Effective professionals need to be able to communicate their ideas through speaking as well as writing. Successful presentations involve using strategies to overcome anxiety, organizing the presentation, analyzing the audience, and managing nonverbal elements of the presentation. (JOW)

Finds that students reported lower communication apprehension after both oral interpretation and public speaking classes, with no significant difference in reduction between the two classes. (SR)

Ways in which the speech writer for an executive can write a successful speech are outlined, including meeting regularly with the executive, getting to know his or her personal and professional preferences, asking questions, doing adequate and appropriate research, finding the right tone, and coaching the speaker. (MSE)

Investigates gender differences in anticipatory state anxiety and narrowband trait anxiety patterns among college students. Finds significant gender-based pattern differences, with higher anxiety patterns reported by female speakers. Finds that both female and male speaker groups exhibited the hypothesized quadratic v-shaped pattern of mean…

Describes how one teacher begins to address presentation anxiety by presenting a lecture/discussion on controlling nervousness, followed by small group work in class intended to demonstrate the variety of ways in which nervousness is manifested in different people. (SR)

Shows that recollections of state speaking anxiety decreased over time, and that the rate of attenuation was associated with the speaker's level of trait speaking anxiety. Finds also that recollections of state speaking anxiety (implicit memory) were attenuated over time, and that the magnitude of this decline was predicted by the speaker's level…

Gives advice on the proper presentation and selection of conference papers. Suggestions include the following: (1) practice the talk; (2) clarify the paper's thesis; (3) respect the assigned time limit; (4) avoid interpolations; (5) make the paper a complete work; (6) avoid dialogue with the chair; (7) minimize the use of quotations; and (8)…

Compares guided visualization (involving guided imagery) with self-constructed imagery (involving developing one's own visualization script). Finds no differences between guided visualization and self-constructed visualization in terms of reducing communication apprehension or negative thinking, but finds both procedures superior to no treatment…

Expresses the author's hope and expectation that there has been great improvement in diversity of the debate circuit since he was a debater nearly 30 years ago. Discusses lessons he learned in debate that have mattered, and have not mattered, in his career as a lawyer and professor. (SG)

Presents 10 strategies to help parents and teachers prepare and deliver effective presentations, including: use good information; practice the presentation; control the materials; get acquainted with at least a few audience members; have a strong opening; practice anxiety management; be oneself; do not get too complicated or fancy at first; have a…

Examines the efficacy of using immediate and delayed feedback in generating improvement on a subsequent public speaking performance, for tasks which vary in information processing requirements. Indicates that immediate feedback intervention is more effective when automatic processing occurs, while delayed feedback produces greater change with…

Speaking at a conference is a vital way of summarizing your work for others; of positioning yourself as a person working in a particular field; and of receiving feedback on your work from colleagues. In this "Directions", we suggest: reasons for speaking at a conference; characteristics of an effective presentation; strategies for preparation…

The study investigated the effectiveness of self-modeling as an intervention for public speaking anxiety. The participants were six high school students with elevated levels of self-reported public speaking anxiety. Students presented public speeches to randomly selected peer audiences. Direct observations measured the behavioral manifestations of…

In this paper, the author presents ten rules for keeping an audience engaged during conference presentations: (1) Think of your talk as an "advertisement" for your paper; (2) Choose your data selectively; (3) Present slides with boldfaced print no less than 32-point type size; (4) Never project a quotation without reading it to your audience; (5)…

Recent discoveries about the role of microorganisms in the establishment of the geological conditions in the planet have lead to the development of courses in Geomicrobiology. Unfortunately, most courses are designed for students with a strong Geology background, which is a limitation for universities that lack such courses. To overcome this…