you taking a public speaking class, a child development class, a class in writing personal memoirs, or are you learning English as a second language? I don’t know how your instructor will evaluate your work, so I am not sure how to help.

You might find it useful to look at this handout on writing personal essays. http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/personal-essays/

Hi, I going to do minute presentation and my topic is My son. what is a best tips to talk about the this topic. I am not sure where to start. Any tips to help me with.

This sort of helped

Denise Gillen Caralli liked this on Facebook.

Enter your comment here…Thanks a lot… I will follow your instructions..I’m hopeful those tips will work. .. Thanks once again….

Thanks so much will follow your instruction tomorrow where I will be having presentation with 180 Head masters about suplimetary feeding on their hunger striken ares

Yeah ,thanks and good luck to all of you from a powerful Jamaican girl

That’s great… It will work well for those who are aiming for like me. Thanks!

The tips are totally handy until now I am still applying it.

Appreciate it. =)

Very helpful for my presentation. Thanks!

I have learned a lot on this…thanks

Thanks a lot I have learned so much on this

I suppose to give out a presentation on Monday on someone or something in either an athlete or an actor and I don’t know how to start

i have a question i am supposed to give a speech but it has to have a power point or a drama thing the only problem is that i can’t have a power point because it won’t work into my speech and neither will a drama thing what should i do?

I suggest you talk to whoever set up the requirement for a slideshow/drama component. Maybe there is some flexibility, or maybe you’ll find a way to work that component into your speech.

Thank you heaps this really helped a lot

that is such good information and i believe im going to pass my speeches.

wow!!this are really helpfull stuff..but im just not confident enough to stand infront of all those people..wish i could do it without them looking at me

blind fold them! just joking…I’m getting ready to do mine and I’m having the same problem as you.

this is a helpfull site

this isn’t helping me with how nervous I am!! bye!!

love it really helped

thanks you are good

I have to do a presentation about “Importance of learning English”. There are 6 people in my group including myself. The presentation has to be exactly 8 minutes. We can’t use PowerPoint. Can you give us any unique, memorable and creative idea?

What are some lessons or life experiences that you find unique and memorable? I’d probably do a play, with a character who gets into trouble because he/she doesn’t know English, and then has a chance to correct those problems by demonstrating how learning English can fix the problems.

Hello mr.Dennis,I go straight to it.how can I become the most sought after Master of Ceremony(M.C.)/tv show presenter extra-ordinaire in my country before going international?any useful tips?

Sorry, that question is not something I cover on this page.

really well writen loved how you added steps so its easy to follow clear easily can be understaned and really helps us and gives us tips that we should actually think about and use at times

Yeah! I found it quite impressive. I hope it’z gonna be helpful for me to develop my speech techniques.

Nice tips….i think it will help me. but it’s too lengthy,it takes so much of time to read.

This really helps to prepare for all sort of things, Thanks a lot

Really helpful! Thank you

Pingback: Oral Presentation Readings « readwriteredroom

i love this helpful tips of oral presentation.. hope to visit this again or i just make a hard copy of this… thank you very much for that…

it was quite helpful

thank you for the great tip, but my problem is actually that I have a presentation on ‘All About Me’ and I have to keep the audience ‘engaged’ like by making a guessing game or something. If anyone has any other ideas please help!!

This may help: http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/showing/

This really helped me prepare my oral presentation…thanks very much!!!!

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

• Annotated Bibliography
• Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
• Group Presentations
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Leading a Class Discussion
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Analysis Paper
• Writing a Case Study
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Reflective Paper
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Generative AI and Writing
• Acknowledgments

In the social and behavioral sciences, an oral presentation assignment involves an individual student or group of students verbally addressing an audience on a specific research-based topic, often utilizing slides to help audience members understand and retain what they both see and hear. The purpose is to inform, report, and explain the significance of research findings, and your critical analysis of those findings, within a specific period of time, often in the form of a reasoned and persuasive argument. Oral presentations are assigned to assess a student’s ability to organize and communicate relevant information  effectively to a particular audience. Giving an oral presentation is considered an important learning skill because the ability to speak persuasively in front of an audience is transferable to most professional workplace settings.

Oral Presentations. Learning Co-Op. University of Wollongong, Australia; Oral Presentations. Undergraduate Research Office, Michigan State University; Oral Presentations. Presentations Research Guide, East Carolina University Libraries; Tsang, Art. “Enhancing Learners’ Awareness of Oral Presentation (Delivery) Skills in the Context of Self-regulated Learning.” Active Learning in Higher Education 21 (2020): 39-50.

Preparing for Your Oral Presentation

In some classes, writing the research paper is only part of what is required in reporting the results your work. Your professor may also require you to give an oral presentation about your study. Here are some things to think about before you are scheduled to give a presentation.

1.  What should I say?

If your professor hasn't explicitly stated what the content of your presentation should focus on, think about what you want to achieve and what you consider to be the most important things that members of the audience should know about your research. Think about the following: Do I want to inform my audience, inspire them to think about my research, or convince them of a particular point of view? These questions will help frame how to approach your presentation topic.

2.  Oral communication is different from written communication

Your audience has just one chance to hear your talk; they can't "re-read" your words if they get confused. Focus on being clear, particularly if the audience can't ask questions during the talk. There are two well-known ways to communicate your points effectively, often applied in combination. The first is the K.I.S.S. method [Keep It Simple Stupid]. Focus your presentation on getting two to three key points across. The second approach is to repeat key insights: tell them what you're going to tell them [forecast], tell them [explain], and then tell them what you just told them [summarize].

3.  Think about your audience

Yes, you want to demonstrate to your professor that you have conducted a good study. But professors often ask students to give an oral presentation to practice the art of communicating and to learn to speak clearly and audibly about yourself and your research. Questions to think about include: What background knowledge do they have about my topic? Does the audience have any particular interests? How am I going to involve them in my presentation?

4.  Create effective notes

If you don't have notes to refer to as you speak, you run the risk of forgetting something important. Also, having no notes increases the chance you'll lose your train of thought and begin relying on reading from the presentation slides. Think about the best ways to create notes that can be easily referred to as you speak. This is important! Nothing is more distracting to an audience than the speaker fumbling around with notes as they try to speak. It gives the impression of being disorganized and unprepared.

NOTE:   A good strategy is to have a page of notes for each slide so that the act of referring to a new page helps remind you to move to the next slide. This also creates a natural pause that allows your audience to contemplate what you just presented.

Strategies for creating effective notes for yourself include the following:

• Choose a large, readable font [at least 18 point in Ariel ]; avoid using fancy text fonts or cursive text.
• Use bold text, underlining, or different-colored text to highlight elements of your speech that you want to emphasize. Don't over do it, though. Only highlight the most important elements of your presentation.
• Leave adequate space on your notes to jot down additional thoughts or observations before and during your presentation. This is also helpful when writing down your thoughts in response to a question or to remember a multi-part question [remember to have a pen with you when you give your presentation].
• Place a cue in the text of your notes to indicate when to move to the next slide, to click on a link, or to take some other action, such as, linking to a video. If appropriate, include a cue in your notes if there is a point during your presentation when you want the audience to refer to a handout.
• Spell out challenging words phonetically and practice saying them ahead of time. This is particularly important for accurately pronouncing people’s names, technical or scientific terminology, words in a foreign language, or any unfamiliar words.

Creating and Using Overheads. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Kelly, Christine. Mastering the Art of Presenting. Inside Higher Education Career Advice; Giving an Oral Presentation. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra; Lucas, Stephen. The Art of Public Speaking . 12th edition. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2015; Peery, Angela B. Creating Effective Presentations: Staff Development with Impact . Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Education, 2011; Peoples, Deborah Carter. Guidelines for Oral Presentations. Ohio Wesleyan University Libraries; Perret, Nellie. Oral Presentations. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Speeches. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Storz, Carl et al. Oral Presentation Skills. Institut national de télécommunications, EVRY FRANCE.

Organizing the Content

In the process of organizing the content of your presentation, begin by thinking about what you want to achieve and how are you going to involve your audience in the presentation.

• Brainstorm your topic and write a rough outline. Don’t get carried away—remember you have a limited amount of time for your presentation.
• Organize your material and draft what you want to say [see below].
• Summarize your draft into key points to write on your presentation slides and/or note cards and/or handout.
• Prepare your visual aids.
• Rehearse your presentation and practice getting the presentation completed within the time limit given by your professor. Ask a friend to listen and time you.

GENERAL OUTLINE

I.  Introduction [may be written last]

• Capture your listeners’ attention . Begin with a question, an amusing story, a provocative statement, a personal story, or anything that will engage your audience and make them think. For example, "As a first-gen student, my hardest adjustment to college was the amount of papers I had to write...."
• State your purpose . For example, "I’m going to talk about..."; "This morning I want to explain…."
• Present an outline of your talk . For example, “I will concentrate on the following points: First of all…Then…This will lead to…And finally…"

II.  The Body

• Present your main points one by one in a logical order .
• Pause at the end of each point . Give people time to take notes, or time to think about what you are saying.
• Make it clear when you move to another point . For example, “The next point is that...”; “Of course, we must not forget that...”; “However, it's important to realize that....”
• Use clear examples to illustrate your points and/or key findings .
• If appropriate, consider using visual aids to make your presentation more interesting [e.g., a map, chart, picture, link to a video, etc.].

III.  The Conclusion

• Leave your audience with a clear summary of everything that you have covered.
• Summarize the main points again . For example, use phrases like: "So, in conclusion..."; "To recap the main issues...," "In summary, it is important to realize...."
• Restate the purpose of your talk, and say that you have achieved your aim : "My intention was ..., and it should now be clear that...."
• Don't let the talk just fizzle out . Make it obvious that you have reached the end of the presentation.
• Thank the audience, and invite questions : "Thank you. Are there any questions?"

NOTE: When asking your audience if anyone has any questions, give people time to contemplate what you have said and to formulate a question. It may seem like an awkward pause to wait ten seconds or so for someone to raise their hand, but it's frustrating to have a question come to mind but be cutoff because the presenter rushed to end the talk.

ANOTHER NOTE: If your last slide includes any contact information or other important information, leave it up long enough to ensure audience members have time to write the information down. Nothing is more frustrating to an audience member than wanting to jot something down, but the presenter closes the slides immediately after finishing.

Creating and Using Overheads. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Giving an Oral Presentation. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra; Lucas, Stephen. The Art of Public Speaking . 12th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2015; Peery, Angela B. Creating Effective Presentations: Staff Development with Impact . Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Education, 2011; Peoples, Deborah Carter. Guidelines for Oral Presentations. Ohio Wesleyan University Libraries; Perret, Nellie. Oral Presentations. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Speeches. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Storz, Carl et al. Oral Presentation Skills. Institut national de télécommunications, EVRY FRANCE.

