Communication, Society and Media 
ISSN 2576-5388 (Print) ISSN 2576-5396 (Online) 

Vol. 3, No. 4, 2020 
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26 
 

Original Paper 

Distributing the Modal Load: the Oral Presentation Ensemble 

and Professional Identity Formation 
Terri Grant1* 

1 Professional Communication Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa 
* Terri Grant, Professional Communication Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa 

 

Received: September 7, 2020   Accepted: September 18, 2020   Online Published: September 30, 2020 

doi:10.22158/csm.v3n4p26                       URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/csm.v3n4p26 

 

Abstract 

Scenario Learning and Pedagogy (SLP) involves immersing an entire university professional 

communication course within a selected sustainable business practice scenario. This article focuses on 

the draft and final oral presentations of two teams who chose recycling and sustainable building 

practices as their institutional “workplace” scenarios respectively. A semiotic and metafunctional 

approach combined with authorial identity markers produced a sound theoretical frame and 

methodology against which a multi-layered analysis and comparison of their presentations could be 

instantiated. Video recordings of both their rehearsal and final presentations allowed for fine-grained 

scrutiny of selected video clips to focus a lens on various verbal and non-verbal elements of 

communication such as speech, vocal intonation and projection, dress (appearance), posture, gesture 

and movement, eye contact and gaze behaviour, and facial expression. The emergence of confidence as 

a proxy of growing professional identity to a greater or lesser extent could be determined within each 

team. How each team member leveraged their linguistic and cultural backgrounds, age, gender and 

scenario knowledge provided individual as well as collective insights into the team dynamic. Although 

some team members fared better than others, their collective support worked to suppress weaknesses 

and disjunctures to the benefit of the team effort. 

Keywords 

Scenario learning and pedagogy, semiotic resources, video recording, professional identity 

 

1. Introduction 

Professional communication as a core course for students who are studying other degrees in commerce, 

engineering or science, is often seen as an “add-on”, a soft skill to be tolerated (Wardrope, 2002; Archer, 

2004; Grant, 2012). Scenario Learning and Pedagogy (SLP) is a term coined to describe an approach to 



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teaching professional communication to senior students at tertiary level. Instead of viewing 

professional communication as an isolated extra, this teaching approach aims to embed the course in 

real-time workplace scenarios and practices in order to foreground and enhance professional identity. 

By immersing an entire course within a particular scenario involving sustainable business policies and 

practices at their “workplace” institution (their university), commerce students engage in authentic 

university investigations, debates and negotiations on topical issues (Grant, 1999, 2012).  

On this SLP course, topics cover waste, water, energy, transport, building and landscape management 

on campus and each student pair selects an issue within these investigative fields. During the semester, 

they engage in various iterative activities involving numerous genres and formats. Receiving feedback 

at each draft stage along their developmental trajectory provides an opportunity for teams to design and 

redesign their semiotic products towards the final professional deliverables. These culminating 

products, comprising a slide presentation and a bound written report for a designated external client, 

emerge as exemplars of transformed practice (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000). 

This article focuses on the oral presentation work of two pairs: the rehearsal in front of the class as well 

as the final presentation to which the client is invited. These videoed reporting products, the one 

building upon the other, serve to represent the scenario findings, conclusions and recommendations and 

fulfil the original terms of reference commissioned at the start of the course. Filming both presentations 

allows a comparison of each product and how pairs attempt to transform their work, based on facilitator 

and peer feedback. The analysis focuses on how professional communication practice and identity 

emerge and are instantiated through various textual products and processes and how SLP aims to 

contribute to this manifestation. The aim of this article is to compare, juxtapose and analyse this 

progression and how students grapple with various challenges—some more successfully than 

others—along the way. 

Pseudonyms are used for both team’s work. Team R, Lindiwe and Vusi, explored the university’s 

recycling practices while Team SB, Jenny and Hussein, chose sustainable building practices. The four 

participants from varied cultural, language, age and gender backgrounds substantially represent course 

participants and, more practically, covered very different scenario topics. Not only did they have to 

engage in a collaborative and dialogical relationship with other course participants and external 

stakeholders but more importantly had to rely on and engage with each other as partners. 

 

2. Theoretical Framework and Methodological Approach 

In this section, the various theories which underpin this analysis are examined, particularly insofar as 

they engage one another and contribute towards a fine-grained analysis. 

2.1 Ensembles and Orchestrations 

 



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The following questions are of particular interest: how do partners begin to negotiate professional 

identity through their active participation in the presentation, and how do they express their own sense 

of who they are individually as well as collaboratively as a partner in a task team? In particular, speech 

acts as expressions of embodied professional practice and delegation are foregrounded. Embodied 

professional practice is exemplified by the modal orchestrations of  

• speech, vocal intonation and projection  

• dress (appearance), 

• posture, gesture and movement,  

• eye contact and gaze behaviour, and  

• facial expression 

Together, these semiotic resources act in concert to instantiate a professional communication identity in 

the eyes of the audience as interpreters and the speakers as signmakers, rhetors and partners. Each 

semiotic resource selected may have its limitations but as ensemble, their individual partialities 

diminish. Meaning can be straddled across modes and media, which, according to Kress (2011) provide 

the technologies of representation and dissemination respectively. Each element has significance 

according to its materiality, affordances, constraints as well as “sensoriness” (Kress, 2011). What can 

be done with sound, for example, differs from what can be done with sight or gesture or colour and, 

according to Kress (2011), their “complementaries” forge meaning cognitively and affectively to 

produce embodied meaning (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2006). 

Another “complementarity” is that of turn-taking within teams. How partners negotiate their 

performative contributions in terms of content, timing, salience, interpersonal relations and modal load 

is crucial to establishing rapport and credibility. Salience includes both primacy and recency effects in 

terms of emphasis and positioning (first and last) as well as proportion. How partners divide up their 

presentational content and slides and engage with their material, each other and their audience are 

significant. The choice of modes as semiotic resources and how much prominence is accorded to each 

in terms of load, logic, specialization, reach and modality are important considerations as are leadership 

roles and power relations (Jewitt, 2009; Kress, 2010). Haliday’s metafunctions provide a useful 

analytical lens (Haliday & Hasan, 1985; Haliday & Matthiessen 2004). What speakers say and the 

epistemological value in ideational terms and how they say it and what that communicates 

interpersonally are both foregrounded. The textual metafunction, as instantiated through modal 

composition, coherence, alignment and integration, is also a key factor insofar as audiences need to 

interpret spoken and visual messages that are fleeting and do not persist. The more clearly and precisely 

audiences can follow the structure and sequence of these messages, irrespective of agreement, the more 

likely rapport and interest will be maintained. Congruence as mutual understanding rather than 

agreement is a key factor in professional communication where problem-solving and decision-making 



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play major roles.  

Important terms in this multimodal research are ensemble and orchestration (Jewitt, 2006, 2009; Kress, 

2003, 2010). This analysis looks at what semiotic work is afforded by various modes and how modes 

work together within professional domains and discourses, characterised by interdiscursivity and 

intertextuality (Fairclough 1992, 1995; Chouliariaki & Fairclough, 1999; Candlin & Hyland, 1999). 

The affordances and constraints of modes add nuanced complexity to meaning making as teams 

grapple with choices and combinations (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2006). As students have a rehearsal 

before the final presentation, changes are negotiated with facilitator and peers for teams to ask 

questions and interrogate assumptions, resolve disjunctures and inconsistencies, transform their 

presentational practices and strengthen coherence and confidence in a simulated professional setting. 

