Chapter 5: Career Management
32 Speaking
Pronunciation
Task 1 
Listen to the pronunciation of the words and phrases in the audio for Task 1. Repeat and practise.
| achievable | foundation | potential |
| action plan | gaps | probation |
| bonus | increment | recap |
| brief | individuality | relevant |
| commitment | inevitable | reliable |
| concrete | journal | secure |
| conduct | measurable | self-assess |
| constantly | motivate | self-conscious |
| critical | opportunity | specific |
| deadline | performance review | time frame |
| document | periodic | tool |
| flexible | perspective |
Task 2 
Listen to the audio for Task 2. Pay attention to how the speaker groups words together. Mark any pauses you hear with a /.
Discuss the pauses you marked.
Practise reading along with the audio, pausing where the speaker pauses.
Learn new skills and improve your knowledge. Keep a workplace journal. Log your successes and your challenges. Reflect on the challenges so that you can set self-development goals. A workplace journal will help you with your performance review and your goal setting. Speak up at meetings and offer suggestions. Your co-workers and supervisor may not take your suggestions, but they will appreciate your input. If you are self-conscious or shy at meetings, take your focus away from yourself and concentrate instead on the topic and discussion. Use your knowledge and skills to solve problems and make decisions.
Speaking practice
- Complete the following:
a) Go to: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/topics/education/learning- tools/employability-skills.aspx to access the information you will require for this task.
b) Read the information and make notes in the table below. You will use the information to give a short presentation to a group or your instructor.
| What is the name of the document and what is it about? | ||
|---|---|---|
| What are Employability Skills 2000+? | ||
| What fundamental skills are listed? | Skills | Two examples |
| What personal management skills are listed? | Skills | Two examples |
| What teamwork skills are listed? | Skills | Two examples |
- a) Review what the Workplace Mentor said about oral presentations (Workplace Mentor 5.3).
b) Use the following chart to help you plan, prepare, and practise for the presentation.
| Introduction | • Greet the audience.
• Introduce yourself. • Give the purpose of the presentation (what you are going to talk about). • Introduce the topic (what the document is about). • List the points you are going to discuss about the topic (list the main skills in the document). • Use clear transitions to move from one point to another. |
|---|---|
| Body | • Expand on the topic by giving details and
examples about each point to help your audience understand the topic (explain each skill and give examples). • The points must be in the same order as in the introduction. • Use clear signal words to move from one point to another. |
| Conclusion | • Restate the purpose of the presentation.
• Summarize the main points in the order you presented them. • Thank the audience. |
c) Present the information. Make eye contact with all the members of your audience while presenting. This will make them feel included, and they will pay more attention to you.
- Discuss the following:
a) Why is presenting to an audience an important skill?
b) How do you think you did?
c) What were you most confident about? Why?
d) What were you least confident about? Why?
e) Why is the speaker’s eye contact important?
f) Why is the audience’s eye contact and body language important?
Speaking progress check
Rubric
Complete the following:
Read the information in the rubric on the right. It explains what you need to focus on in this task.
Complete the speaking task on the next page with your instructor or a classmate. Pay close attention to the expectations in the rubric because you will be expected to meet them.
| Chapter 5: Speaking progress check | ||||
| • Topic: Workplace communications
• Task: Present information about a task |
Name:
Date: |
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| Criteria | I met all of the requirements. | I met some of the requirements. | I did not meet any of the requirements. | How can I improve? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You had three clear parts in your presentation. | ||||
| In the introduction, you
• introduced yourself • introduced the topic • listed the points you were going to speak about. |
||||
| In the body, you
• explained the points in the same order as in the introduction • used signal words to move from one point to another. |
||||
| In the conclusion, you
• restated the purpose of the presentation • briefly went over the main points • thanked the audience. |
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| You maintained appropriate eye contact throughout. | ||||
Task
| Prepare and give a short presentation on SMART goals.
Instructions
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| Introduction | |
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| Body | |
| Conclusion | |
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