You are telling your colleagues about an aspect of English Literature and Culture and let them participate in your research. Give them the necessary information and convince them that your topic is relevant, fascinating, and worth talking about. It's your show: Do not forget that you have an audience that can be bored to death quite easily. Try to do everything to keep them from falling asleep. Remember: With Oral Presentations you also gradually acquire one of the most important basic skills, i.e. presenting the outcome of your work. A BARGAIN! You get two for the price of one: a "Schein" and a key qualification.

1. Sit down and think first: What is your topic? How much time do you have to present your paper? How can you make your presentation interesting (and amusing)?
2. Research. Thoroughly. Become an expert on your topic.
3. Structure and select your material. Make an outline of points you absolutely have to mention. Do not forget that you only have a limited amount of time (and your audience has a limited attention span). E.g. decide, if you really want to include information on T.S. Eliot's haemorrhoids when your topic is "The Waste Land and Arthurian Romance". If you are not sure about your selection, ask your teacher.
4. How are you going to present your information? Let "Die Sendung mit der Maus" be your guide: Use other media (PowerPoint, videos, overhead projector, the blackboard) to pep up the presentation. Visualize. Verbalize.
5. Prepare a handout. It should include the most important points of your presentation - dates, theses, quotes (if you are using any) and a bibliography of your sources. It should not be a complete transcript of your presentation. Let Alfred Hitchcock be your guide: create suspense, keep some surprises up your sleeve.
6. Rehearse your presentation: check the pronunciation of names and words you do not know; make sure you know how to operate the PC and the beamer (or any other technical equipment you're using); do not forget the time limit.

1. Do NOT PANIC. Everyone has to do an oral presentation, everyone knows it is not easy, nobody's perfect.
2. Make sure that you're in the classroom well on time. Prepare and check the technical equipment: does the beamer work? Is the PC running?
3. Ideally you should be able to do your presentation without a script. Use file cards with keywords, concepts, and quotes to aid your memory.
4. Let any of the "Tagesschau" speakers be your guides: Do they mumble, do they drone? NO. Neither should you. Be neither too monotonous, nor too dramatic. Establish eye contact with your audience every now and again and make sure that everyone is alive, awake, and aware - if not: wake them up.
5. It is not forbidden to have a discussion in class - challenge your audience, ask questions, give them food for thought. Enjoy!