Effective oral presentation among undergraduates

Abstract

Success in oral pesentation skills contributes to students’ success in academic performance as well as their social life. It is important for teachers to know their students’ needs and social background in order to encourage them to share information relevant to their interests with their peers to improve their oral presentation skills. This study investigates the factors that affect oral presentation among undergraduates. This quantitative study used Likert scale questionnaire to collect data from 100 undergraduates at a private university in Malaysia (UNITAR International University). The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) in the form of mean, standard deviation, and variance. The findings of the study showed four primary factors: confidence, nervousness, communication, and presentation skill that effect oral presentation among the undergraduate students. The results of the study demonstrated that the students were very nervous during presentations and they faced lack of self-confidence to speak during the oral presentations. The findings also showed that lack of necessary skills such as communication and presentation skills affected the students’ oral presentations in a negative way.

Keywords

• oral presentation
• English language learning
• presentation skill
• communication skill
• self- confidence