Totally exhilarating. This is the most serious presentation I’ve done so far in my life. And wow, it took me a while to adjust at the start before I took off on what I felt was really quite an interesting ride. Yes I was REALLY scared. And I really had ZERO confidence. But thankfully my team members really helped me prepare well. Thank you Faizal, Edwin and Kenneth! You three rock! And stone! Or boulder! =))
Even though I went through Project Work (also a presentation subject) in JC, it was really a different experience. This one that just passed pushed me past non-existent boundaries which I thought was always there to hold me back. Brad was right: it was really psychological. And no matter how many times I remind myself to treat the audience like carrots or potatoes (a method my friends told me to help me keep my cool) so as to calm myself, it was just so difficult. And I bet this is not going to be the last presentation that I will face for my entire life so I better get use to this feeling and train up!
So how did the presentation really go? To me, it went better than I thought. I really assumed that something horrible might crop up and I would just ruin the entire presentation. Once again, my lack of confidence shows. I thought the use of visuals like photos really explained things very clearly and it was no doubt true that a picture speaks a thousand words. And all I had to do was say something to point people in the direction in which I want them to see from the picture. The use of questions, taught to me by Faizal, Edwin and Kenneth, was a really good technique to set people thinking and to allow them to experience for themselves the setting of the presentation. It really made it easy for me to connect with my audience. And I really enjoyed it halfway through the presentation.
However, I felt that I didn’t start off well, nor did I transit well for the second speaker to come in. All these are skills I have picked up in this class, and I definitely need to brush up on them. I should have smiled more, to make the audience feel comfortable with me. But the stress I had in me at the beginning really just turned me into an emotionless zombie. I found it difficult to distribute my eye contact well too because I tried to make this a ‘checkpoint’ for myself. I would give myself a mental list of what I should do in the presentation but it’s easy to forget once you are nervous. Therefore, it is important to not force yourself to remember, but to internalize all this and let it flow out of you naturally. I guess this comes with A LOT of practice and patience. I think it’s important to speak slowly and pronounce your words carefully because this really shows professionalism and it helps if you want to make your audience understand what you’re saying.
I thought the Q&A part went relatively fine because we stood our ground! I guess it’s important to have confidence in your product and know your proposal in and out VERY WELL so that it’s easy to process your answers because the questions asked might have already been those that you’ve thought of yourself during the initial brainstorming process of the project.
In the end, I’m really blessed to be put in such a FUN-tastic group and I really enjoyed working with my team mates! Thanks everyone! =)
Ah... you are most welcome! haha :)
ReplyDeleteWell I must say I'm very proud of you. Huge strides forward in just a couple of days. Well done!
Nice post Jac, I love it!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Faizal, Edwin and Kenneth gave you lots of emotional, moral, mental support, you being the only girl on the team, what gallantry!
I'm glad you learned lots of good presentation pointers from your teacher and friends, but the presentation of JC you mentioned, that was a kind of a joke actually. Because you don't really learn anything about the art of presentation so much as you only learned how to research, collate, analyse and write information, which the whole point of that project work was just to beef up your highschool resume and experience.
Other than that, Brad will kill you for writing beyond 250 words, when he and my classmates already did so with my enthusiasm for writing, and have been given no choice with regards to 250.
More others, I suggest you learn to speak faster instead. When I mean fast, I mean the fast of the tipping point beyond which you are too fast and audiences will become disenchanted. Few presentations I've seen by born and bred Singaporeans ever come within 49 percent of this tipping point or middle-way. In other words, the speed with which they speak is only 1 percent of the desired and effective speed which would come across as forceful, powerful, persuasive, and world-class in front of your equally world class audience in the professional workplace.
The reason why the pace of presentations by 'normal' speaking or speeching Singaporeans are way below the desired level has got to do exclusively with our linguistic socialization---the way we string sentences and package ideas are totally different from more world-class, American, British, Australian ways of expressing themselves.
