Oral Presentation Guidelines
 

The group oral presentations are scheduled for Thursday, November 30th and Tuesday, December 5th. As there are 8 groups (Abortion, Feminism, Science, Animal Rights, Gay Rights, War, Immigration, and Civil Rights, in no particular order), 4 groups will be scheduled for each day. Each group will be expected to present for about 10 minutes and take about 5 minutes for questions.

Each group presentation must address the following questions:

• What led to the mobilization of your movement? What grievances did it have? What sorts of members were involved, and who was its target?
• What sorts of strategies, tactics, and/or frames did the movement employ?
• What have some of the consequences of the movement been?

Groups may organize their presentation in any way they wish. Here are some suggestions:

• Develop a presentation collaboratively and deliver it together
• Divide these questions up between group members, giving each group member 2.5-3.5 minutes to present their part of the story
• Have each group member present on a different social movement organization, answering these questions more quickly for his or her organization

But whatever you do, be sure to spend at least a few sentences at the beginning introducing your topic and a few sentences at the end concluding.

If you are interested in using any media as part of your presentation, your group must let me know by November 21st via email. Overhead transparencies, video or DVD, PowerPoint, and sound capabilities should all be possible. These are NOT REQUIRED, and please be aware that you will not get extra points simply for using media--if you use it, you will be graded on your ability to do so well.

Grading: This part of the project is worth 5 points, to be awarded to the entire group. Remember that you will be participating in group evaluations at the end of the semester, so people who do not participate fully (or who do amazing work) may have their grade adjusted accordingly). The points will be distributed as follows:
2 points for presentation style and skills: though you are welcome to use notes, you should avoid looking down and reading your whole talk; your talk should be well-organized and coherent; you shouldn't speak too quickly or too slowly; you should engage your audience; you should be able to answer questions (or politely indicate that you don't know the answer); if you use media, you should do it well and it should not take away from the content
3 points for information and content: you should speak to all three questions listed above; you should back up your arguments with evidence; you should avoid factually-incorrect information; you should demonstrate an understanding of course content.

Tips for doing well: be sure to practice your talk a few times in front of another person! That is what makes the biggest difference in doing well in public speaking. And remember this is a friendly audience of peers who are all about to do the same thing as you.

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