Although participants are not professionals in the workplace, but students cast in a role-play scenario 

within an affinity space (Gee, 2003), these presentational practices allow them to explore emerging 

professional identity in order to narrow the gap between the classroom and the workplace. The 

inclusion of real professionals in the guise of consultants and audience members aims to contribute to 

their development as future professionals. This too becomes a collaborative ensemble as partners and 

audience members dialogically explore, negotiate and shape ideas towards transformed practice. 

2.2 Modal Choices to Instantiate Professional Communication Practice and Identity 

It is generally accepted that communicative aspects involving the body, territory and space are 

culturally embedded rather than universally determined (Grant & Borcherds, 2020; Davis, 2002; 

Kaschula & Antonissen, 1995; Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1998). According to Kress (2010) 

modal reach is also culturally bound, not inherently “fixed”. He (2010, p.11) argues that there is “no 

reason to assume that the ‘modal division of labour’ will be the same across societies”. These 

differences may be quite profound. What too may be considered “professional” practice in one society 

may be frowned upon or taboo in another. Even within the same country so-called normative 

behaviours and practices may differ from community to community. Contradictions and differences in 

terms of gestural articulations, direct versus indirect eye contact, conventions of dress, gender and 

power relations and use of space and territory abound and may cause anxiety and confusion in diverse 

professional contexts. Being aware and accepting of difference and hybridity in dress codes is but one 

example which seems requisite in a multicultural global economy (Grant & Nodoba, 2009). Awareness 

of shifting global practices which are arguably more fluid and flexible than in the past increases the 

likelihood of divergence and convergence as equally salient (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981; Grant & 

Borcherds, 2020). What may have been seen as a disjuncture or “un-Western” in a hegemonic past, 

may today be contested and prove more acceptable in a landscape of change, provisionalism, 

innovation and shifting power relations. 

 



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Despite other “voices” and ways of being, the pressure to conform to the dictates of a professional 

business presentation in contrast, say, to African oral traditions of story-telling, is strong and widely 

endorsed in boardrooms at the cost of anything “other”. These contestations may cause a tension in 

assessment as pressures mount to privilege other voices and transform practice on a very different scale. 

So, although shifting global imperatives and power relations may accelerate hybridity and 

contestation—and assessment practices may need to take stock of these changes—what is validated and 

privileged in business and industry falls subject to this hegemonic worldview. With so much cultural 

capital still invested in the West, corporate hegemony persists particularly in the world of corporate 

finance and management. English as the official language of government, business and education 

prescribes a certain bias which renders visibly (rules) and invisibly (norms) “how things are done 

around here”. In other words, students get the message very early in their curricula as future 

accountants, auditors or financiers that their chances of success will improve if they “buy in” to the 

system and toe the corporate line. The stakes are high in terms of assessment too so students (and staff) 

are reluctant to take risks that may backfire. Already, in creating computer-mediated draft products at 

the planning stages, students confirm the need to appear “professional” according to a particular norm; 

this need is even more evident in presentations of their oral reports although there are a few instances 

where students have attempted to push the boundaries and this has become a growing trend in later 

presentations (Note 1). 

Contrary to other ways of doing things, the so-called received wisdom in terms of presentational 

“graduateness” is set out in the table below. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Table 1. Bodily Characteristics Relevant to Professional Communication Practice and Identity 

Embodied 

Semiosis 

 

Semiotic Dimensions 

 

Semiotic Choices 

Speech and 

Voice 

Content and context  

Style, tone and register  

Pace and unloading rate 

Sound 

Diction  

Structure of design 

Intertextual/discursive choices  

Linguistic choices 

Pausing for transitions 

Volume, projection, pitch and modulation 

Fluency/clarity in voice modulation and pace 

Verbal/visual choices to order information 

(speech and slides e.g. PowerPoint) 

Dress and 

Appearance 

Demeanour  

Grooming 

Clothing and accessories 

Overall impression 

Positioning 

and 

Movement 

Head movement 

Posture 

Gesture 

Body movement  

Territory 

Angle/tilt of head  

Physical stance and position 

Types and occurrence 

Trajectory of motion  

Use of space 

Eye Contact Direction  

Open/closed 

Gaze behaviour  

Eye and lid movements  

Facial 

Expression 

Degree of affect 

 

Degree of expressiveness/animation 

Use of smiling  

 

These dimensions and questions relate to presumed professional communication identity within a 

hegemonic Western tradition, foregrounding embodied and visual modes. The columns encapsulate the 

“regions” in content and delivery style which purport to influence modality and authorial stance in a 

professional domain. How do speakers compose and arrange their presentations in terms of audience 

expectation? What choices do speakers make in how they use their bodies to communicate and 

establish rapport and credibility? 

Although various sections will be dealt with separately, only key semiotic resources will be selected for 

further analysis, given the amount and complexity of data evident in Table 1. Teasing out several 

strands relating to team delegation and turn-taking allows me to focus on in-class interactions and 

support and how these assist students in developing confidence as “learner” professional 

communication practitioners. 

Gestures such as pointing and gaze behaviour that link what and how students express themselves to 

what they show on a slide may emphasise or enhance meaning making; other directional cum 



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navigational devices may not. Co-verbal gestures that mirror linguistic meaning may be said to be 

subordinate as both words and gestures have similar meanings. Iconic gestures often fall into this 

category as they “generally mimic what the individual communicates verbally” (Norris, 2004, p. 29). 

Those that hold different meanings of equal value can be classified as complementary. Abstract 

gestures such as “weighing up” a proposition or beat gestures to reinforce movement or directionality 

may play a complementary role. Supplementary gestures also have different meanings but are classified 

as super-ordinate if they “add value” to signification. Some deictic and metaphoric gestures that can be 

understood by viewing the gesture alone have super-ordinate meaning making potential within specific 

contexts. Examples of various types of gesture are provided in the analysis below.  

Congruent orchestration versus disjuncture occurs when verbal and visual meaning making resources 

either blend seamlessly or clash and hinder assumed professional practice. The bodily choices speakers 

make in relation to audience, equipment and partners contribute to communication and interpretation. 

Of interest are the discursive, generic and modal merges and clashes that arise as students explore and 

negotiate knowledge and interpersonal relationships, including power relations, between themselves as 

partners and between teams and their audience. As multimodal ensemble, the affordances of modes and 

modal load are important to the extent to which speech, appearance, movement, gesture and gaze 

behaviour mirror, complement or supplement each other to realise ideational, interpersonal and textual 

meaning and coherence. 

In terms of content and delivery professional communicators need to consider: 

representational and communicative  

alignment with purpose                       verbal/visual relevance 

 

interpersonal aptness for 

audience.                                  verbal/visual appropriateness 

 

textual and structural unity and  

salience for purpose and audience               verbal/visual coherence 

It is important to state that there is no fixed template for designing and presenting a presentation; a right 

way and a wrong way. A range of possibilities exist, depending on purpose, audience and socio-cultural 

context and occasion. How audiences gauge professional communication practices during an event 

such as a business presentation relies on a combination of factors and their take primarily on relevance, 

appropriateness, coherence and overall focus on communicative goal. As this presentation follows on 

draft oral processes during the semester, speakers are already aware of and have been prompted to 

make choices based on situated practice, explicit and implicit instruction, critical framing and 

embodied reflection (their own and based on feedback received) in order to transform their practice 



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(Cope & Kalantzis, 2000). The more students own this iterative process, the more meaningful the 

co-construction of knowledge becomes.  

