I really struggled during the presentation of my slides today. Seeing the excellent performance of the other two groups, I felt really nervous and worried for my presentation. During my presentation, I had difficulties expressing my thoughts and I missed out quite a bit of points. Some of the sentences that I would like to say include “Our group had used information from ICCS homepage in the formulation of our survey questions and also in the analysis of the survey question.” and “Our group felt that it is quite imperative to inform the public about the current beach conditions and also educate them about the negative impact that beach litters pose on us and our environment.” As a result, I felt that my presentation was quite incomplete. Also, I went through my slides pretty fast. This was probably due to my innate reflex when I had nothing more to describe. I should have taken a few seconds to gather my thoughts instead of just rushing through my presentation. I am not really sure whether my disappointing presentation got anything to do with my preparative work- writing down what I want to say and memorizing them. Perhaps, my stream of thoughts was affected by my four hours of sleep this morning. Anyway, I shall end with the video which we did not have the chance to show during our presentation.
My Final Reflection
15 years ago
Hey Terry,
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, you were very nervous. You paused a lot. However, you made an effort not to read the slides and your data was very good. If you can improve your style and overcome your nervousness, you would definitely deliver a better presentation in the future.
Good luck man...
Hey Terry,
ReplyDeleteI was actually quite impressed with your group when you all came up to present with no notes at all. I think it was an exceptional attempt. As I mentioned in my post, I personally would not have dared to present without, at least, some notes at hand to fall back on.:)
I don't know for you, but even if I memorise my script before hand, I will tend to express myself differently when I am actually presenting. I think it's because there are different rules and expressions for written and oral communication and something which we have written may not be adaptable to a presentation. Maybe we are wired to speak and write differently, so when we try and speak like how we write or write like how we speak, we tend mess up. haha...
Yo Terry,
ReplyDeleteI am not going to repeat what the others said. Haha!
I really like your slides and the date. The pictures you used and the use of unequal font size clearly shown the impact on the beach environment. And you didn't look back at the slides like me...
I think you should tried to replicate word for word all you wrote. Leave some room for flexibility. Remember Brad's Cambodia lack of electricity presentation?
You need proper rest considering you wrote your post at 4am! Rest on Good Friday. Also, Yuvraj would be able to tell you the same thing. Remember your honours project next year? You have the knowledge and the intelligence, you just need to present at your 100%. Do justice to the honours topic and the preparation you did!
Another thing, I don't think mine was an "excellent" presentation. Not professional enough. Also, before a presentation, never think of people before you. Don't panic change your slides as well. Just do what you prepare as best as you can do. I empathise with your problem as I had the exact same thing happen to me in another class. Worse, both groups were doing the same topic... I was in the second, bad group... Bad, bad memory...
Thank you Yuvraj, Grace and Annie for your encouragments and valuable comments. I really appreciate for all the advice that you all give. Hopefully, I will be able to brush up my presentation skills for my FYP presentation in next year
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Terry, for your effort. I think you can see from the comments that your presentation wasn't "bad" like you suggest. You three did a very admirable job organizing the info and making your case. In your section, you did seem nervous, and it was clear you were tied to some invisible script, but now you know the dangers of such a strategy. The fact that you did try to do that without notes is admirable.
ReplyDeleteI'll give you more info via mail.
Made a big mistake here in my comment. "I think you should NOT try to replicate word for word all you wrote." I just meant you shouldn't repeat word for word...
ReplyDeleteDear Annie,
ReplyDeleteThank for your advice. The reason for remembering what I prepared was to avoid a situation where I were speechless and totally mind-blank. In my previous presentation during my fresh man seminar( one year ago), I did not make an effort to follow a 'script'. As a result, I think i freaked out- my teeth was chattering and my whole body was trembling. Presentation skills are definitely something that I really need to work on.
Dear Terry,
ReplyDeleteI went for freshman seminar as well. I freaked out too (I chose a huge tome to discuss, much to my discredit). It was my first ever university presentation. Subsequently, I lost count of the other presentations I did in between then and ES2007S.
I guess you need PRACTICE. I think you were not in the JC batch that did project work. I already had a terrifying experience back in JC1 (no rehearsal where a teacher will guide you, just go in and anyhow mutter stuff). As to how you can practice, I suggest torturing your family and friends. HAHA!
Dear Annie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your advice. I did the projectwork in jC( but it was not counted as I was in the trail batch)! I remembered that my mock grade for that project was quite horrendous. Anyway, during today's presentation, I realized that many of those who presented confessed that they were nervious during their presentations. However, I did not actually feel that they were worried and nervious during their presentations. Thus, I guess I need to really need to calm myself down and learn to be more confident and natural during presentations.