“Presenting Your Research”

Constructing a Clear Message, Projecting Confidence, and Being the Best Possible You

with Jen Seifert and Lanie Presswood

Today’s Agenda:

1. Introductions

2. Impromptu Speaking 1. yes, you will have to do it and yes, you can do it

well

3. Short Activity

4. Fundamentals of A Strong, Confident Delivery

5. Constructing a Conference Presentation A Short Case Study

6. Q&A

Tell Us About Yourself!

Who are you? What do you study/where are you in your

journey? Why are you here?

If you have a presentation coming up, what are you the most nervous about?

If you have recently done a presentation, what do you feel you could have improved upon?

Impromptu Speaking

Giving a presentation without advance preparation Draws most often from knowledge, experience and

background

Pros Has the potential to evidence skill

Trains one to distill complex thoughts into cohesive messages

Cons Lack of planning

Outcome is often uncertain

Impromptu Message

Components of an Impromptu Message Attention getter

Thesis statement

Main points

Conclusion

Grammar and word choice are less important

Stay calm, avoid verbal fillers, reference notes if necessary

Match the formality of your delivery to the setting

Don’t be afraid to re-iterate big ideas

AnxiousThoughtsMakeCohesive

Activity Find a partner!

Think of an upcoming project OR a recently completed project

Everyone will have 2 minutes to prepare a 30 second speech about their research Tell us:

Who you are

Where you are from

Where you are in your journey (grad, undergrad, faculty)

WHAT you are researching/presenting (topic AND discipline)

WHY you are here/what you are looking for

After the prep time, take turns delivering the speech and providing constructive feedback to speaker. We will then take turns presenting to the class!

Providing Feedback

Message: Did it have all the components of an impromptu

message?

Was it cohesive and did it match the occasion?

Delivery: Did the speaker avoid verbal fillers?

Did they use appropriate gestures?

What suggestions do you have for increasing the effectiveness of the speaker’s delivery?

Video Clip:

Amy Cuddy, “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are”

Delivery is the key that opens the door to your ideas!

Your audience will have formed an impression of you long before you start speaking – but that’s a good thing! We can control that.

Delivery can be primarily broken down and examined in THREE areas: your body, your voice, and your face.

The key to all three is MINDFULNESS – you can’t change your behavior if you aren’t aware of what you are doing (or what you look like to others).

Delivery, Posture, and Gestures• Make sure your shoulders are back and down, not hunched over and rounded.

• Keep your head up – no staring at notecards!

• Problems with nerves? Try wiggling your toes inside closed shows to release that energy

• Gestures enhance your message. Don’t be afraid to use both hands, and make sure gestures are large enough for everyone to see – but don’t cover your face!• As a general rule of thumb, use a gesture:

• To show connection between related ideas

• To illustrate items in a sequence/list

• To provide general emphasis for impressive facts and statistics

Delivery and Vocal Inflection• Volume is your friend – fill the room!• Slow down• Enunciate – consonants get lost when we get nervous.• Slowwww Dowwnnnnnn.• Think about the words – don’t recite lines at us• Breathe deeply – don’t forget!• When in doubt….. Slowwwwwwwww

Dowwwwwwwwnnnnnnnn

Delivery and Facial Expressions• Eye contact: one thought delivered to one person

• No scanning the room, no staring contests

• Smile! You worked hard to get here, act like you enjoy it.

Now you sound and look amazing – Congrats!!!

But….. How do we put together a message?

Let’s work through that together, shall we?

Everybody is in the Labyrinth:

Subverting Gothic Traditions and Rebuilding Terministic Screens

ALANE PRESSWOOD

OHIO UNIVERSITY

FILM PROTAGONISTS HAVE LONG USED FANTASY AS A METHOD OF COPING WITH THE TROUBLES OF DAILY LIFE….

1939

1951

1970

But What About Horror?

SHOWCASING THE INHERENT “HORROR” OF REAL LIFE RENDERS THE FILM EXPERIENCE MORE IMMEDIATE FOR VIEWING AUDIENCES WHO ARE EXPERIENCING RELEVANT, DIFFICULT TO OVERCOME REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCES.

