Preparation
Despite not having that much time to prepare for the presentation, I would say that we did relatively well. While preparing the slides, I tried to make them in the clearest way possible for
the audience and constantly revised them, adding pictures or changing figures to graphs to emphasise the difference between savings and installation costs. I am glad that the flow chart was clear. Writing down notes for
each slide helped me to remember the links between the different slides as well as the content. As we were
only able to meet once to compile the presentation, I mainly practiced at home starting
by looking at the notes that I made for each slide. After I was more familiar,
I practiced in front of a mirror and in slide show view. I consciously
tried to use words that were more persuasive.
Delivery
Being prepared paid off. After the
presentation, I was surprised that I did not feel as nervous as I
would usually be, a feeling that I have never had before. Usually, I
would just be a bundle of nerves. I hope that I would be able to replicate this feeling in the
future. I tried to consciously leave out my ‘ums’ and intonate my voice more as
I am usually monotonous when presenting. I was surprised when Brad
commented that I had good eye contact, as I did not notice that myself.
Use of slideware
A special mention to Jerick who
painstakingly made the slides for his part!
I tried to have a balance between words
and pictures for my slides. Animations were added while explaining the cost
benefits, which allowed the audience to better follow my explanations. In
addition, I believe that the animation helped to create more impact when the
figures appeared.
I am relieved and glad that this is one of the better
presentations that I have had, especially in terms of the feeling of
nervousness. While watching the video (find it on Jerick's blog), I still had my 'ums'. One thing that I want to improve on is to be more
natural, as though I am speaking with each member of the
audience and not just presenting.
Hi Priscilla,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the mock presentation helped in preparing for the actual presentation. However, I feel that it was easier to do the presentation without any visual aids than with it, mainly because, I could focus solely on the delivery and not worry about which slide I was on, and hence more attention can be placed on the audience instead of the slides.
I don’t think you looked nervous at all, on the contrary, you seemed like you were very calm throughout.
As Brad has mentioned, the scheme you used to present the benefits helped in making the section very easy to understand as it showed the progression of the benefits.
I feel this post could have contained more on your own reflections about yourself than the group in general.
Overall, I think the presentation was quite well done with good cost benefit analysis but the maps shown could use some further revision and allow more time for the audience to process the maps.
Zhi Qin
Hi Zhi Qin
DeleteI have edited my post following your comment to make it more personal. Thanks for the feedback and I hope that this is allowed!
For me, I am unable to remember clearly my flow of ideas when presenting and I will tend to be very worried that I would miss out the important points, hence I am more comfortable with slides. I think that it is a good thing you find it easier to present without slides as this shows that you know your content very well and have a good grasp of what and how you are going to present.
Anyway thanks for your honest feedback! Looking forward to your presentation ;) All the best.
Hi Priscilla,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, congratualations on a great presentation! I think your group did really well in terms of content as well as delivery. It was very well organised and all of you seemed very prepared and relaxed from the start. Your slides were simple and effective too! I liked that you used a lot of pictures on your slides, instead of words. Plus, on your slide particularly, the use of the chart to show ur proposal's feasibility was particularly good! =) As mentioned in class, I think the real clincher for your OP was your CBA analysis. Being a FOE student myself, I was intially sceptical of some of your solutions. But the numbers did the trick! =)
For yourself, I think you had a great voice projection. You were well-paced and clear, so it was easy to understand you. It was great that you were not nervous at all during the OP! It was clearly seen during your confident delivery of ideas and great eye contact!
Some minor improvements could be made for the slides. The maps were sometimes not sufficiently clear, but it was a great attempt!
Other than that, it was a great OP! =)
Hi Priya
ReplyDeleteThanks! I am glad that the OP went relatively well. Perhaps a reason why I did not feel that nervous was because you would always smile at me when I look at you (:
For the maps, perhaps we could have spent more time at the start to explain the map, and include a legend to make it clearer.
Just wondering if there is any way that I can improve further on my delivery? I felt that I was quite monotonous.
