Presentation

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The Final Presentation is a solo effort highlighting some specific aspect in the life of someone you have interviewed. The information you collect from the interview will be the basis for the material you deliver.

PRESENTATION REQUIREMENTS

1. Interview a person of your choice 2. A major part of the interview must address the Mexican / Mexican-American experience 3. Compose a thesis statement directly addressing the Mexican / Mexican-American aspect 4. Submit the thesis statement on the Final Presentation Submission Document (from Blackboard) 5. Deliver the presentation without directly mentioning your thesis statement 6. Separate your presentation into three distinct parts (background, main points, conclusion) 7. Use transitions (see TRANSITIONS list) to move from one point to another 8. Conclude with a description of your interview experience and your assessment of it 9. Meet the 4-minute minimum time mark

OBJECTIVE FOR THE FINAL PRESENTATION

Your main objective is to support ONE overriding thesis statement without stating it directly. You will be trying to help audience members write down your thesis statement on a Thesis Statement Guess Sheet. Design your delivery so that the thesis statement is quite obvious without your needing to state it. If you give appropriate clues, your audience should be able to infer the main idea write a complete one-sentence statement that matches the one you have indicated on your Submission Sheet.

ASSESSMENT OF THE FINAL PRESENTATION

This presentation is weighted 2% more heavily than the other presentations you have delivered in CCS 111A. It accounts for 15% of your overall semester grade. Your score for this presentation will be based on a holistic scale of 1-6 (attend individual appointment for details) and then converted to percentage score.

Assessment Criteria (you will see a detailed scoring sheet during your individual appointment) • Verbal delivery (speed / vocabulary register / sentence completion / filler control / tone / ) • Non-verbal delivery (eye contact / control of posture / movement / gestures / / facial expression) • Understanding of and respect for interviewee’s experience, perspective, and world view • Use of recognized transitions to shift from one segment to another / from one main point to another • Skill in concealing insecurity, self-consciousness, or anxiety while in front of the audience • Success in guiding audience members to write down the UNSTATED thesis statement

No notes or note cards are allowed for this presentation. If you appear to be reading any text that the entire audience cannot see, it will indicate inadequate practice and preparation, resulting in a score no higher than 1 out of 6 on a holistic scale (or 70-74 on a 100-point scale). If your interviewee is Mexican or Mexican-American, the thesis statement DOES NOT NEED TO CONTAIN a reference to the Mexican or Mexican-American culture, experience, or lifestyle. If your interviewee is neither Mexican nor Mexican- American, the thesis statement MUST CONTAIN a reference to a Mexican or Mexican-American issue.

CCS 111A Final Presentation – 4 Minutes (5 Minutes Maximum)

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COMPOSE AN EFFECTIVE THESIS STATEMENT Avoid falling into the trap of creating “fairy tale” or “Walt Disney” lessons that you believe are thesis statements. The following are not thesis statements that will work for your Final Presentation: [Name] worked really hard and his dreams came true. [Name] realized that if she believed in herself, she could do anything she wants in life. [Name] came from a poor family but was able to find success through lots of determination and support. [Name]’s life proves that anybody can be whatever they want as long as they work hard and stick to it. These statements fall under the category of “lesson” or “moral of the story.” They do not point to the specific issue or concern within a person’s life. Statements like those above will keep your holistic score down because they show that you do not know the difference between a “moral of the story” and a thesis statement. If you are unsure about your thesis statement, email [email protected] and ask if it will work. Examples of Successful Thesis Statements from Previous Final Presentations: [Name] views travel as a way to open one’s mind to new cultures. (The delivery provided examples, but the presenter did not mention this statement directly.) [Name] has experienced much tragedy in his/her life. (The delivery contained proof, but the presenter did not mention this statement directly.) [Name] has made a number of poor decisions and is not sure which path to follow now. (Your delivery outlined these bad decisions, but the presenter did not mention this statement directly.) [Name] developed deep religious devotion after a near-death experience early in her life. (The delivery described the religious devotion, but the presenter did not mention this statement directly.) [Name] wants to do whatever he can to discourage children from joining youth gangs. (The delivery showed how the subject tried to steer youth in more positive directions.) [Name] believes that many of California’s problems come from illegal border crossing. (The delivery contained details of the person’s comments, beliefs, and attitudes on this topic.) [Name] has avoided speaking Spanish and associating with Latinos like herself because she wants to be White. (The delivery included examples of the person’s rejection of her own ethnic heritage.) Because you are prohibited from mentioning your thesis statement directly, there will be pressure on you to use alternative vocabulary and phrasing from what you have written out on your submission sheet. Of course, you may find it difficult to substitute certain vocabulary words. Try as many different ways as you can to allude to your thesis statement. Be sure to practice this presentation so that you avoid forgetting what to say, repeating parts of sentences, starting sentences over, or stumbling over your words. These slip-ups demonstrate unfamiliarity with your own material and inadequate preparation of the delivery. If the delivery appears ad-libbed, the score will be a “0”.