Delivering Your Presentation

When delivering your presentation, keep in mind the following points to help you remain focused and ensure that everything goes as planned.

Pay Attention to Language!

• Keep it simple . The aim is to communicate, not to show off your vocabulary. Using complex words or phrases increases the chance of stumbling over a word and losing your train of thought.
• Emphasize the key points . Make sure people realize which are the key points of your study. Repeat them using different phrasing to help the audience remember them.
• Check the pronunciation of difficult, unusual, or foreign words beforehand . Keep it simple, but if you have to use unfamiliar words, write them out phonetically in your notes and practice saying them. This is particularly important when pronouncing proper names. Give the definition of words that are unusual or are being used in a particular context [e.g., "By using the term affective response, I am referring to..."].

Use Your Voice to Communicate Clearly

• Speak loud enough for everyone in the room to hear you . Projecting your voice may feel uncomfortably loud at first, but if people can't hear you, they won't try to listen. However, moderate your voice if you are talking in front of a microphone.
• Speak slowly and clearly . Don’t rush! Speaking fast makes it harder for people to understand you and signals being nervous.
• Avoid the use of "fillers." Linguists refer to utterances such as um, ah, you know, and like as fillers. They occur most often during transitions from one idea to another and, if expressed too much, are distracting to an audience. The better you know your presentation, the better you can control these verbal tics.
• Vary your voice quality . If you always use the same volume and pitch [for example, all loud, or all soft, or in a monotone] during your presentation, your audience will stop listening. Use a higher pitch and volume in your voice when you begin a new point or when emphasizing the transition to a new point.
• Speakers with accents need to slow down [so do most others]. Non-native speakers often speak English faster than we slow-mouthed native speakers, usually because most non-English languages flow more quickly than English. Slowing down helps the audience to comprehend what you are saying.
• Slow down for key points . These are also moments in your presentation to consider using body language, such as hand gestures or leaving the podium to point to a slide, to help emphasize key points.
• Use pauses . Don't be afraid of short periods of silence. They give you a chance to gather your thoughts, and your audience an opportunity to think about what you've just said.

Also Use Your Body Language to Communicate!

• Stand straight and comfortably . Do not slouch or shuffle about. If you appear bored or uninterested in what your talking about, the audience will emulate this as well. Wear something comfortable. This is not the time to wear an itchy wool sweater or new high heel shoes for the first time.
• Hold your head up . Look around and make eye contact with people in the audience [or at least pretend to]. Do not just look at your professor or your notes the whole time! Looking up at your your audience brings them into the conversation. If you don't include the audience, they won't listen to you.
• When you are talking to your friends, you naturally use your hands, your facial expression, and your body to add to your communication . Do it in your presentation as well. It will make things far more interesting for the audience.
• Don't turn your back on the audience and don't fidget! Neither moving around nor standing still is wrong. Practice either to make yourself comfortable. Even when pointing to a slide, don't turn your back; stand at the side and turn your head towards the audience as you speak.
• Keep your hands out of your pocket . This is a natural habit when speaking. One hand in your pocket gives the impression of being relaxed, but both hands in pockets looks too casual and should be avoided.

Interact with the Audience

• Be aware of how your audience is reacting to your presentation . Are they interested or bored? If they look confused, stop and ask them [e.g., "Is anything I've covered so far unclear?"]. Stop and explain a point again if needed.
• Check after highlighting key points to ask if the audience is still with you . "Does that make sense?"; "Is that clear?" Don't do this often during the presentation but, if the audience looks disengaged, interrupting your talk to ask a quick question can re-focus their attention even if no one answers.
• Do not apologize for anything . If you believe something will be hard to read or understand, don't use it. If you apologize for feeling awkward and nervous, you'll only succeed in drawing attention to the fact you are feeling awkward and nervous and your audience will begin looking for this, rather than focusing on what you are saying.
• Be open to questions . If someone asks a question in the middle of your talk, answer it. If it disrupts your train of thought momentarily, that's ok because your audience will understand. Questions show that the audience is listening with interest and, therefore, should not be regarded as an attack on you, but as a collaborative search for deeper understanding. However, don't engage in an extended conversation with an audience member or the rest of the audience will begin to feel left out. If an audience member persists, kindly tell them that the issue can be addressed after you've completed the rest of your presentation and note to them that their issue may be addressed later in your presentation [it may not be, but at least saying so allows you to move on].
• Be ready to get the discussion going after your presentation . Professors often want a brief discussion to take place after a presentation. Just in case nobody has anything to say or no one asks any questions, be prepared to ask your audience some provocative questions or bring up key issues for discussion.

Amirian, Seyed Mohammad Reza and Elaheh Tavakoli. “Academic Oral Presentation Self-Efficacy: A Cross-Sectional Interdisciplinary Comparative Study.” Higher Education Research and Development 35 (December 2016): 1095-1110; Balistreri, William F. “Giving an Effective Presentation.” Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 35 (July 2002): 1-4; Creating and Using Overheads. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Enfield, N. J. How We Talk: The Inner Workings of Conversation . New York: Basic Books, 2017; Giving an Oral Presentation. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra; Lucas, Stephen. The Art of Public Speaking . 12th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2015; Peery, Angela B. Creating Effective Presentations: Staff Development with Impact . Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Education, 2011; Peoples, Deborah Carter. Guidelines for Oral Presentations. Ohio Wesleyan University Libraries; Perret, Nellie. Oral Presentations. The Lab Report. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Speeches. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Storz, Carl et al. Oral Presentation Skills. Institut national de télécommunications, EVRY FRANCE.

Speaking Tip

Your First Words are Your Most Important Words!

Your introduction should begin with something that grabs the attention of your audience, such as, an interesting statistic, a brief narrative or story, or a bold assertion, and then clearly tell the audience in a well-crafted sentence what you plan to accomplish in your presentation. Your introductory statement should be constructed so as to invite the audience to pay close attention to your message and to give the audience a clear sense of the direction in which you are about to take them.

Lucas, Stephen. The Art of Public Speaking . 12th edition. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2015.

Another Speaking Tip

Talk to Your Audience, Don't Read to Them!

A presentation is not the same as reading a prepared speech or essay. If you read your presentation as if it were an essay, your audience will probably understand very little about what you say and will lose their concentration quickly. Use notes, cue cards, or presentation slides as prompts that highlight key points, and speak to your audience . Include everyone by looking at them and maintaining regular eye-contact [but don't stare or glare at people]. Limit reading text to quotes or to specific points you want to emphasize.

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How to deliver an oral presentation

Georgina wellstead.

a Lister Hospital, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust

Katharine Whitehurst

b Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital

Buket Gundogan

c University College London

d Guy's St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

Delivering an oral presentation in conferences and meetings can seem daunting. However, if delivered effectively, it can be an invaluable opportunity to showcase your work in front of peers as well as receive feedback on your project. In this “How to” article, we demonstrate how one can plan and successfully deliver an engaging oral presentation.

Giving an oral presentation at a scientific conference is an almost inevitable task at some point during your medical career. The prospect of presenting your original work to colleagues and peers, however, may be intimidating, and it can be difficult to know how to approach it. Nonetheless, it is important to remember that although daunting, an oral presentation is one of the best ways to get your work out there, and so should be looked upon as an exciting and invaluable opportunity.

Slide content

Although things may vary slightly depending on the type of research you are presenting, the typical structure is as follows:

• Opening slide (title of study, authors, institutions, and date)
• Methodology
• Discussion (including strengths and weaknesses of the study)

Conclusions

Picking out only the most important findings to include in your presentation is key and will keep it concise and easy to follow. This in turn will keep your viewers engaged, and more likely to understand and remember your presentation.

Psychological analysis of PowerPoint presentations, finds that 8 psychological principles are often violated 1 . One of these was the limited capacity of working memory, which can hold 4 units of information at any 1 time in most circumstances. Hence, too many points or concepts on a slide could be detrimental to the presenter’s desire to give information.

You can also help keep your audience engaged with images, which you can talk around, rather than lots of text. Video can also be useful, for example, a surgical procedure. However, be warned that IT can let you down when you need it most and you need to have a backup plan if the video fails. It’s worth coming to the venue early and testing it and resolving issues beforehand with the AV support staff if speaking at a conference.

Slide design and layout

It is important not to clutter your slides with too much text or too many pictures. An easy way to do this is by using the 5×5 rule. This means using no more than 5 bullet points per slide, with no more than 5 words per bullet point. It is also good to break up the text-heavy slides with ones including diagrams or graphs. This can also help to convey your results in a more visual and easy-to-understand way.

It is best to keep the slide design simple, as busy backgrounds and loud color schemes are distracting. Ensure that you use a uniform font and stick to the same color scheme throughout. As a general rule, a light-colored background with dark-colored text is easier to read than light-colored text on a dark-colored background. If you can use an image instead of text, this is even better.

A systematic review study of expert opinion papers demonstrates several key recommendations on how to effectively deliver medical research presentations 2 . These include:

• Keeping your slides simple
• Knowing your audience (pitching to the right level)
• Making eye contact
• Rehearsing the presentation
• Do not read from the slides
• Limiting the number of lines per slide
• Sticking to the allotted time

You should practice your presentation before the conference, making sure that you stick to the allocated time given to you. Oral presentations are usually short (around 8–10 min maximum), and it is, therefore, easy to go under or over time if you have not rehearsed. Aiming to spend around 1 minute per slide is usually a good guide. It is useful to present to your colleagues and seniors, allowing them to ask you questions afterwards so that you can be prepared for the sort of questions you may get asked at the conference. Knowing your research inside out and reading around the subject is advisable, as there may be experts watching you at the conference with more challenging questions! Make sure you re-read your paper the day before, or on the day of the conference to refresh your memory.

It is useful to bring along handouts of your presentation for those who may be interested. Rather than printing out miniature versions of your power point slides, it is better to condense your findings into a brief word document. Not only will this be easier to read, but you will also save a lot of paper by doing this!

Delivering the presentation

Having rehearsed your presentation beforehand, the most important thing to do when you get to the conference is to keep calm and be confident. Remember that you know your own research better than anyone else in the room! Be sure to take some deep breaths and speak at an appropriate pace and volume, making good eye contact with your viewers. If there is a microphone, don’t keep turning away from it as the audience will get frustrated if your voice keeps cutting in and out. Gesturing and using pointers when appropriate can be a really useful tool, and will enable you to emphasize your important findings.

Presenting tips

• Do not hide behind the computer. Come out to the center or side and present there.
• Maintain eye contact with the audience, especially the judges.
• Remember to pause every so often.
• Don’t clutter your presentation with verbal noise such as “umm,” “like,” or “so.” You will look more slick if you avoid this.
• Rhetorical questions once in a while can be useful in maintaining the audience’s attention.

