Emily Roman) Blog #1: Presentations Reflection

Public Speaking: Learning Through Presenting And Observation

Throughout the past few weeks in this public speaking class, I was put into a group, did a full blown project presentation, and heard about other groups and their presenting, all while learning about public speaking and it's many aspects. I've never been a fan of presentations since I tend to be a huge nervous wreck, so it was a bit daunting when I enrolled into this class, not knowing what would come. Even with my fear, I think this was one of the best things I've done for myself because I would be able to practice and improve on my speech, while learning skills that can be applied to other courses.

This was an interesting, yet clever way to get immersive with our book material, which contains information that's helpful for our public speaking. We were presented the project we needed to do and got split into groups. I, unluckily, landed on group 1... first to present?! As soon as I learned that I automatically got anxious already. My whole group met in a breakout room and we did a group chat for the project, they were all so sweet and helpful! For our project, we needed to split 4 chapters of lessons between all of us and summarize it for presenting. For a large group, getting the project done went smoothly which I didn't expect, but I am so glad it completely worked out. Lastly, we had a practice run on presenting the night before class.

It's next day and we were the first group to go up. I was completely terrified to present and quickly panicked trying to get everything set up. Luckily, we had a smooth presenting experience and we were great for being the first ones up! I was the 4th one up for my group and, I did stay up the night anxiously getting ready for the presenting portion so that was my first bad start... not getting enough sleep. It made my anxiety way worse than I thought. Now, on my presenting, I think I could've done better in multiple aspects. I knew a good bit of my topic but I think I should've strayed just a bit more from reading off the slides... I did try to add in extra information so it slides smoothly between each point, but it didn't work as I expected because of my lack of sleep and anxiousness so it's okay! I'll aim on improving those aspects for the rest of our presentations so it can be a better experience for both the audience and I. Also, I think my group members were lovely in presenting and were hella supportive! A couple tweaks could've been done for all of us, but it's understandable since we were the first group to go up. 

Now, one thing that bothers me besides the presenting aspect was how our powerpoint design wasn't cohesive. I feel like that adds to the experience and we should've made sure that it's all neat and professional. All the slides weren't bad, they just didn't match with each other too well which could be improved on. Different fonts, background designs, and colors were used which were cute and unique but I feel like, yet again, it's better to stay cohesive to seem more straightforward and professional. Maybe this is my own opinion, but even with these designs, we did great and the important thing is that we delivered all the information needed.

After our group presented, up when groups 2, 3, and 4. Everyone presented in their own respected days as a "class lesson". It was interesting seeing how different every presentation was, having different slide designs and speaking styles. After us was, of course, group 2.

It was now the next week and group 2 went up to present. They presented chapters 4, 6, 7, and 8 from the book. Off the bat, their presentation's design was extremely cute. They presented about organization and the researching aspects of developing a presentation. I felt like this group did extremely well on presenting, everyone adding their own spin instead of just reading straight off the slides.

Next, group 3 went up. Their group presented chapters 9, 10, 11, and 12. I feel like all of members that presented here explained all the information in a straightforward, simple way which was easy to keep up with and understand. They talked about ways you speak and deliver during presenting. I loved all their examples so they were amazing!

Lastly, group 4 was the last ones to present. Their group presented on chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17... which are all the remaining chapters left. It included a variety of topics and different types of speaking which was entertaining to learn. For such a big amount of chapters, they did absolutely get at conquering them. 

Overall, being on both sides of the same coin which include presenting and watching others present helped me learn many ways other present, how they write out their slides, and how they summarize, showing the different ways we all present. It was great to observe them and reflection on my own presenting skills, allowing me to see where I needed to work and eventually improve on.

I'm so happy that I decided to conquer my fear in presenting by taking this class since I will learn new skills and a smoother way on presenting. That is a great skill to have since college classes always have at least one presentation in class, it will allow me to stand out and keep my composure in other presentations as well. Another great thing is that I can eventually pass these life skills I learned to other team members or friends that need current help with presenting, providing help for others. We are barely at the beginning of this class and I'm sure we still all got much to learn so I'm excited for what's up ahead!

- Emily Roman 😼