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Showing posts with the label Hong Kong PolyU

For my wonderful PolyU students: never doubt your abilities

I have just finished teaching two more groups at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and (as usual) have been awed and humbled by their determination. If you ever become cynical about the potential of the next generation, I recommend spending a couple of hours at PolyU observing how the students care about each other, their school and community. It is inspiring. The following comments are directed towards my students: You are all talented and driven individuals with the potential to make a real difference to your worlds. Watching you grown in confidence has been a privilege. Remember: everyone speaks with an accent, there is no one "right way" of speaking. Use your unique speaking voice rather than trying to emulate someone else. Plan. Be prepared to change your plans. Adapt, don't panic. Read your audience and try to understand what will engage them. Run through the skills we have learned and apply the ones you feel are most effective. Good luck and be confiden

Delivering your speech - focus on phrasing (for my PolyU students!)

You have written the perfect speech; blending humour, sincerity and hard fact, there is something for everyone. Now how can you avoid undermining all your hard work with a lacklustre presentation? My next few posts will focus on delivery and are a supplement to a course I am currently teaching at PolyU to a wonderful group of engaged and dedicated students. Step one: read through your speech outloud, record yourself at this point. Step two: listen to the recording whilst scanning your speech, notice where you stop and pause for breath. Do your pauses mean that key phrases are lost? Step three: mark your copy with to indicate phrases. You will end up with something that looks like this: We are all aware of how the weather affects our moods/ but do we also think about the effect on our animals?/ Do we consider how miserable,/ how uncomfortable/ or how confused they may feel when they first encouter snow? / By marking your phrasing, you break up the speech into manageable pieces