When reaching the end of your presentation, you should slow down in order to clearly convey your key points. Using phases such as “in summary” and “to conclude” often prompts those who have drifted off slightly during your presentation start paying attention again, so it is a critical time to make sure that your work is understood and remembered. Leaving up your conclusions/summary slide for a short while after stopping speaking will give the audience time to digest the information. Conclude by acknowledging any fellow authors or assistants before thanking the audience for their attention and inviting any questions (as long as you have left sufficient time).

If asked a question, firstly thank the audience member, then repeat what they have asked to the rest of the listeners in case they didn’t hear the first time. Keep your answers short and succinct, and if unsure say that the questioner has raised a good point and that you will have to look into it further. Having someone else in the audience write down the question is useful for this.

The key points to remember when preparing for an oral presentation are:

• Keep your slides simple and concise using the 5×5 rule and images.
• When appropriate; rehearse timings; prepare answers to questions; speak slowly and use gestures/ pointers where appropriate; make eye contact with the audience; emphasize your key points at the end; make acknowledgments and thank the audience; invite questions and be confident but not arrogant.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no financial conflict of interest with regard to the content of this report.

Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article.

Published online 8 June 2017

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Oral Presentation Tips

An oral presentation is more than just reading a paper or set of slides to an audience. How you deliver your presentation is at least as important in effectively communicating your message as what you say. Use these guidelines to learn simple tools that help you prepare and present an effective presentation, and design PowerPoint slides that support and enhance your talk.

Preparing an Effective Presentation An effective presentation is more than just standing up and giving information. A presenter must consider how best to communicate the information to the audience. Use these tips to create a presentation that is both informative and interesting:

• Organize your thoughts. Start with an outline and develop good transitions between sections. Emphasize the real-world significance of your research.
• Have a strong opening. Why should the audience listen to you? One good way to get their attention is to start with a question, whether or not you expect an answer.
• Define terms early. If you are using terms that may be new to the audience, introduce them early in your presentation. Once an audience gets lost in unfamiliar terminology, it is extremely difficult to get them back on track.
• Finish with a bang. Find one or two sentences that sum up the importance of your research. How is the world better off as a result of what you have done?
• Design PowerPoint slides to introduce important information. Consider doing a presentation without PowerPoint. Then consider which points you cannot make without slides. Create only those slides that are necessary to improve your communication with the audience.
• Time yourself. Do not wait until the last minute to time your presentation. You only have 15 minutes to speak, so you want to know, as soon as possible, if you are close to that limit.
• Create effective notes for yourself. Have notes that you can read. Do not write out your entire talk; use an outline or other brief reminders of what you want to say. Make sure the text is large enough that you can read it from a distance.
• Practice, practice, practice. The more you practice your presentation, the more comfortable you will be in front of an audience. Practice in front of a friend or two and ask for their feedback. Record yourself and listen to it critically. Make it better and do it again.

PowerPoint Tips Microsoft PowerPoint is a tremendous tool for presentations. It is also a tool that is sometimes not used effectively. If you are using PowerPoint, use these tips to enhance your presentation:

• Use a large font. As a general rule, avoid text smaller than 24 point.
• Use a clean typeface. Sans serif typefaces, such as Arial, are generally easier to read on a screen than serif typefaces, such as Times New Roman.
• Use bullet points, not complete sentences. The text on your slide provides an outline to what you are saying. If the entire text of your presentation is on your slides, there is no reason for the audience to listen to you. A common standard is the 6/7 rule: no more than six bulleted items per slide and no more than seven words per item.
• Use contrasting colors. Use a dark text on a light background or a light text on a dark background. Avoid combinations of colors that look similar. Avoid red/green combinations, as this is the most common form of color blindness.
• Use special effects sparingly. Using animations, cool transition effects, sounds and other special effects is an effective way to make sure the audience notices your slides. Unfortunately, that means that they are not listening to what you are saying. Use special effects only when they are necessary to make a point.

Presenting Effectively When you start your presentation, the audience will be interested in what you say. Use these tips to help keep them interested throughout your presentation:

• Be excited. You are talking about something exciting. If you remember to be excited, your audience will feel it and automatically become more interested.
• Speak with confidence. When you are speaking, you are the authority on your topic, but do not pretend that you know everything. If you do not know the answer to a question, admit it. Consider deferring the question to your mentor or offer to look into the matter further.
• Make eye contact with the audience. Your purpose is to communicate with your audience, and people listen more if they feel you are talking directly to them. As you speak, let your eyes settle on one person for several seconds before moving on to somebody else. You do not have to make eye contact with everybody, but make sure you connect with all areas of the audience equally.
• Avoid reading from the screen. First, if you are reading from the screen, you are not making eye contact with your audience. Second, if you put it on your slide, it is because you wanted them to read it, not you.
• Blank the screen when a slide is unnecessary. A slide that is not related to what you are speaking about can distract the audience. Pressing the letter B or the period key displays a black screen, which lets the audience concentrate solely on your words. Press the same key to restore the display.
• Use a pointer only when necessary. If you are using a laser pointer, remember to keep it off unless you need to highlight something on the screen.
• Explain your equations and graphs. When you display equations, explain them fully. Point out all constants and dependent and independent variables. With graphs, tell how they support your point. Explain the x- and y-axes and show how the graph progresses from left to right.
• Pause. Pauses bring audible structure to your presentation. They emphasize important information, make transitions obvious, and give the audience time to catch up between points and to read new slides. Pauses always feel much longer to speakers than to listeners. Practice counting silently to three (slowly) between points.
• Avoid filler words. Um, like, you know, and many others. To an audience, these are indications that you do not know what to say; you sound uncomfortable, so they start to feel uncomfortable as well. Speak slowly enough that you can collect your thoughts before moving ahead. If you really do not know what to say, pause silently until you do.
• Relax. I t is hard to relax when you are nervous, but your audience will be much more comfortable if you are too.
• Breathe. It is fine to be nervous. In fact, you should be all good presenters are nervous every time they are in front of an audience. The most effective way to keep your nerves in check aside from a lot of practice before hand is to remember to breathe deeply throughout your presentation.
• Acknowledge the people who supported your research. Be sure to thank the people who made your research possible, including your mentor, research team, collaborators, and other sources of funding and support.

Sharing your work can help you expand your network of contacts who share your research interests. For undergraduate researcher who intend to complete a graduate degree, presenting can be an invaluable experience. We recommend discussing your interest in sharing your research with your faculty advisor. They can help match your interests with the appropriate venue.

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Oral Presentations and Proposals

D-1 Introduction

Oral presentations provide offerors an opportunity to substitute or augment written information. You can conduct oral presentations in person or via video teleconference. Pre-recorded videotaped presentations do not constitute an oral presentation since it does not represent a real-time exchange of information. However, they may be included in offeror submissions, when appropriate.

Oral presentations may be beneficial in a variety of acquisitions. They are most useful when the requirements are clear and complete and are stated in performance or functional terms. Oral presentations are ideal for gathering information related to how qualified the offeror is to perform the work, how well the offeror understands the work, and how the offeror will approach the work.

D-2 Scope of the Oral Presentation

Before you can decide if oral presentations are appropriate for a given acquisition, you must select the evaluation factors and subfactors. Then decide whether the information you need to evaluate these criteria can be better presented orally or in writing or through a combination of both means.

You cannot incorporate oral statements in the contract by reference, so any information you want to be made part of the contract needs to be submitted in writing. At a minimum, the offeror must submit certifications, representations, and a signed offer sheet (including any exceptions to the Government’s terms and conditions) in writing. Additionally, as a rule of thumb, the offeror must submit other hard data ("facts"), such as pricing or costing data and contractual commitments, as part of the written proposal.

Oral presentations can convey information in such diverse areas as responses to sample tasks, understanding the requirements, experience, and relevancy of past performance.

Require offerors to submit their briefing materials in advance of the presentations. This will allow Government attendees an opportunity to review the materials and prepare any associated questions.

D-3 Request for Proposal Information

If oral presentations are appropriate, you must notify offerors in the RFP that the Government will use oral presentations to evaluate and select the contractor. The proposal preparation instructions must contain explicit instructions and guidance regarding the extent and nature of the process that will be used. Discourage elaborate presentations since they may detract from the information being presented. At a minimum, include the following information in the RFP:

The types of information the offeror must address during the oral presentations and how they relate to the evaluation criteria,

The required format and content of the presentation charts and any supporting documentation,

Any restrictions on the number of charts or the number of bullets per chart and how you will handle material that does not comply with these restrictions,

The required submission date for the presentation charts and/or materials,

The approximate timeframe when the oral presentations will be conducted and how you will determine the order of the offerors’ presentations,

Whether any rescheduling will be permitted if an offeror requests a change after the schedule has been established,

The total amount of time each offeror will have to conduct their oral presentation,

Who must make the presentation and a requirement that the offeror provide a list of names and position titles of the presenters,

Whether the presentation will be video or audio taped,

The location of the presentation site and a description of the site and resources available to the offeror,

Any rules and/or prohibitions regarding equipment and media,

How you will treat documents or information referenced in the presentation material but never presented orally,

Any limitations on Government-Offeror interactions during and after the presentation,

Whether the presentation will constitute discussions (see Figure 3-3),

Whether you will use the information in the oral presentation solely for source selection purposes or whether such information will become part of the contract (which will require a subsequent written submission of that information), and

Whether the offeror should include any cost/price data in the presentation.

D-4 Timing and Sequencing

You can conduct oral presentations either before or after establishing the competitive range. Where oral presentations are the only means of proposal submission, they must be presented by all offerors. If you conduct the oral presentations prior to establishing the competitive range, you must be careful they do not result in discussions.

Since preparing and presenting an oral presentation involves time and expense, you do not want to require offerors who are not likely to be serious candidates for award to have to conduct oral presentations. This can be an important consideration with small businesses. When this is a concern, establish the competitive range prior to oral presentations and clearly articulate in the RFP the methodology for doing so.

The PCO will often draw lots to determine the sequence of the offerors’ presentations. The time between the first and the last presentation should be as short as possible to minimize any advantage to the offerors that present later.

D-5 Time Limits

Establish a total time limit for each offeror’s presentation. It is not advisable to limit the time for individual topics or sections within the presentation; this detail is the presenter’s responsibility. If you are planning a question and answer session, exclude it from the allotted time and set a separate time limit for it.

There is no ideal amount of time to be allotted. Make this decision using prudent business judgment based upon the complexity of the acquisition and your own (or others’) experience and lessons learned.