In the analysis below, the discussion is initiated by looking at video as pedagogical tool before focusing 

on authorial stance and modality as instantiated through the dimensions of embodied speech. Two sets 

of frames as multimodal ensemble are then analysed, focusing on the orchestration of speech, gesture 

and facial expression including eye contact. How these modes may index matches and mismatches is 

analysed in both sections.  

 

3. Result and Discussion 

3.1 Video as a Tool for Teaching and Learning 

In the table below, examples are given of long, medium and close-up shots.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Table 2. Distance and Coverage of Various Screenshots 

Screenshot 

distances 

Coverage Examples 

 

Long shot: 

 

Lindiwe and 

Vusi during 

their final 

presentation (R 

report) 

 

As the camera was not static but actively 

managed by the facilitator, some shots were 

taken at wide angle to take in speakers, their 

presentation slides and their interactions with 

each other, the equipment (laptop and 

screen) and the audience. How and where 

they stood and moved could more easily be 

established. Location and posture as well as 

dress were more visible in these instances. 

 

 

Medium 

range: 

 

Lindiwe during 

her final 

presentation (R 

report) 

 

At other random moments, the facilitator 

zoomed in from long shot to medium range 

displaying torso with greater attention paid 

to shoulder movements, arm/hand gestures 

as well as frontal stance versus profile view. 

 

 

Close-up:  

 

Jenny during 

her rehearsal 

(SB report) 

 

Close-ups allowed for clearer observation of 

eye contact and gaze direction, facial 

expression and head movement.  

 

 

 



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The use of video as pedagogical tool allows students to view themselves for reasons of personal 

evaluation and feedback. Although, according to Jewitt (2002, p.177), “[t]he camera encodes a viewing 

position, both in terms of distance and in angle of representation” to instantiate involvement of subjects 

and viewers or lack thereof, this was not the facilitator’s primary intention in this instance. She was not 

attempting to make a video with scripted camera movement, for example. She did not plan her camera 

angles or shots but aimed to ensure a balance for each team member to provide opportunities at 

playback for students to get a good overall impression of their delivery style, both visually and aurally. 

The sound was kept constant across the session which allowed for student feedback and comparison on 

vocal clarity, intonation and projection. The variation of shots with accompanying soundtrack also 

allowed me, as researcher, to select key analytical moments. 

3.2 Authorial Stance as an Element of Professional Identity 

Characteristics of a professional business stance are endorsement and cited authority, particularly in 

what Hyland (1999) calls, the “soft disciplines” such as business studies and professional 

communication as opposed to the “hard sciences”. As professional identity may seem more blurred in 

these so-called soft disciplines than in “‘established’ professions” (Beck & Young, 2005, p. 188) such 

as engineering or medicine, for example, students may be more inclined to resort to opinion leaders and 

external sources for confirmation and substantiation of findings. Ideationally, more “overt 

intertextuality” (Hyland, 1999, p. 111) is evident in these interdisciplinary fields to construct 

knowledge, engage support, strengthen arguments and enhance professional identity. Students used 

both verbal and visual semiotic resources to underpin and reinforce mutual meaning-making and 

understanding, bolster confidence in themselves and their material and encourage the audience’s 

confidence and trust in their delivery and content.  

3.2.1 Authorial Voice and Modality 

During both talks, speakers drew on their sources to substantiate their findings and boost their 

arguments. Lindiwe and Vusi (R) used data from several sources to foreground their argument and 

reinforce their authority. These included the Green Campus Initiative (GCI), Wasteman, a waste 

disposal company, institutional comparisons (for example, two local universities) and findings from 

prior studies on recycling data, practices and measures (for example, the War on Waste [WOW] 

campaign). Jenny and Hussein (SB) used local architectural data and global comparisons of green 

building practices (for example, London’s “Gherkin” building) to imbue their findings, conclusions and 

recommendations with “truth” value. These examples and comparisons made verbally through speech 

and visually through embodied delivery and PowerPoint, aimed to enhance modality in a professional 

domain. Speech assisted by technology allowed speakers to “set out a claim, comment on its truth, 

establish solidarity and represent their credibility” (Hyland, 1999, p. 105). The variety of modes and 

media contributed to the intertextual nature of their presentations which aimed to elevate their 



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authoritative stance. 

During the question and answer session, Lindiwe (R) amused the audience when, in a parody of this 

convention, she commandeered a late team arrival as the “planned” arrival of the very “experts” she 

was awaiting to answer a particularly tricky question. 

But we do have a team who have just walked in who will be…who are going to be 

talking about student communication in respect of, you know, the sustainability plan 

and communicating to students… 

 

  

Figure 1. Lindiwe “welcoming another team of ‘experts’” 

 

As this team just happened to arrive at this point, she cleverly used coincidence in her role-play 

situation and hastily added them to her “script”. This adroit improvisation worked to simulate a 

professional practice that got her “off the hook”. Instead of undermining her authority, she was seen to 

enhance it by taking command of the situation and (re)negotiating contextual meaning with, 

presumably, a more “expert” other.  

Earlier, during the rehearsal session, Lindiwe introduced the team’s name incorrectly substituting 

“global” for “green” in their fictitious company name, Green Planet Consulting. This slip of the tongue 

also caused amusement as it seemed to elevate the team, their subject and context to a global stage 

rather than the more mundane recycling practices of a local institution. Attempts to instantiate a global 

identity and international benchmarking also aimed to elevate presentation content within both local 

and international contexts to enhance credibility in a professional domain. By introducing the iconic 

“Gherkin” building, Jenny and Hussein also introduced international benchmarking into their oral 

report to elevate the status of the sustainable building design content and context. 



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Lindiwe and Jenny took responsibility for a greater proportion of their respective presentations from a 

primacy, timing and positioning perspective, confirming both their cultural capital and positions of 

power within the team (Bourdieu, 1991; Fairclough, 1992, 1995). During the rehearsal, Lindiwe 

delivered a straightforward introduction of the topic and speakers and spoke for nearly two minutes 

before handing over to Vusi who set out the objectives of recycling before giving a narrative account of 

the university’s two major recycling projects. Lindiwe then finished off the presentation by comparing 

the efforts of both local universities. Of the 12 minutes they took during rehearsal (two minutes over 

the recommended time), Lindiwe spoke for seven. Feedback centred on the lack of a hook (Note 2) to 

command attention in the introduction and overly detailed and descriptive findings which lacked 

emphasis and impetus. Although they cut their final presentation by just over three minutes, Lindiwe’s 

time “on stage” was double that of her partner whose narrative had been criticised the week before. She 

also reframed her comparison as an argument to encourage her institution to greater efforts so as not to 

be “outdone” by the other university. In the SB presentation, Jenny not only spoke for longer but was 

responsible for the international comparison, the more sophisticated part of the presentation. The 

sections Lindiwe and Jenny handled seemed to draw more audience attention, in part due to their wider 

application and internationalism. The type of content they presented was regarded as more “interesting” 

and “global” than the shorter, local sections handled by Vusi and Hussein. Audience attentiveness could 

also be attributed to length of section and the confident delivery style of both women. They seemed to 

have exercised more say in division of labour and content choice. Peer feedback during the rehearsal 

session may also have contributed to decision-making as both women received more positive feedback 

than their male partners. 

