PRESENTATION CLASS, Week of April 30-May 4

Show and Tell

OBJECTIVE INFORMATION

1. What is it: It’s a set of Russian Matryoska dolls.
2.How old is it? It’s about 10 years old.
3. Where is it from? It’s from Russia.
4. When did you get it? I got it last year.
5. How did you get it? It was a parting gift from a friend.
6. Why did you get it? My friend wanted to give me something to remember her by?
7. What size is it? It’s very small. It can almost fit into the palm of my hand.
8. What shape is it? It’s in the shape of a matronly woman – doll.
9. How much does it weigh? It is very light.
10. What is it made of/from? It’s made from wood.
11. What features does it have? It has features of a human figure, 4 dolls that fit into each other.

SUBJECTIVE INFORMATION

1. Why does it have a special meaning for you?
It is a gift from a special friend; it reminds me of her and the importance of friendship and staying in touch.

2. Why do you feel strongly about it? Each time I look at the dolls and each time I hold them in my hand I am reminded of my friend who’s not here anymore. It reminds me of all the special times we had together.
3. Why do you want to share it with the class? I wanted to show these dolls because they are interesting and because I think they’d like the story behind it: a token of friendship to cherish forever. It’s an important message.

***answering the above questions is like having a brainstorming session. Now you have to organize the information about your object into a presentation that would have those components we talked about (Start, Middle, End).


THIS PRESENTATION’S TIME LIMIT: 5 minutes
After 5 minutes is up you will be interrupted.

START

(greeting the audience) Hello, thank you for being here to listen to my presentation.
(hook). I am sure that everyone here has an object they cherish, something that is special and meaningful to you. Do you still keep your teddy bear? Or your first sports trophy? Perhaps a movie ticket? An old diary? We all have some things that are meaningless to anyone but us.

(introduction - show the object): I’d like to tell you about my precious object): a set of Russian “nesting dolls”, Matryoshkas or Babushkas in Russian. You can buy them anywhere in the world, not only in Russia

(telling about the presentation structure). I’ll describe my dolls to you, tell you their history and explain why they are so meaningful and special to me.

(questioning rules) At the end of the presentation, I will welcome your questions and comments, should you have any. Also, feel free to demand more clarifications and ask questions during the presentation by raising your hand.
MIDDLE
a) (objective information)

As I said before, what I have here in my hand is a set of Russian Matryoshkas or Babushkas, nesting dolls. They are called nesting because they nest within each other: you open the biggest one, only to find a smaller one inside, and then a smaller one, and so on, all the way to the last tiny one that is in one piece and does not open. They originate from the 19th century Russia and are probably the most famous Russian souvenir. There are many different styles of nesting dolls, representing animals, Santa Clauses, political figures. Once, in Hungary, I saw a nesting doll set that featured all the nasty politicians of the world: you open the big Saddam Houssein, to find a smaller George Bush inside, then Kim, Jung-il, Khommeini, etc. My favourites, however, are simple Matryoshkas/ Babushka that represent Russian mothers and grandmothers in their headscarves and serene faces.

My set’s predominant colour is pink with flower patterns. I especially like their cute faces that feature big eyes, long eyelashes, pink cheeks and red lips. They look very cute and funny. The set has 5 pieces made from wood, but it’s very light. It’s also very small - it can fit in the palm of my hand. I can keep it on my desk in one piece or I can take them all out and have a whole army smiling at me.

b) (subjective information)

I got this set two years ago from my friend Jiwon who had bought it while traveling in Russia. She gave them to me just before she left Korea to go back to her home town New York. They are very precious to me because they remind me of her, one of my closest friends, and of all the great times we shared here in Korea. We met through our hiking club. Like me, she is an avid hiker, and like me, she likes to eat kimchi jeon and drink dong-dong ju after a hard day on the mountain. We spent every Saturday together for about 2,5 years. When she decided to go back to New York, I was very saddened, and I knew I’d miss her a lot. At her farewell party, she gave me these dolls telling me: “these should cheer you up; each time you look at them, you should smile, and imagine me smiling back at you.” I do. They sit on a window sill in my office and they cheer me up when I feel tired or upset.

I wanted to show you these dolls because they are a testament to the importance of friends and memories. Every once in a while we need to remind ourselves what is really important in our lives. Money and success are great but if there’s no one there to love you and care for you, it’s all meaningless. My dolls remind me of my true friend.

CONCLUSION
I hope that you enjoyed listening to the story about my precious set of Russian dolls. Although they are a cheap wooden souvenir, they are made special because they were given to me by a special person and they also carry a message of caring and friendship.

Now, I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.