Listening

In order to brainstorm ideas for your opinion essay, you will be required to brainstorm as you listen to the text.  Use any (T-Chart, Web, List, Venn) brainstorming technique you like.  If you start with a list or a web, and you would like to further subdivide your ideas, consider using a Venn or a T-Chart to refine your ideas.

Listening is a fundamental part of oral communication. Some questions to ask yourself:

1. Is there a difference between hearing and listening?

2. Why do we want you to learn to listen?

3. Can you get better at listening?

4. What does it mean to be an active listener?

Listening Tasks

Can you think of any other times you find yourself listening to understand?  Here's a short list:

• oral text

• poem aloud

• podcast

• video

• song

• speech

• any text read aloud

• Class discussion

• Group work

• Presentation

• Lesson

• Broadcast

• Video stream

• Television

• Film

• Radio

• Commercial

Listening Purposes

We listen for the following purposes:

• Understand points of view

• Identify main ideas and supporting details

• Identify bias

• Identify opinion

• Form mental images

• Identify two sides of an argument

• Gather information: W5H (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How)

• Pleasure

• Help us choose a position

• Help us prepare a counterargument

• Understand ideas

• Take notes

• Following instructions

Questions

1. Choose a listening task from the list, then:

2. Can you identify the purpose of these listening tasks?

3. Can you set a goal for the purpose?

How Not to Make a Presentation

You are the presentation, not your slides.  Your slide deck is a tool.

You have to understand your topic and become the expert.

Present your findings to the class in a timely and organised fashion.  

Your body language, eye contact, voice (tone, volume, variability) and confidence start with knowing your material.  The more you prepare, the stronger your presentation will be.

This mean you need to:

• know your material

• plan your presentation so that it has a beginning, middle, and end

• keep in mind that your presentation needs a thesis or a guiding idea that you want your audience to understand

My slide presentation, How Not to Make a Presentation, is FILLED WITH THINGS NOT TO DO.  If your sarcasm detector is not working, or if you missed this actual lesson, go to the last slide for all the key ideas.