Vocally, both Vusi and Hussein were more subdued and softly spoken than their female counterparts. In 

giving feedback during the rehearsal, facilitator and students focussed on vocal tone, projection and 

diction, describing their presentations as being somewhat “monotonous” and lacking “oomph”. In 

Vusi’s case, audibility was noted specifically. A steady voice, appropriate vocal projection and clear 

diction may serve as proxies for confidence and certainty whereas the opposite may be true reflecting 

heightened nervousness, anxiety and uncertainty. During the rehearsal, Lindiwe had started the 

recycling presentation. Besides reshaping the content, the order of speakers was also changed. Perhaps 

in a bid to boost Vusi’s confidence and not keep him waiting, Lindiwe persuaded him to open the final 

presentation. Attempting to include a hook and enhance rapport, Vusi asked the audience a direct 

question. However, this backfired somewhat when he fumbled the wording. 

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Did you know that, er, waste recycling is the 

simplest way of saving….? Did you know that, er, waste recycling is the safest, is the 

simplest way of saving carbon emissions? Ninety percent of the energy used to 

recycle one tin can be saved by recycling one tin.  



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His hesitant opening which saw him “start again” and repeat his opening question lowered modality in 

a professional domain and weakened his overall credibility, despite it being an arresting fact and a good 

idea as such. This repetition is typical of a rote learning style where speakers tend to recite their words. 

If they stumble or get lost, they seem unable to improvise and continue but feel compelled to start again 

and repeat their script as learnt. Lindiwe took over at this point and was responsible for the full 

introduction including the objectives which Vusi had previously handled. He then discussed the 

university’s contribution in a more conceptual categorical framing than “story-telling” narrative which 

strengthened the argument and audience rapport. Focusing less on a chronological account, this section 

was shorter, yet seemed sharper and more to the point. Lindiwe once again compared both universities 

using argument rather than description to weigh up implications. Being responsible for drawing 

conclusions and making recommendations also put her in a powerful position as primary 

decision-maker. Her imperative style, persuading the university what they “should” and “must” do in 

future, served to reinforce professional modality. At the end of the presentation, Lindiwe confidently 

opened the floor to questions which she then answered, injecting the humour as previously mentioned 

when she commandeered the arrival of another team. The camera remained on her until the end. The 

fact that the audience’s attention (and camera) stayed with her during the question session consolidated 

her leadership position and boosted her confidence as practitioner. Although Hussein listed their 

recommendations at the end of the SB presentation and called for questions, Jenny immediately took 

charge and answered them, once again highlighting her topic “ownership” and leadership credentials. 

The firm notes of finality and friendly collegiality, coupled with the intelligent handling of questions, 

ensured an overall positive recency effect which left the audience satisfied with both presentations as a 

whole. Despite Vusi’s hesitant start and Hussein’s general nervousness, therefore, their joint 

presentations were regarded as textually more coherent, authoritative and professional than the earlier 

rehearsals.  

3.2.2 Visual Modality and PowerPoint 

As evident in Table 2, neither party used cue cards during their presentations nor was there any 

evidence of a written script. As can also be seen, each team used PowerPoint to augment their words 

and bodies. They used their slides on screen or the laptop as well as introductory turn-taking verbal 

links as mnemonic prompts and, having rehearsed the presentation the previous week, neither team 

relied too heavily on these discursive prompts nor did they merely read their bullet points. Despite the 

more reserved presentations of Vusi and Hussein, the teams’ familiarity with their material, lack of 

notes, complementary verbal-visual slides and carefully negotiated division of labour enhanced their 

credibility as professional presenters.  

The order of the slides followed and reflected the textual structure of the respective presentations, 

moving from the general to the particular. Lindiwe and Vusi designed eight slides comprising their title 



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slide (see Table 2), an overview slide and three body slides on the Green Campus Initiative, Waste 

Management and university comparisons respectively. Their final slides comprised one each on 

Conclusions, Recommendations and Questions. Jenny and Hussein created twelve slides comprising an 

Introduction to Heating and Cooling Practices (two slides), one slide on the university’s older buildings 

and five slides on the female residence they had selected to analyse, photographically depicting the 

building and its geographical location. These were followed by two slides on Sustainable Heating 

Measures, diagrammatically illustrated, two slides on Sustainable Cooling Plans with accompanying 

photographs and two more slides on other available methods, one of which displays a photograph 

entitled “London’s Gherkin”. The presentation ended with two final slides on Conclusions and 

Recommendations respectively. These slides represented the narrative and conceptual ordering 

frameworks that each speaker used to describe and explain past and current initiatives and recommend 

future action. Both teams also used classification (types of waste) and causal analysis (old versus new 

buildings) to provide evidence of their findings and further their recycling and sustainable business 

arguments.  

The distribution of data across the slides varied as team members out of class negotiated what to depict 

on each. They had to consider the compositional relationship between visual and written text, areas of 

specialization of each and choices depending on what they were trying to achieve. A visual rather than 

verbal load was far greater in photographic, diagrammatic or graphic slides whereas the opposite was 

true of numbered lists of conclusions and recommendations. Others, like the recycling title slide in 

Table 2, juxtaposed the visual and verbal for shared emphasis. Using colour and providing a 

photographic display of the cooling features on the female residence and Gherkin building (SB report) 

and mounds of litter and colour-coded bins (R report) seems more apt and fit for purpose than 

describing them verbally. The modal logic and reach inherent in visual design is greater for audience 

interpretation, irrespective of linguistic competence. Besides representational accuracy and clarity, the 

affective impact of colour and image makes a lasting impression which persuasively reinforces the 

necessity of introducing cost-effective measures of building design and recycling. A verbal argument in 

the conclusions, followed by a list of implementation steps in the recommendations, contributes to 

enhanced cognition. The ideational, interpersonal and textual metafunctions are realised in speech, 

words, image and delivery style which together create an orchestrated ensemble of negotiated meaning 

making.  

As speakers determined the pace of the presentation and when to change slides, the use of slide 

handouts served to compensate not only for pace, unloading rate and lack of persistence, but also for 

the partiality inherent in each slide. Acknowledging perhaps the fleeting nature of speech compared to 

writing, Jenny and Hussein also included their report executive summary on their handout to add value 

to their oral presentation. As these were distributed in advance, audiences could read ahead and move 



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to and fro autonomously. It is worth noting that although these supplementary practices emerged in 

class during situated practice and instruction, the facilitator did not prescribe them, and their use was 

entirely optional. By including handouts—a different genre—for slides or financial statements, students 

demonstrated their understanding of the affordances and constraints of various semiotic resources. A 

balance sheet, for example, is too detailed as a slide but apt as a handout which audiences could take 

away and study at their leisure. 

Given time constraints, each team had to decide what to foreground both verbally and visually and to 

précis their reports accordingly. In particular, given explicit instruction and modelling of PowerPoint 

behaviour, they had to be very selective in terms of words chosen for display. The recycling slide 

presentation comprised 210 words and six images and the sustainable building presentation comprised 

252 words, 13 numbers and nine images, distributing the modal load linguistically, numerically and 

pictorially. Besides the use of numbers in the text, each slide in the latter presentation was also 

numbered. This conventionalised practice enhances professionalism as presenters can easily locate a 

slide during question time which acts to speed up proceedings.  

Both pairs elected to use ready-made PowerPoint templates from the repertoire available in the menu 

although they chose the colour scheme, selection of images and font size. Templates are useful for 

novice users who have not yet mastered the more sophisticated features of the software, which are 

“difficult to access and (learn how to) use” (Djonov, O’Halloran & Van Leeuwen, 2010). Neither team 

used clip art nor image bank samples, however, electing greater customisation of their visual material. 

