SUMMARY

1 You may be required to use oral skills in a variety of contexts, such as making presentations to your fellow students in small group classes, or to one of your lecturers as part of your assessed work or appearing as an advocate in a moot or a mock trial.

2 In common with essays and written answers to problem questions (see Chapters 10 and 11), anything you deliver orally must be thoroughly prepared and planned and must have an explicit objective.

3 Unlike written exercises, however, oral work uses non-verbal means of communication (including body language, tone of voice and pace of delivery) as well as the spoken word. You must, therefore, be conscious of the way you present yourself, quite apart from the words you speak, and try to ensure that all non-verbal factors support your oral message. For example, you will not communicate effectively if you deliver your words in a flat, monotonous tone of voice, or if your bodily stance suggests that you are totally bored by the proceedings.

4 It is essential that you pitch what you say at an appropriate level, bearing in mind the expectations and needs of your audience.

5 Above all, you must always remember that an oral presentation is not the same thing as a written presentation read aloud.