Presentation Reflection

 

Alejandro Rodriguez

Public Speaking Presentations Reflection

After hearing the other groups presentations along with feedback on my own I feel that I have learned a lot more about public speaking. Public speaking is a huge part of life for everyone. In any career you have to communicate with people. Now for some it's just a couple and for others it is a hundred or maybe even more. I want to be a journalist and part of being journalist is to talk to an audience even if I can’t see them myself. That can sometimes be easier not seeing everyone in front of me and would help me calm down my nerves and anxiety but at the same time for others it might be worse. Knowing that thousands if not more are watching you talk about whatever subject. The people are tuning in for the information you are giving them and as a journalist you have to be accurate to keep your journalistic integrity. It does not matter if you can speak without any mistakes if the information is wrong or having the right information but not conveying it in a way that is clear to the audience can also be detrimental.

Group 1

My group was the first one to present and it was nerve-wracking. Being first you set the stage for others. There is no example that you look to for your presentation. That being said I thought we did a good job for being the first ones. Our presentation was about Chapters 1-3 Preparing for Presentations involving how to find topics, different ways of engaging in conversation with your audience, tips to not get nervous and give good presentations. We ran into some issues from outside factors. There were construction noises for the first part of the presentation but we powered through it. I had trouble with my camera at first and then eventually my mic cut off so I had to reconnect into class. Each person was very knowledgeable about their slides and brought their own style of presenting.  We also had to interactive videos to sort of get away from the slides.  I know both videos got great feedback and were well received by the audience. The only real issue with that happened with our group is that we took to long. At the end we didn’t have time to go through the all the questions and had to leave class.  The videos were a great addition to the presentation but since we have a limited amount of time they can’t be that long.

Group 2

Group 2 was presenting Chapters 4-6 Selecting and Arranging Content. I was really impressed by their presentation for two reasons. One was the fact that they had to change their presentation last minute because some group members weren’t able to participate. I thought the way they adapted to that was very well done and it didn’t even feel as if other group members were needed. The tips they gave about interviewing were very well done. It made me pay extra close attention since part f my major involves interviewing. Preparing questions beforehand and being knowledgeable about the topic or the person you are interviewing. Another great tip was that listening is another key part of the interview. You have to let that person talk and give them time to answer or elaborate on your question. The second reason I was really impressed with was that with less people in their group, the presenters had more content and had to talk for a longer period of time than originally anticipated. They did a great job of keeping the audience engaged in the presentation with their slides and providing real world examples where these skills can be used.

Group 3

Group 3 was presenting Chapters 7-9 Delivering Speeches, Choosing Your Words and Visual Resources and Technology. First thing that jumped out to me was the different delivery methods for different speeches. Using a different tone depending on the situation. The gestures you make with your hands and keeping eye contact with the audience. Choosing your words carefully, being clear and concise I thought was really important. Another great part was the importance of visual aids. Using pictures or charts to portray the message instead of just bullet points keeps the presentation from getting too stale or boring. Before we could handout flyers or pamphlets but since the pandemic we have had to switch to an online world and videos are another a great way to keep things moving. Even if you have the information maybe there is a video that can summarize it better or provide some clear examples on when and how to use them. Most importantly don’t overwhelm your audience with visual aids. While that can be engaging it can also be distracting. They gave great tips all throughout their presentation.

Group 4

The last group to present was group 4. They covered Chapters 10-12 Presenting to Inform, Presenting Persuasive Messages, Speaking on Special Occasions, and the Appendix. To start off they made a very important point about presenting to inform. The goal of a presentation like this should be to inform the audience. Teach them something new that they can take away after the presentation ends. They proceed to talk about different speeches. Speeches to inform, convince and inspire. Someone wanting to inspire a group of people to act against something wouldn’t speak in the same manner as someone teaching information to a classroom. Lastly speeches for different occasions. Introducing someone for an award or saying goodbye to someone retiring from a long career. Each speech has their own unique format for the occasion.

I thought everyone did a great job of presenting their own topics and really taught everyone else how to be a better speaker. We still have more room to grow as a class and the next presentation at the symposium is going to help us improve our skills even more. I look forward to seeing how other groups have improved as well as my own improvement.