ChE curriculum

The Importance of
ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS
and a Graduate Course to Help Improve These Skills

Garth L. Wilkes

W
Virginia Tech • Blacksburg, VA 24061
hat are likely to be two of the main requirements/ tive course was developed to try to address at least some of
prerequisites listed on a job description for which the issues that would otherwise restrain students from career
a student is considering interviewing? The answer success or possibly life success in general. While the author
is almost universally “Excellent Oral and Written Communi- will return near the end of this article to describe some of the
cation Skills.” While this article will not address the latter, it organizational aspects of the course, let us first focus on the
will focus on the former. The author’s objective is to provide elements of oral communication. We will begin with three
some basis for why oral communication is such an important “reminder” statements.
quality for any individual who is moving on from college to
a career. A second objective is to address how a one-semester Oral Communication reminders
course, particularly aimed at the graduate level, can assist One such reminder is that “we may live in an age of super
students in helping make this quality a reality or at least assist computers, high-speed fiber-optic networks, and the Internet,
in moving the student in the right direction. yet in the final analysis, the ‘spoken word’ still dominates. We
Before addressing the components of oral communication certainly recognize that politicians rise and fall, lawyers win
the author believes will help fortify an individual’s oral com- or lose in courts, business, social, and family relationships
munication skills, the author would first like to provide the thrive or fail ... all because of what people say and how they
reason for initiating such a course at Virginia Tech within the say it.”[1] A second reminder is that an individual receives
Department of Chemical Engineering. In brief, the inspiration hundreds of verbal messages each day (both written and oral);
stemmed from the fact that after being part of many graduate if you are the communicator (the sender) how can you make
student committees, the author noted the relatively weak oral the listener (the receiver) remember yours? A third and final
presentations of many students, even while their written docu- reminder and one close to home for students is an individual
ments (research plan or thesis) may have been well composed. may be a very talented academic student grade-wise, yet if
Restated, the author distinctly recognized that there were
numerous cases whereby the student at the front of the room
may have written an excellent proposal or thesis/dissertation, Garth Wilkes is presently a University
yet what was orally presented by that same individual led to Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the
Department of Chemical Engineering at
very poor support of that document and/or the work done to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg Virginia. He
achieve it. This was most disappointing. In fact, it was easy earned his Ph.D degree in physical chem-
istry from the University of Massachusetts
to see that if that same person were to leave the university in 1969. In 1978, he was recruited by
with such poor oral communication skills, his or her future Virginia Tech to help initiate the interdisci-
might well be very dim in locating a career of choice due to
plinary Macromolecular MS/PhD program
at Virginia Tech and served as a co-director
this weakness—even though such graduates may really be of that program for more than 20 years.
excellent scientists/engineers on the basis of technical skills
and work ethics. For that reason, a new one-semester elec- © Copyright ChE Division of ASEE 2012

Vol. 46, No. 4, Fall 2012 251

people do not perceive that from the way he or she presents communication occurs in myriad different venues, much of
or speaks, he or she will lose credibility and the listener’s at- this article will emphasize presentations used in research and
tention. Hence, it is critical to try to develop the appropriate related technical “group meetings.” It is hoped, however, that
communication skills to support not only one’s career goals the reader will also appreciate the principles covered in this
but essentially almost all parts of life. How can this be done? article and that the principles will thus have a much broader
Presented in this report are some methods that, if practiced, application to oral communication as a whole.
can help promote success.
As was stated above, the person communicating the mes- Reflections on Weaknesses in Oral
sage can be viewed as the “sender” and the listener is the Communication and How to Minimize
“receiver.” The success of that transmission of information, For many individuals, one of the main causes of poor oral
however, and whether it is truly received and fully imprinted communications in public speaking is the fear that comes
in the memory bank of the receiver, is dependent on a number with being in this position – i.e., up front! As Figure 2 in-
of items. Typically all can be included under the headings dicates, three things can help diminish this fear. First is to
given in Figure 1. develop confidence when addressing an audience. To do that
As this figure illustrates, there are two fundamental compo- often takes considerable practice. One’s initial ability to be
nents associated with oral communication. They are the verbal confident in public speaking often varies depending on per-
and the nonverbal—each of which we will address. While oral sonality (e.g., introverted vs. extroverted), which the author
has noted many times when teaching the communication
course. Confidence, which helps generate persuasiveness
and trust, can improve with careful preparation/organization
COMMUNICATION of the material. When preparing, feedback is desirable ahead
of the actual presentation. This is why, particularly in the
early stages of developing oral communication skills, it is
useful to “test out” your presentations ahead of time in front
SENDER MESSAGE RECEIVER of a peer or two that will be honest with you about what you
have said (verbal communication) and how you have said it
(nonverbal communication)—both topics we will address.
