Natural Delivery with a Script….Is It Possible?

For decades, English teachers have been fighting a losing battle – having their students deliver an oral presentation without reading a script.  Sure, some students get it, some even have the extemporaneous skills to never need a script; but, for a significant number, separating them from their script is like separating a mother from her children.  Combine this with the natural performance anxiety of presenting to their peers and you have a recipe for disaster.  While most teachers try their hardest to dissuade students from reciting a script they’ve memorised or just reading it, faced with the emotional meltdown (or a letter from a parent), they relent.

Many schools are now allowing students to video their presentation for assessment.  This might be a Vlog post, a presentation recorded at home, or similar.  These forms of presentation are likely to become more popular.  Let’s be honest, this means that students delivering while reading from a script will become more common!

So, is the battle lost? Probably.  In which case, how can we accept the inevitable and adapt?  The war is not so much against reading to an audience as against the monotone, lifeless, stilted delivery that accompanies most reading.

Here are some suggestions of ways students can deliver naturally from a script:

  1. Use the automatic scrolling facility on Word to turn it into an ‘autocue’.  This function normally has to be turned on.  Go to File/Options/Quick Access Toolbar.  In the left hand dialogue box select ‘Commands Not in the Ribbon’.  Under that is an option ‘Auto Scroll’.  Highlight this then click the box marked ‘Add’.  In the far left hand of the ribbon you will then see a circle icon.  Click this and you will see up and down arrows.  Moving your cursor over the down arrow will start the scroll and you can adjust the speed.  Set the speed so it is scrolling at 130-140 words per minute.   Using this facility to practise has been particularly helpful in slowing down students who speak too quickly.
  • Write the script in a format that facilitates delivery:
    • Start every sentence on a new line.  You might even use the principle of ‘sound scripting’ to start a new line for a phrase.
    • Use a larger font.
    • Adjust your line spacing to reflect the speed.  For example, faster passages might be printed single line spacing; whereas slower passages might use double or triple line spacing.
    • Use underlining or bolding to indicate words that are emphasised.
    • Use slashes to indicate pauses.

Using this readily available technology will, hopefully, minimise the number of boring readings teachers have to sit through.