DR. WALLACE: As a high school student, one of the things I really dislike is having to give oral reports in class. I happen to be an excellent student when it comes to studying, doing research, writing term papers and so forth. But when it comes to having to read or present an oral report, my public speaking skills are definitely lacking.

I experience two problems with this. First, my grades for the oral reports aren't as high as they should be, despite having the top content, or within the top three presentations of content, in our class of 30 students.

The second problem I've noticed is that other students are definitely bored by my presentations. They don't pay attention and I get very weak applause when I do finish. I've noticed that other students who present their material more comfortably than I do get a much better reaction, even when they're delivering subpar content.

What can I do about this? Fortunately, oral reports are only a portion of my overall grade in this particular class, but I'm definitely getting a half measure lower grade than I normally would because of my shortcomings in delivering my content. — Great Research, Weak Delivery, via email

GREAT RESEARCH WEAK DELIVERY: The fact that you were an excellent student and a great researcher is very positive for you. This will allow you to spend a little less time working on the project research itself, and free up some time that you can use to practice your oral skills and delivery.

Plan the next time you have such an assignment to only put 80% as much time into the research as you normally do, and use that extra time to proactively rehearse and deliver your speech at home in front of siblings, parents, friends, relatives or anyone else you can practice with.

Request their tips and suggestions and see if you can insert a mildly funny line or two into your next oral report somewhere along the way. Being able to deliver a couple of droplets of humor will lighten things up for your audience and push back on your speech becoming monotonous.

Knowing that you have a few humorous lines will also keep you more relaxed, as it should be fun for you to deliver these lines. Remember to pause and allow your fellow students to have a chuckle if it works out well. Invest your time and energy from here on polishing up your speaking delivery, and I trust you'll soon see steady improvement.

I'M STARTING TO THINK HE'S REALLY FLIRTING WITH ME!

DR. WALLACE: I'm a girl who is a senior in high school and I've had a steady boyfriend for a year and a half. We're really close, and we both plan to attend the same college together next fall.

It's entirely possible that marriage could be in our future someday, but it's evident at this point that we're in no rush. I also have a lot of friends, both girls and guys, and I enjoy talking to people as a general rule. One guy in particular, someone I've known for about three years, seems to possibly be flirting with me just a small amount during some of our conversations. I'll admit that he does stay on topic as to the subject matter, but his tone of voice and the way he delivers some of his comments to me have definitely made me tilt my head just a bit as I think about what he's saying and how he's saying it.

He's never asked me out or made any physical moves toward me, either. It's just that he is perhaps so comfortable with me that he's very relaxed in conversations with me. Do you think I should say something to him about this, or just monitor the situation carefully going forward? — Have a Very Comfortable Conversational Friend, via email

HAVE A VERY COMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONAL FRIEND: Your letter indicates to me that he hasn't done anything at all out of bounds and you've known him for multiple years. He may be using different tones of voice, but as you stated, he's done nothing physical or in a stealthy way to do anything to try to disrupt your existing relationship.

Therefore, my take based on the limited information I can gather about what you are saying is that he is indeed a good friend who is very comfortable with you. I would advise you to plan to carry on as usual and relax from trying to decipher his every voice inflection at this point.

If at some juncture he does cross a red line, you'll definitely know it, and short of that, I would relax, have a few good laughs when you're together, and carry on with your usual social life.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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