Yes!!! OP is finally OVER! :) I am pleased with my performance today! I can confidently say that I have improved from the mock oral presentation and this makes my day! Thanks to the mock OP and my group members who stayed back with me for the rehersal on last thursday. The mock OP really helped me in identifying my weaknesses.
Before the mock OP, I thought I am already prepared to present in front of my audience. However, I just lost my confidence as the audience looked bored and the surrounding was quite noisy. As I become more worried, my mind became blank, err... ermx... hmm... plus many broken sentences. But I try to get over with it and tell myself to move on and see how I can improve from there. So before the actual OP, I tried practicing at home and recorded myself. From the video, I looked like a "ninja turtle" (hunchback posture) and kept swaying with my hands. So I have to constantly remind myself in my head "NO NINJA TURTLE!!!" It is really stressful before OP because I need to remember so many things at the same time; No ninja turtle, no swaying hands, the points to say during the OP, eye contact, showing passion and SMILE! Initially when Paula passed the clicker to me, my heart raced so fast. But I try to overcome this nervousness by smiling and speak at a slower pace and it is effective! I think my weakness is that I did have eye contact with all my audience. I will work harder to engage everyone if I have a presentation in the future!
Throughout the preparation process for OP, the most important thing I have learnt is to have confidence in myself! I also want to thank my group members for encouraging me whenever I feel inconfident of myself. I really enjoyed this learning process as I am able to receive valuable feedback from my peers on my performance. From there I can know my strengths and weakness and make improvements. With the OP, I have gained insights on how to design and prepare interesting powerpoint slides to engage audience. After ES2007S, I hope to learn more skills like photoshop and apply the effective communication skills in my everyday life! http://youtu.be/zRVjmeGg1Oo http://youtu.be/VWXKcYHw8YY http://youtu.be/RFV8XFhqsQI
Hey Adeline!!
ReplyDeleteI thought your presentation went really well!! It clearly shows that your preparation (especially that of recording and reviewing your own presentation) helped a lot! You were presenting with much confidence during the presentation.
You did stumble a little on some words during the presentation, thus showing that your nervousness. To your credit, you eventually managed to present fluently and the initial stumbling did not subtract anything from our understanding of the content which you've presented.
You also gave ample elaboration on important points in the slide. You have also backed up whatever you wrote in the slides with good and solid examples that left little room for doubt in the audience.
Overall a presentation very well done! You've indeed improved tremendously over this semester!! Great job!!
anyway if you want to view the video recording of your group's presentation, it's here: http://mentalplacebo.blogspot.com/2011/04/presentation-yapi.html
ReplyDeleteADELINEEE!!
ReplyDeleteI thought you did a fantastic job! All that hard work paid off huh! I'm so glad that my team did the mock presentation with me too! Or else I would be really doomed=(.
Anyway, I thought you looked really sweet and confident during the presentation=). Nonetheless, you did swayed quite a bit as the presentation progressed on but don't worry, its a great improvement from before=). Your hand gestures were a little too much and I kept getting distracted with the pointer you were brandishing around. BUT otherwise, you were really fluent and maintained good eye contact! Really well done!! =))
Hey Adeline!
ReplyDeleteI though your presentation was great, the slides were really clean and easy to understand and not too distracting at the same time.
You were a little too soft at the start and so I could see you were nervous but you eventually got more confident and then you were great. You were in control of your content and stressed on all the important points and I really enjoyed your presentation.
I really enjoyed reading your blog post as I felt that what you have shared, allowed me to understand and relate to you at a personal level. To be honest, you did an outstanding job in your presentation. I must say that I am really impressed by how much you have grown as a professional communicator. An excellent job Adeline!
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Having seen your first mock presentation, I have seen the drastic improvement. Despite short pauses, it was loud and clear, smooth delivery and most importantly convincing. Well done girl. :)
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ReplyDeleteYou depict the story of the turning the ‘Ninja Turtle’ to the beautiful swan. I am able to testify your hard work and tremendous efforts as one of the first hand witness. Being so moved by your improvement and the way you ‘fly’ in your section of the presentation, I was very charged with encouragement and assurance when you passed the clicker to me. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI think I am the only one that can see you from behind up close from my seat at the computer. Maybe you can do more exercise to strengthen your back muscles so that you can minimize your ‘Ninja Turtle’ syndrome? I tend to slouch slightly also, thus I know the agony too.
As a fellow ex Wu Shu practitioner, I think the manipulation of the ‘Qi’ is useful. It allows your posture to be better in the process and amplifies your voice as the result. However, I believe the male’s manipulation of the muscle groups is different from the female so you will have to seek advice from a teacher who knows the female method.
For those who are stranger to the concept of ‘Qi’, I shall explain a little here. It has nothing to do with air (since Qi= air in Chinese) but has a lot to do with the systematic control of your body muscle group, for example the well known diaphragm. It is similar to the vocal practice of the choir. I do not claim to be a master of ‘Qi’. In fact, I just learnt a few lessons on that and most of my experience with it is in the Karaoke.
I literally smiled when I read your post, it was really adorable! I felt that your presentation went really well, and you showed tremendous improvements since your peer teaching! Your hard work really paid off. :)
ReplyDeleteOverall, I felt that you had a really pleasant and friendly outlook, and you smiled really frequently when you presented! The smiles made it a joy to watch you present!
Of course, I felt that there were a little stammers here and there, and there were some grammar issues in your speech. Also, I noticed that your eye contact was generally good but it did seem fidgety at times. But it's nothing hard work can't cure!
Overall, well done girl!
Thank you everyone for your comments! :) Really happy to know all of you.
ReplyDeleteHello Adeline!
ReplyDeleteI really noticed an improvement in your presentation skills from the peer teaching to the OP. Having been in the same groups for both presentations, I'm really proud that you have come so far :)
Truthfully I didn't notice your slouch from where I was sitting but you were really smooth in your presentation. Keep up the good work :D
Hi Adeline!
ReplyDeleteHaha. I’m sure that you’ve learnt a great deal from this presentation. From the expected presentation skills, all the way to character traits like perseverance and teamwork, this project surely have had put you through a grueling test. But congratulations, I think you have emerged from this a stronger person! During the presentation, the efforts that you have invested could be very obviously seen. And even though some parts felt like they were a little memorized, they were brought forth with superb clarity!
Overall, I think that your group had done a superb job during the presentation. I’m convinced about the feasibility of the project and I do hope that it can be brought to fruition in real life!
@ Paula: Thank you for your comments. Next time I will go for yoga class to improve my posture, will bring you along too. :)
ReplyDelete@Edwin: Thanks for your comments! I will try to improve on this weakness by speaking more naturally for any future presentations.