By building on the three items given in Figure 2, fear can
generally be diminished. If one does not have a peer or two
to listen to a practice session, then setting up a video camera
VERBAL NONVERBAL or even a simple voice recording device can also be of great
COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION assistance. A video camera is better for reasons that will be
made apparent later on.
Besides fear and lack of confidence, some other potential
Figure 1. Factors affecting whether communication is
pitfalls may well limit success in the communication of an
truly received and fully imprinted on listener.
oral presentation. Some of these will now be briefly addressed.
One is recognizing the nature of the audience. In this respect,
there are several points to consider ahead of time—some are
ORAL COMMUNICATION listed below in Scheme 1.
Scheme 1. A Few Characteristics About the
Audience/Listener the Speaker Should Consider
FEAR
• Age and Its Distribution
• Occupations/Professions
• Educational Level(s)
CONFIDENCE FEEDBACK • Size
• Mood
PREPARATION
• Possible Expectations of the Listener(s)
& PRACTICE
In brief, when giving a presentation, one should generally
not aim the subject matter too high or too low with regard to the
Figure 2. Three aspects can help diminish the fear that audience. This is not always easy to avoid unless one knows
comes with speaking in front of a group. some information ahead of time, but it is worth considering.
252 Chemical Engineering Education
If the age distribution or the educational levels/
backgrounds vary greatly, this challenge can be OBJECTIVE—”What Do I Want To
met if the sender specifically and openly addresses
the subject with some added remarks that show Accomplish With My Presentation?”
the receivers he or she is trying to make sincere
accommodations during the presentation. The
issue of audience educational backgrounds dif-
fering from that of a technical/scientific presenter
can be a fairly large barrier with regard to trying
to convey some science-based subjects to a lay
group. It seems today’s non-scientists are quite
skeptical about what a scientist/engineer has
to say—particularly when addressing such hot TITLE
topics as global warming or related subjects that
impact their daily world. Hence, particular care
must be taken to not use detailed, sophisticated
science language when addressing such subjects.
Instead, employ terminology that is more broadly
understandable. For example, terms such as “an-
thropogenic,” “spatial,” and “temporal” may be Modified From Present Like a Pro (McGraw-Hill [3].
better changed to “human-caused,” “space,” and
“time.”[2] Recognizing the latter point will assist Figure 3. One simple schematic that can assist in
in marketing or selling one’s presentation with the organizing a talk.
appropriate choice of language.
There is also the choice of phraseology that can make a Organizing a Presentation
major difference to an audience and its desire to listen to what
There is the well-known old phrase that states when plan-
you have to say. For example, one often hears a speaker state
ning to deliver a presentation, “Tell them what you are going
at the beginning of a talk, “I am going to tell you about . . . .”
to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them.”
In short, most people do not wish to be told! The speaker is
Indeed, this simple summation of what to do actually has
usually better off by using phrases like “Today we will ex-
merit, for the attention span of listeners is often quite short.
plore together . . . ,” or, “We will discuss the topic of . . . . .”
