Preparing and Presenting an Oral Report

Scientists often use oral reports to present information. Oral reports allow scientists to present preliminary findings and provide an opportunity for informal discussion. Presenting oral reports is also good practice for many other jobs.

A good speech or oral report must be well organized or the listeners will not be able to comprehend what the speaker wants them to learn.

Materials

Your choice of materials will be determined by what is available to you. If you have an overhead projector, you will need clear plastic sheets and coloured markers. If you have a chalkboard, you will need chalk and an eraser. For a white board or flip chart, you will need marking pens. You will also need a few index cards (75 mm x 125 mm).

Preparing the Report

  1. Carry out your research as though you were preparing a written report (see Skill 3). Make notes of your findings and the sources of your information. Index cards work well for this.
  2. Gather the information and decide how much you will be able to present in three to five minutes. Time the reading of a few sentences to see how long it will take you to present all your information orally.
  3. Your report should contain:
    • a short introduction. The introduction should capture the interest of the audience. This can be done by making an unusual statement, telling a story, or by discussing something that is very familiar to the audience. For example, you could start with the question, How would you feel if you had not had a drink of water for twenty-four hours? Listeners would immediately think about thirst and how it feels.
    • the main facts you are presenting. The body of the presentation should contain three major topics. More topics might make the presentation too long to keep the attention of your audience. When discussing the uses of water, you might choose major topics like industrial uses, agricultural uses, and recreational uses of water. Under each major topic, you could choose two or three sub-topics. Try to find sub-topics that are uses that your audience may not have heard about before. Stay close to your topic. Don't spend too much time on any one sub-topic.
    • a short conclusion. The conclusion should summarize the information you have just presented. You could do this by briefly listing each of the major topics and why each is important. End with a general statement that tells the