Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Presenting a report about a comedy
The class studied Chapter 5 Laughter from College Oral Communication 1 (Chan, 2006. Heinle Cengage)
Activity 28 Presenting a report about a comedy
Description
Each speaker will give a short presentation to the whole class to introduce your comedy. All
listeners will take notes about the speaker’s report. Then we will watch a two-minute clip of the
comedy. We will laugh together!
Preparation
1. Choose a 2-minute clip of a humorous movie or a TV sitcom that your classmates will
like. It must be funny! Find a video clip online (e.g., www.youtube.com), or borrow a
DVD from the library, or rent a DVD from a video rental company (e.g., Netflix).
2. Send an email message to the teacher. If the video clip is online, copy and paste the URL
(web address). If the video clip is longer than 2 minutes, indicate which two minutes you
plan to show. For example,
I Love Lucy--Harpo Marx Mirror Routine s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkRZTEk-mkM
I will show 2:13–4:13 OR I will show 3:08–5:08.
3. Prepare a short oral presentation (1½–2 minutes) to introduce this humorous clip. In your
report, include the following information:
Characters: Describe 2 or 3 of the main characters (names, relationship, occupations). If
you know the actors, you may include their names, but it is not required.
Story: Very briefly, give background information. Describe what happened just before
the clip we are going to see. Do NOT tell the story of the whole show!
Humor: Describe why you think this clip is funny. What situations, interactions, pranks,
language and/or gestures make you laugh?
4. Practice your presentation by recording your voice on tape or on your computer. Listen to
your recording. Check your vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, stress, and intonation.
You want to make sure that other students (and your teacher) can understand you. Correct
and revise your presentation until it is just right. Record your presentation several times
until you can speak clearly without reading your report.
Presentation
On the presentation date, bring these items:
1. A small note card (3” x 5”). On the note card, write your name, the name of your movie
or sitcom, the names of the main characters, a few notes about the story, and a few notes
about the humor. Do NOT write the whole oral presentation on the cards. Write only
keywords.
2. If your comedy clip is on DVD, stick a note on the cover with your name and scene
number. Be prepared to cue the video to the start of the two-minute clip.
3. As a listener, you’ll take notes (see format for Comedy Notes). You’ll give each speaker 1 to 5 stars.
You’ll give each comedy clip 1 to 5 stars.
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