As studies have shown, attention generally peaks at the begin-
Such phraseology can promote a closer bonding with the
ning of a talk and may also show a second peak near the end
audience right from the beginning, which is clearly desirable
where a summary may be given. Thus, if the speaker has the
in most instances. One point the speaker should remember in
time to do it, restating or repackaging some of the important
preparing a presentation is that the audience can essentially be
points in the presentation is useful for re-enforcement. The
viewed as the “jury,” in judging the material given and how
percentage of time a speaker holds the attention of someone
it is presented. In fact, a silent “verdict” will be reached by
in the audience depends on lots of variables, however, some
each listener even if there is no chance for discussion of this
of which the speaker has little control over (such as, is the
at the end of the presentation.
listener distracted due to an argument he or she had with a
significant other earlier that day?) While the speaker cannot
Overused Words, Phrases, or Sounds
easily offset such situations, he or she can improve them by
Some audience distractors/irritators used inadvertently by taking earlier note of the backgrounds of the audience, (e.g.,
speakers include such sounds as “umh,” “aah,” and overused potential common interests, etc.) and including suitable
phases such as “and a,” “you know,” “like, you know” and remarks that provide coupling of such interests with various
even unintentional repetitious sounds. If you do not believe aspects of the material presented. Also, the organization of
this, inject several of these within a talk and watch the atten- the talk will be a critical factor as well. If the talk can be logi-
tion of the audience/listener begin to fade. In fact, the author cally followed, the associated message it brings will have a
recalls a graduate class he took in the subject of inorganic much better chance of being truly received and grasped by
chemistry where the lecturer would often clear his throat to the listener.
the extent that members of the class used to place bets on how
many times this would happen in a given lecture—sometimes One simple schematic that can assist in organizing a talk
the number exceeded 100! Needless to say, we were count- is shown in Figure 3. This comes from a text the author has
ing the throat-clearings, not focusing on the subject matter found useful in supporting his communications course.[3]
being presented. While the figure is in many ways self-explanatory, a few
Vol. 46, No. 4, Fall 2012 253
 allow passage of the item through the audience to allow di-
Eye contact in conjunction with vocal rect contact with each listener. Passing the show & tell item
around also has the potential disadvantage that, while each
tone and pace play major roles in pro- member of the audience is inspecting the item, he or she may
be distracted from listening to what is being discussed at that
viding the mood the speaker may want point in time. Nonetheless, the author is still a big believer
that if your listener can see and possibly have direct contact
at a given point in the presentation. with an example, it will help make the overall discussion of
the associated principle stick in his or her mind more than if
you had not used it. Clearly, another limitation of a show &
tell item is when the audience is very large and a small show
comments may be useful. First, the speaker must try to suc-
& tell item may not be seen well by those in the back of the
cinctly answer the question of what he or she wants to ac-
presentation room. In this case, the best approach may be to
complish with the message/presentation. Also, what are the
show a photo or video clip of the item.
specific points that are critical to make? To make each one
stand alone as it is delivered, it is necessary as a rule to be
Thoughts on Using Figures and
sure there is a clear transition made between each. Thus, a
statement such as, “Now let us turn our attention to the next Tables in Presentations
important message I wish to share with you,” can be useful. The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words is
The very beginning of the presentation is also quite critical. certainly true in many cases (particularly in science). If the
It is here the speaker clearly desires to catch the attention of picture or figure is one that can clearly meet this criterion, then
the listener. Sometimes this can be done nicely by use of a certainly the presenter should use it if appropriate audio-visual
related question that makes the listener come to attention if (AV) means are available. Today, however, it is very easy to
possible—note the initial sentence of this article! Of course, overload a figure with so much material and color by the use
whatever this opening remark is, as a rule it should be coupled of PowerPoint or other software that the listener can lose focus
to the general theme of the message to be delivered. This will of the main feature the presenter really wants to highlight. For
be quite dependent on the make-up of the audience as well as example, often students like to add the university logo and
the subject to be addressed, and thus this author will not try related material such as the name of a research sponsor on
to focus on such issues here. In fact, note in Figure 3 that the every slide. I find that distracting. Hence, it is urged that one
“opener” may often appear ahead of the actual title (if, for try to avoid such overloading and only show what is intended,
example, PowerPoint slides are being used). using a readable font size and minimal color accents, etc. One
Another notable element regarding Figure 3 is the term can always start or finish the presentation with the research
“supports” that appears on the left. This term refers to what sponsor’s information as well as the university logo or photo.