Jenny and Hussein physically took their own photographs and used diagrams provided by the architects. 

The only picture they downloaded off the internet was of London’s “Gherkin”. The internet, acting as a 

conveyor and distributor of previously organised knowledge, provides opportunities (as do other 

sources) for transferring “ready-made” semiotic resources from one context to another to serve a 

different purpose. Lindiwe and Vusi used existing photographs made available by their sources at the 

university and Wasteman. Possibly reflecting the more fleeting nature of the oral genre, the fact that 

teams were “given” visual material or that they didn’t see the need to “duplicate” their citation 

practices, saw very little acknowledgement of sources on slides. Lindiwe and Vusi also designed their 

own graphics in Word which they then imported into their PowerPoint presentation, displaying their 

familiarity with this specific software practice and numeracy in general. 

The similar look of each slide created a unity of style which reinforced the impression that these were 

jointly authored presentations. They also used colour, spacing and bullets (at two levels) with 

indentation and font size variation to represent the various sub-levels. Each set of slides functioned as a 

summary to the oral presentation in similar fashion to the summary of the written report but, taken on 

its own, the slide presentation as genre seldom functions as a “standalone” product as it requires spoken 

verbiage to co-instantiate the slides. Although PowerPoint is often criticised for its reductionist and 



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synoptic tendencies (Tufte, 2001; Grant & Borcherds, 2020; Martin, 2010), too much writing and 

continuous prose is contrary to good slide design. Presenters must be extremely selective in their verbal 

and visual choices and to view their slide presentation as a complementary product. Although this may 

pose numerous threats to accuracy, completeness and validity, the ensemble of speech, writing and 

image coupled with viewing and listening simultaneously work to enhance unity, coherence and 

emphasis. Each mode may have its affordances and constraints, but the combination of modes and 

media allows for the distribution of meaning across them. Despite this combination of spoken text and 

visual display, choices must be made and much more material omitted than the written document, for 

example. The audience, for the most part, focuses on what is said and displayed rather than what is 

absent. Although they may address gaps during the question session, the bias and distortion that may 

arise during a so-called informative oral report may go unnoticed or be considered inconsequential. The 

onus on presenters to honour the data seems greater during the oral than the written report and, with so 

little time, choosing what to privilege, becomes a real test of professional practice. As evident in the 

handouts combined with their embodied presentations, both teams managed to coherently convey the 

gist of their written reports and to appropriately spread the verbal and visual load in terms of logic and 

specialization. 

A downside of software packages such as PowerPoint and, to a lesser extent, Prezi, is that slides are 

pre-set and cannot be changed during the presentation. Although some students, particularly during the 

last few years, have used sophisticated animation of procedures, film clips and other web links, given 

time constraints and advice to keep it simple, many stick to the basics, as was the case here. Despite 

attempts at multimedia approaches, students still must decide in advance what to include and how to 

order their presentation. They do not change this on the day, during the actual presentation or question 

session although they may re-show a specific slide or even “extra” slides, not included in their original, 

if warranted by questions. Unlike an interactive whiteboard, for example, PowerPoint does not allow 

for interaction nor is frequent interruption encouraged during a more formal presentation when time is 

of the essence. The informal draft products used earlier were far more conversational and interactive, 

although the product (e.g., mind map) was “fixed”. Nevertheless, additions and changes could be made 

during discussion (and were). Inserting one’s own identity into this “template” genre becomes more 

possible with practice, know-how and on-going changes to presentation software and technology as 

these mature and expand into more interactive and customisable products. One of the few unplanned 

interactive asides during the final PowerPoint presentation was Lindiwe’s impromptu deviation and this 

did entail comments and laughter from the group as mentioned. 

Despite the generally static and pre-ordered nature of PowerPoint and, according to Tufte (2001), the 

often lamentable and mechanistic “powerpointlessness” inherent in its ubiquity, it is, like many other 

presentation applications, common in professional practice and its explicit instruction is necessary for 



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workplace applications. Combining this practice with all the other exercises in which students 

participate as well as the use of video playback for students to view their presentations allows the 

embodied reflection so necessary in multimodal meaning making within SLP. 

3.2.3 Dress, Authorial Stance and Power 

Dress and grooming can also be viewed as manifestations of authorial stance and heightened power and 

credibility if they work to realise a sense of professionalism in both the team as senders and the 

audience as recipients. How presenters appear to self, each other and audience and the impression 

created may reflect their level of confidence, both cognitively and affectively. Tan and Yuet See (2009, 

p. 369), using a Hallidayan framework, argue “that any kind of semiotic system (clothing included) 

functions to make “…‘experiential’…,‘interpersonal’…and…‘textual or compositional meaning’” 

(their italics). Communicators seek to promote an air of knowledge, professionalism, authority and 

rapport and to impress their audience before they have spoken a word. They are hopeful that 

appearances will count in their favour to realise all three metafunctions.  

In terms of dress, differences in interpretation seem evident from video footage. In both the rehearsal 

and final presentation, Lindiwe’s dress is similar irrespective of the nature of the session, as can be seen 

in screenshots of the rehearsal below and final presentation, shown in Table 2 above.  

 

 

 
Figure 2. Lindiwe during Rehearsal 

 

Although no comment was made, it is interesting that she removed her glasses for the final presentation 

in contrast to her rehearsal. Whether out of vanity or realising that the reflection may hamper eye 

contact, she decided to present without them when audience members, other than her peers, were 

present. 

 



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This was the only change, however. Rather than the more dramatic shift of jeans to suits of some of her 

peers, Lindiwe wore smart skirts and slacks throughout the semester. As can be seen in Figure 4, 

Jenny’s appearance changed more radically moving from a student “classroom” appearance of grey top 

and tied back hair to a more corporate impression and neat styling. Despite wearing her hair down 

during the final presentation, she appeared more neatly groomed and professional than at her rehearsal. 

Both Vusi and Hussein transformed their appearance from normal student wear throughout the semester 

(jeans, open-necked shirts or T-shirts with windbreakers/hoodies) to formal wear. They aimed for a 

boardroom appearance.  

 

  

Figure 3. Vusi during His Rehearsal and Final Presentation 

 

The ubiquitous “suit and tie”, epitomising a Western professional identity, was adopted by both males 

during the final presentation. In fact, all but two males over the period in question, irrespective of 

background, purpose or audience, wore a suit and tie during this session even when the occasion did 

not warrant it. Some talks were targeted at internal audiences such as the GCI which comprises staff 

and students. Although these speakers undoubtedly looked smart, one could argue that a clash of 

discourses may result by blindly following a particular convention; formal dress may not be appropriate 

for this type of audience (Note 3). The decision to “dress up” may have resulted from the feedback they 

had received the previous week to make more of an impression. As it is easier to change clothing than 

state of mind or demeanour, both men elected to appear as formal as possible in the hope, perhaps, that 

they would exude greater professionalism. 

 



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Some research has found that employees, particularly males, are reversing earlier trends of casual dress 

in the workplace believing “that they were not being taken seriously because of their casual dress” 

(Kiddie, 2009). The tie, in particular, has been associated with the male corporate image for centuries in 

American and European society (Kiddie, 2009) and as a social emblem of belonging, a “bonding icon” 

according to Stenglin (2010). Besides interpersonal meaning, the tie also carries substantial ideational 

meaning to convey a uniformity and level of homogeneity which aims to assure the audience of 

masculine business expertise and acumen, thus conflating appearance with knowledge, credibility and 

respect (Kiddie, 2009; Grant & Nodoba, 2009). If equated with a corporate “business” persona and 

community of practice in the making, then someone who “looks the part” may be seen to “fit in” 

professionally.  

