This course is an interactive, hands-on seminar, giving participants the opportunity to practice their communication skills within settings as sales pitches as well as strategic and occasionally ethical dilemmas.

Students will receive regular feedback and commentaries from instructors and peers on aspects ranging from language to ideas in relation to their own approaches to the tasks as assigned.

Students from all backgrounds will be actively encouraged to draw on their own experiences gained from their professional involvement in organizations beyond an academic setting.

The sessions will centre around live performances of ad hoc presentations in groups of two, all of which have been based on real business and political situations.

At the end of this course, students will have become further familiarized with both spontaneous presenting techniques as well as an ability to deal with unexpected and challenging questions from members of the audience. In addition, participants will be equipped with the requisite terminology and phraseology for effective communication in English in those settings.

The aim of this course is not to change the presenting personalities of students; rather it is for them to become familiar with techniques for presenting and defending particular positions, and in doing so to work out which approach generally is most effective and works best for them. Students will have gained further insights into what makes – or indeed can make – their audiences tick.

Having successfully participated in this course, students will be provided with a greater sense of confidence when it comes to effectively explaining and defending themselves in the event of their presentation being challenged from a content or viewpoint perspective.

In line with WU regulations for PI classes (maximum of 20% of class time can be missed). Please note that the definition of presence goes beyond merely being physically present in class. It requires active participation and, most critically, a willingness to refrain from constantly using computers, phones, etc. for purposes other than the course itself whilst in the classroom.

The course will comprise, among other elements, ad hoc situations with specific roles given, and students will be asked to re-enact in front of the group their approach towards how they would deal with the task.

There are no ‘set solutions’ to the tasks given. Following each re-enactment, students will be revealed what the specific ad-hoc scenario was based upon.

During the course we will also investigate different forms of correct language usage as well as generally accepted good practices in relation to business presentations and their current evolution in the working world of the 2020s.

Assessment will be comprised of the following elements:

- Two major ad-hoc challenges (50%)

- Class contributions (30%)

- Reflective task (20%)

Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to both fully participate and to involve their fellow participants, where appropriate. They will also be expected to speak as freely as possible when presenting, with only limited usage of notes and no use of PowerPoint slides.

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Attendance of prior class on “Introduction to Content Production”.

Before/after class or by email.