this author generally calls show & tell—items that may be As for the use of tables in a typical presentation, I am biased
used to support the content of the message being delivered. in that I find tables with lots of entries to be less valuable
Since this author expects readers of this article are likely in than a clear figure with the data plotted to display the trend
the business of science and engineering, using show & tell one often wishes to show. The important point, however, is
usually gives us a real chance to couple the listener into our not to overload a table and to be sure the listener in the back
message. One can often show or demonstrate a principle be- of the room can easily see the table entries. A final point is
ing discussed by use of an actual example or a product that that often in scientific or technical presentations, figures and
functions based on a given theory, etc. The author is a major tables are lifted from the open literature and these have been
believer in using such examples, for if the listeners can see designed for publications and not necessarily for use in an oral
an item (and possibly touch or inspect it as well) there is a presentation. Hence, remaking or modifying such literature
stronger tendency for the principle it illustrates to be embed- material so that font size, color accentuation, etc., will reach
ded in their minds. In fact, the author is noted for carrying the audience sitting in the back of the room can be of great
a large bag of show & tell samples for use in the courses advantage. Including the reference to that corresponding
he teaches on the processing/structure/property behavior of figure should always be done whenever possible.
polymeric materials. One of the comments from students
enrolled in these courses is how important the use of those Nonverbal Communication:
samples was in driving home key points being made in the Its Elements and Their Importance
lectures. Having said that, however, there is a price to pay We have focused on a number of issues related to improving
at times with use of such show & tell items: It is the time oral communication by what is said and by how a presenta-
required for the speaker to pick up and comment on each one tion is organized. We have not, however, considered the
and, in some cases if the audience is not large, to possibly issue of nonverbal communication (recall Figure 1), which

254 Chemical Engineering Education

is an equally important and critical facet of achieving a suc- front. In short, standing behind a podium typically causes a
cessful presentation. Another more common phrase that also loss of body dynamics and often promotes less direct con-
encompasses the topic of nonverbal communication is body nection of the speaker to the audience.
language. In fact it is worth remembering that in the animal The third element, proxemics, is how one utilizes the space
kingdom, except for a few growls or roars and mating calls, around oneself. To put this into perspective, have you ever
body language is the only language. Do the visible fangs of sat through a presentation and felt the speaker never seemed
a large lion, the wagging tail of a friendly dog, or the flat- to address you or at least the audience? Instead, the speaker
tened ears of a frightened horse not send a distinct message was either off in space (maybe just that “space” occupied by
to an observer? Thus, just what are the elements comprising the speaker and the screen for the slides!). Or in some other
nonverbal communication and why are they important? The case, the speaker may have only talked to the first few rows
author considers there to be six such aspects—four of which of the audience. Good proxemics is when the speaker is well
should never be overlooked when making a presentation aware of all audience members and during the presentation
(particularly when its outcome may influence one’s career makes an effort to reach out or project to each one. This can
advancement). The six elements are paralanguage, kinesics, be done by walking now and then from side to side to allow
proxemics, dress/appearance, iconic images, and haptics—the better voice projection and eye contact with each person in
latter two are generally of lesser importance than the first four. attendance. In some instances (not generally scientific-based
Paralanguage is, in brief, the way you say something with presentations) the speaker may even go out into the audience.
your voice—examples being the tone, volume, pace or de- This is not usually suggested although it certainly draws the
livery rate, distinct hesitations, use of voice inflections vs. a attention of those who may have been dozing off. In summary,
monotonal delivery, etc. Most readers will quickly relate to the speaker should try to include all of the audience into the
these aspects of speaking for we have all heard presentations talk by eye usage and body dynamics up front, and now and
being given in a monotone—the longer the talk, the more apt then possibly even ask if those in the back of the lecture room
the listener will be to fall asleep or become bored and not pay can hear the speaker. In fact, it never hurts to ask that question
attention. Hence, voice inflections are an extremely effective very early on in a presentation so the speaker finds out if his
means of placing emphasis on what points are important— or her own speaking volume or that supplied by a wireless
such as inserting a hesitation just prior to delivering the point microphone is suitable enough for all to hear. In fact, if one
with emphasis (a short silence followed with enhanced volume is planning to give a long presentation or a series of lectures,
stating the point of importance). Certainly, however, there are use of a wireless microphone is highly recommended. This
times when a soft voice is better than a harsh or loud one; not only helps hold the attention of the audience but it also
the mood of the presentation should make it easy to select conserves the speaker’s voice that might otherwise give out
which mode is most desirable. For example, just think about later. Finally, in the case where a speaker finds the audience
a presentation or talk that is of a eulogistical nature vs. that of, is small relative to the number of available seats in the pre-
say, a political speech—the use of strong accents in the latter sentation room, the speaker may well wish to suggest prior to
will generally win more votes, but would not be appreciated beginning his or her talk that those listeners far from the front
in the opposing example. take a moment to move to the available seats near the front
of the room; this will generally promote a closer “bonding”
In contrast to the use of the voice itself, kinesics has to do
of the full audience with the presenter.
