Five weeks, countless sleepless nights and a never ending 'to-do' list; all boiling down to just one day, one presentation and one impression. Looking back at those five weeks, I cannot believe that my team (OSA) and I pulled it off without a glitch. Sure, there were days when I would scratch my head, get frustrated with my teammates, get tensed thinking of the workload; but despite it all, I believe our team delivered good results.
My presentation was after the three day long Diwali (It is my favorite festival) break. I had spent the three days celebrating, shopping and travelling; as Diwali is one festival I enjoy to the fullest. However, I feel I should have reserved more space for my oral presentation preparation.
Presentations may not be my forte, but I definitely love standing in front of an audience and talking. Over the past 18 years and after countless presentations I have realized an important fact; I deliver a good presentation if I am very well prepared or if it is an impromptu one. A lukewarm preparation always results in a messy outcome. My preparation for the oral presentation was again, lukewarm. I started the presentation confidently but after stumbling upon a word, I began to panic. While presenting alone, I realized that I had stumbled open a few words, dint handle the wireless mouse quite properly and spoke a tad bit fast. While presenting, I kept thinking on how I shouldn’t have made those mistakes, and that further distracted me and broke my flow of thought. Nonetheless, thanks to all those friendly faces in the audience, I was able to overcome some of my disappointments and focus on the latter part of the presentation.
After my presentation, I ran up to whoever I could come across in the class and asked them if I had messed it up. They said “No, I thought you spoke well.” They also felt that my mistakes were not so evident. I don’t know if it was a customary reply or a genuine one, but judging myself and my previous presentations, I know that I hadn’t lived up to MY expectations.
To summarize, I shall carry forward two very important lessons from this presentation–
1) While presenting, focus on the content of the presentation and keep all other distractions at bay.
2) Prepare well for a presentation. The outcome will be truly satisfactory.
Shruti Nayak
Hi Shruti,
ReplyDeleteI like how you start your own reflection by referring to your teammates and the experience you all shared as a team. For sure, no great individual can make team work a wonder.
Talking about your own oral presentation, believe the comments your got from our classmates were a genuine one; I myself enjoyed your presentation very much :). Perhaps, your stumbling upon a few words were compensated by your bright smile, your ability to engage the audience and your poetic voice. So do keep it up!!
Lastly, I totally agree with you that preparation is the most important steps in any presentation. It is; in fact, the determining factor to a successful presentation.
All in all, all the best for your coming exams and see you around in school :D
Hi Linh,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for those lovely words. :)
It indeed is a relief that my mistakes weren't visible to the audience.
However, from now on, no matter what, I shall ensure to practice well before hand for a presentation.
All the best for your exams too. :D
Warm regards
Shruti
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Shruti, thanks for your sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou began your team's presentation well, making a conscious effort to maintain a slow and steady pace while providing the audience with a preview of what to expect in the presentation. Excellent job there. You were loud and pleasant, smiling at the audience, all of which helped to connect you to your audience.
Came second half, and it seemed as if you started to become somewhat nervous?
I also noticed that most of the sentences used were long sentences, and those may not make it easy for your audience to comprehend. Coupled with a faster presentation pace and one could easily have a scenario where meanings could be lost on the audience. Also, because of the long sentences, transitional devices became obscured, making it more difficult for the audience to follow the presentation.
I thought you lost your composure for a second or two when the time signal was given. Knowing that it was a stressful scenario, the reaction was understandably expected. Nevertheless, do be prepared for this in future presentations. Even in Toastmasters Speech Contests, green, yellow and red signals are displayed to ensure the participants are kept aware of the time. You may like to invite your friends to signal to you the time limit approaching during your practice so as to better handle such situations in the future.
You put up a good performance for the Oral Presentation nevertheless, and I have no doubt that you will excel in all your presentations in no time.