In Vusi and Hussein’s case, however, the quality of their appearance seemed inconsistent with their 

demeanour for the most part. This lack of congruency may have hindered more than enhanced audience 

receptivity in places. Vusi removed his jacket as he “got down to business” and his presentation did 

improve after a slow, practically inaudible start and fumbled opening. Despite his language difficulties, 

his smart appearance and more interactive delivery style seemed to enhance his confidence during his 

second stint as speaker. Devoting most of his attention to his slides rather than the audience and they, in 

turn, redirecting their attention away from him to his slides, allowed Vusi to adopt a more relaxed 

demeanour. He seemed more comfortable “out of the limelight”. Despite his formal jacketed 

appearance throughout, Hussein seemed the most ill at ease of all four speakers. His seemingly 

unfamiliar clothing proved restrictive and he fidgeted with his cuffs, suit buttons and tie in a distracted 

and distracting fashion. Watching the video, there seems a mismatch in his appearance and demeanour. 

Despite the professional look and the no nonsense formality of the corporate “dark suit”, his 

awkwardness inhabiting it belies the authority that he may have wished his clothes might bestow. The 

mismatch of clothing and delivery may also be regarded as a clash of discourses. Given Hussein’s 

background, a cultural mismatch may also have underlined his awkwardness. 

Colour as a semiotic mode also featured prominently, not only in slide design but also in dress (Kress 

& Van Leeuwen, 2002). Although all presenters settled for darker and more muted and conservative 

clothing during their final presentations, Lindiwe’s clothing appeared more striking in terms of colour 

contrasts during the course and she seemed unafraid to draw attention to herself. Both she and Jenny 

(as with many other women) wore long trousers and could be described as smart and business-like 

rather than formal. They appeared more comfortable in their outfits than the men in their suits and this 

may have been true, literally so, given the softer, more yielding fabric and styling of their clothing. 

Lindiwe and Jenny’s calm attitude, aligning with their confident styles of delivery, resulted in greater 

congruence between appearance and content. Another point worth mentioning is that their appearance 

seemed at once modern yet quite “masculine”. This may reflect shifting power relations (Fairclough, 



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1995) and more feminist perspectives (Guy & Banim, 2000). Whereas in earlier corporate and 

institutional settings, women were expected to wear dresses, skirts and stockings, now the question of 

“who wears the pants” is blurred with more women in the workplace overtly signalling a more 

androgynous stance in selection, style and colour. Lindiwe and Jenny’s choice of trousers is clearly 

salient yet also clearly Western, as their dress may not be acceptable in many African, Middle Eastern 

and Asian contexts (Grant & Borcherds, 2020; Grant & Nodoba, 2009). Both women may also have 

been signalling their ongoing leadership credentials by “wearing the pants” at their video presentations. 

Their greater cultural capital, by way of age, experience, scenario background and topic choice, 

allowed them to assume command from the outset and maintain it throughout the course. 

3.2.4 Movement, Territorial Distance and “Ownership” 

In both presentations, Lindiwe and Jenny were physically closer to the screen and the laptop than their 

male counterparts and this management role was very evident in long shot as can be seen in Table 2 

above and figure 6 below. Being in charge of equipment put them in a more powerful position as 

gatekeeper and monitor. Presenter location differed in both teams, however. Lindiwe and Vusi stood on 

either side of the screen at quite a distance from each other and remained in these fixed positions 

throughout. During the rehearsal, Lindiwe started the presentation by introducing herself and her 

partner, the scenario context and speaker breakdown. She alone handled all slide changeovers, with 

Vusi operating in a much more marginal “sidekick” position, less powerful in all respects. Jenny and 

Hussein positioned themselves on the same side of the screen, sharing territorial space and swapping 

positions intermittently to signal a change in turn taking. Jenny also assumed a more prominent 

position in terms of the length of time she held the floor and her location. During both the rehearsal and 

the final presentation, Jenny stood further to the front. She sometimes physically hid her partner 

Hussein from view while he hovered in the background. Even when he was talking, she merely turned 

side-on and watched him intently, as if monitoring him.  

 



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Figure 4. Jenny and Hussein’s Rehearsal and Final Presentation 

 

Her position, like Lindiwe’s, seemed more powerful in terms of content, quantity and delivery style. Of 

interest is that during the rehearsal, Jenny and Hussein stood alongside the laptop and both reached for 

it during slide changeovers, sometimes simultaneously as can be seen below. This happened on several 

occasions. This issue was resolved for the final presentation when they reached an understanding on 

their division of labour. Jenny did all her own slide changeovers and although Hussein did most of his, 

Jenny took over while he engaged with his slides during the air-conditioning and window shutter 

explanations. She did not invite him to return the favour while she was demonstrating the opening and 

closing of the window shutters on the London Gherkin building, however. Although she had her hands 

full, gesturally speaking, she was quick to control the laptop while Hussein moved sideways out of her 

way as can be seen in figure 6 below. This too may relate to power relations in the team as Jenny 

seemed to want to manage every aspect of her own section as well as overall control. Although some 

teams changed their slides remotely, merely swapping the device when it was their turn, neither of 

these teams elected to do so. Not using the equipment fully or being able to freely move away from the 

laptop may render a more static delivery style and hinder credibility in a professional domain. This 

seemed to confirm their status as novice equipment users.  

 



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Figure 5. Hussein and Jenny in Rehearsal 

 

Of all the modes critical to effective presentations and embodied delivery, gesture is arguably one, if 

not the most, significant metafunctionally to enhance understanding, credibility, rapport, coherence and 

emphasis. According to Varela and Shear (1999), in their research on first-person consciousness, motor 

neurons and the sensory areas in the brain are activated when an action is observed. These activations 

elicit empathy and engagement which may heighten rapport between speaker and audience and develop 

trust and credibility, particularly if motivated gesture autonomously or as co-speech mirrors, 

complements and/or supplements the speaker’s words to enhance and speed up comprehension. 

 
 

 

Figure 6. Jenny Demonstrating Shutter Movements and Listing Conclusions 



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Both Lindiwe and Jenny used gesture to mirror, complement or supplement verbal and intonational 

modes so that their speech and use of pausing aligned with content to enhance understanding. Their 

ratio of iconic, pointing and beat gestures (Norris, 2004) was higher than either male, particularly 

Hussein, adding an assertive quality to their delivery styles. In the above screenshots, Jenny uses an 

iconic gesture to demonstrate the shape of the “Gherkin” building while during the conclusions, she 

listed various implications using beat gestures. Further examples are analysed below. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 7. Lindiwe Signifying Approval 

 

Examples of supplementary gestures were evident at the end of Lindiwe’s talk. During audience 

applause, she clapped and then gave Vusi a thumbs-up sign before tackling the question session. 