For instance a Singaporean girl will say " I like to eat noodles leh", an American lass will say instead "Oh how I love to eat noodles", these are just general examples and I'm not saying all American girls will speak that way, I'm just saying the way they GENERALLY express themselves is different, so much more passionate, so much more energetic, and therefore so much more persuasive, so much more clear, concrete, concise as compared to Singaporeans girls'. That is why I'm also more likely to fall in love with the girl that says "Oh, how I love to eat noodles" as compared to the one who says "I like to eat noodles leh"
In the end, I'm not asking you to BE American or British or Australian girl, because you really don't need to live in their cities or have their skin colors to speak and express like one of them. The ONLY reason why I say you learn to speak and express like one of them is because that is the ONLY way you will learn to speak and express powerfully, persuasively, and ATTRACTIVELY, in your presentation, nothing else! It's all for your presentation Jac, I want people to fall in love with you when you present, girls and especially guys!!
Cheers
Dear Jac,
ReplyDeleteEven during the mock oral presentation, your voice affected my ability to present to my group. So you really aren't as bad as you think you are. I'm worse.
When I was listening to you, you seemed calm and I was impressed that you could remember all the facts you were supposed to present. The only parts where you can improve on are volume, posture (i.e. don't stand so close to the screen...come and talk to the audience, engage us) and your smile.
You are right, this is but one of the many presentations that you'll give in NUS and even in the future. I believe you'll improve with experience and time.
Ganbatte!
Hello Jac!
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think you are great in your OP skills. Though initially you gave me the impression that you are afraid as you sounded soft. But no worries as you took off very quickly from there and spoke with confidence later on. :) I was never in a moment feeling bored or distracted during your presentation. I think its because you have good posture and projected your voice really clearly that I could hear you clearly and not distracted by any of unnecessary hand gestures or other movements. An addition point to make is that the pace of your presentation was just right. It was steady and I liked the flow when you transit from one slide to another. It will be better if you could smile more and show more passion for your project.
Have more confidence in yourself! Just treat every presentation like sharing stories to people, then it will come naturally.
Wish you all the best in your future presentations!
Jacqueline’s presentation was persuasively delivered. The design and organization of slides were also uncluttered and effective. I am now convinced of the need to have study rooms in the heartlands. Jacqueline’s movements and posture were graceful and I especially commend her for her clever strategy of humanizing the problem by skillful application of her personal experiences.
ReplyDeleteThat said, Jacqueline did appear as if she was standing at an angle to the screen instead of facing her audience squarely and gave the impression that she was reading off the screen.
Hey Jac!!
ReplyDeleteDespite having insane pressure on you for being the first speaker, you did awesomely well!! Yes, you started off a little soft (and you could evidently sense your own nervousness). However, you was able to quickly recompose yourself and give a fluent and highly persuasive argument.
I particularly liked the way you added a personal touch to the presentation whereby you related the noise to your own studying environment at home. In this way, you allowed the audience to better appreciate your situation and to empathize with you (and the problem you described).
You also had great eye contact with your audience, kept a good comfortable pace and had good vocal annotations to your words that emphasized certain words, which worked very well to your advantage.
For future presentations, I suggest that when you include complicated charts in your presentation you should explain them further. I remember there was this chart in your presentation which I could not understand and hence [to me] the presentation of that slide added no value to your presentation. However, you'll need a fine balance there because explaining on a simple concept to a great detail can become very boring. This thus underlines the importance of knowing your audience. But perhaps I was the only one who didn't understand the graph, since the others seemed to have no issues with it.
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 really liked the fact that you used your own experience, of having construction disturbance near your house to contextualize the problem. I really value your honest and pleasant sharing. It was also clear that you were well-prepared for your presentation. Seeing you present in your peer teaching and, now in your oral presentation, I must say that I am really impressed by how much you have grown as a professional communicator.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you were a little too soft-spoken and looked rather apologetic from the start which I felt, made you lose the overall confidence in your presentation. Moreover, you lacked eye contact with everyone as I felt that during the presentation, you only maintained eye contact with a specific group of people. Your slides were a little too wordy, making it hard to read through all of them while listening to your presentation.
Overall, I really enjoyed your presentation as I felt that you were the most persuasive in your argument.
Cheers!
Eh please. YOU WERE (and still are) OUR STAR SPEAKER EH!!
ReplyDeletehaha.. I would firstly commend your ability to learn and pick up tips. You're a walking sponge. I was so impressed when you came back the second day and presented as in the ideal scenario. Your efforts, are supernormal. Also, your pace and volume of speaking were professionally carried out. I would expect something like that in a business presentation. Very well done.
But your confidence still has to be improved. Not the confidence that you show on 'stage', but the innate one you have in yourself. YOUR PERFORMANCE IS NOT BAD. It's in fact superb. Anyway, a few more years down the road, you'll be doing presentations daily to students. And your mindset of 'I'm not good at all' will not help you nor your students at all. So, I hope that by the time we get to NIE,you'll be one,brimming with confidence.
JIA YOU!
Haha! Thanks everyone for the comments! Yeah I gathered feedback that my eye contact wasn't well distributed and I was a little soft. Sorry ben if you found it hard to understand the slides! I'll really work on these skills! Thanks for the constructive feedback!
ReplyDeleteHey jac!
ReplyDeleteI think your presentation was awesome and brilliant! I can really tell from your post that you really enjoyed and learnt alot from this experience, good for you!
During your presentation, you had a steady pace, and such a good grasp of the content. Though I did feel that you were less lively than compared to your usual self, but I still enjoyed your presentation.
Great job, girl!
From the carrot/potato.
Jac! :D
ReplyDeleteGirl, you were really good that day during the OP. Seriously. So please have more confidence in yourself and stop doubting yourself!
Yes,you started off a little soft perhaps due to the nerves but as the slides progressed, I really wasn't bothered by your tone anymore because what you said really made me believe that we need to build those rooms for students to study. I think you delivered your slides well but maybe the eye contact could have been more well distributed because I felt really neglected in the corner haha!. All in all,good job :)
P.S: My friends told me to think of the audience as teddy bears lol!
ReplyDeleteMabel! Thanks girl! Lol you're no carrot/potato. No matter how hard I try to imagine. Thanks and I'll work on being more calm! It's really a big flaw! :(
ReplyDeletePaulaaa! Haha teddy bears are so cute! They probably work better than veg Hmms.. Thanks for noticing that! I know my eye contact wasn't thoroughly distributed:( sorry for neglecting you dear friend! Will work on that too! Thanks people!
Hi Jac! Your team did well on the presentation. The flow of the whole OP is nice, the direction is so clear that it was like knife through butter and the transition from on speaker to another is well managed too. The good use of photos of the actual venues helped to bring the whole idea close to reality and that became a major factor in convincing the audience.
ReplyDeleteSince there are already some many comments on the tangible aspects of presentation of verbal communication, non-verbal communication and the slides, I shall talk about the intangible aspect of the stage. Just as Eunice has stated, you look apologetic. From your post, I can feel that you lack the confidence that you should deserve. By no means are you a poor presenter. In fact, you have good voice, proper posture and clear pronunciation. You should be more confidence since you have the foundations needed to be a good presenter. So cheer up =)
Here are some tips to boost inner confidence:
1.I am here to offer a solution to help clients/officials, not to plea them to take up my idea.
2.Instead of thinking ‘what if I screw it up?’ think ‘what should I do to ace it’?’
3.Details are minor; the most important thing is to get my idea across. There is Q&A anyway. As long as I do not contradict myself, I can still do ‘repair’ if I missed out some details.
Hope these tips can be of help to you in your future presentations.
Hi Jac! =)
ReplyDeleteI thought that you did well as a speaker. You did not speak in a monotonous voice but varied your tone effectively throughout the presentation. This helped to make your presentation more interesting and prevented me from feeling bored. Considering that you were really scared at the start, I do admire your courage for standing in front of everybody and delivering your presentation. I did not get the feeling that you were scared or nervous, hence with regards to showing confidence, I think you were fine =). However, I felt that you could have increased your volume slightly, as I thought that you were speaking a bit too softly. Speaking louder would have made you easier to hear and reinforce the audience’s perception that you have confidence in your material. On the other hand, others seem to think that your volume is fine, so maybe it’s just me? Maybe I’m a bit deaf haha :P.