Positives:
Improvements made - It was heartwarming to see that I was a lot more comfortable presenting this time around and I had maintained positive eye contact throughout my presentation.
Q&A-I was able handle some of the questions that were thrown at us by the (unforgiving) panel. Knowing my own personality, I was pretty surprised that I answered those questions because I am usually not that kind of person. This was probably down to the fact that we had done extensive research on the project topic.
Negatives :
Q&A-On
the other hand, I also felt that I had hastily answered some of the questions. If I had thought through these questions then I would have answered them in a more resounding manner. Well nevertheless it was a learning experience for me.Taking Over-I should have summarized what my previous presenters had covered before embarking upon my own presentation. If I had done that then there would have been a better flow to our presentation on the whole.
Tone-At times, when harsh criticisms were thrown at our solutions and our problem statement, I realized (from the video) that I had an inappropriate (angry) tone. I am still mystified with myself, as to why I got so upset. It could be because I didn’t expect my classmates to go so harsh on us or maybe I was just stubborn that there was nothing wrong with our presentation.
Looking back now, I am glad that my classmates went harsh on us as it has enabled me to see the flaws in our project as well as improve upon my answering tone when things get rather bleak.
Body Language-My body language was in appropriate at times during the Q&A session. Actions like folding my arms, leaning against the wall and putting my hands inside my pockets, made me absolutely livid with myself (while watching the video of my presentation). Although on a saving grace I can claim that it was an awfully long Q& A session, I still feel that it is not right to do those things (especially in a group presentation, considering that my friends’ marks are at stake as well)
Conclusion:After the reflection somehow it seems like I had a lot of flaws in my presentation rather than strengths. I suppose the reflection had served its purpose in bringing out the true nature of my presentation. I hope to improve upon these flaws for my future presentations.
Hi Anand,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that all of us has improved for our oral presentation. It seems that with experience, we would be able to improve further.
Try not to berate yourself too much for your postures. Personally, I do think that your standing posture is pretty good. In contrast, I still have the problem of slouching and shifting weight around. This demoralized me quite badly. I am aware of my problem, yet despite constant reminders to myself, I kept forgetting to watch my posture.
I agree with you that the panel of judges are a bit harsh on us. I did not like the fact that the Question and Answers session went for an hour plus. Still, after the session, we were able to identify the flaws. Hope that we get the chance to work again. Cheers!
With Regards,
Weilong
Weilong: You slouch because of your height, I stand straight trying to be taller. I would much rather inherit your predicament!
ReplyDeleteYes indeed the question and answer session was awfully long and since we had come as early as 8am in the morning for our final presentation, we all were really tired and it showed in our body language towards the end.
We share common weakness, such as our tone which bears hints of frustration and the tendency to run our mouth, instead of summarising the problem and addressing it after some thought.
But at least we have identified our weaknesses with brutal honesty and this is the first step in overcoming them! Surely we'll emerge from this course better trained and equipped for any presentations that the future might have laid in store for us.
Hi Anand,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you have seen improvements in your presentation skills. The practices we have gone through have given us much needed experience in doing a presentation. It allowed us to gain more confidence and be less nervous when standing in front of an audience. I do agree with you that the amount of extensive research we put into our project made us very well-versed in the topic and allowed us to answer the questions accurately.
The Question and Answer session was indeed longer than expected and the questions that were directed at us were harsh indeed. The repetitiveness of the questions does indeed add to our irritation but I feel that we were still quite composed and were still able to answer them to the best of our abilities. As we were coming up with answers off the top of our heads, it would appear that our tone would be less appropriate and perhaps we could have phrased our answers better. The ability to think on your feet is not easy to master. Regarding your body language, we must take into account for the fact that we have been standing for over an hour and that we came to school early for a rehearsal as well. This was coupled with the fact that we had a mid-term test only two days before. Therefore, I feel that it was a commendable effort on our part to try and keep up our image. I feel that we have learnt several lessons from this experience and apply them in the future.
Regards,
Nicholas
Hey Anand,
ReplyDeleteWhile you pointed out numerous mistakes that you have committed during the presentation, I felt that these blunders were pretty extremely minor and that your performance for that presentation was highly applaudable. The way that you convey your thoughts was professional and I personally was able to follow the flow of your ideas smoothly. Your confidence has also made the delivery of your concepts more convincing.
Your willingness to step up to answer many of the questions posted by the panel was also commendable. Without having adequate background knowledge, it would have been disastrous if you were to step up and answer the questions inappropriately. With that said, you certainly have spent much effort to make yourself more familiar with the topic itself.
Finally, I apologize if the panel actually sounded offensive during the presentation; we are just trying to get our job done. =)
Regards,
Yifan