Whereas most of her gestures, to generalise across the entire presentation, could be said to mirror or 

complement meaning, playing subordinate or equal roles to the spoken word, both the clapping and 

thumbs-up sign are examples of abstract supplementary gestures. These signs added value to 

understanding between speakers rather than with the audience. Not relying on speech at all, it could be 

said that they played super-ordinate positions (Norris, 2011). Clapping and the thumbs-up sign as 

signifiers of affirmation are globally understood. The fact that Lindiwe clapped while facing Vusi 

before ending with this sign, indicated her approval and reassurance. Taking space bodily also 

conveyed an assertive confidence which translated into feelings of relaxation, even fun. As observer of 

speakers and audience during both presentations, this sense of greater relaxation created a sense of 

rapport and enjoyment. In contrast, Hussein seemed relieved at the end of his recommendation section 

and made a move to sit down before the questions started. Jenny smiled at him reassuringly and 

 



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signalled their continued attention. Her meaning, also silently conveyed, combined with eye contact 

and facial expression to halt further movement. Both Lindiwe and Jenny’s actions and demeanour 

overall can be seen to construct a professional identity and a position of authority and power within 

their teams.  

3.2.5 Eye contact, Expressiveness and Links to Confidence and Credibility 

Gaze behaviours change depending on social and cultural situations and contexts. Purpose and 

audience will also influence eye contact norms within academic or corporate domains. In more casual 

settings, such as the mind map “exhibition” and presentation, gaze behaviour of all participants seemed 

more random than structured. According to Norris (2004, p. 38), “the more structured the interaction, 

the more structured the gaze will be”. As the final oral report is a highly structured activity, the 

distribution of gaze also tends to be more structured. Speakers direct and re-direct their attention from 

laptop to screen to audience as they engage with their material and the audience tends to follow the 

speaker’s lead in this regard, particularly if gaze, body positioning and gesture work as vectors to 

influence deictic directionality.  

Lindiwe and Jenny used eye contact with the audience to full effect and ensured that their gaze 

behaviour included both sides of the audience. Eye contact was inclusive taking in various members of 

the audience on both sides of the room. Even when Jenny was demonstrating the opening and closing 

of the Gherkin building shutters, as shown in figure 6 above and the sequence to follow, she kept her 

eyes front, looking to left and right rather than at the picture on the screen. Her focus of attention is 

clearly observable in these screenshots so that although she is talking about a building, she foregrounds 

gaze and gesture rather than speech and image to convey the impact of the movement of the shutter 

cones.  

 

 
Figure 8. Hussein and Jenny during Final Presentation 



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Movements of body and eye tracking were steady and unhurried for both women. Their square-on body 

posture and direct eye contact reinforced their sense of control and professionalism. As mentioned, 

Vusi’s delivery style improved during his second stint. His eye contact, however, was quite restricted 

and often reserved for the screen as can be seen in Figure 3 above and the sequence below. Being 

turned away and seemingly reliant on his slides also broke the audience connection and undermined 

credibility and authorial stance in a professional domain. When he did glance at the audience, he only 

included those people directly in front of him (his left, audience right). He never looked at the audience 

seated in front of Lindiwe, almost as though they were her preserve and even when he did look up, his 

eye contact was fleeting and more oblique. This may have cultural implications for many black 

students for whom direct eye contact and lengthy gaze behaviours may be regarded as confrontational 

and disrespectful (Grant & Borcherds, 2020; Grant, 2012). The tension between Western conventions 

and traditional practices, particularly in black rural communities, may have caused him some 

discomfort in the classroom. This ambivalence and heightened levels of anxiety seemed to affect vocal 

tone and audibility as well. His much older and more experienced partner, Lindiwe, did not display any 

discomfort despite a similar background. She was the most animated in terms of facial expression, 

smiling at her audience when urging the university not to be “outdone” by its opposition and joining in 

the laughter, as can be seen in Figure 1 above, during the question session. Jenny too presented an open 

body posture, facial expression and steady gaze which seemed congruent with her delivery style overall. 

Hussein appeared the most somber and deadpan of the four presenters and when he looked up, he was 

inclined to look more directly at the camera than the audience, as can be seen in Figure 8. Moving from 

camera to screen, he seemed to avoid his live audience. His limited eye contact and generally tense 

demeanour worked to distance the audience which may negatively impact rapport. 
There seemed a definite relationship between heightened confidence, direct eye contact, assertive 

square-on body posture and strong, motivated movement and gesture. If modes, as ensemble, work 

together, meaning and credibility are enhanced.  

3.3 Modal Ensemble: Orchestrated Meaning-making 

Multimodal meaning making as constructed ideationally, interpersonally and textually is the focus of 

the following two excerpts comprising a sequence of nine screenshots, taken at 5 second intervals. 

Each frame has been numbered for easy reference. These are from Lindiwe and Vusi’s recycling and 

Jenny and Hussein’s sustainable building practices presentations respectively. In particular, the “what” 

and the “how” of embodied delivery and how this modal ensemble may realise or hinder professional 

communication practices and identity are the focus of the analysis. Arrows are used to indicate the 

directional vectors created by gaze behaviour, hand and arm movement. Light and dark arrows are used 

against dark and light backgrounds respectively. Dots are used for pausing. Their spoken words are 

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The first excerpt is of Vusi during his second stint in which he interacts with his audience and slides 

during his discussion of the university’s dry waste collection. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Table 3. Excerpt 1: Vusi in Action 

Vusi’s recycling presentation extract 

   
1) If you see it, it is from April 

to May...also June, there is an 

improvement... 

2) Ja, there is this improvement 

in figures which is interesting... 

3) While you are doing this, you 

can...you can also save some 

money... 

   
4) end up paying less than the 

R47000 per month 

5) and looking up to June, 

we’ve got a...it’s increasing so 

it’s good. 

6) Unfortunately, because this 

project is a recent one, we do not 

have the actual data  

   
7) of how much is exactly or 

where... 

8) of how much dry is actually 

become recyclable. 

9) I’ll give up to [Lindiwe] who 

will...[inaudible] 

 



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Ideational meaning is mostly realised through the spoken word, the data, as conceptually argued. Vusi, 

through comparison between months provides the evidence for “increasing” amounts at “less cost” (4 

and 5). He uses causal analysis to offer the disclaimer “because” (6) which coupled with the attitude 

marker “unfortunately” provides a hedge to the factuality of the “evidence”. As there is no “actual data” 

as “project” so “recent” (6), he claims that it is impossible to generalise or draw reliable conclusions 

about amount of recyclable dry waste (7 and 8). Although Vusi does have some “actual data”, which is 

graphically displayed in PowerPoint, the audience realises that he means that there is too little data yet 

(only three months’ worth) to discern a trend. Listening to the presentation it seems obvious that, as a 

second language speaker, Vusi grapples linguistically and struggles in places to articulate his argument. 

The elliptical style and errors of expression and grammar make comprehension difficult in places. As 

the graph itself is clear, easy to follow and depicts what Vusi is trying to explain, the verbal-visual 

combination facilitates comprehension. Although usually associated with interpersonal meaning, 

clothing may also instantiate ideational meaning. The formality of Vusi’s clothing carries ideational 

“weight” insofar as “professional characteristics” such as “authoritativeness and competence” may be 

associated with it (Cardon & Okoro, 1999, p. 357).  

Vusi uses gesture, eye contact and colour in the main to instantiate interpersonal relations. The focus 

from the start is on “improvement” (1). Turning to his audience, he confides that “this is interesting” 

(2), a rhetorical aside which had members nodding in agreement. His pointing gestures and gaze 

behaviour direct the audience’s attention to the bottom and top of the graph which aligns with the 

“less” and “increasing” claims and the monetary savings that can be made (4 and 5). The juxtaposition 

of the head from image to audience punctuates this aside and invests it with a salience which aims to 

enhance rapport as he engages with them directly. The open-handed gesture, which underscores the 

“unfortunately” (6), helps to plead his innocence in terms of this gap in the research. Turning away 

from the graph and facing the left section of the audience (his left), he uses his hands like scales to 

“weigh” up the recyclable amount and the up-down gestural opposition underscores the imbalance, the 

lack of certainty (7). This abstract, complementary gesture reinforces the argument as it goes beyond 

mere repetition of meaning.  