D-6 Facility

Usually you will want to conduct the presentations at a facility you can control. This helps guard against surprises and ensures a more level playing field. However, nothing precludes you from conducting an oral presentation at an offeror's facility. This may be more efficient if site visits or other demonstrations are part of the source selection process.

If you are using a Government-controlled facility, make it available for inspection and, if warranted, a practice session. Allowing offerors to get acquainted with the facility will help ensure that it does not detract from the presentation content.

D-7 Recording the Presentations

Having an exact record of the presentation could prove useful both during the evaluation process and in the event of a protest or litigation. You can record the oral presentations using a variety of media; e.g., videotapes, audio tapes, written transcripts, or a copy of the offeror’s briefing slides or presentation notes. The SSA is responsible for determining the method and level of detail of the record.

If you use videotaping, allow for the natural behavior of the presenters. If slides or view graphs are used, the camera should view both the podium and screen at the same time. Place the microphones so that all communications can be recorded clearly and at adequate volume. Every effort should be made to avoid letting the recording become the focus of the presentation.

The recording, which is considered source selection information, will become part of the official record. Provide a copy to the offeror and seal and securely store the master copy of the recording to ensure there are no allegations of tampering in the event of a protest or court action.

D-8 Government Attendance

The PCO should chair every presentation. All of the Government personnel involved in evaluating the presentations should attend every presentation.

D-9 Presenters

The offeror’s key personnel who will perform or personally direct the work being described should conduct their relevant portions of the presentations. Key personnel include project managers, task leaders, and other in-house staff of the offeror’s, or their prospective key subcontractors’ organizations. This will avoid the oral presentation becoming the domain of a professional presenter, which would increase costs, detract from the advantages of oral presentations, and adversely affect small businesses.

D-10 Reviewing the Ground Rules

Prior to each presentation, the PCO shall review the ground rules with the attendees. This includes discussing any restrictions on Government-Offeror information exchanges, information disclosure rules, documentation requirements, and housekeeping items. These ground rules should also be included in the RFP.

If you are using a quiz as part of your evaluation, the PCO needs to discuss the related ground rules. For example, can the offeror caucus or contact outside sources by cell phone before answering?

Avoid too much control and regulation since it will inhibit the exchange of information. However, if you intend to avoid discussions, the PCO should control all exchanges during the presentation. If conducting oral presentations after opening discussions, you must comply with FAR 15.306 and 15.307.

D-11 Evaluation of Presentations

Evaluations should be performed immediately after each presentation. Using preprinted evaluation forms will help the evaluators collect their thoughts and impressions. Remember, even if you use preprinted forms, evaluators have to provide the rationale for their conclusions.

AFARS Parts

Afars appendix.

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Diversity Summer Internship Program : Oral Presentations (Day 2)

Opportunity to Review Research from DSIP Interns

The Bloomberg School’s Diversity Summer Internship Program invites students, faculty, and staff to review the research of 26 BSPH interns mentored by faculty across the School’s departments. No RSVP required.

Presentation Schedule

Day 2: Tuesday, 7/23, 9:30-1pm. Sheldon Hall & Zoom . 

For more information, contact Mahnoor Ahmed ( [email protected] ). 

DSIP 2024 Cohort

Contact Info

CHOP: Integrating ChatGPT into EFL Oral Presentation Practice

• Cha, Jungyoub
• Yoo, Haneul

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students often struggle to deliver oral presentations due to a lack of reliable resources and the limited effectiveness of instructors' feedback. Large Language Model (LLM) can offer new possibilities to assist students' oral presentations with real-time feedback. This paper investigates how ChatGPT can be effectively integrated into EFL oral presentation practice to provide personalized feedback. We introduce a novel learning platform, CHOP (ChatGPT-based interactive platform for oral presentation practice), and evaluate its effectiveness with 13 EFL students. By collecting student-ChatGPT interaction data and expert assessments of the feedback quality, we identify the platform's strengths and weaknesses. We also analyze learners' perceptions and key design factors. Based on these insights, we suggest further development opportunities and design improvements for the education community.

• Computer Science - Human-Computer Interaction

• Open access
• Published: 15 July 2024

Examining the impact of multimodal task design on English oral communicative competence in fourth-grade content-language integrated social studies: A quasi-experimental study

• Cheng-Ji Lai   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2975-1871 1  

Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education volume  9 , Article number:  64 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

59 Accesses

Metrics details

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is increasingly adopted globally, including in Taiwan’s educational initiatives, yet challenges remain in implementing effective CLIL practices, such as pedagogy and curriculum design. This study investigated the effectiveness of multimodal task designs, combining hands-on learning with poster presentations, in enhancing oral communicative competence within CLIL contexts. Employing a mixed-methods, quasi-experimental design with a comparative case study framework, the study assessed English oral communicative competence in four intact fourth-grade Taiwanese CLIL Social Studies classes. The hands-on learning group (EG, n  = 40) engaged in activities like Chinese Dumpling Making, Bird’s Nest Building, and Succulent Pot Designing, while the non-hands-on learning group (CG, n  = 34) used traditional worksheets on the same topics. Both groups proceeded to poster presentations within their multimodal task design, where students’ oral communicative competence was assessed using rubrics developed based on Coyle’s 4Cs dimensions, focusing on Content, Communication, and Cognition. Additionally, students’ cultural knowledge related to the hands-on topics was evaluated through written tests. To complement the quantitative data, qualitative data from self-reported reflections and video recordings documenting interventions were collected for the assessment of oral communicative competence within a CLIL framework. Results demonstrate that integrating hands-on activities significantly enhanced procedural content, communication (i.e., sentence complexity, pronunciation accuracy for target vocabulary, presentation fluency), and cognitive abilities, confirming the efficacy of multimodal learning approaches in fostering linguistic and cognitive engagement. Post-test comparisons show the EG’s superiority in cultural knowledge acquisition across all three hands-on topics. Student reflections endorsed the enrichment of learning experiences through multimodal task design. Video analysis of both groups’ interventions revealed that despite significant engagement and autonomy, EG students commonly utilized general English rather than target vocabulary, a pattern similar to that observed in the CG. These findings highlight the potential of diverse modalities in CLIL to enhance English content learning and oral skills, shaping future pedagogy and language strategies in Taiwan. The study also emphasizes the role of embodied learning, the interplay between physical actions and cognitive processes, to facilitate deeper understanding and engagement with subject matter within CLIL settings.

Introduction

The adoption of bilingual programs in Europe, inspired by successful North American immersion models and content-based instruction (CBI), aims to address language skill deficiencies (Brinton & Snow, 2017 ; Eurydice, 2006 ). One prominent approach, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), emerged in the early 1990s with support from EU institutions, involving the teaching of subjects like history or science in a language different from the mainstream school language (Dalton-Puffer, 2007 ; Marsh, Maljers, & Hartiala, 2001 ). Reflecting the 4Cs framework of CLIL (Coyle, 2002 ; Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010 ; Marsh, 2006 ), this methodology not only strengthens foreign language skills (Communication) and subject mastery (Content) but also promotes cognitive engagement (Cognition) and broader cultural perspectives and intercultural competencies essential for global citizenship and communication (Culture). Empirically, CLIL has demonstrated enhancements in vocabulary, listening skills, content knowledge, and learner motivation (Alonso et al., 2008 ; Bayram, Ozturk, & Atay, 2019 ; Cambridge Assessment International Education, 2017 ; Huang, 2020 ; Marsh, 2000 ; Pérez Cañado, 2011 ; Svensson, 2020 ). However, debates highlight concerns about the selectivity (Lialikhova, 2021 ), the rush to adopt CLIL (Paran, 2013 ; Pérez Cañado, 2011 ), and predominant focus on English (Dalton-Puffer, 2011 ) within CLIL programs.

As CLIL programs expand globally, Taiwan has embraced this educational model within its bilingual initiative by 2030 to prepare students for global opportunities (Chen et al., 2020 ; Ferrer & Lin, 2024 ; Ministry of Education, 2018 ). This shift is evident in primary schools transitioning from traditional English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction to CLIL methods, particularly in non-core subjects during the early stages of implementation (Liaw et al., 2018 ). Since 2021, the Ministry of Education has been providing resources and training to support the implementation of experimental CLIL programs in core subjects such as science. However, the early stages of CLIL implementation in Taiwan encounter significant challenges, including inadequate English proficiency among content teachers, a lack of familiarity with CLIL methodologies (Yang, 2015 ), and hurdles in pedagogy and curriculum design (The Language Training & Testing Center, 2021 ). This has led to the prevalence of a “Soft-CLIL” approach that prioritizes language learning using content to teach language structures and skills (Lyster & Ballinger, 2011 ).

Despite CLIL’s emphasis on receptive skills like listening and reading (Dallinger et al., 2016 ; Dalton-Puffer, 2008 ), fostering oral communicative competence is critical in primary education due to its emphasis on multilingualism and global competitiveness (Coyle, 2007 ). CLIL’s Language Triptych framework, integral to the Communication pillar of the 4Cs, enhances language development from subject content, facilitating deeper engagement and comprehension within the learning process (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010 ). In Taiwan, the CLIL Social Studies curriculum aims to foster language proficiency as well as critical thinking and cross-cultural understanding (Curriculum and Instruction Resources Network, 2018 ). However, studies specifically targeting CLIL’s effectiveness in Social Studies on oral communicative competence using the 4Cs framework are scarce.

Researchers advocate for the incorporation of multiple semiotic modes, such as visuals, to support CLIL learning (Evnitskaya & Jakonen, 2017 ; Forey & Polias, 2017 ; Liu & Lin, 2021 ). Multimodality, integrating language with various semiotic forms, is pivotal in pedagogy, emphasizing the coordinated use of non-verbal resources alongside verbal and paraverbal elements (Kress, 2000 ; Stivers & Sidnell, 2005 ). Combining multimodal pedagogies with hands-on learning, which includes activities like laboratory experiments, practical demonstrations, and interactive tasks, fosters interactive and physically engaging learning environments (Dessie, Gebeyehu, & Eshetu, 2023 ; Meyer, 2004 ; Miller, 2014 ). Hands-on learning, particularly valuable in science education (Nikula, 2015 ), promotes discovery, critical thinking, and experimentation (Alkan, 2016 ; Levy & Moore Mensah, 2020 ; Miller, 2014 ). Despite its prevalence in science education, hands-on learning practices are less commonly implemented in CLIL social studies in Taiwan, highlighting a gap in the literature on the effectiveness of hands-on approaches in this context. Additionally, regarding students’ poster presentations within the CLIL context, while it may be prevalent in classroom practices, empirical studies utilizing poster presentations as a specific multimodal task design are indeed limited.

