Do NOT do these things when you are giving your speech

You will NOT do these during an Oral Presentation: Common Mistakes; Suggestions for Improvement:

1. Talking without pausing - Suggestions: 

• Don't talk too quickly.
• Stop and breathe at the end of sentences.
• The best speakers in the world are not the fastest.

2. No intonation - Suggestions:

• Don't talk with a monotone voice. You will not sound interested in the film.
• People usually stop listening when speakers have little intonation.
• Stress important words by speaking louder, higher, lower or slower.  

3.Too much intonation - Suggestions: Too much intonation is not natural. Other students may laugh at you!  Practice stressing important words by presenting to your classmates.

4. Reading notes - Suggestions:

• Talk to people, not note cards, in presentations.
• Students who write too many notes usually look less confident.
• Looking down stops you speaking clearly and confidently.

5. Mispronunciation of character names - Suggestions:

• Learn how to pronounce character names correctly.
• Ask your friends or teachers if you don't know how to say a word.
• Say other words if you still don't know. e.g. the woman, her boyfriend, the hero, the bad guy. 

6. Plagiarism - Suggestions:

• When giving a presentation, DO NOT copy a film review from the Internet. 
• Film reviews often have words that you do not know so you won't sound natural.
• Your teachers are clever. They will know when you copy! 

7. Becoming the character - Suggestions:

• Think about the topic you are given.
• Your talk should be related to the topic.
• Talk about the characters. Don't become Spiderman, a princess or Seabiscuit!

8. Not listening to others - Suggestions:

• An interaction means that you listen to other students.
• You respond to what you say.
• Don't make a speech or ignore what the last speaker said.  

9. Turn-taking; not giving reasons for opinions - Suggestions:

• You don't need to take turns one after the other in interactions.
• Natural discussions are less planned. Speak when you have something to say.
• Give reasons for your opinions.  

10. Nervous start - Suggestions:

• Everyone is nervous before an oral exam.
• Try to use English before your presentation or interaction. Listen to songs and talk to your friends or family.
• If you talk English to your classmates beforehand, you will understand them more during the interaction.

11. Not interrupting - Suggestions:

• Some students could speak all day! You must interrupt them to have a chance to speak.
• Wait until they finish a sentence then speak.
• Be brave! Say, 'Excuse me...' or 'Sorry to interrupt you...' then begin.

12. Not serious enough - Suggestions:

• When nervous, some students giggle and can be silly!
• You can laugh and have fun during an interaction.
• However, teachers do not like silly comments like 'You're stupid!'  

13. Not asking for clarification - Suggestions: Students may say a word wrongly. You should ask, 'What do you mean by... ?'  This shows you are following the discussion and your teacher will respect you.