with eye usage, facial expression, and body posture. In short,
if the message being delivered is to excite the audience, then The element of dress/appearance is clearly an obvious one.
it is less likely to happen if there is no excitement expressed The author is not saying that one should always be “dressed to
facially by the speaker at appropriate times. Likewise, if some the nines” in order to score well—it will depend on the nature
remark is meant to generate a somber thought, then provid- of the presentation and the surroundings. For example, many
ing such verbiage with a big smile on the speaker’s face is of the readers of this article have likely attended scientific-
essentially a contradiction to the verbal communication (the based conferences or workshops where a suit and tie are not
somber message). Eye contact in conjunction with vocal tone the desired dress but rather something more casual is expected.
and pace play major roles in providing the mood the speaker On the other hand, when one is going to interview for a job,
may want at a given point in the presentation. It is critical that it is clearly best to err on the professional side. For example,
one is always striving to support the verbal components with for men a suit and tie or at least a sport coat and tie are a bet-
those of the nonverbal. It should also be mentioned that in ter choice than a pair of blue jeans and a sport shirt. Clearly,
addition to striving for good use of eye contact and posture, today’s world is distinctly less formal than it was 40 years ago
public speakers should generally avoid using a podium when when the author was in the market for his first job, but still an
possible—particularly for longer presentations since a podium interviewee should try to display an image of professionalism.
serves as sort of a “wall” or “shield” between the speaker and The last two elements of nonverbal communication are
the audience. It also “ties” the speaker to a single position up haptics and iconic images. These, however, may not neces-
Vol. 46, No. 4, Fall 2012 255
sarily be directly applicable to all presentations. Haptics is the rather, leave all members of the audience with the belief that
use of direct physical contact or touch as a means of making the presenter has tried to address their questions in an honest
a point or trying to gain someone’s attention. For example, and positive manner.
while speaking highly of an employee, a boss may go over
and give that person a handshake or a pat on the back to help An Elective Graduate Course to
make it clear that the individual is being viewed as special Improve Oral Communication Skills
for that moment. Another place where you see haptics greatly
practiced is in the political arena where giving hugs or hand- Having discussed many of the aspects of oral communica-
shakes (or even holding a number of babies) will encourage tion and the critical role it plays in one’s career and life, we
the vote count to grow! The final element of nonverbal com- will now turn our attention to a brief discussion of an elective
munication is simply to use icons (symbols) as a means of graduate course established and taught for several years at
silently sending or reinforcing a message when visual material Virginia Tech that was focused on improving students’ oral
is being presented. Certainly we are all familiar with icons communication skills. What will be briefly provided is how
used for an upcoming railroad crossing, or the “golden arches” the author designed the course and its contents. It is safe to say,
of a McDonald’s restaurant. Applying this to the tone of this however, there are other modifications that could be used to
article, note Figure 4 which shows a number of intermeshing achieve similar results depending on the specific group to be
gears that work together. Such a figure can also be appropri- taught. Furthermore, there are now newer means of electronic
ately used when talking about how important it is to fit all equipment that can facilitate and accentuate oral presentations
parts of a “group talk” together so the group of presentations such as video clips, etc.