Drawing upon Lin’s ( 2019 ) Multimodalities-Entextualization Cycle (MEC) and embodied learning theories, this study designed three hands-on learning activities—Chinese Dumpling Making, Bird’s Nest Building, and Succulent Pot Designing—that directly integrated Social Studies content. The aim was to evaluate their impact on fourth-grade students’ English oral communicative competence within a CLIL framework, employing the four dimensions of Content, Communication, Cognition, and Culture (4Cs). This quasi-experimental study investigated the comparative impact of hands-on learning versus traditional worksheet-based learning on students’ English communicative competence, facilitated by a sequence of multimodal tasks tailored to this context.

Literature review

Multimodal task design using hands-on learning in clil settings.

In education, learning is a multimodal process driven by student interests and context, involving visual, actional, and linguistic communication (Jewitt, 2008 ). In the context of CLIL, the concept of multimodality refers to the use of various semiotic systems—such as visual, auditory, textual, and kinesthetic modes—to facilitate meaning-making and enhance learning outcomes (Bezemer & Kress, 2008 ; Kress & van Leeuwen, 2001 ). The term “modes” or “modalities” encompasses the aural and written input learners receive, as well as the oral and written output they produce, and can extend to specific tasks (Gilabert, et al, 2016 ). This approach aligns with learner-centered philosophies and empowers students to take an active role in their learning process (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999 ). Lin’s ( 2019 ) Multimodalities-Entextualization Cycle (MEC) provides a theoretical framework for integrating content and language learning through experiential, inquiry-based contexts and academic entextualization (Wu & Lin, 2019 ). This cycle emphasizes the importance of incorporating multiple modes of communication tasks within CLIL settings to create immersive learning environments that deepen students’ understanding and engagement with subject matter. Hands-on learning activities along with poster presentations, which involve direct physical interaction with materials or tasks relevant to the curriculum (Dessie, Gebeyehu, & Eshetu, 2023 ; Meyer, 2004 ), are particularly well-suited to this framework.

Scholars advocate for multimodal task design to enhance language acquisition (Hampel & Hauck, 2006 ; Stein, 2004 ), yet research in this area remains underdeveloped (Grapin, 2019 ; Roth et al., 2023 ). Empirical studies have shown that integrating language with various semiotic forms like images and interactions results in the coordinated use of non-verbal resources alongside verbal and paraverbal elements (Kress, 2000 ; Stivers & Sidnell, 2005 ). Furthermore, Yaman Ntelioglou et al. ( 2014 ) highlights the positive effects of multimodal task design on improving language and content knowledge acquisition. Notably, Galaviz and Peralta ( 2019 ) demonstrates that multimodal tasks, such as whole-class discussions, small group dialogues, and poster presentations, provide students with opportunities to articulate their understanding of subject content and express their ideas and opinions on classroom topics, while employing targeted vocabulary and sentence structures. Despite the recognized benefits of multimodal pedagogies in promoting authentic language use and learner motivation (Abrams, 2016 ), more empirical studies are needed to explore the specific impact of multimodal task design such as using hands-on learning with poster presentations on learning outcomes within CLIL programs. Addressing these research gaps will contribute to a deeper understanding of how multimodality can be effectively leveraged to enhance CLIL education and promote meaningful learning experiences.

The embodied learning through multimodal pedagogies in language learning

Embodied learning emphasizes adaptive responses to situations through diverse means, fostering deep comprehension of the self-world relationship (Holst, 2013 ). This perspective recognizes the intricate interplay between the body and cognition, positing that physical actions and sensory experiences shape mental processes (Barsalou, 2008 ; Beilock, 2015 ). The theory of embodied cognition suggests that our mental experiences are profoundly influenced by our physical actions and sensory observations, highlighting the significance of embodied interactions in learning processes (Fu & Franz, 2014 ). In the context of CLIL classrooms, the integration of sensory and motor experiences with cognitive processes can be effectively facilitated through hands-on activities (Coyle & Meyer, 2021 ). Empirical support for embodied learning strategies is growing, particularly in the realm of language acquisition, where physical engagement has been found to improve understanding and retention (Brooks & Goldin-Meadow, 2016 ; Horn & Wilburn, 2005 ; Mavilidi et al., 2015 ;). Research in this area has also shown that incorporating bodily engagement into educational tasks enhances learning outcomes, with studies highlighting the beneficial impacts of movement and gestures on instructional methods (Barsalou, 2008 ; Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014 ; Ruiter et al., 2015 ; Wilson, 2003 ). Despite these advancements, there remains a notable gap in the literature concerning the specific application of embodied learning through hands-on activities in CLIL contexts because most studies focus on theoretical discussions or applications in other subject areas (Skulmowski & Rey, 2018 ). This gap exhibits the need for focused research on how multimodal task design, such as hands-on learning and poster presentations, can effectively integrate embodied learning into language education to enhance oral communicative competence.

Assessing students’ oral communicative competence within CLIL contexts

Assessing students’ oral communicative competence within CLIL contexts involves a multifaceted understanding aligned with Coyle’s ( 2007 ) four guiding dimensions: Content, Communication, Cognition, and Culture (4Cs). This competence encompasses the ability to effectively use language for meaningful interaction particularly in primary schools (Lin, 2016 ) and requires continuous practice tailored to young learners’ developmental stages (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010 ; Murillo, Martínez-Garrido, & Hidalgo Farran, 2014 ). Prior studies collectively highlight the multifaceted impact of CLIL on students’ language development, demonstrating strengths in oral communication alongside persistent challenges in writing, syntax, and grammatical accuracy. For instance, Tedick & Wesley ( 2015 ) noted that CLIL students often excel in reading and listening proficiency but face challenges with grammatical accuracy in speaking and writing. In contrast, Niteo Moreno de Diexmas ( 2016 ) observed significant improvements in oral production and interaction among young CLIL learners aged 9–10. Similarly, Pérez Cañado and Lancaster ( 2017 ) discovered positive impacts of CLIL in Spain on productive oral skills, particularly in cognitively complex listening activities. Moreover, Lialikhova’s ( 2021 ) study on Norwegian ninth graders revealed varying effects of short-term CLIL interventions on oral development across different achievement levels.

Researchers emphasized the strong correlation between hands-on learning and CLIL content acquisition, suggesting that hands-on activities not only enhance interactivity (Nikula, 2015 ) but also promote learners’ communicative competence (Chao et al., 2013 ; Sheu et al., 2015 ). This approach aids young learners in developing disciplinary literacy in Science and Engineering, particularly in oral reasoning (Aguirre-Muñoz et al., 2018 ). Furthermore, poster presentations linked to hands-on, project-based learning themes have shown improvements in English oral expression and vocabulary retention (Galaviz & Peralta, 2019 ). Despite these insights, the literature presents the need for empirical research to effectively integrate Coyle’s ( 2007 ) 4Cs framework into the assessment of English oral communicative competence within CLIL contexts, emphasizing areas such as content mastery, effective communication, cognitive engagement, and cross-cultural understanding.

Study purpose and research questions

This quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate the impact of embodied CLIL pedagogical approaches using hands-on activities (making Chinese dumplings, building bird nests, and designing succulent plant pots) on fourth-grade students’ English oral communicative competence within a CLIL Social Studies course in Taiwan. The study assessed students’ gains in the four guiding dimensions of Content, Communication, Cognition, and Culture (4Cs) and explored the effectiveness of multimodal task designs (Experimental Group, EG) compared to conventional worksheet-based instruction (Control Group, CG). Additionally, the study utilized qualitative data from self-reported reflections and video recordings to assess students’ intervention learning experiences. Three research questions were formulated as follows.

RQ1: To what extent does hands-on learning influence fourth graders’ gains in Content, Communication, and Cognition as assessed by the rubrics within the EG compared to the CG in a CLIL Social Studies course?

RQ2: What are the differences in cultural knowledge acquisition between students in the EG and those in the CG, as assessed by written tests?

RQ3: How do self-reported reflections from students in the EG compare to those from the CG regarding their post-intervention learning experiences within respective pedagogical approaches?

Methodology

Research design.

Following recommendations for mixed methods and data triangulation from CLIL scholars (Perez-Canado, 2012 ), this study adopted a mixed-methods, quasi-experimental, sequential explanatory design, utilizing a comparative case study approach (Ivankova et al., 2006 ). The sample comprised four intact fourth-grade CLIL Social Studies classes within CLIL-based English immersion program (EIP) across three Taiwanese public elementary schools. This deliberate selection aimed to capture unique contextual features critical to the study’s objectives. Participant selection was non-random, based on practical classroom arrangements (Best & Kahn, 2006 ). However, the assignment of intervention types—hands-on activities for the EG and worksheet activities on the same topics for the CG—was determined by random sampling, despite worksheet activities being commonly used in the program. This approach allowed for a controlled comparison of English oral communicative competence outcomes in their poster presentations.

Research context and participants

Participants in this study were students from four intact fourth-grade CLIL Social Studies classes within a larger CLIL-based English immersion initiative involving eight public schools in Taiwan. This initiative, overseen by a non-profit educational institution, implemented a comprehensive English language development program integrated with content knowledge across grades one to six. The curriculum encompassed various subjects, including Music, Arts, Physical Education, Science, and Social Studies. The program’s primary objective was to create an English-native-like environment, facilitated by 26 native English instructors (84%) who supported the English immersion elements of the program. Additionally, the program involved 5 (16%) Taiwanese subject teachers specializing in Music, Arts, Social Studies, and Science, in line with CLIL principles (Dalton-Puffer, 2011 ). The use of translanguaging practices, which involve bilingual or multilingual discourse (García, 2007 ), further contributed to the CLIL elements of the program. In terms the pedagogical approaches within the program, instructors predominately employed multimodal pedagogies across Language Arts and various subjects, including Social Studies and Science. These approaches encompassed learning games, reading activities, PowerPoint-led review games, worksheet activities, and expressive modalities such as drawing, video, audio, and written outputs. This study marked the program’s inaugural integration of task-based language teaching (Nunan, 2004 ) with experiential learning through hands-on activities in Social Studies, culminating in poster presentations.

To increase the robustness and sample size of the study, EG1 and CG1 were recruited in one academic year, while EG2 and CG2 were recruited in the following academic year. All classes were taught by the same experienced Taiwanese English teacher, who has near-native proficiency. The EG comprised 40 students—21 in EG1 and 19 in EG2—while the CG consisted of 34 students—16 in CG1 and 18 in CG2. The gender distribution was balanced, with 20 males and 20 females in the EG and 16 males and 18 females in the CG. All participants were native Mandarin Chinese speakers aged 9 to 10. Pretests of target vocabulary, procedural knowledge, and cultural knowledge related to three hands-on topics (Chinese Dumpling Making, Bird’s Nest Building, and Designing a Pot of Succulents) were administered to these four classes. Independent-samples t -tests on their pre-test scores showed no statistically significant differences (all p  > 0.05), with t -values ranging from -1.807 to 1.647 and corresponding p- values ranging from 0.075 to 0.885. These results indicate that the EG and CG demonstrated comparable abilities in target vocabulary, procedural knowledge, and cultural knowledge related to the three topics before the interventions.

