ES2007S: Professional Communications

The OP Tuesday, November 3, 2009 6:13 PM

I have to admit that yesterday's presentation was not my finest. I made the mistake of preparing a script which is not my usual habit. I absolutely regretted that decision because it made me want to rely on something. When I fumbled at the beginning, I recalled the reason why I ditched presentation scripts so long ago - it's not easy to refer when you're trying to look at your audience. Thus I decided to ditch the script right away but the rocky start had already unnerved me. Thankfully, I did manage to get back on track eventually and I hope that it would redeem me from my little blunder.

As for the verbal and non-verbal communication, I believed I had performed well for everything except for the use of visual aids in an effective manner. Undeniably, I had attempted to rely on the script and the slides more than I should have. As Brad put it, I guess I needed the slides to be my security blanket because I was a little thrown off after my blunder at the start.

Content wise, I am confident that I have delivered exactly what I intended to and did so within the time frame allocated. However, it seems that I should have elaborated more on the objectives instead of skimming through so briefly yesterday. Nevertheless, I hope that the Q&A session definitely reinforced that I was familiar with the contents of our presentation.

Certainly, I'm a tad disappointed with myself because I knew I was capable of much more. But nevertheless, I am glad that I pulled through and did not let my fellow Wonderwomen down.

As a group, I think we did put together an excellent presentation. Each of us had a distinct role in the presentation and we had played them well. In addition, we were all able to answer the questions from the floor. Way to go, Wonderwomen!

★Posted by g.

There are 11 comments!

haivandethuong commented at November 6, 2009 at 6:45 AM :

Dear Gwen,

Well, I thought it looked professional of you to have a script. You were not reading from the script. You only glanced at the script for important information.

I think your presentation was really good and I am convinced that the NUS Alumni club could take actions to involve undergraduates in their activities.

Van

Brad Blackstone commented at November 6, 2009 at 4:58 PM :

You ladies did more than just "pull through." You might have been more aware of any "blunders" than those of us in the audience.

In any case, thanks for the honest and critical reflection, Gwen. More feedback to follow---

g. commented at November 6, 2009 at 10:55 PM :

Hi Brad and Van

Thank you both for the encouraging comments. I'm glad that the audience didn't notice my blunder! What a relief! (:

Gwen

Michelle commented at November 7, 2009 at 2:09 AM :

Hi Gwen,

I kind of admire your "courage" to "ditch the script away", for I guess I could not do so if I were stuck at that situation. Hence, I did feel that you gained your confidence back after that move and you did well :)

Like I already mentioned in Audrey's blog, your team had great rapport between you girls. There was cohesiveness between content of various presenters.

You presented in appropriate voice volume and speed, with clear use of language. And yes, you definitely did show us that you were familiar with the content.

That's all from me :)

Michelle

g. commented at November 7, 2009 at 8:26 AM :

Hey Michelle!

Thanks for your comments. Yes, we WW certainly loved working together! (:

Gwen

Pei En commented at November 8, 2009 at 7:12 AM :

Hi Gwen,

I personally thought you did well for your presentation. I thought you had good voice production, spoke at a good speed and spoke clearly. Also, you didn't really hum and haw. So for me, it was good.

However, there were a few minor flaws that you could improve on, most of which you have already pointed out! You referred too much to the projection screen and you shifted around too much, which was distracting. You could stand a bit further in front to present a more confident front, instead of standing at the corner of the screen. But of course, these were pretty minor, so no worries.

Pei En

BOBAG commented at November 8, 2009 at 5:40 PM :

HI Gwen,
I feel that you have mentioned the points that most would have noted of the presentation. I honestly expected more given the standard that you have set for yourself during the peer teaching. Then again, I suppose that we all do have our off days.

I think the way you have managed to handle the questions was definitely commendable and showed knowledge of the topic you girls were looking at.

cheers

Joel Chin commented at November 12, 2009 at 7:04 AM :

Script or no script, all the wonderwomen did great! I felt alot of pressure after that cause you girls set the standard oh so very high! As for the script, I feel it's okay to use it, but it largely depends on the individual! Do not feel it's negative to use a script to begin with!
I had a project last semester, and one of my project mate was the only one using scripts during our final presentation cause she always had nervous attacks during presentations. She aced the presentation! We were presenting to important people from Keppel, and they all were really impressed with her despite her nervousness! Goes to show it doesn't mean you impress less simply because of a script in your hands.

My 2 cents. :D

g. commented at November 12, 2009 at 7:46 AM :

Feodor: Thanks for the comments. It certainly was an off day for me! :(

Pei En: Thank you for your pointers. I will take note of them in future!

Joel: Thanks! I should consider shortening my script in future though. Makes it easier to keep track of my points. (:

Gwen

Jake Nguyen Thanh Long commented at November 12, 2009 at 5:26 PM :

Hey hey,

Honestly, I think the overall presentation looked very well, Gwen. Every parts presented by individuals, however, likewise the proposal, it seemed united.

I can understand your pressure due to many side effects such as the first team, the most important part in the module, ect... Overall, Gwen, you did very well. I like your tone always. Although you felt nervous and a bit lost at the very beginning, you managed to track back to the presentation well and I could see the more confidence after that.

That's all from me.

See you in class, Gwen

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