Comprehension Questions and Summary Writing

For questions 1-5, read the following texts on speaking in public. For question 1-4 answer with a word or short phrase. You do not need to write complete sentences. For question 5, write a summary according to the instructions given.

Text 1
Does the thought of making a presentation to a group of peers bring you out in a cold sweat? If so, you're not alone. The mere idea of having to 'stand and deliver' in front of others is enough to strike dread into the heart of the most experienced business person, let alone students. Yet effective spoken communication is an essential skill for career success in today's business and academic environments.

So what can people do to add sparkle to their speaking skills and overcome this understandable but unfounded fear of speaking in public? The bad news is that presentation nerves are quite normal and you will probably always suffer from them. The good news is that interesting speakers are made and not born. You can learn the techniques that will turn you into a calm and convincing speaker.

The first step is to persuade yourself you can do it. Just like an actor waiting in the wings, or an athlete warming up for the big race, you need to get yourself on a confidence high. Try focussing your thoughts on moments of particular success during your life to date. Remember that the physical symptoms of nerves are most obvious to you. The audience won't see your knees knocking or your hands trembling, so don't worry about it. Some of the worst presentations are those where the speaker clearly hasn't devoted enough time to it beforehand. Let's face it; a presenatation that's slung together half an hour before it's going to be delivered isn't going to impress anyone.

Text 2
Inexperienced public speakers generally rely too heavily on words, so that they overlook other features which give a successful speaker impact.

Research has indicated that words account for only 7% of the speaker's impact on the audience. A massive 55% of the speaker's impact is visual, i.e. how he or she looks, facial expression, gestures, body language, posture etc., while 38% of impact comes from the voice; does the person sound trustworthy, is the voice varied and interesting to listen to?

This breakdown of the impact a speaker has may sound unlikely, but imagine a situation: you have returned a faulty item to a shop, and the shop assistant says, 'I'm sorry, I'll see what I can do.' If this is said in an uninteresting voice as the assistant leans on the counter about to resume a conversation with a colleague, you won't feel confident that very much will happen. But an assistant who is standing up straight and looking directly at you will create an entirely different impression with the same words.

Think of your favourite teacher from school. The person who comes to mind is probably someone who was enthusiastic and animated, someone with both vocal and visual impact. Try recalling phone calls with people you've never met. Invariably, we make judgements about people based on their voices and how they sound. They might say, 'he seemed ill at ease' or 'she looked very confident' and often these opinions are formed before the speaker has said one word.

1. In the first paragraph (Text 1), what image of public speaking does the writer create?

2. Explain in your own words why the writer has chosen to use the expression 'slung together' in line 17.

3. What exactly does the phrase 'this breakdown' describe?

4. Which two words in paragraph 4 (Text 2) echo the need for 'liveliness' mentioned in the first text?

5. In a paragraph of 50-70 words summarise in your own words as far as possible the reasons given in both texts for why people perform badly when speaking in public.