is the sum of its parts and not a series of separate, shorter, Concerning the makeup of the class, the author taught the
independent presentations. course not just to chemical engineering students but students
from other departments in the sciences such as chemistry
ADDRESSING QUESTIONS DURING OR and materials engineering. In fact, by design the instructor
AFTER AN ORAL PRESENTATION always desired to have the class composed of students from
Generally, even if the presenter has done his or her job in several scientific disciplines in order to make the “audience”
giving a memorable and moving presentation, there may be somewhat “diversified” in scientific interests, which meant
questions that arise in listeners’ minds that they hope to have any class presenter would have to take this fact into account
addressed by the speaker. It is therefore important to try and when organizing his or her presentations.
provide a portion of time that allows for this—most often at Before outlining and discussing the nature of the seven as-
the completion of the talk. Yes, questions may come during signed presentations, it is worth pointing out that the author
a presentation as well but typically trying to address them at also strived to obtain a suitable classroom. That is, for this
the end is a better plan; questions taken during a presentation type of course it was very desirable to have a very good pro-
often limit the flow or continuity of the theme. There are, jection screen as well as a quality blackboard or whiteboard
however, exceptions to this. For example, often in scientific in addition to good light control. Since the class was always
talks there may be a need for clarification along the way in restricted to no more than 10 students, one might think a very
order to maintain the continuity of the theme. While I will small room would suffice. When possible, however, the author
not address any example cases of this, speakers should try to always preferred a mid-size room in which to spread the class
judge if opening the floor for questions during a presentation out a bit to more uniformly cover the classroom space. This
is suitable or not, and consider letting the audience know prevents a speaker from being able to talk directly to only a
early on where in their delivery questions will be addressed. small group of listeners in the front of the room. Rather, the
The means of addressing open questions from an audience speaker would have to consider listeners in the back of the
can also vary depending on the audience and its size. First, room as well in terms of eye contact and good voice projec-
if the audience is large and no floor microphone is available, tion (recall our earlier discussion of maintaining the attention
it may be useful for the speaker to repeat the question to the of a large audience).
entire audience. There is another real advantage to this prac- Prior to initiating the student presentations, the author
tice: It gives the speaker’s brain a chance to begin addressing would spend two class periods addressing the importance of
the question before starting a spoken answer. Any answer, of oral communication and just how and why developing skills
course, should aim to be concise, clear, and delivered with in this area is important not only for one’s future scientific
sincereness and appropriate body language such that the career but also for one’s overall life in “everyday” commu-
questioner knows they have been given their due time and the nications. I would also provide, by short example snippits,
audience is fully coupled to the response as well. The bottom the do’s and don’ts regarding oral communication. I also
line is that the speaker does not want to appear to admonish the promoted a specific text (Reference 3) as a good guide to
questioner or play down what may be an irrelevant question; students as they prepared presentations. No specific lectures

256 Chemical Engineering Education

were focused on particular chapters, however, for I believed be given back to the student presenters at the time of the next
the class members needed to become immersed in deliver- class so they would have a written record of the scores and
ing—as well as carefully listening to and grading—the seven the associated comments for each talk they gave.
required presentations. In addition to the feedback that came through the master
With respect to grading the presentations, each student in grading sheets, each presentation was orally reviewed by
the class also served as a grader for each presentation other the class after all the presentations had been made. This was
than his or her own. Not only does this result in the students typically done at the end of a given class meeting which, for
becoming more involved with the course but they also further this course, was usually scheduled for a “double class period”
honed their listening skills as well. In fact, the fundamental in order to allow all students to give their presentations, or
process of listening is a topic that is as important as that of at least half of them—see later discussion below. In this oral
speaking. I will not go off on a tangent on this topic other than review the author generally found a presenter’s peers often did
to say that by being graders, the students learned to become not have as much to say as did their grading sheets—probably
more aware of nuances or idiosyncrasies speakers may un- since they did not wish to openly constructively criticize their
intentionally use equals. (This is
that can be major another rea-
distractors. This, son why mul-
in turn, helps each tiple feedback
student avoid sim- mechanisms are
ilar mistakes. A needed.) Hence,
final reason for us- this instructor
ing each student as was principally
a grader was that the one who
the author believes provided feed-
that what a single back in the vo-
person (listener) cal review part
picks up from a of the grading
presentation is not process.
