Culture and the Art of Making Oral Presentations

Abstract

This article aimed to study the predictors of how Singaporeans/Malaysians of Chinese origin evaluate oral presentations, based on factors which provide informational input on emotions, namely eye contact, voice, facial expressions and body movements. The key finding is that voice is the most predictive of the overall performance of oral presentations, which is consistent with research on Eastern Asian subjects. However, facial expressions were found to be the most predictive of emotional input. If facial expressions were more important, this mode would also be the most predictive of the overall performance of oral presentations and not voice. The lack of consistency challenges the assumption that the effective delivery of oral presentations rely more on the visual display of emotions than other non-visual nonverbal modes. These results have implications for how oral presentations are taught in an East Asian context. In cultures where an outward display of emotion is not generally expected, it would be more appropriate to give more attention to other nonverbal modes of communication such as voice.

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