Perhaps one of the most wasted opportunities in higher education is the area of student oral presentations. Because we live it every day, we understand the inherent benefits of

• preparing a convincing argument,
• presenting it to others, and
• responding to their questions and signals.

As a type of alternative assessment (i.e., a way to find out what students are learning via a means other than a traditional paper/pencil exam), oral presentations allow students to master an array of life skills that seemingly can be mastered through few, if any, other vehicles. Although many professors do require students to make presentations, often, unfortunately they provide such muddled expectations of student performance that students are set up for failure. Some students will thrive in spite of their professors’ poor handling of the process; many others, however, will become so unnerved that they will literally become sick. How can you make sure that you do not waste the opportunity to help students be successful?

First explain to students that they already do oral presentations every single day of their lives – presentations that are called by such innocuous names as conversations, discussions, and interviews.

Second, to help students deliver a solo performance in front of the entire class, you can stair-step them to that point rather than tripping and shoving them into what they often perceive as a lake filled with alligators.

• For the first step, start small, by having students interview a single other student and then report the results, while seated, to the rest of the class.
• Move up to panel discussions, in which each student is expected to present a specifically selected portion of a broader topic.
• Continue upward by having students deliver an extemporaneous thirty-second response to a course topic drawn from a hat or shoebox.
• Finally, if you have provided ample verbal feedback (not just numerical scores) throughout the preliminary activities, and have given students a clear rubric will in advance, they can reach the high point of giving a short presentation in front of the class. Even those few experienced, high school debate team members you may have who are capable of delivering a moving presentation on the first day of class will benefit from the preliminary activities.

Many students may think that oral presentations should be limited to speech classes, but the reality is that being well prepared to make presentations to other individuals is a necessity in today’s society. This applies to health care professionals, salespeople, administrators, training officers, managers, teachers (duh), and on and on. To leave your students unprepared would be to shirk your responsibility as an educator. When you have worked to develop your students’ speaking skills, as you well know, you will see the concomitant growth in self-esteem, poise, and leadership.

That’s a good day’s work, isn’t it?