My team and I, Pro^4, decided to work on a project titled: Increasing the Labour Force Participation Rate of People with Disabilities by Improving the Singapore Transport System. After 6 weeks of hard work, we finally had the chance to showcase our project in the oral presentation today. I was the last speaker and I presented about the limitations and benefits of our solutions.
Having rehearsed several times with my team, I was well-prepared for the presentation. In addition, I have also made an effort to pay attention to my non-verbals by practicing in front of the mirror at home. Rather than memorizing word-for-word from a script like in previous presentations, I decided to familiarize myself with the content of my presentation by working out an outline of what I was going to say.
Despite these preparations, I am disappointed with my performance. I blanked out during the presentation. This has never happened in all my previous experiences and the feeling of not knowing what to say was terrible. Perhaps it was due to my nervousness and the pressure of wanting to do well (having learnt so much during the course of the module). However, I did try to gather my thoughts and carry on with the remaining content in a coherent manner. In addition, I have tried to improve on my eye contact with the audience, which was one of my main weakness during the peer teaching.
All in all, there is still plenty of room for improvement an I am sure that I will be able to perform much better in future presentations. Thank you for all your criticisms and encouragements! :)
Hi Serene,
ReplyDeleteI can see that you have put in a lot of effort in this oral presentation, and good job for that! I admire you for your courage to attempt preparing for this presentation in a style that is totally different from what you previously did (personally I don't really dare to try it, yet). You did a great job in staying calm and trying to re-compose yourself even when you stumbled! I can feel your sincerity and confidence when you delivered your part. :)
-Jie Wei
Hi Jie Wei!
DeleteThank you for your encouragement! I believe that with more trial and error, you will be able to find a presentation style that will suit you the best. For now, you can work on applying what we have learnt so far in class. :)
Hi serene!
ReplyDeleteI like your soothing and warm voice! That is a natural gift I always wanted. Anyway with your nice voice, your points had been very clearly delivered to the audience. Although you stumbled a bit inbetween, I suggest you whenever you feel blank in your mind inbetween your presentation, just let it go and continue with your rest points that you remember. Because I think sometimes the a good flow will compensate for the content missing. :) Good work!
Hi Zhuang Wei! Thank you....... Man, I am blushing already. XD
DeleteI got really panicky when I could not recall what I wanted to say and this probably made it worse. I will really have to work hard trying to get use to speaking only from an outline. Once again, thank you for your tip! :)
Hi Serene!
ReplyDeleteI feel that you had done a good job in presenting that day despite the minor stumbling. You look more confident than you did in the peer teaching and you did not refer to the slides. I also second what Zhuang Wei just said, that a good flow might compensate for missing content. I think that perhaps, you could just smile a bit more. :)
Hi Tasha!
DeleteYes, I did make an effort not to refer to the slides, which was something I did quite often during the peer teaching, even though I knew my script by heart. They are a source of comfort for me, especially when I am so nervous speaking in front of an audience.
I agree that I do have to smile more. I was probably too tensed up.
Thank you for your suggestions! :)
Hi Serene,
ReplyDeleteI like your fighting spirit and I am sure that you will do better in next presentation.
This presentation was really encouraging. Yes you had a memory hole but you keep your calm and you finish your speech : that is the most important.
Moreover, the fact that you don't learn word by word your presentation means that you have done a lot of efforts : that is really brave and I think that it is a good point to learn just the outline (but it is just my opinion).
So hang on and bear in mind that you perform well!
Cheers.
Maxime
Hi Maxime!
DeleteAfter all the effort, I am also really glad that I managed to finish my speech, despite forgetting a huge chunk of it. I will definitely learn from this experience and do better for my future presentations! Thank you!
Dear Serene,
ReplyDeleteI liked your presentation! You were confident and alert. Your hand gestures were suitable and you made great eye-contact. Please don't worry about forgetting what to say. I think it's great that you stepped out of your comfort zone and tried to speak whatever came to your mind around your outline. That's the way to go to become a great orator they say. That's something very brave to do, like Maxime says!
Hey Dhanya!
DeleteThank you for the feedback! At least I know now that I did improve on my gestures and eye-contact.
I have always been memorizing from a script for all my previous presentations. So, I guess all I need is more practice.
Thank you!
Hi Serene!
ReplyDeleteYou did really well! I am very comfortable with your presentation speed. And in OP, you spoke clearly and straight to the point. Your speech was very well structured. You also managed your eye contact really well.
As for the blank moment, I guess that is quite normal especially if you just changed your method.
Keep it up! :D
Hey Teresa!
DeleteThank you for your encouragement! :))
Hi Serene,
ReplyDeleteI reccon getting lost for a bit and still manage to get back on track and finish the presentation represents great presentation skills. To be able to appear calm even though the inside of your head is desperatly searching for that content that you were suppose to deliver, I think we all been there at some point. You will nail it next time :) (with a bit more smiling)
Hi Sofie!
DeleteYes! After looking through the comments, I realize I really do need to smile more when I am presenting. Thank you for your suggestions! :)
Hi Serene
ReplyDeleteI could totally understand how you felt when you blanked out during the presentation, as I have had a similar experience before. It could happen to anyone at anytime, regardless of how much preparation he or she has made. The important thing is how quickly and confidently you recover from it, and proceeded with the rest of the presentation. In a way, you were stronger than me as I did not recover at all for that presentation and received really bad feedback from my tutor.
Despite the minor hiccups, I felt that you have performed really well. I like your soothing tone, comfortable pace and clear projection. I could also feel your sincerity and the constant smile on your face really made my day.
Cheers
Ray
Hi Ray!
DeleteI must admit, it took me a lot of effort to stay calm and continue with what I had to say. Most importantly, we should learn from our mistakes and do better next time!
Thank you for your compliments! :)