English for Conferences

Titel	English for Conferences: Presenting in English
Dozent(in)	Alisa Kasle-Henke, B.A., M.A.
Termin	Blockveranstaltung, 26.-30.September 2011, 9.00-16.00 Uhr
Gebäude / Raum	Raum 4098, Diathek Kunstgeschichte/Bildwissenschaft, Gebäude D
Anmeldung	Stefan.Hartmann@phil.uni-augsburg.de

Inhalt der Lehrveranstaltung:

Professional and convincing presentations are a key to success in many fields. International academic conferences require that academic professionals are able to deliver their presentations to an international audience in English — comfortably and convincingly. In order to meet this challenge, they have to master not only the linguistic aspects of presenting in English but also pay attention to the cross-cultural differences in presentation styles.

Course objectives

In our 5 day intensive training you will:

• Understand the elements of winning presentations
• Learn and practice relevant English phrases and expressions for presentations
• Develop an awareness of cross-cultural differences in presentation styles
• Train and enhance your presentation skills in English
• Learn how to visualize your presentation with the use of PowerPoint for international audiences
• Become aware of your strengths in presenting and raise your comfort level when presenting in English

 

Who should attend

THIS IS NOT A COURSE FOR PEOPLE WHO STUDY OR HAVE STUDIED ENGLISH! If you are a graduate student of the graduate school who needs to improve your presentations in English, this course is for you. This training is suited to graduate students who plan on attending international conferences and who would like to enhance their presentation skills in English. In this one-week, intensive course we will interactively work on presentations and improve your style, form and confidence when presenting in English. If you have an undergraduate degree in American or English Literature or Linguistics, this course is NOT for you!!!

 

Methodology

This course is entirely in English and taught by a native speaker. The discussions and lectures are lively and interactive. This is a chance to learn the important phrases needed to present in English, while paying attention to the appropriate form, style, and visualization for an appealing and effective presentation in English. Although the course will only run in the mornings, there will be work for you to be doing in the afternoon, so it is best if you can dedicate the whole week to the course.

 

Topics

Planning and Preparation

• Catching the audience’s attention

• Effective Openings

• Understanding presentation styles

Structure and Development

• Models of structure for English presentations

• Checklist for openings and conclusions

Rhetorical Devices and Body Language

• Applying rhetorical and stylistic devices in English

Dealing with an Audience

• Understanding international audience expectations

• Establishing rapport

• Handling questions

Use of Media

• Frequent PowerPoint mistakes

• Tips for PowerPoint and body language

• Creating “visual” slides in English

• Understanding cross-cultural differences in the use of visual aids

IMPORTANT: This course  is incredibly rewarding but by the end of the day, will be powered out – your brain will be exploding with new information and ideas. You will be expected to make at least 2 filmed presentations during this week that we will work on in class and you will need to continue working on in the afternoons after class. You will need to take the entire week off of research and other work responsiblities, if you are to gain anything out of this course.

 

Fragen zu Kursinhalten an Alisa Kasle-Henke: AlisaKasle@aol.com