Discourse as a Framework for Oral Presentations

Abstract

Successful oral prsentations require language and language frames. However, rather than language framing, most students and teachers emphasize fluency; the result is presentations sound good but make no point. Communication occurs in a "triangle" of speaker, audience, and topic, and is facilitated by cultural rhetorical patterns, such as process or classification, and discourse patterns such as inquiry or lecture. Without patterns, communication breaks down. Scholars have written much about discourse patterns: Hatch (1992) on discourse templates; Kaplan (1960, 1987) on cultural patterns; and Koreo (1988), Hinds (1987) and Minami and McCabe (1991) about Japanese discourse. Significantly, Williams (1992) and Tyler (1988) credit "discourse" for overall comprehensbility. Thus, attention should be focused on discourse frames or "cognitive maps" (Mimsky, 1975) for oral presentations. This paper will review research, identify problems, and suggest solutions for equipping students with skills for effective oral presentations. (141)