His final gesture (8) before he literally “hands over” to Lindiwe in slide 9, echoes a rotating, washing 

movement which imitates the symbolic action of recycling as change, cleanliness, renewal and 

transformation. The use of colour in the graph and Vusi’s tie may also invoke an interpersonal reaction 

and attract attention (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2002). The red tie stands out visually in terms of salience. 

The colour red as accessory in a corporate setting has been associated with status and power (Tan & 

Yuet See, 2009). Although these attributes were not linguistically or vocally evident in terms of 

expression, diction, fluency and clarity, they may have helped create a more “articulate” image overall 

during this section. Textually, the spoken word, technology, image, body position, gesture and eye 



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contact (as fleeting as it was), all worked as ensemble to enhance unity, coherence and emphasis. 

The next excerpt is from Jenny’s presentation where she demonstrates the workings of the cooling 

mechanism in London’s Gherkin building, introduced above.  

The amount of spoken text is noticeable in that Jenny, as a first language speaker, gets through more 

data with little evidence of unmotivated pausing or hesitations. Her expository use of language is 

pitched at a consultative level, appropriate for purpose and audience within an oral genre. Her gestures 

frame her message in such a way that comprehension is assured. In the shutter movement section of her 

talk, Jenny’s arms and hand movements emphasized and complemented her spoken language to portray 

how the shutters worked. By first steepling her fingers (Figures 1 and 6 above), she demonstrated the 

shape of the building, using an iconic gesture to represent an object. This gesture aligned with her 

words and, by “repeating” what she was saying, could be judged as subordinate to her spoken words. 

She then rotated her hands inwardly and outwardly to imitate the opening and closing of the shutters 

which she likened to a pinecone (1). Her evocative use of metaphor and synchronisation of speech and 

gesture facilitated comprehension. The complementary gesture and metaphor added value to her 

explanation and, as a mode, this set of gestures could be said to have equal value.  

The oppositional sliding gestures (3), imitating the motion of the shutters, reinforce the image of both 

sides of the building “closing up” for winter. Several thrusting and pointing gestures are used to 

indicate the downward motion of both air through the vents and sunshine on the building as well as to 

draw attention to the overall glass construction (2, 4-6). She indicates what is inside with two identical 

arm gestures astride “the building” (7) before clasping her hands into a single unit to represent the inner 

cavity (8). Her final gesture, palms downwards, signifies the satisfactory temperature balance and 

sustainability of this cooling and heating mechanism “throughout the year” (9). How load is distributed 

across various modes for seamless multi-layered meaning making is particularly evident here. The 

gesture/speech relation seems carefully divided, each performing different semiotic work yet mutually 

synergistic. Speech is fleeting and immaterial whereas gestures in space carry a materiality which 

sounds do not possess. The materiality of the image, visible throughout this sequence, underscores the 

discussion and holds it together. The speaker as designer, taking the affordances and constraints of 

different modes into account, determines how each mode fits together and partners one another 

interactively (Jewitt, 2011). It seemed clear that Jenny’s eye contact did not follow her gestures, for the 

most part, but overwhelming held her audience, creating a powerful gaze engagement with them. When 

she did glance at her image (“as you can see, it’s all made of glass”), the swinging head movement 

underlined meaning, the strength of which heightened ideational and interpersonal salience. Her 

assertive and confident posture adjacent to the screen adds to her professional identity within the 

arrangement of the venue. 

 



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Table 4. Excerpt 2: Jenny’s Demonstration 

Jenny’s sustainable building practices report extract 

   

1) The building opens during very hot 

temperatures...like a pinecone, allowing air to be 

drawn through vents 

2) down the building. This flow of air down these 

vents  

3) cools down the building during these periods. In the 

winter or colder periods, the building closes up again,  

   

4) allowing air to be trapped inside the building and 

then, along with the sunlight  

5) shining down directly on the building -  6) as you can see, it’s all made of glass - the building 

heats up to be warmer during the winter period. 

   

7) They also use the system of double glazing on the 

outside of the windows  

8) and single glazing on the inside with a cavity in 

between. This acts in the same way as a ceiling acts.. 

as an insulator. 

9) It keeps extreme hot or cold air on the outside 

allowing the inside to stay at a comfortable room 

temperature throughout the year. 

 



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Whereas the more conversational earlier iterations in class distributed power among all participants 

with dispersed eye contact and freedom to move, these formal presentations changed the power 

dynamic. In both sequences above, “room as boardroom” seems more feasible with the formally 

structured and orchestrated ensemble of these team presenters confirming their growing confidence as 

professional practitioners in a commerce domain. 

 

4. Final Comments 

Behaviours which may be more imitative and assisted at the outset of the course, particularly in earlier 

sessions, become progressively more expert with scaffolding and support (Tharpe & Gallimore, 1988; 

Lave & Wenger, 1991; Gee, 2003, 2004; Grant, 2012). Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development 

(ZPD) narrows as student teams become more empowered in their learning (Hay & Barab, 2001). As 

they develop the know-how and affinity within a professional domain, they also become more mindful 

of what is fit for purpose and audience in their own eyes as well as those of their audience. This shift 

may be greater for some students than others. As Vygotsky (1978) contended, although students may 

work and learn collaboratively and socially, each team member would have his or her own ZPD with 

some individuals needing more support than others. This is certainly the case in the sample teams 

discussed. Significantly, this support and know-how did not only come from the facilitator but also 

from student peers, partners and external experts. Both Lindiwe and Jenny managed the process and 

played dominant roles within their respective teams. In her partnership with Vusi, Lindiwe came across 

as a role model and mentor, an observation that was reinforced by audience appraisal and the 

facilitator’s response to Lindiwe as team leader. Although one might question Vusi and Hussein’s 

“growth” in terms of emerging professional identity and confidence, their transformed practice, 

collaboratively negotiated, saw crisper and shorter presentations with the stronger party in each team 

taking the vocal lead. This, as partnership, confirms a professional response where not everyone 

presenting in the workplace may require equal “air-time” (or to speak at all) but jointly succeed in 

realising a professional team identity and enhanced authorial stance as partners. 

The use of video provided all student teams with the means to analyse their own performances and, by 

receiving copies, reflect on these at their leisure during multiple viewings. Course assessments annually 

point to these oral sessions, both rehearsal and final, as particular highlights of the course and a fitting 

culmination for both speakers and audience. 

 

 

 

 

 



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Notes 

Note 1. In a more recent course, a team whose scenario choice involved ethical sustainability, did their 

entire presentation as a mock interview using masks of prominent politicians “mouthing” the usual 



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promises of “action”. The parody of content and format, which flew in the face of the usual oral report 

genre, worked as a persuasive argument. 

Note 2. A hook can be defined as a strategic presentational device to raise audience interest and 

curiosity at the outset and establish a positive first impression. Examples may range from 

thought-provoking quotations, statistics, anecdotes or rhetorical questions to visual and/or aural stimuli.  

Note 3. It is important to note that the facilitator did not prescribe dress but merely recommended that 

speakers dress according to purpose and audience.