always complete One of the
and it may depend other most im-
on where you are portant feed-
in the room, what back mecha-
your mindset is nisms for the
for that day, etc. Figure 4. Use of an icon (the intermeshed gears) to illustrate a message. class members
Restated, not ev- was for all stu-
ery listener is sensitive to the same issues when hearing a dents to bring to class a means of video-recording their pre-
presentation. Therefore, having each set of eyes and ears in sentation (i.e., a flash drive, etc.). These were recorded then
the room pass judgment on a given presentation provides a returned to the students to take home and review. From the
much better overall appraisal of that event. In fact, is this not author’s point of view, there is no better way to judge one’s
one of the reasons that in a court of law, the jury is made of self than to hear and see video of yourself presenting. This
several individuals rather than just one person? provides the student an opportunity to not only hear what
The five specific topic areas graded on a scale of 1-10 were: he or she said (the verbal) but to also view his or her body
organization, voice quality, materials (quality of slides, board language (the nonverbal). This system worked well and the
usage, poster materials, etc.), interest factor, and audience students greatly appreciated this helpful practice as noted in
interaction. While one could add more subtopics, these five their course evaluations.
seemed to capture the needed information. In addition, for As stated above, this instructor typically required each class
each of these categories, the grader could add a “one liner” participant to make seven separate presentations, which means
to try to make clear the basis for their topic grade. Finally, each student had multiple times “up front.” Thus, there was a
there were places for five lines of writing at the end of the very good opportunity for each person to really make advances
grading form for each presentation such that the grader could in his or her oral communication skills. Improved presenta-
add any comments he or she believed useful (and likely aside tions over the course of the semester indeed did happen in
from the five specific categories). As instructor, I would also most all cases no matter how low or high a level the student
fill out the same grading sheet, then combine all the relevant started from. Restated, the author feels quite strongly about
comments and scores onto a “master” grade sheet that would the importance of having a small class for this course since

Vol. 46, No. 4, Fall 2012 257

it allows for multiple presentations by each class member. In short, this is not so easy to do in a brief time period without
Oral presentation, while easier for some than others, is a bit practice. It is even more difficult when trying to use a series
like playing any musical instrument—to do it well, one must of mathematical equations to cover some topic and keep it
practice and also have the chance to perform several times well organized on a blackboard so the audience can clearly
since the latter is a necessary means of developing confidence read the material. In addition to requiring organization of the
in front of a group. material on the board, the presenter must practice all other
Regarding the topics assigned for presentations, the first principles/rules we have discussed as well. Needless to say,
was always a five-minute presentation using absolutely no it was this specific presentation that sometimes was so poorly
audio-visual aids of any kind. The required topic was about done the entire class had to repeat the assignment.
the presenter. That is, each speaker talked in one form or For the sixth talk, a poster presentation was used. The rea-
another about him- or herself. The instructor found this topic son was that a good share of scientific meetings today make
gave the speakers a chance to not only avoid having to worry much use of poster presentations. In fact, it is often where
about slide preparation, AV setup, etc., but also forced them science students first make their debut in the world of scientific
to boil down their life stories, or some segment thereof, to presentations. Not only do they have to learn about the visual
try helping the audience get to know them and a bit about aspects of the poster itself and how to organize this with color
their interests. Some did this by choosing their childhood or accents, font size, etc., but when giving such a presentation, as
family structure. What came out of this was a chance to really likely the reader knows, one is often interrupted by questions.
learn about each person in the class and it led to some very Hence, the presenter must be particularly careful in staying
interesting and revealing five-minute presentations, to say organized but also maintain the flexibility of answering ques-
the least. The fact that AV equipment was not allowed meant tions along the way. The length of this presentation was on
the presenters had to rely on body language (the nonverbal the order of 10 minutes and thus only about five or so poster
component) to support their presentations. This gave the class presentations could be given in a double period due to poster
and instructor the opportunity to see how presenters used their setup, open class evaluations, etc.
hands, eyes, stance, etc.—revealing just how comfortable each The final or seventh talk was a PowerPoint presentation—in
speaker was to start with when up front. the early years of this class it was a 35mm slide presentation.
