Reflecting after each presentation is the best way to figure out my good points as well as bad points that need some improvements. Below are the criteria that I want to achieve:
1. Be clear with the content
2. Speaking volume and pronunciation
3. Confidence
4. Maintain the eye contact
5. Use appropriate gesture
6. The cohesiveness within the team
7. Be able to answer the question
By preparing the slides and the scripts carefully for the presentation, the content was clear enough for everyone to understand. The introduction was provided to let people know what I was talking about. Furthermore, the transitions from one part to another were also included so that everyone can follow easily.
After 3 times rehearsing before the presentation, I looked more confident comparing to the last time. However, the nervousness was still a big issue. It resulted in having no smile and shaking many times throughout the presentation. More effort should be made to control the nervousness so that my posture can be better in the future presentation.
The speaking volume was well-adjusted and the pronunciation on the whole was clear except for sometimes stuttering and hesitating due to the nervousness. These improvements made my verbal delivery clear so that everyone could understand. Although I tried to adjust the tone to emphasize some parts, I did not do it very well. More practice will be needed to improve it in the future.
For the non-verbal cues, I also made some improvements comparing to the last oral presentation. The eye contact was maintained and there was no distracting gesture throughout the presentation.
Another good point in the presentation is that the cohesiveness within the team was very good. We dress formally for the presentation. Furthermore, the transition between two speakers was smooth.
However, I did not perform well in the Q&A session by being inactive in answering the question. Although we could politely answer all the questions, I should be more active by giving answers or supporting ideas for other teammates.
Hi Khoa,
ReplyDeleteAs a team member of your CG1102 project, I could tell that you had improved quite dramatically since the last time you partake in a presentation. Your voice was firm and there was little to no hesitation. Also, you maintained a lot of eye contact with the audience throughout the entire presentation. I was really impressed by the amount of progress you made and I can only hope to achieve as much as you did.
As for the shivering and trembling you mentioned... Don't worry about it. :) No one ever started out comfortable with the stage. Just keep on presenting and that fear of the stage should naturally dispel. :p And if it is at all comforting to you, I did not notice you trembling one bit. :) So, don't sweat it.
Of course, as I have been telling most people including myself. >.< We do need to be(or sound) more passionate about the topic. You did make some improvements in that area, though there is of course more room for improvement. :)
As I do have quite the short term memory, I can't recall anything beyond the above-mentioned points and the fact that I was extremely impressed by your progress. :p I certainly hope that you will keep it up and hopefully, together we will be able to take all the bullet that Colin is going to throw at us during Oral Defence. :)
Yours sincerely,
Juncheng
Hi Khoa,
ReplyDeleteI like the criteria that you listed down at the start of the post. Having a clear set of criteria allows you to be focused during your presentation. This was reflected during your speech where you looked calm and confident. The nervousness that you mentioned was surprisingly not present, you did really well in suppressing this nervousness and transformed it to a fairly decent performance.
However, you still have much room for improvements. With a rather technical topic your group has chosen to do, it required a more enthusiastic delivery from every team member in order to attract the audience’s attention. I am afraid confidence does not directly translate to the passion and energy necessary in an excellent presentation. Therefore, I believe the next step you should take would be to work towards a more energetic delivery. It is not that hard to accomplish that, but it takes much practice and a willingness to improve. Also, speaking more loudly during the presentation would help you in leaving a deeper impression on the audience (you spoke a tad too softly).
Nevertheless, you certainly improved from your first oral presentation, so you deserve a nice pat on your back! :)
Regards,
Justin
Dear Khoa,
ReplyDeleteAs your teammate, I feel that you have done well for this presentation. Your speech was very clear and professional. Although you are nervous, I personally do not notice it at all. Just as what you have said, you could have smile more. Just think of happy thoughts!
For your non-verbal gestures, your posture is upright and straight, but you could make use of your hands more to illustrate your arguments. Your speed and tone is very appropriate. It sounds very professional and formal. The arguments were brought across to the audience quite smoothly although there are some hesitations.
For the Q&A session, I believe you could have tried to answer some of the questions which were posted. But it is not entirely your fault, Q&A session is an unprepared and “on the spot” situation. It would be good to express yourself. On the team’s part, we could have a more systematic system of answering questions so that everyone in the team would be able to express themselves. I apologized for the poor organization.
Overall, I believed you have tried your best. I am pleased with your part. Be more confident of yourself, try to practice on your non-verbal skills and you will be on your way to become a good presenter. Good luck to your Oral Defence!
Regards,
Kevin Lin
Hi Khoa!
ReplyDeleteI think your presentation was good! As your group mate, I can feel that you were very well-prepared, and memorized your scripts beforehand. Good job!
I think the next area that you should work on is how to make your presentation more interesting. Maybe you can try to vary your tone during your speech and try to be more enthusiastic. In this way, you can keep the audience entertained, and more people will be able to focus on your speech.
As for the Q&A part, I think there were not enough questions for each of us to answer. And I think we should stand together when answering the questions. In our presentation, Angad and Kevin stood together. When the audience asked the questions they looked at them, and thus the questions were "sort of" directed to them and we could not really have a chance to say something. Maybe by standing together, the audience will look at one direction and thus we could have more chance of answering the questions as the questions are not directed to any particular person.
Good luck for the oral defense!
Jing Mei
Hi Khoa,
ReplyDeleteIt is an excellent feat to be able to fulfil much of your criteria. Your post has given me more insight into how having a criteria is useful.
Initially, I thought that I am supposed to create a criteria based on my performance and then start reflecting on it. However, that will actually lead to all my criteria being fulfilled easily. This is because I would have only selected criterion based on the good qualities.
What you showed me was that we are supposed to have already created the criteria even before the actual presentation. This will then make us work towards achieving the criteria and thus make us improve progressively.
The result was obvious and I have to agree with everyone else that you had a marked improvement.
For the Q&A, one suggestion I can give you for situations where the questions are not directed at you is that you can add on to another team mate’s answer either to make the point stronger or clearer.
Khoa,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see that you have been able to achieve most of your goals.
Its good that your team practised a good number of times before the actual presentation. However, during the interactive session you shouldn't hesitate much to reply to the questions posed by the audience. Practise conversing with your friends and engage in dynamic conversations with people more so that you get rid of your inhibitions. This will make you a more outspoken individual and also give you the confidence to be centre stage.
Another point I would like to stress is that, you need to improve upon ur grammar. I see that you have come a long way in course of this module and that you have made a great deal of improvement already. But, do continue putting in as much effort.
All the very best for your oral defence!
-Lakshmi
Hi Khoa,
ReplyDeleteI personally feel that you have made drastic improvements from the last presentation which is commendable.
I think you have improved your verbal skills. You confidence level was also better. Proper rehearsals and confidence boosted your verbals skills this time. You were clear and used proper pronunciation. Though there is still a room for improvement in this regard. I personally feel that you didn't sound nervous this time.
Last time you were doing the demonstration so you failed to maintain eye contact with the audience.But this time you looked at the audience and tried to make use of gestures to your advantage. Though more use of gestures would be highly appreciated.
You showed sound knowledge of the topic. However, more participation during the Q & A session could have added to our presentation.
I think you are heading in the right direction. Go on and in future I think you will do better presentations.
Overall, you really did a good job.
I came across a few grammatical errors in your post. So, try to be a bit careful and proofread your post to avoid them.
Good luck for oral defence!!
Thanks
Best Regards,
Nitika
First of all, I would like to thank you for commenting my post. You, especially Kevin and Justin, are true that I have to spend more time practicing the non verbal skill as well as the enthusiastic delivery to draw the audience attention. The hand should be more useful to express my idea. For the verbal skill, although I try to speak clearly and loudly but it is obvious that I need to practice more to improve this. Thank you Lakshmi for reminding me about that.
ReplyDeleteFor the Q&A session, Kevin is true that it is "on the spot" and unprepared situation but I think I will need to prepare my knowledge better to be confident enough to help my teammates answer the question. This time I was too passive in this session.
I tried to improve myself from the oral presentation 1 so I am very happy that you can see my improvements. However, there are still many things to work on for the future presentation. I will take note all of your advice to prepare for the oral defense next week.
Good luck to all of you!
Khoa.