O seminar is a oral genre which serves to present a content to a certain audience, using, if necessary, audiovisual and other resources, in order to qualify the presentation. He serves for different situations, such as school work, dissemination of reports or defense of projects. Your language must be adequate to the standard-standard, as well as aligned with the characteristics of the target audience. It can be presented individually or in a group, depending on the situation.
Read too: Communication elements - aspects that allow the communicative flow
What is a seminar?
The seminar is a textual genre oral used to present a topic to a large audience.. It can work with different content and functions, such as exposing a topic, presenting reports or teaching some content.
Despite being an oral genre, the seminar requires care with the language, so the presenter must adapt his speech to the standard variety. Furthermore, the vocabulary and the level of personality must be adequate to the proximity between the interlocutors.
The presenter needs to ensure that the audience keeps their attention on their speech as well as understands the content being shared. In this sense, he can use complementary resources, such as slide show, video presentation, graphics, images and other tools.
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What is a seminar for?
The seminar serves a central purpose: to present content via oral presentation to a large audience. This function can be branched to other, more specific purposes, such as exposing a theme.
THE thematic exhibition it can be used in classes, when one intends to explain a subject and uses the genre to do so. It is also recurrent in some work environments, where rules, standards, new products, services and goals can be shared among employees via a seminar.
In addition to this, another function common to the seminar is the apresentation of reports. In some cases, the presenter uses this textual genre to expose the results of works, whether theoretical or practical. Similarly to this purpose, the seminar can also serve to present proposals or projects. In that case, the genre may present an interference of the argumentative aspect., considering that the presenter needs to convince and win over the audience.
See too: Open letter - textual genre that aims to expose the request of a group
How is a seminar run?
a seminar must be organized in advance so you can meet your goal. Thus, before the presentation, the author must make a in-depth research on the topic that will be addressed. After collecting and studying the information collected, a selection must be made of what is most relevant for use, as well as establishing an order of relevance between the data.
After the first moment of research and pre-textual organization, it is necessary reflect if any audiovisual or other resources will be used as an auxiliary presentation tool. If you choose some material, it is important to organize it so that both its exposure is possible and effective, and it is presented in the proper order for the oral discourse.
In sequence, a presentation script. It is defined how the initial presentation will be, the first information to be presented and the sequence of topics that will deepen the subject, ending, finally, with a cordial goodbye, more thanks.
In some contexts, there may be a round of questions after the presentation. In these cases, it is important to think about the possible answers, so that the audience understands the presenter's initial preparation, as well as his mastery of the content.
For example, considering a hypothetical topic such as "narrative", the author can organize his presentation as follows:
1st phase: presentation of the author's name and the theme of the seminar.
2nd phase: thematic introduction — in this case, one can talk about the origin of narration in human life, what is its social and cultural importance and what is the purpose of the presentation with the theme.
3rd phase: presentation of the seminar methodology, which serves to explain the blocks of the presentation (topics on the narrative text) and what is the objective of each one of them.
4th phase: theme development. At this point, the author can present the elements that make up the narrative texts, the differences between fictional and non-fictional narration, among other relevant details.
5th phase: recap of the theme. Resume the most relevant aspects of the introduction and development, proposing an overview of the topic.
6th phase: final considerations. Last notes on the narration, closing of the presentation and thanks.
How to present a seminar?
The presentation of a seminar must obey an order that helps organize the information of text and, with that, contribute to the understanding of the meaning. In this case, the structure of the presentation should be organized as follows:
Opening: must present all the authors of the seminar, that is, those who speak and present the content. Depending on the environment, the information required may vary, but it is essential to provide the names of everyone who will speak. In addition, it must provide extratextual information that is relevant to the presentation, such as course, level of expertise, professional title, etc.
Introduction of the topic: closing the brief opening presentation, you should move on to the subject of the seminar. Therefore, the presenter (or presenters) must attract readers to the topic, through the exposure of initial data, better known and recognized by the audience. If the presentation has an argumentative content, this moment also serves to present the problem.
Presentation Methodology: after starting the subject and indicating the possible problem, you should explain how the oral presentation will be made, which blocks and topics make up the structure. It is also possible that information about the research methodology prior to the seminar will be presented.
Development: the moment to deepen the theme or arguments, presenting innovative and/or critical data and information. It can also serve to defend the point of view, or to expose the details of the project or report.
Recapitulation: serves to resume the content in a summarized form, highlighting the most relevant points of the discussion, as a way to close the presentation.
Conclusion: should close the presentation, indicating the last topics and final considerations.
Closing: presents a cordial thank you and, if possible, opens space for questions.
Seminar Types
Seminars can be differentiated both by the number of presenters and by the presentation context. Regarding the first category, they are divided into:
ONE PRESENTER: fits seminars that have a single author;
PRESENTER GROUP: includes seminars that have two or more members in their composition, with the oral presentation being divided between them.
Regarding the presentation context, there are a variety of types, considering that the seminar can be adapted to different communicative situations. Some of them are presented below.
academic seminar: type used in universities and other educational institutions that require a presentation of topics, works, research and others via seminar.
project seminar: type used in presentations of projects created by the authors, usually for any selection that makes such a requirement.
Report Seminar: type used to share results and reflections about some experience previously lived.
By Talliandre Matos
Writing Teacher