The second and third presentations were first a nontechni- The topic was the student’s research area and it was to be 15
cal talk followed with a technical talk, both using overheads/ minutes in length—the longest of all the presentations so at
transparencies. This course was initially taught in the days least two class meetings were needed to cover all the class
when overheads were still the common means of making pre- presentations for that assignment. This gave the students a
sentations. Today it would likely be PowerPoint presentations good opportunity to focus on their own research yet have to
so the reader can make the appropriate adjustment. Each talk present it in a way other students working in other research
was 6-7 minutes in length. These presentations were intended fields could gain knowledge from the talk. Generally by the
to start the presenter thinking about preparing quality visuals time of the seventh talk, the students were doing quite well
that were well-organized and clear. It also began to give them and it was very satisfying to see the degree of progress made
the opportunity to talk not only about science (the technical) during the semester.
but also make presentations on other subjects to see how they It might be useful to comment on how members of the class
could judge their audience now that they knew a bit about were often enlisted into the course. First, some students were
each class member based on the initial presentation. Also, they urged to take this course by their respective graduate advisor
now had the benefit of being able to use visuals as a means to if the student was believed deficient in oral communications.
help guide them through the talk (since clearly that is what Secondly, after the course was taught a few semesters, the
those AV supports often do in most cases if used correctly). author unfortunately had to be selective since the course had
Following these three presentations, the same general as- become viewed as very useful for enhancing an individual’s
signment was given for a nontechnical and then a technical ability as an oral presenter. It is again pointed out that a
presentation on a blackboard (or whiteboard). In the case of larger class size would not allow for each class member to
the technical topic, it was also required to use mathematics be able to undertake seven presentations that varied in type
in the presentation. Again, the time for each presentation was and time allotment. Hence, while a small class size was pos-
7 minutes with a time warning at 6 minutes. Now, it is safe sibly one drawback to the course, there is little doubt in the
to say a blackboard-type presentation is without a doubt the author’s mind that the general format should not be given
most difficult for most speakers and this is no real surprise. up in order to raise the class size, for it would have diluted
This occurs since not only is the speaker trying to make eye the overall goals of this rather specialized graduate course.
contact with the audience but now they are also required to In fact, in conversing with other graduate faculty at several
write on a board (often with their back to the audience) and other universities, the author is not aware of any similar oral
yet make the presentation flow with the spoken word as well. communications course taught elsewhere with a similar
258 Chemical Engineering Education
format. Most graduate science or engineering departments reading this article will, in turn, be prompted to initiate
do not offer a focused course in oral communications. It is such a course for there is a major need for scientists and
often common for graduate students to just give their graduate engineers to hone their skills in this area. Without such
seminar in a departmental setting ahead of their final exam/ skills, the benefits/value of their scientific/engineering
defense, and by that time it is likely too late to promote major work may well be greatly diminished from low-quality
changes in their style of oral communication. oral presentations made during their careers.

Summary References
In reflecting on the subject of oral communication and 1. American Speaker—Your Guide To Successful Speaking, Aram Bak-
shian, ed., Georgetown Publishing House, Washington, DC (1995)
its importance to not only one’s career but also to one’s 2. Somerville, R.C.J., and S.J. Hassol, Physics Today, Oct. 2011, pg. 48
life as a whole, it is hoped the contents of this article, in 3. Arredondo, L., How to Present Like A Pro, McGraw Hill Inc., New
which the author has tried to outline many of the basic York (1991)
considerations behind providing a quality presentation,
will be absorbed by or taught accordingly to others in the Other Relevant References
future. While this author certainly enjoyed the teaching of • Kinny, P., Public Speaking For Scientists and Engineers, Adam Hilger
core courses in his field of polymeric materials and their Ltd, Bristol, England (1984)
• Cain, B.E., The Basics of Technical Communicating, American Chemi-
structure property behavior, designing and teaching this
cal Society, Washington, DC (1988)
communications course was one of my real enjoyments as • Alley, M., The Craft of Scientific Presentations, Springer-Verlag, New
an academician. This was particularly so when several of York (2003)
the students had little or no training in oral communication • Decker, B., You’ve Got To Be Heard To Be Believed, St. Martin’s Press,
and I could therefore watch them “grow” in their ability to New York (1992) p
communicate. It is hoped that some of the academicians

Vol. 46, No. 4, Fall 2012 259