LET’S EXPLORE THAT, SHALL WE?• THEORETICAL FRAMES

• PAN’S LABYRINTH AS AN EXEMPLAR OF SUBVERTING HORROR EXPECTATIONS

• USING SUBVERSIVE TECHNIQUES TO REFRAME TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCES

Conventions of Gothic and Horror FilmsTHE GOTHIC: “A DISCOURSE THAT CAN APPEAR IN VARIOUS GENRES… THAT IS STRUCTURED BY ANXIETIES OVER AND TRANSGRESSIONS OF VARIOUS SOCIALLY SANCTIONED BOUNDARIES.” (CHATTERJEE, 2004, P. 49)

ISABEL PINEDO’S (2004) FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MODERN HORROR:

1. HORROR VIOLENTLY DISRUPTS THE EVERYDAY WORLD

2. HORROR TRANSGRESSES/VIOLATES BOUNDARIES.

3. HORROR QUESTIONS THE VALIDITY OF RATIONALITY

4. HORROR REPUDIATES NARRATIVE CLOSURE

5. HORROR PRODUCES A BOUNDED EXPERIENCE OF FEAR

Rebuilding Terministic Screens with Horror Rhetoric

“REAL AND REEL VIOLENCE DO NOT EXIST APART FROM EACH OTHER… THEY ARE CONSTANTLY OVERLAPPING.” (REIGLER, 2010, P. 32)

TERMINISTIC SCREENS: USED BY INDIVIDUALS TO DIRECT ATTENTION OR FUNNEL FOCUS TOWARD A SPECIFIC ASPECT OF A PROBLEM/SCENARIO (1966)

• Composed of the terms we use to describe our world

• Strongly influenced by Burke’s split conceptualization of language

• Dramatistic vs. scientistic language

MOVIES PROVIDE A QUICK, EASY WAY TO ACCESS A WHOLE NEW SET OF TERMS AND EXPERIENCES.

Guillermo del Toro’s Mexican-Spanish “dark fantasy” Pan’s Labyrinth premiered in 2006. The movie garnered Oscars for Art Direction, Cinematography, and Makeup, in addition to three other nominations.

The story is set in the spring of 1944, five years after the end of the Spanish Civil War.

Pan’s Labyrinth as Subversion of Typical Gothic Characteristics

• PROTAGONIST OFELIA TRANSFORMS HER REAL-LIFE STRUGGLES INTO A SET OF CHALLENGES TO BE COMPLETED IN A FANTASY WORLD, AT “THE INTERSECTION OF CHILDHOOD, WAR, MASCULINITY, AND MONSTROSITY.” (CLARK & MCDONALD, 2010, P. 53)

• SHE ADOPTS EACH OF THE TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HORROR AND INVERTS THEM TO BECOME POSITIVE COPING DEVICES.

Rebuilding an Everyday World

• OFELIA REJECTS THE RIGIDITY THAT OTHERS HAVE IMPOSED ON HER LIFE AND REPLACES IT WITH HER OWN CHOICES.

• THIS CAREFUL CONSTRUCTION OF ROUTINE COMMUNICATES TO VICTIMS OF TRAUMA THAT THEY POSSESS THE POWER TO SYMBOLICALLY RECONSTRUCT THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

Reconfiguring Boundaries

• SHIFTING THE TERMINISTIC SCREEN FROM “VICTIM” TO “REBEL” CREATES THE PERCEPTION OF EMPOWERMENT AND PERSONAL FREEDOM.

• THE JARRING NATURE OF OFELIA’S SITUATION ENCOURAGES ADULT VIEWERS TO REFRAME THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES.

Negating Rationality

• 21ST CENTURY AUDIENCES RELATE TO LINKS TO THEIR OWN CIRCUMSTANCES, NOT GHOSTLY WHISPERINGS.

• DEFIANCE PROVIDES AN OUTLET FOR SITUATIONS OUTSIDE OUR CONTROL.

• “THE WORST MONSTERS ARE HUMAN BEINGS.” (ZALEWSKI, 2011)

Enabling Your Own Fairy-Tale Ending

• FINDING THE STRENGTH TO CONQUER YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES LEADS TO PEACE.

• DEL TORO CHOOSES TO PROMOTE HOPE AND ACCEPTANCE RATHER THAN LOSS AND GRIEF, PROMOTING DRAMATISTIC FORWARD MOMENTUM

Loosing the Bonds of Fear• OFELIA’S

RESISTANCE IS WHAT MAKES HER SO IDENTIFIABLE – SHE IS NOT A FINAL GIRL

• THE LESSON IS NOT THAT DARKNESS IS TO BE CONTAINED AND DECONSTRUCTED – RATHER, WE SHOULD EMBRACE AMBIGUITY FOR THE CHOICES IT GIVES US.

In Conclusion…• HORROR IS FAR AND AWAY NOT JUST A RESULT OF THE SUPERNATURAL

REALM

• FILM BOTH REFLECTS DOMINANT CULTURAL WORRIES AND PROVIDES AN IDEAL MEDIUM FOR RE-ORIENTING TERMINISTIC SCREENS

• DEL TORO’S PAN’S LABYRINTH ENCOURAGES VICTIMS OF TRAUMA TO REFRAME NEGATIVE SCENARIOS/MEMORIES BY PROMOTING PERSONAL AGENCY AND FLEXIBLE BOUNDARIES

Now it’s your turn….

Questions?