Research interventions

Intervention baseline.

As detailed in Fig.  1 , the interventions were conducted in English within the first 9-week period of the CLIL Social Studies curriculum, with each week consisting of 3 periods of 40 min each. The instructor followed a three-stage instruction approach across three units:

Topic Introduction and Content Consolidation (Weeks 1, 4, and 7): Both groups were introduced to three topics and reinforced reading skills through reading comprehension, summarizing, and filling in blanks of target vocabulary.

Content Application (Weeks 2, 5, and 8): The EG engaged in hands-on activities related to the topics (Chinese Dumpling Making, Bird’s Nest Building, and Succulent Pot Designing), while the CG received traditional lecture- and worksheet-based instruction on target vocabulary and procedural content related to the hands-on activities.

Language Production (Weeks 3, 6, and 9): Both groups participated in small-group multimodal poster presentation tasks, creating posters detailing hands-on topic procedures and providing self-reported reflections on their learning experiences.

The intervention procedure

Hands-on topic intervention: bird’s nest building

Take the second hands-on topic, Bird’s Nest Building, as an example, the instructor began the session by engaging students with inquiries about typical bird nesting habitats, showcasing various examples, and illustrating related concepts through a video presentation accessible to both the EG and CG groups. This instructional approach aligns with multimodal task design principles advocated in CLIL contexts (Lin, 2019 ), aimed at deepening student engagement and comprehension. Subsequently, the instructor introduced key vocabulary terms such as “twigs,” “branches,” “straws,” “bend,” and “loop” using physical demonstrations coupled with verbal reinforcement in English, reflecting embodied learning principles that integrate sensory and motor experiences with language acquisition (Barsalou, 2008 ; Holst, 2013 ). Both EG and CG students received equivalent instructional scaffolding to develop target vocabulary and procedural knowledge, involving necessary language support and gradual reduction of teacher assistance to foster student autonomy and understanding (Mahan, 2023 ).

Following this introduction, EG students actively participated in constructing their own bird nests at nearby parks (EG1) or on campus meadows (EG2), as depicted in Fig.  2 , reflecting promising hands-on learning approaches shown to enhance language development within CLIL settings (Chao et al., 2013 ; Nikula, 2015 ). Throughout the activity, the instructor physically demonstrated each step while verbally reinforcing the target vocabulary and procedural content, facilitating the integration of multimodal task design with experiential learning to deepen student engagement and oral communicative competence (Coyle, 2007 ; Lin, 2016 ). To conclude the activity, students symbolically placed bird eggs in their crafted nests, fostering a meaningful connection to real wildlife nests and enhancing overall engagement and experiential learning outcomes (Abrams, 2016 ; Svensson, 2020 ).

The EG’s hands-on learning on building a bird nest (Permission obtained to use these pictures)

In contrast, the CG group participated in worksheet activities, where instructors reinforced target vocabulary and procedural knowledge through teacher-led discussions and interactive games. During these sessions, the instructor utilized worksheets as a primary instructional tool, guiding students through exercises aimed at consolidating vocabulary and procedural understanding. The discussions facilitated by the teacher encouraged students to engage with the material through verbal exchanges, clarifications, and interactive activities. Games were employed to reinforce learning outcomes and promote active participation among students in the CG group.

After completing the Bird’s Nest Building hands-on activity for the EG and worksheet activities for the CG, students transitioned to the language production stage in the third week, aligning with CLIL and multimodal task design principles (Brinton & Snow, 2017 ; Dalton-Puffer, 2007 ; Lin, 2019 ). During this stage, students were divided into 3–4 small groups and allocated 1.5 periods to collaboratively create posters in English illustrating the sequential steps of constructing a bird’s nest using graphical and textual representations—a practice advocated in CLIL pedagogy (Grapin, 2019 ; Yaman Ntelioglou et al., 2014 ). Subsequently, both EG and CG students engaged in collaborative oral poster presentations in English lasting 3–5 min, utilizing their posters as visual aids to verbally explain the sequential procedures for the hands-on topics, demonstrating their oral communicative competence and subject mastery. Prior to the group poster presentations, students from both groups rehearsed their explanations twice to enhance their delivery and comprehension of the content. At the conclusion of the poster presentations, students completed a written test in English assessing cultural or cross-cultural understanding related to the hands-on topics. Additionally, students provided self-reports in the same small groups of poster designs and presentations on their respective learning experiences. Figure  3 presents the EG1’s poster designs and presentations.

Small-group poster designs and presentations on Bird’s Nest Building (Permission obtained to use these pictures)

Comparison of interventions for the EG and CG

The instructional approach for both the EG and CG initially involved introducing the same hands-on topics to prepare students for subsequent activities. Both groups received equivalent time for intervention, with each activity lasting approximately 40–50 min. However, the key divergence occurred during the core learning activities: the EG participated in hands-on experiences, emphasizing practical application and experiential learning. In contrast, the CG received worksheet-based instruction supplemented by instructor-led discussions to reinforce vocabulary and procedural knowledge theoretically. Following these activities, both groups engaged in collaborative poster presentations conducted in English, requiring them to articulate their learning outcomes. This approach allowed for a comprehensive comparison of the interventions, as summarized in Table  1 .

Instruments and analysis

To assess the English oral communicative competence of both the EG and CG participants, this study applied Coyle’s ( 2007 ) framework encompassing Content, Communication, Cognition, and Culture, utilizing multiple methods. Content, Communication, and Cognition were assessed through students’ oral poster presentations using customized rubrics designed for each dimension. The assessment of Culture was conducted via written pre- and post-tests measuring cultural knowledge related to the hands-on topics. This approach acknowledges the diverse semiotic modes emphasized in CLIL learning, which leverage visuals and multimodal pedagogies to enhance language acquisition and cultural understanding (Evnitskaya & Jakonen, 2017 ; Forey & Polias, 2017 ). Additionally, students from both groups provided self-reported reflections on their learning experiences. Finally, video recordings were employed to document hands-on activities for the EG and worksheet-based activities for the CG, enriching the analysis by capturing instructional methods and student engagement within the CLIL framework.

Content, communication, and cognition assessment through oral poster presentations

A pivotal aspect of this study involved assessing Content, Communication, and Cognition through small-group collaborative oral poster presentations. The EG participants ( n  = 40) were organized into seven groups (EG1:3; EG2:4), comprising 5–7 students per group. Similarly, the CG participants ( n  = 34) were divided into six groups (CG1:3; CG2:3), with 5–6 students per group. Rubrics for Content, Communication, and Cognition (see Appendix A ) were meticulously developed and validated by two CLIL experts within the Taiwanese educational context. Content analysis focused on evaluating the comprehensiveness and depth of procedural explanations. Communication analysis considered various aspects such as target vocabulary usage, sentence structure, pronunciation accuracy, fluency, and complexity. Evaluating syntactic complexity aligns with the goal of assessing students’ language production beyond basic vocabulary usage, encompassing grammatical structures and sentence variety crucial for expressive proficiency (Tedick & Wesley, 2015 ). Cognition analysis appraised participants’ understanding of procedural steps and critical thinking abilities. Clear descriptors and criteria were established for each proficiency level (1–5).

The recorded presentations underwent transcription for speech analysis, enabling a quantitative post-intervention comparison between hands-on and non-hands-on teaching approaches. The same two experts applied the rubrics for coding, and inter-rater reliability was assessed using Cohen’s Kappa coefficient. In the EG, assessments for Chinese Dumpling Making demonstrated perfect agreement in Content, Communication (target vocabulary usage, sentence length, pronunciation accuracy), and Cognition. Substantial agreement was observed for other Communication dimensions. Succulent Pot Designing exhibited near-perfect agreement across dimensions. Similarly, in the CG, substantial to perfect agreement was observed in various dimensions across the three hands-on activities.

Independent-samples t -tests, conducted using SPSS Statistics, version 25, were performed to facilitate the between-group, post-intervention quantitative comparison of the results from two raters. The means, standard deviations (SD), t -scores, p -values, and effect size (Cohen’s d ) for each distinctive hands-on topic were reported.

Culture assessment through written pre- and post-tests

The written cultural knowledge pre- and post-tests in English (see Appendix B ) were designed to evaluate students’ understanding of cultural aspects related to the hands-on learning topics, covering cultural practices, traditions, and perspectives. Administered to both the EG and CG before and after their respective activities, these tests featured carefully crafted questions to assess students’ familiarity with specific cultural elements associated with each hands-on activity. The design of these cultural tests aligns with the broader objectives of CLIL, emphasizing the development of cultural awareness and intercultural competencies essential for global citizenship and effective communication (Coyle, 2007 ). For example, the questions on making Chinese dumplings probed students’ understanding of the origin of Chinese dumplings and their prevalence globally. Similarly, the test on building a bird nest elicited responses about diverse cultural attitudes towards nature and bird habitats. The succulent pot designing test covered topics related to the global distribution of succulent plants, their adaptations, and propagation methods. These assessments incorporated open-ended inquiries and true/false statements to measure students’ cultural awareness and comprehension.

The pre- and post-tests, administered two weeks apart, were intentionally structured to ensure similarity in difficulty, featuring the same items with altered wording to assess consistency in students’ knowledge acquisition and retention. The reliability of these tests was confirmed through high Cronbach’s alpha coefficients (α = 0.88 for pre-tests and α = 0.87 for post-tests), indicating strong internal consistency and robustness in assessing cultural knowledge. Paired-samples t-tests were utilized to evaluate changes within each instructional approach, assessing cultural knowledge acquisition within both groups. Independent-samples t-tests were performed to compare the degree of improvement between hands-on and non-hands-on teaching for each relevant hands-on topic. The analyses involved reporting means, standard deviations (SD), t -scores, p- values, and effect size (Cohen’s d ) for each within-group and between-group comparison.

Self-reported reflections

After each intervention, both the EG and CG groups engaged in small-group self-reflected reflections on their respective learning experiences, guided by high-level prompts designed to encourage in-depth reflections and foster cognitive engagement (Neuman & Danielson, 2020 ), as presented in Appendix C . The EG prompts focused on sharing post-hands-on learning experiences, while the CG prompts emphasized reflections on worksheet learning experiences. Participants were organized into seven groups for the EG ( n  = 40) and six groups for the CG ( n  = 34), which corresponded to their poster presentation groups. Prompts included questions such as whether they found building a bird nest challenging, what aspects of the activity they enjoyed the most, and whether they felt they gained knowledge about constructing a bird nest after the hands-on learning. For the CG, comprising 4–5 students per group, prompts centered on their experience of learning how to build a bird nest through worksheets, discussions, and games, and whether they felt they acquired knowledge about bird nest construction after the worksheet activity.