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GENERAL FORMAT OF THE PRESENTATION Introduction Use any of the methods of introductions we have practiced during the semester (anecdote, quotation, question, shocking statement)—or another method if you wish. Do not mention your interview subject (or his/her name) in your opening sentence. Above all, do not start with, “For my interview…” or “I interviewed…” here. Background of Your Interviewee Spend as much time as you like giving some background information about your interviewee so that your audience has a general idea of the person’s origin, upbringing, education, or accomplishments. If you know the interviewee, you may explain how you know him/her in this segment. Remember, however, this is not the main segment of the presentation. This segment may be lengthened or shortened based on the amount of material you have to present in your other segments. Transitions and Your Main Points Signal to your audience that you are moving from the background of your interviewee to the more focused part that contains important clues to your thesis statement. Examples of signals:

Now that you know a little background about [name], I will now move on to… I would now like to highlight some specific points that can give you more insight about [name]… As you can see, there are many significant aspects of [name]’s life, but I have chosen to focus on… That was a brief introduction to [name]. Now, I am going to address a particular aspect of [name’s] life by…

Between the main points or examples that will help your audience to deduce your Thesis Statement, insert transitions that signal your shift from one main point or example to another. The clearest transitions are ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.), but you may choose other transitions.

I will start out by… Additionally… In addition to… Next… Another… Moving on… The most important… (a good strategy is to use the strongest, most important, or most striking point last)

For this presentation, your main points will most likely be anecdotes or descriptions of very specific events in the person’s life. You should be able to describe these events casually without the use of notes. Practice recounting these stories so that you are familiar with how you want to express your ideas. If it seems that you are searching for words, you will not be able to score above a 3 for this presentation, no matter how impressive other elements are. Avoid memorizing word-for-word, though. This could lead to problems if you suddenly forget a word and lose your place.

Conclusion Save room for a clear concluding segment of your presentation. This conclusion must not be about your interviewee. It should be about you and your assessment of the interview experience itself.

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Take a step back and look at your interview from a broader perspective. What observations can you make about the interview, the location, the questions, and the way the entire setup was arranged? All of this information is valuable and demonstrates your skill in observing how you, your preparation, and your environment affect the ways that other people interact with you. Provide an analysis of your interview session(s) including observations of the interviewee’s character, personality, and behavior during your interview(s). How was the person sitting? What was his/her body language like? Did the person seem willing to speak to you? Did you sense that the person was honest and straightforward? Or did the person seem hesitant or suspicious in any way when you asked questions about certain subjects? Did the person appear to avoid certain subjects? Did the person speak casually with lots of fillers? Or did the person speak more formally? Did you feel that the person was holding back information from you? Was the person articulate or vague? What was the body language of the person during the interview? What are some reasons you suppose the person appeared this way to you? What might you change if you had to do the interview(s) again to improve the result of your data collection? The best way to answer these questions is to prepare some kind of list or chart to help you note behavior patterns of observer during the interview. This list or chart should not be shown to your interview subject. If it is revealed to him/her, their behaviors will be not be genuine, and your data about the behaviors will become invalid. Finally, provide some thoughts about how the planning, the arrangement, and the actual conducting of the interview could have gone better. No matter how successful your efforts in interpersonal communication, there is always room for improvement. Think of what might have improved the way you planned, set up, and conducted the interview. For example, could you have started working on the project earlier? Could you have arranged to meet the interviewee in a different location? Might you have met for a longer period of time? Would you like to have contacted the person later to have him/her elaborate on a particular point so that you could have been more informative about it with your audience? Would you like to have used some type of recording device to allow you to listen to the interview at a later time? Would you have shown your appreciation for the interviewee’s time by giving him/her some kind of small gift? Whatever you do, avoid using lines such as, “If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing because I am happy with the way it all turned out.” This kind of statement marks you as immature, ego-centric, and unaware of how you can—or that it is important to—constantly think of ways to improve the way you interact with others. Signal to the audience that you are moving to your conclusion by using some verbal marker:

Looking back on the interview…

If I take a step back to observe how my interview experience went…

Of course, I’m not a professional interviewer, but my assessment of the experience…

Overall, this interview went…

Up until this assignment, I had never really interviewed anyone before…

This particular project was more of a challenge for me than I had expected…

When I found out that I had to interview someone for the Final Presentation, I thought…

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TIPS TO KEEP YOUR HOLISTIC SCORE FROM DROPPING Read Any Comments Posted About You in Db #7 by Your Classmates Check the postings for Discussion Board #7 to see if anyone has made any observations about your Informative Presentation. Observations there may direct your attention to issues that could come up during your Final Presentation. The brief break from delivering presentations in front of class may make you more susceptible to distractions creeping into your Final Presentation. Avoid Wearing Hats, Chewing Gum, Leaning on Furniture, or Standing Too Still During the final presentation, do whatever you can to ensure that your holistic score is a high as possible. Wearing a hat will be perceived as a subtle strategy to hide from the audience. Leave your hat on your desk during the presentation. Chewing gum will be seen as inappropriate during the 4-minute time period. Leaning on tables, desks, or even the blackboard/whiteboard indicates a lack of posture control. Hands, fingers or thumbs in pockets or inserted into belt loops will be interpreted as a lack of body control. So will clasped hands—if they are never unclasped over the majority of the delivery time. Stand with your feet flat on the floor, and avoid putting all of your weight on one leg—especially with one of your hips out. If this is difficult for you, try changing your floor position a few times—this is especially effective when you move from one point to another. It creates both verbal and visual signals to the audience that you are moving on. Resist Playing with Your Clothing, Jewelry, and Your Own Hands/Fingers One sign of insecurity or self-consciousness in front of an audience is playing with clothing (pulling on sweatshirt drawstrings, fixing sleeves, tugging at the bottom of your shirt or blouse, and even shuffling or playing with flip- flop-type sandals). These behaviors show that your energy is being routed to an area other than the controlled delivery of your information; they demonstrate that you are not in control of your own movement. If you are susceptible to playing with your clothing, re-think your clothing options on the day that you will deliver your presentation. Also, watch wringing your hands, twisting or pulling your fingers. Elevate Your Speaking Style to Eliminate Your Use of Colloquial Expressions Use of colloquial expressions in the Final Presentation may hold down your holistic score. Find more appropriate alternatives for words and phrases such as ‘cuz / stuff like that / and whatever / you know / you guys / I mean / sorta / kinda / gonna / wanna

In addition, control your vocabulary whenever you mention statements, dialogues, or responses. Try to avoid I’m like… / He was all… / They were like… / Everyone was like… Be Familiar with the Words You Will Use So That You Can Avoid Fillers Because you conducted the interview, only you know the content of your presentation—and only you will know whether you have forgotten your material or not. Using fillers during the delivery will indicate that you did not practice enough. It will also indicate that you have not developed the level of control to needed to substitute fillers with pauses. Even if you slip up a bit, compose yourself and move on to regain control of your material. Try your best to appear that you are always in control of your words. Big give-aways that you have not planned your words adequately: How can I explain it? / I don’t know… / I can’t describe it… / I’m not really sure… / I guess… This presentation will be video-recorded and timed. You will see a “3:30” signal. Not reaching the 4-minute mark will indicate poor preparation, but try not to go too far over the 4-minute mark because you will be taking time away from other presenters scheduled for that day. Reaching the 5-minute mark will result in a 1-point reduction from your holistic score: For example, a 4 (85-89) will become a 3 (80-84).

Be familiar with the way you are going to use your words so that you are not in danger of raising your filler count. Avoid memorizing word-for-word. This could lead to some problems if you suddenly lose your place.