Thanks anyway (:
Hi Priscilla,
DeleteI feel that you did well in your delivery too. You showed this same calmness during your peer teaching. I do not know if you were more nervous then though. If you were, you certainly did not show it! I think it is because you speak at a steady pace, neither rushing your sentences or abruptly pausing at frequent intervals. Just one little improvement (since you asked) is the way you say your last statement: "...we hope that you will really consider our proposal..". It would be better if you said that with more confidence =) Other than that, well done!
Jerick
Hi Jerick
DeleteThanks! I was more definitely more nervous during peer teaching, especially during the first few minutes. I think one reason why I did not feel that nervous is because I am familiar with the class and that I know everyone.
Thanks for the feedback. (:
Hi Priscilla,
ReplyDeleteGood job on your presentation. I think you started very well with your delivery. You had very clear projection of your voice. Apart from eye-contact, I liked that you will smile at some times during your presentation. This makes us feel less like listening to a presentation and we are more inclined to listen more.
Personally, I feel the part on the cost-benefit analysis pulled up your presentation. I am more convinced with your proposal towards the end.
One thing I noted down was the exclusion of maintenance cost which you had gave me a very well-prepared answer with your slides. This made me seem like a 'spy' planted in the mist of the audience. I think your approach of putting those excluded slides to the end of your presentation pays off. Sometimes you will never know when they might come useful. In this case, you managed to use it during Q&A.
Lastly, a point for improvement would be the choice of words used while presenting. Some words you used like "I hope you will consider our proposal" and "Contact us if you want to know more". These phrases made you seem a little not confident. Confidence is charm. I think if you can try to use stronger and more convincing words, it will make your audience more convinced and attracted to your idea. Just my 5cents worth. Cheers!
Hi Yiqun
DeleteYep I was definitely surprised when you asked the question! But kind of glad you did cause it would make us seem well prepared when it was totally coincidental. So thanks! Haha.
Thanks for the feedback too! Its true that being confident is everything, and the audience can definitely tell if you are confident or not. I will take note of my choice of words in the future.
Hi Pricilla,
ReplyDeleteI thought that was a great presentation that your group gave us.
"Preperation, if not the key to being a genius, is definitely the key to sounding like one". I think in your case it was totally true. With lots of practice, I can easily see how you got rid of your nervousness. Also as Brad pointed out, your eye contact was really good. And, I can still remember how you quantified your findings with compelling numbers!
A few changes that I will suggest will be to spend more time on making the slides look clear and good. Otherwise it was a great presentation!
Warm regards,
EB
Hi EB
DeleteThank you for your quote! I realise that you always seem to have very appropriate quotes that summarises a situation very well. I think that I have realised the importance of preparation, and internalising what you are going to present. I had another presentation this week, and it was so different! I was my usual nervous self and had problems articulating my thoughts! This is probably because I was not familiar with my material.
Anyway thank you for your kind words!
Pris
Dear Priscilla,
ReplyDeleteI think what I wanted to say has been said by most people. I find that you were the most natural out of all the presenters, both in body language and speech. I could understand what you were saying without much effort, and the use of the classifying scheme blended well with your delivery. You appeared calm and collected, and made eye contact with everyone. Perhaps on your next presentation you could try speaking with your hands at the sides instead of holding them up to your chest. That must be very tiring right?
Bokai
Dear Bokai,
DeleteThank you for your very kind comment! I am never known to be a natural speaker, so this is a first for me. I really hope that I will be able to remember this presenting experience and be able to replicate this experience.
Regarding my hands, I did not notice that I was holding it up at my side. I will watch the video again to see it! Perhaps I was trying to emphasise a point? Haha. Thanks anyway:)
Pris
Hi Priscilla,
ReplyDeleteI really like your style of presentation; your composure and calmness caught my attention. The pace was good and it was easy to follow. And I could tell that you were very well prepared because you rarely look at the slides. I agree with Yiqun that it was the cost-benefit analysis that pulled me in too. You were confident and self-assured and I think those qualities attracted people to listen to you.
I'm glad that you felt good about your presentation and did not feel nervous at all.
Great job Priscilla! May you have many more good presentations :)
Thank you Carol!
DeleteAs commented on your blog post, I like your style of presentation too. You are able to capture the attention of the audience quickly, just by having the appropriate tone of voice and actions. It is something that I definitely cannot do.
Thank you for your kind words! I certainly hope that I will have many more good presentations and interviews (: