Now that the Oral Presentation is over and done with (great relief!), it's time to sit down and reflect on it; the good and the bad. First and foremost, thanks J-A-Y for the effort put in(:
For the preparation of my slides, I was glad to have added in the screenshots of the various web pages across the faculties since we want them to understand the impact of having enough information on a web page v.s. insufficient information. I felt that the time I spent on preparing the slides was more than adequate and the content on the slides was concise and reader-friendly.
However I have to admit that the time I spent on preparation for delivery of the slides was far from sufficient. I ran through the presentation briefly for only 3 or 4 times. I could have practised and started to perfect my delivery skills earlier (not that there was much time though) and also 'memorised' more information instead of relying on cue cards.
My delivery of the oral presentation was quite a flop!:( I was too nervous and I did not improve even after the first few slides. I remembered that I fumbled a little here and there, sometimes forgetting the points too thus was not professional at all; neither was confidence portrayed. Nervousness was very much reflected in my voice and actions. Nonetheless, I believe that I maintained good eye contact with the audience, was loud enough, had proper variations in my tone and placed emphasis where required. I referred occasionally to the slides, to show 'connection' between myself (the presenter) and my slides and I used appropriate gestures.
Our slides were plain and simple, very much reader-friendly but I would think that special effects may capture the audience's attention more. In addition, the use of diagrams etc. could be employed more often for visual enhancement of the slides and the presentation as a whole.
All in all, I feel that it was rather unsatisfactory and I know that I could have done it much better! Lesson learnt!
Final Reflection
15 years ago
Hi Joanne,
ReplyDeleteI think you were able to handle yourself steadily and do the presentation effectively, even though I could detect that you were actually nervous in the inside. That's something! Being nervous but still being able to do the presentation effectively.
Your use of an analogy was also quite memorable, although it would look better if you used real life images rather than clip-art for that slide.
Regards
Ji Shen
Hey Joanne,
ReplyDeleteI think that you did make a very good effort and certainly a creative use of slides when getting your audience to picture the problem. I thought it was a very good set up.
As for the screenshots of the slides, I think it was effective in proving your problem, but I felt that it was too lengthy to look at every single faculty and showing what other facs were doing. I would suggest grabbing screenshots of the more useful ones, and perhaps just listing the rest. It should not really be a comparison between science and other facs but really just concentrating on the problem, which is why science needs such a platform.
Regards,
Aaron
Thank you for your comments, Jishen and Aaron.
ReplyDeleteJishen: I am glad that my presentation passed off as effective despite my nervousness, thank you(:
Aaron: Thank you for your feedback, it is good to know that the audience took the introduction in a positive light(:
I understand what you are driving at because I did foresee that this 'problem'. I have already tried to cut down on the elaboration on the prob, so that more focus can be placed on the solution but perhaps there was still too much emphasis. I will take note of that for future presentations!
Thank you once again!(:
Joanne
Dear Joanne,
ReplyDeleteI can relate about your nervousness during the presentation because I was nervous as well. If there is one thing I can remember about your presentation, that's the man and the wall with the ladder in between them. =) So I think that's a creative approach!
Try not to pause too much if possible as the audience will lost in their thoughts and where you are coming from or heading to. I agree with Aaron's suggestion to concentrate on the problem. It is also because if you compare Faculty of Science with other faculties, the Dean may not be very happy to hear this, in my opinion. ;)
Keep an eye on the time for your presentation as well. Be concise, knowing and understanding your audience will help to achieve this. Imagine you were them and feel what they would like to know and get from your presenation will be useful.
All in all, don't worry too much and relax during your presentation. You definitely can speak without the notes or with minimal aid from your notes! Visualise how your ideal presentation will be before you stand out there and start to speak. =p
Cheers,
Jason
Hello Jason!
ReplyDeleteI am glad to know that the introduction left an impression on you(:
I agree that pausing for too long may lead to the audience 'wandering off'. I will take note of your feedback and work on them, thanks Jason!
Yes I will work towards presenting with no cue cards and in a more relaxed and natural manner. Let us work towards being more professional presenters!(:
Joanne
Dear Joanne:
ReplyDeleteYou looked pretty on that day with your formal shirt on! Well I know that you have the strong fashion senses all the time anyway:D
I could still recall that Audrey was nodding her head while you were delivering your speech at the very beginning. That happened to me too as your introduction part is just someway too good! Especially the part when you told the audiences that there will be a Q&A session after the presentation. That is just so cool!
However you got abit off track after that, perhaps you were just being too nervous as you mentioned. That can be further improved on and hence no worries on that!
You stood out for being very confident though you were nervous and that is something that I should learn from you!
Cheer!
Hey Joanne!
ReplyDeleteYeps, like TS said, you looked good that day. The very image of professional. Can't say the same for myself *headdesk*
I could tell you were nervous but it did not really detract from the presentation for me. I get nervous too so maybe it's me sympathizing. Your voice however was loud and clear, no problem understanding what you were saying at all. You also had good eye contact :)
Slide-wise, clear and concise yes but I actually felt that there was too many images! You invested too much time explaining each and every faculty that I was wishing you would move on and talk about the proposal itself.
Nevertheless, it is your delivery that I'm here to comment on xD Not the slides. I liked the way you presented, nervousness is one thing but you held the fort every well through it all ^^
Priscilla
Hello TS and Priscilla, thank you for the praises! I'm glad to know that I dressed appropriately for the presentation(:
ReplyDeleteTS: It is nice to know that you thought the introduction was cool! Indeed, nervousness certainly got the better of me. But yes, we can and will slowly shed off nervousness, so that we can appear to be natural and confident! You can do it too, TS!(: Jiayou!
Priscilla: Thank you, Priscilla! You can certainly dress well for presentations too(: Yes, I get your point regarding the screenshots; now I feel the dread of the audience. I will take note and put myself in the shoes of the audience more in future.
Joanne