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Workshop on Presentation and Public Speaking Skills with the School of Architecture (March)

On 8 October, 2020, Dr Liu Ngar Fun conducted a 45-minute workshop on presentation and public speaking skills in Prof Ferretto’s Master of Architecture (MArch) Design Studio. The intervention was adjusted to accommodate the significant changes to the MArch curriculum. This class was recently approved for face-to-face instruction, and the day of the intervention was also the first time the students met in-person since the placement of gathering restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The interactive workshop served as a guided vocal warm up and body language exercise based on Ted Talks to prepare students for their design studio presentations. In addition to viewing Ted Talk clips demonstrating effective public speaking techniques, students were given plenty of opportunities to make use of the physical space around them to practice verbal and non-verbal presentation skills with their peers. They were strongly encouraged to incorporate PST (pause, stress, tone), gestures, and rapport words and phrases to enhance their own presentations following the workshop. For Part II of this intervention, the team recorded students’ presentations and provided immediate feedback (Prof Ferretto on the content and Dr Liu on the language). Since the establishment of the EAC project in 2016, this intervention marks the fifth year of collaboration with Prof Ferretto. The EAC project team looks forward to continuing this longstanding collaboration and seeing the students again at their midterm review studio presentations.