In terms of data analysis, the video recordings of these reflections underwent qualitative analysis using the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach (Charlick et al., 2015 ). The process involved transcribing and familiarizing with video content, initial coding to identify meaningful units, theme development, interpretation and analysis, and validation and triangulation. Findings were narratively presented, supported by quotes and excerpts.

Video recordings for the EG’s and CG’s interventions

Both groups’ interventions were video recorded to capture the hands-on tasks for the EG and worksheet-based activities for the CG. Three individuals equipped with phones or cameras stayed with the EG, capturing instructional approaches and teacher-student interactions during each hands-on session in nearby parks or school meadows. Similarly, video recordings were conducted during worksheet-based instructional sessions for the CG, with cameras strategically placed in classrooms to document traditional worksheet-based learning. These video recordings underwent qualitative analysis using the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach to extract key insights into instructional approaches and language patterns.

Effects on content, communication, and cognition gains (RQ1)

Table 2 presents the results of independent-samples t -tests comparing gains in content, communication, and cognition between the EG and the CG for each hands-on topic. The assessments of content, communication, and cognition were conducted using rubrics with a 1–5 scale to evaluate students’ performance across various dimensions of oral communicative competence. For Content gains in Chinese Dumpling Making, the EG demonstrated significantly higher gains compared to the CG ( t  = 3.712, p  < 0.05, Cohen’s d  = 1.46), suggesting that hands-on activities in the EG led to more detailed and comprehensive understanding of the procedures the hands-on topic. In terms of Communication gains, the EG outperformed in sentence complexity, pronunciation accuracy, and presentation fluency ( t  = 5.329–8.838, p  < 0.05, Cohen’s d  = 2.10-3.48) but not in target vocabulary usage and sentence length. Regarding Cognition gains, the EG showed significantly higher scores compared to the CG ( t  = 8.036, p  < 0.05, Cohen’s d  = 3.17), implying that the hands-on activities facilitated a deeper comprehension of procedural steps and improved critical thinking abilities among the EG participants.

In Bird’s Nest Building, the EG surpassed the CG in Content and Communication gains significantly across all sub-dimensions ( p  < 0.05, Cohen’s d  = 2.82-8.40). The EG exhibited notable superiority in presentation fluency ( t  = 21.350, p  < 0.05, Cohen’s d  = 8.40). For Cognition gains, the EG again outperformed the CG ( t  = 10.609, p  < 0.05, Cohen’s d  = 4.16), indicating a deeper understanding and enhanced critical thinking abilities. Similar trends were observed in Succulent Pot Designing, where the EG demonstrated superior gains in Content and Communication, particularly in vocabulary usage, sentence length, and complexity ( p  < 0.05, Cohen’s d  =1.75-4.44). Noteworthy differences were observed in sentence complexity ( t  = 11.254, p  < 0.05, Cohen’s d  = 4.44). The EG also exhibited significantly higher Cognition gains compared to the CG ( t  = 5.150, p  < 0.05, Cohen’s d  = 2.02), suggesting a more profound understanding of procedural steps and improved critical thinking.

Effects on cultural knowledge acquisition (RQ2)

Table 3 presents within-group pre-test and post-test outcomes for cultural knowledge acquisition, employing paired-samples t- tests to evaluate the impact of hands-on and non-hands-on teaching approaches on three distinct hands-on topics. In the EG ( n  = 40), significant enhancements were observed in Chinese Dumpling Making ( t  = -12.599, p  < 0.005, Cohen’s d  = -1.99), Bird’s Nest Building ( t  = -8.408, p  < 0.005, Cohen’s d  = -1.33), and Designing a Pot of Succulents ( t  = -8.778, p  < 0.005, Cohen’s d  = -1.39). The CG ( n  = 34) demonstrated substantial gains in Chinese Dumpling Making ( t  = -5.766, p  < 0.005, Cohen’s d  = -0.99) and Bird’s Nest Building ( t  = -3.419, p  < 0.005, Cohen’s d  = -0.59). However, Designing a Pot of Succulents did not reach statistical significance ( t  = -2.719, p  > 0.005). The findings suggest that hands-on activities in the EG significantly improved cultural knowledge across all three topics, while the CG exhibited substantial gains in two out of three topics.

Table 4 displays between-group post-test comparisons for cultural knowledge acquisition, utilizing independent-samples t-tests to evaluate the differences between the EG and CG. In Chinese Dumpling Making, the EG exhibited significantly higher cultural knowledge (M = 1.80, SD = 0.405) compared to the CG (M = 1.12, SD = 0.640), with a significant t -value of 5.560 ( p  < 0.005) and a moderate effect size of Cohen’s d  =1.29. Similarly, in Bird’s Nest Building, the EG demonstrated superior cultural knowledge (M = 1.70, SD = 0.464) compared to the CG (M = 1.06, SD = 0.600), yielding a significant t -value of 5.179 ( p  < 0.005) with a moderate effect size of Cohen’s d  =1.21. In Designing a Pot of Succulents, the EG surpassed the CG in cultural knowledge (M = 4.73, SD = 1.261 vs. M = 3.09, SD = 1.357), with a significant t -value of 5.375 ( p  < 0.005) and a moderate effect size of Cohen’s d  = 1.26.

Comparing reflections on post-intervention learning experiences (RQ3)

Chinese dumpling making.

Based on the EG group reflections, the hands-on experience of crafting Chinese dumplings emerged universally enjoyable, fostering a positive learning encounter. This practical approach was embraced for its experiential nature, amplifying content comprehension and enjoyment. Notably, distinct preferences surfaced among groups; while some emphasized the dumpling-making process, others found delight in making different shapes of dumplings or consuming the final product. In contrast, the CG reflections indicated that worksheet-based instruction on the hands-on topics was generally perceived as uncomplicated. Their existing familiarity with dumpling-making likely bolstered their confidence in task completion. Moreover, the CG students’ extracurricular attempts at dumpling-making potentially heightened their engagement and understanding. Excerpts from student reflections are presented in Table  5 .

Bird’s nest building

EG reflections collectively highlighted that bird nest construction posed challenges for several students, particularly in intricate steps like loop-making and nest-building. Individual experiences varied, with some finding the activity both enjoyable and creatively engaging. Notably, many students displayed increased confidence in independent bird nest construction post hands-on activity, indicating positive learning outcomes. In contrast, CG reflections reveal divergent perceptions among the three groups regarding bird nest building. While certain students found it challenging, others did not articulate specific hurdles clearly. Pertinent excerpts from student reflections are provided in Table  6 .

Succulent pot designing

EG reflections collectively revealed that students acquired knowledge about succulents, encompassing diverse types and straightforward care prerequisites. Additionally, they displayed self-assuredness in planting and embellishing succulents. Similarly, CG students demonstrated confidence in comprehending succulent care, particularly concerning watering practices. Some CG students noted ease in planting succulents due to worksheet activities, while a minority found it challenging. Pertinent excerpts from student reflections are provided below.

EG1 , Group 4 :

“Student 1: There are 10,000 types of…succulents in the world. Succulents grow in deserts and dry place .” “Student 2 : Succulents are easy to take care . Grow succulents doesn’t require a lot of efforts and watering. ” “Student 3: Four people think it was not difficult to decorate succulent because it was easy to them.”

CG1 , Group 3 :

“Student 1: Succu…lents… are easy.. to care for .” “Student 2: Succ..ulents doesn’t ..need.. lots. of ..water. ” “Student 3 : No…of us …….think .. it.. was.. difficult … to… plant…a succulent.” “Student 4: All..of.. us …think it was… not difficult.. to plant.. suc…cul..ents.”

Insights from video recordings of both groups’ interventions

Hands-on learning for the eg.

Observations from video recordings revealed that hands-on tasks in the EG offered personalized, experiential learning opportunities that encouraged self-exploration and autonomy among students. For instance, during the Chinese Dumpling Making activity, students actively engaged in preparing and shaping dumplings according to their preferences and abilities, promoting hands-on engagement and skill development. The instructional structures observed in the videotaped sessions for the EG were characterized by a highly structured format, featuring clear guidelines and step-by-step instructions to support students throughout the activity. Conversely, the Bird’s Nest Building activity initially appeared less structured but evolved into a more organized approach as most students encountered challenges in nest construction, demonstrating a flexible blend of structured and unstructured elements tailored to student needs and progression. Similarly, the instructional structure for Succulent Pot Designing fell between these extremes, appearing straightforward and accessible to students while still providing sufficient guidance for effective participation and learning.

During the interventions, analysis of student language usage in the EG, as observed from the videotapes, revealed a tendency to use general English rather than employing specific target vocabulary. Students frequently relied on basic language structures and common vocabulary during hands-on activities, as illustrated by the excerpts below:

EG1, Student 5: “ Can I cut the vegetable like this? ” [Chinese Dumpling Making].

EG2, Student 13: “ This is hard to fold .” [Chinese Dumpling Making].

EG1, Student 9: “ Can I make my own shape? ” [Bird’s Nest Building].

EG2, Student 17: “ Can you give me rubber bands? ” [Bird’s Nest Building].

EG1, Student 6: “ I think this needs more water. ” [Succulent Pot Designing].

EG2, Student 11: “ This rocks make them very beautiful ” [Succulent Pot Designing].

Worksheet instructions for the CG

The video recordings of the CG highlighted a teacher-led, group-oriented approach to worksheet activities and games. In contrast to the EG’s hands-on tasks that encouraged individual exploration, CG activities emphasized teacher guidance and individual rotations for answering questions and completing worksheets. This instructional format was designed to scaffold learning experiences and provide students with structured opportunities to engage with subject content and language skills. Similarly, students in the CG also employed general English expressions and simple language patterns during worksheet-based tasks and teacher-led activities, as evidenced by the excerpts below.

CG1, Student 6: “ I don’t do it before .” [Chinese Dumpling Making].

CG2, Student 10: “ Can you help me? ” [Chinese Dumpling Making].

CG1, Student 1: “ Me! Teacher, I know! ” [Bird’s Nest Building].

CG2, Student 15: “ I saw it in my grandpa’s house. ” [Bird’s Nest Building].

CG1, Student 7: “ I like it very much. ” [Succulent Pot Designing].

CG2, Student 11: “ My home has it. ” [Succulent Pot Designing].

