Modern Scientific and Technical Communication

1. Modern Scientific and Technical Communication

Dr. Alina A. Alexeeva
[email protected]
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2. Structure of the Course

• Oral scientific and technical
communication
• Written scientific and technical
communication
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3.

• What is your motivation to attend these
lessons?
• Have you ever had any experience in
written/oral scientific/technical
communication?
• If yes, tell us a little bit about it.
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4. Oral vs. written communication

• Aims: to inform or persuade?
• Style: formal or semi-formal?
• Structure?
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5. Oral scientific and technical communication

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6.

Presentation is like a sweet
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7.

2. Form of the presentation
1. Contents of the speech
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8. Contents of the speech

• Deep ideas
• Choice of information
• Structure
• Logics
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9.

Physical aspect
Visual aspect
Form
of the presentation
Psychological
aspect
Language
aspect
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10.

Form of the presentation
• Physical aspect:
- muscular relaxation
- breath
- body language (gestures, postures, and
movement)
- articulation
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11.

Form of the presentation
• Psychological aspect:
- anxiety management
- making contact with the audience
- appropriate answers to the questions
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12.

Form of the presentation
• Language aspect:
- correct use of grammar structures, words
and expressions, correct pronunciation
etc.
- rhetorical techniques
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13.

Form of the presentation
• Visual aspect:
- contents and design of slides
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14. Speech anxiety (stage fright)

• speaker–audience opposition
• fear of rejection
• excitement
paralyzing fear
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15. Ways of relaxation

• breath exercises
• physical exercises
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16. Breath is the key to life

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17. Breath exercises

Ex. 1
As you inhale, draw your shoulders and
elbows back. Hold your breath for 2 sec.,
then exhale abruptly.
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18. Breath exercises

Ex. 2
Inhale energetically for 4 sec., straining all
your muscles. Then exhale and relax all
the muscles for 4-6 sec.
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19. Breath exercises

Ex. 3
Place a hand on your lower belly. Inhale
deeply into your lower belly. Feel the hand
rising as your belly fills. Don’t let your
chest and shoulders rise.
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20. Breath exercises

Ex. 4
Sit down on a chair and bend over so that
your body would lie on your laps. Inhale
slowly – your body will rise; exhale
pronouncing “pf-f-f”.
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21. Breath exercises

Ex. 5
Inhale into your lower belly. Puff out your
cheeks. Blow the air out of your cheeks
through the narrow hole in your mouth. Do
it slowly and with noise.
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22. Muscular relaxation

Ex. 1
This exercise can be done in standing, lying
or sitting position. Strain every muscle of
your body for 5 sec. Then relax completely
for the next 5 sec.
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23. Muscular relaxation

Ex. 2
Adopt an uncomfortable pose. Try to feel the
place where there is a painful point in your
body. Use only your mind to relax this
muscle without changing your position.
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24. Contents of the speech

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25. Know your audience

• Who are these people?
• What do they expect from your presentation?
• What do they already know?
• What don’t they know yet?
• What information will be useful for them? What
information will be redundant?
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26.

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27. The Pyramid Principle

• Multilevel system (the lower the level, the more
details it has)
• Executive summary as the peak of the pyramid
• Supporting arguments
• Inductive reasoning
• Deductive reasoning
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28.

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29.

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30.

Gandapas structure of the
presentation
• Introduction (20%)
• Body (60%)
CLIMAX
• Conclusion (20%)
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31. Minto model + Gandapas model =

• Introduction (20%)
• Body (60%)
• Conclusion (20%)
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32. vk.com/communication_2017

33. Credit Requirements

• 12 ninety-minute lessons attended
• 1 prepared presentation
• 1 text written at home
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34. Introduction

Self-presentation
Structure of the presentation
Question(s)
Joke
Interesting fact connected with the topic
Story connected with the topic
Expression of feelings
Compliment to the audience
Using of “in-group/out-group” principle
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35. Conclusion

Summary of the presentation
Prospects
Question(s)
Joke
Story connected with the topic
Expression of feelings
Compliment to the audience
Using of “in-group/out-group” principle
Aphorism
Appeal
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36.

Logical Aspect of Presentation
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37.

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38. Logos

appeal to logical reasoning ability of
speakers, the message by which you
attempt to reason with your audience
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39. Logos

• facts
• case studies
• statistics
• experiments
• logical reasoning
• analogies
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40. Pathos

appeal to beliefs and feelings
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41. Ethos

the speaker’s character, credibility, and
authority
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42. Ethos

• trustworthiness
• expert testimony
• reliable sources
• fairness
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43.

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44.

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45. Argument Structure

• A premise (or premiss) of an argument is
something that is put forward as a truth, but
which is not proven.
• A conclusion (or claim) is the statement with
which you want the other person to agree.
• Inferences are further statements between the
conclusion and the premises which translate the
premises into the conclusion.
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46. Premises

• There may be two or more premises in any
argument.
• If you are making an argument, you should be
ready to defend any of your own premises.
• If you want to attack another person's argument,
you can challenge the truth of their premises.
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47. Types of Logical Proofs

• Argument from sign
• Argument from induction
• Argument from cause
• Argument from deduction
• Argument from historical, literal, or figurative analogy
• Argument from definition
• Argument from statistics
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48. Argument from Sign

• Certain
e.g. Fever is a sign of illness.
• Probable
e.g. The growing problem of obesity in
America is a sign that a growing number of
Americans are eating high calorie diets ...
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49. Argument from Induction

A large percentage of home schooled
children perform above national averages
on standardized tests.
Home schooled children receive a superior
education.
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50. Argument from Cause

Children are violent as a result of playing
violent video games.
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51. Argument from Deduction

1) Teachers want students to succeed in
their studies.
2) Mary is a teacher.
She wants you to succeed in this class.
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52. Argument from Analogy

e.g., if we use a comparison between Stalin
and Putin to analyze current events or
predict future events in Russia
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53. Argument from Definition

The interpretation of what constitutes “life”
will have a significant bearing on the
treatment of embryos for the purposes of
stem cell research.
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54. Argument from Statistics

The USA should end draft registration
because it costs $27.5 million dollars per
year.
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55. Types of Proof Connected with Ethos and Pathos

• Argument from Authority
CLAIM: California will have an earthquake.
SUPPORT: Professors and scientists say so.
• Motivational Proofs
CLAIM: You should support this candidate.
SUPPORT: This candidate can help you get job security
and safe neighborhoods.
• Value proofs
CLAIM: The curriculum should be multicultural.
SUPPORT: A multicultural curriculum will contribute to
equality and acceptance.
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56. Toulmin’s Argument Model

• Claim
• Grounds (data)
• Warrant
• Backing
• Qualifier
• Rebuttal
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57. Toulmin’s Argument Model

• Claim
You should use a hearing aid.
• Grounds (data)
Over 70% of all people over 65 years have a hearing
difficulty.
• Warrant
A hearing aid helps most people to hear better.
• Backing
Hearing aids are available locally.
• Qualifier
Hearing aids help most people.
• Rebuttal
There is a support desk that deals with technical problems.
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58.

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59. Home task

• Be ready to show breath/muscular
relaxation exercises.
• (For 5 students): make a presentation to
win a grant for your research.
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