The dialogic presentation as a more compassionate approach

Presentations are a common means of communication worldwide with learners expected to carry out presentations as a means to disseminate academic knowledge (Tsang, 2020). Yet despite the issues that presentations induce in terms of stress (Merz et al., 2019), concerns over inclusivity (Mann and Clift, 2021), lack of presentation experience (Bankowski, 2010) and questions over transferable skills (Byrne, 2020), the traditional monologic presentation remains at the forefront of assessing through speaking. This lightning talk called for change and showed how the traditional monologic presentation is no longer relevant to today’s teaching and learning in higher education.

The talk presented a reimagined way to present called the dialogic presentation. This innovative method of presenting involved small groups of peers in the process, thus encouraging a dialogue and redirecting student focus away from the aforementioned issues. The dialogic presentation also considered the environment the presentation takes place in and how that can be adapted in order to further reduce the potential for issues from external factors. As a result, the dialogic presentation has the potential to increase the quality of the presentation experience and the output. The dialogic presentation was presented clearly and efficiently through Pecha Kucha, highlighting the simplicity of the activity and its use in teaching and learning.