The study investigated the impact of hands-on activities versus worksheet-based learning on fourth-grade students’ English oral communicative competence, focusing specifically on Content gains assessed through oral presentations. Results consistently demonstrated that the EG surpassed the CG in Content gains across all hands-on topics, showing significantly higher procedural understanding after engaging in hands-on learning (Cohen’s d range:1.46–3.19). These findings highlight the effectiveness of hands-on learning in promoting deeper procedural understanding, potentially attributed to the instructor physically demonstrating each step while verbally reinforcing the procedural content. This approach aligns with the theory of embodied cognition (Barsalou, 2008 ; Holst, 2013 ), which emphasizes the interaction between physical actions and cognitive processes, facilitating deeper comprehension and engagement with subject matter (Fu & Franz, 2014 ).By incorporating embodied learning strategies and multimodal task design, educators can create enriched learning experiences that foster deeper understanding and engagement with subject matter. The study highlights the potential of multimodal task design and embodied learning strategies to enhance language acquisition and content knowledge within CLIL settings, supporting the use of hands-on activities as effective pedagogical approaches.

The comparison of Communication outcomes between the EG and CG demonstrated that the EG consistently exhibited superior language complexity, pronunciation accuracy of the target vocabulary, and presentation fluency (Cohen’s d range: 1.75–8.40) during their poster presentations. Notably, while target vocabulary use and sentence length were not significantly different in Chinese Dumpling making, the EG showed significant improvements in other aspects of Communication. The EG’s enhanced performance can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, the instructor in the EG physically demonstrated each procedural step while reinforcing the target vocabulary and procedural content verbally. This approach integrated multimodal task design with experiential learning, fostering deeper student engagement and enhancing oral communicative competence (Coyle, 2007 ; Lin, 2016 ). By combining physical demonstrations with verbal reinforcement, the EG students received a comprehensive learning experience that strengthened their ability to use the target vocabulary effectively in context. In contrast, the CG received worksheet-based instruction supplemented by instructor-led discussions to reinforce vocabulary and procedural knowledge theoretically. While these activities aimed to support learning, they lacked the immersive and experiential elements that hands-on activities provide, potentially limiting the depth of language engagement and communication skills development. The results align with previous research, highlighting the multifaceted impact of CLIL on strengths in oral communication (Lialikhova, 2021 ; Niteo Moreno de Diexmas, 2016 ; Pérez Cañado & Lancaster, 2017 ; Tedick & Wesley, 2015 ;), enhancing communicative competence (Galaviz & Peralta, 2019 ; Nikula, 2015 ), and fostering language knowledge acquisition (Yaman Ntelioglou et al., 2014 ).

The study’s analysis of Cognition gains highlighted that the EG consistently outperformed the CG across all hands-on activities (Cohen’s d range: 2.02–4.16) during their poster presentations. This superior performance can be attributed to several inherent factors in the hands-on learning approach. Firstly, hands-on activities engage students in active learning experiences where they directly interact with materials and concepts. This active engagement fosters a deeper understanding of procedural steps and concepts, requiring students to apply critical thinking and analytical skills to solve problems and complete tasks effectively. Secondly, the integration of multimodal task design, including physical demonstrations and verbal reinforcement of procedural content, plays a pivotal role in facilitating cognitive engagement. By combining physical actions with verbal explanations, hands-on activities stimulate multiple sensory modalities, enhancing comprehension and memory retention. Thirdly, hands-on activities align with the principles of embodied learning, where physical actions are intertwined with cognitive processes. This approach emphasizes the interplay between physical experiences and mental processes, fostering deeper comprehension and analytical thinking (Barsalou, 2008 ; Holst, 2013 ). Fourthly, engaging in hands-on tasks requires students to navigate challenges, make decisions, and problem-solve in real-time. This active problem-solving process stimulates cognitive processes associated with critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis of information.

During the poster presentations, the EG students were required to synthesize their learning and present their understanding coherently. This task not only reinforced their procedural knowledge but also demanded higher-order thinking skills, such as organization, synthesis, and articulation of ideas. The transformative impact of hands-on methodologies propels learners beyond mere retention and comprehension. Consequently, the study posits that the successful implementation of hands-on activities heightened the depth and insight of students’ higher-level cognitive processing as outlined in Bloom’s revised taxonomy (Krathwohl, 2002 ). In contrast, worksheet-based instruction and teacher-led discussions may have assisted students like those in the CG in remembering and understanding procedural knowledge, while hands-on learning empowered EG students to move further to apply, analyze, and evaluate concepts (see Fig.  4 ). This fusion of cognitive development with language learning resonates with the core principles of CLIL pedagogy, emphasizing the dual emphasis on content and language to cultivate comprehensive language and cognitive mastery (Coyle, 2002 ; Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010 ; Marsh, 2006 ).

Cognitive processing levels practiced between hands-on learning and worksheet-based instruction in the study (Krathwohl, 2002 )

The study investigated and compared the cultural knowledge acquired by students related to the three hands-on topics implemented in the EG and CG. The analysis yielded significant results, with Cohen’s d effect size ranging from 0.843 to 0.898. This indicates that the EG demonstrated notably higher levels of cultural knowledge acquisition compared to the CG across the selected hands-on activities. The observed differences in cultural knowledge between the EG and CG highlight the effectiveness of hands-on learning approaches in enhancing students’ understanding of cultural aspects associated with each topic. The EG’s engagement in experiential, culturally immersive activities likely facilitated a more comprehensive grasp of cultural practices, traditions, and perspectives compared to the CG’s worksheet-based approach. These outcomes resonate with previous research indicating that multimodal CLIL approaches can effectively enhance both content understanding and language skills through culturally enriched, immersive learning experiences (Galaviz & Peralta, 2019 ; Yaman Ntelioglou et al., 2014 ), thereby promoting broader intercultural competencies essential for global citizenship. These findings also display the importance of incorporating hands-on activities to promote cultural awareness and intercultural competencies within educational contexts.

The study employed a triangulation approach by integrating self-reported reflections and video analysis with quantitative data to provide a comprehensive understanding of instructional methods and student experiences within CLIL settings. Self-reported reflections from students within the EG revealed the profound benefits of hands-on activities in facilitating enjoyable and enriching learning experiences. For instance, students expressed universal enjoyment and increased content comprehension during the experiential Chinese Dumpling Making activity, which aligned with previous research emphasizing the engaging nature of multimodal methodologies (Lin, 2019 ). Similarly, students engaging in Bird’s Nest Building within the EG encountered challenges that promoted autonomy and problem-solving skills, ultimately contributing to heightened confidence in independent task execution. These self-reported experiences were complemented by video analysis of both groups’ interventions, revealing intriguing insights into language use and instructional engagement. Despite the significant autonomy and engagement observed in the EG, students tended to utilize general English rather than target vocabulary, similar to patterns observed in the control group (CG). This finding suggests a nuanced relationship between hands-on activities and language use, warranting further investigation into the effectiveness of multimodal task design in CLIL settings (Lin, 2019 ).

The comparison between the EG and CG highlighted distinct instructional methods and student experiences. EG students engaged in hands-on tasks such as Chinese Dumpling Making and Bird’s Nest Building, benefiting from immersive and individualized learning opportunities that fostered self-exploration and autonomy (Lin, 2019 ). These experiences were characterized by the utilization of basic language structures and common vocabulary to communicate actions and needs, reflecting the action-oriented nature of hands-on learning (Nikula, 2015 ). In contrast, the CG predominantly relied on worksheet-based tasks and teacher-led activities, emphasizing a more teacher-centered, group-oriented approach. Students in the CG often exhibited simple language patterns, seeking teacher guidance and using general expressions for communication (Lin, 2019 ), illustrating distinct differences in instructional structures and language utilization between the two groups.

Conclusions

This research delves deeply into the influence of hands-on methodologies within the CLIL framework, specifically evaluating English oral communicative competence across key dimensions: Content, Communication, Cognition, and Culture. The outcomes highlight the substantial enhancement achieved through hands-on activities, fostering comprehensive procedural explanations, refined communication skills, and heightened critical thinking abilities. The study contributes to bridging gaps in research on multimodal task design within CLIL contexts, an area that remains underdeveloped (Grapin, 2019 ; Roth, Conradty, & Bogner,  2023 ). The incorporation of hands-on activities proves instrumental in achieving the 4Cs, providing valuable insights for educators and curriculum designers in similar contexts.

Pedagogical implications and suggestions

The findings offer several pedagogical implications and suggestions:

Striking a balance between hands-on activities and traditional instructional methods can lead to optimal learning outcomes in a CLIL setting.

Integrating hands-on experiences allows students to apply knowledge in practical contexts, while structured instruction ensures comprehensive content coverage and supports learners who may require additional assistance.

The choice between hands-on activities and worksheet-based instruction should align with specific learning objectives, student preferences, and available resources.

A well-designed CLIL curriculum can leverage both approaches to create a dynamic and effective learning environment that fosters students’ cultural knowledge acquisition and language development.

Limitations

The study’s limitations include the potential influence of videotaped qualitative analysis on participants’ behavior during hands-on activities, potentially altering the natural dynamics of the learning environment and restricting the depth of analysis by missing subtle facial expressions or non-verbal cues. Additionally, human raters assessing oral communicative competence can exhibit subjective biases, emphasizing the need for more objective tools. Lastly, the assessment framework based on Coyle’s dimensions may not fully capture the complexity of students’ language abilities, highlighting the importance of long-term follow-up studies to evaluate the sustainability of observed improvements.

Future directions

The observed commonalities and disparities between the EG and CG in the study highlight the need for further exploration into multimodal task design and embodied learning strategies within CLIL contexts. Continued research could integrate various semiotic modes and physical engagement into educational tasks to explore their impacts on language acquisition and oral communicative competence. Moreover, comparing the language learning effectiveness of using oral and written modes as a task design approach as suggested by Grapin and Llosa ( 2022 ) can yield more comprehensive insights into the impact of multimodal approaches on language acquisition. Lastly, understanding teacher perspectives on incorporating hands-on activities in CLIL instruction can also offer valuable insights into implementation challenges and effective instructional strategies.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets utilized and analyzed in this study are accessible at the following link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GlqoV9_tq9HETRAZdn3fleqhIYJA7Exd

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Appendix A: Rubrics for Evaluating Poster Presentations on Hands-on Topics

Appendix B: Cultural Knowledge Pre-tests

Appendix C: Prompts for Self-Reported Reflections on Building a Bird’s Nest

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Lai, CJ. Examining the impact of multimodal task design on English oral communicative competence in fourth-grade content-language integrated social studies: A quasi-experimental study. Asian. J. Second. Foreign. Lang. Educ. 9 , 64 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-024-00289-7

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• Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
• Multimodal task design
• English oral communicative competence
• 4Cs (Content
• Communication
• and Culture)
• Embodied learning

• Oral presentation

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