My previous oral presentations had not been the best: “You need to
articulate more your words. Try to present in a more formal way. You don’t need
to make many movements”. I recalled these were the comments given to me during
my presentations in the class. From then on, I worked hard to try to improve my
diction and my self-awareness during presentations.
I needed to prepare myself in the best way for the big day, so I started
watching the TED’s videos, in order to learn and observe the movements of the speakers,
I don’t remember how many videos I watched but I learnt about many things. Additionally,
I recorded my speech and reproduced later in order to practice my articulation of
each word.
On the group level, I must say that I had the best team. We worked
together along all the process. Sometimes we had different ideas (how we should
write the proposal, how we should present our idea, how we need to make the
slides…) but we always kept open the communication channel. In addition,
everyone in my team was very responsible and committed to this project.
The time pass too fast and after 3 weeks of preparation, meetings at midnight,
different versions of the presentation and more that 100 surveys conducted the
day of the final presentation arrived. In mind I just only thought “you need to
relax, be professional and articulate every word that you are going to pronounce”.
The content of the presentation is well-organized and cohesive. The
power point was professional looking with minimum amount of words. My colleague
started with the presentation and after a few minutes it was my turn to continue
the presentation, but something happened… I started having problems with slide controller,
I was nervous at the start, but then I calmed down and continued with my part.
After a few minutes I had finished with my participation in the presentation.
It came the crucial part of the presentation: the Q&A session and feedback. For the questions
part I think all the questions were answered, and were answered well. I
answered too some of them, so we showed that the whole team was aware of the topic that we exposed.
For the feedback part, I had the feeling that I would hear again the same
comments as in all my oral presentations, but this time was different, my
classmate and my teacher congratulated me for doing a good job, finally was succeeded
in articulating words correctly. However this time I use a pet phrase (Aaaaahh)
also my classmate made the comment that this time I present in a more serious /
formal way.
I think I did a good job after all, but especially I took this
opportunity like a great experience; I know that I need to continue improve my
articulation, but also I need to differentiate between formal and serious,
because formal not mean no smile, so I
must not forget to smile and reflect a relaxed posture.
Hi Juan,
ReplyDeleteIt was a joy to be your groupmate! I remember you were the peacemaker - whenever we had differing views, you were always the first to take a step back and lead us to analyse the different aspects involved, so that we could unanimously make the best decision together as a team. As that's the essence of communications, isn't it? I bet Dr Radhika will give herself and you a pat on the back.
And yes, you have truly come a long way from your first dry run! It's incredible at how much you've improved since then. You were more clear and understandable, and as a result it was more enjoyable to listen to your pitch, even though there was no videos to go along. Even though I was nervous for the Q&A that would come after, you managed to draw me into your presentation, so keep it up!
As your teammate, I can confidently say that you did well for the Q&A session because we were all actively engaged in our research - everyone was. In fact, I think one of the questions that the floor asked was previously raised by you during one of our discussions. However, I know that you're a passionate person (as is evident whenever you talk about dance, or food(: ) and I feel it'll be awesome if you could inject some of that passion into your presentations as well. Even though it's supposed to be formal, you're right in saying that formal doesn't mean you have to be serious - after all, aren't the most popular lecturers the passionate and humourous ones?
I remember that everytime I thought I knew you, you manage to surprise us again (in a pleasant way). From making insightful comments (such as analysing the mentality of our survey population) and injecting humour in class (I remember the incident when you rattled off the super long name of your school) to taking the time to share your culture and experiences living in Mexico with us, you add a refreshing perspective to our experiences.
Lastly, I just wanted to reiterate again that you have made impressive improvements in your presentations! All the best in your future endeavours, and have a safe flight home :)
Wowww!!!! Kirstie, thanks...thank you so much for your words. When I finished to read all the comment, I was in shock because I never expect to receive this kind of comments. I only have to say, thank you for your support throughout the semester, really you were one of my role models. I will continue improving my english in Mexico and I will try to keep in mind all your feedbacks.
DeleteThese kinds of comments, encourage me to continue improving as a person and as a professional.
I hope you enjoy your last year as a student at NUS. If you ever have the opportunity and desire to go to Mexico, just let me know.
P.S. By the way the name of my university is: Insituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), my campus is in "Campus Querétaro".