We had our second oral presentation of this semester on Mar 25, last Thursday. As usual, a reflection would probably help me to improve my presentation skills in the future. In this post, I’m going to reflect myself on my performance in the second oral presentation.
Comparing to the first oral presentation, I think I’ve made some improvements. First, I felt myself not as nervous as during the first oral presentation. It is very easily seen that during oral presentation one I was very nervous and repeated myself a lot. My voice was also very soft because of nervousness. However, during the second presentation, thanks to my teammates’ encouragement, I was more confident in presenting our ideas. Although it could be seen from the video I was still a bit nervous and repeated and stopped sometimes, the general impression was more confident. Second, I was more confident in answering questions from the audience. In the first presentation, I was so nervous that I almost did not answer questions at all. This time, I was able to confidently answer questions from the audience. What’s more, I made more eye contact with the audience and smiled more. I knew I was feeling a bit nervous on the stage. So I tried to remind myself constantly to look at the audience and smile more so that I could give the audience an impression of confidence. Although I prepared cards for my scripts, I tried not to read them so that I could focus on the way of presenting rather than memorizing the scripts.
There are also some aspects that should be improved in future presentations. One problem is that I’m still feeling nervous when I stood up and presented. When I felt nervous, the chances of forgetting the contents became higher. In other words, I had a blank mind when I presented. In order to overcome this problem, the only way is to train myself so that I would not feel nervous in front of the class. Although it needs time, I believe I could do well in the future. Another problem is that I was not using body languages effectively. Good gestures and expressions usually leave a good impression on the audience. However, I almost stood still with a stiff expression during the presentation. I need to remind myself to use more body language in future presentations.
In conclusion, my oral presentation was better than the first one. However, I should practice more to make improvements in my presentation skills.
Comparing to the first oral presentation, I think I’ve made some improvements. First, I felt myself not as nervous as during the first oral presentation. It is very easily seen that during oral presentation one I was very nervous and repeated myself a lot. My voice was also very soft because of nervousness. However, during the second presentation, thanks to my teammates’ encouragement, I was more confident in presenting our ideas. Although it could be seen from the video I was still a bit nervous and repeated and stopped sometimes, the general impression was more confident. Second, I was more confident in answering questions from the audience. In the first presentation, I was so nervous that I almost did not answer questions at all. This time, I was able to confidently answer questions from the audience. What’s more, I made more eye contact with the audience and smiled more. I knew I was feeling a bit nervous on the stage. So I tried to remind myself constantly to look at the audience and smile more so that I could give the audience an impression of confidence. Although I prepared cards for my scripts, I tried not to read them so that I could focus on the way of presenting rather than memorizing the scripts.
There are also some aspects that should be improved in future presentations. One problem is that I’m still feeling nervous when I stood up and presented. When I felt nervous, the chances of forgetting the contents became higher. In other words, I had a blank mind when I presented. In order to overcome this problem, the only way is to train myself so that I would not feel nervous in front of the class. Although it needs time, I believe I could do well in the future. Another problem is that I was not using body languages effectively. Good gestures and expressions usually leave a good impression on the audience. However, I almost stood still with a stiff expression during the presentation. I need to remind myself to use more body language in future presentations.
In conclusion, my oral presentation was better than the first one. However, I should practice more to make improvements in my presentation skills.
Hi Xiang Yu,
ReplyDeleteI noticed that you had improved quite dramatically since your last oral presentation. As you had highlighted to us already, you exuded more confidence and you did maintain much more eye-contact with the audience than you did before. :)
As a result of this increased confidence, I also observed that you were more fluent and clear in your delivery of your speech. This really helped and really enabled us to understand and appreciate your ideas better! :D
However, I feel that you should inject more life into your presentation. Your presentation, whilst not monotonous, still lacks some enthusiasm on your part. :) If you were to successfully incorporate this into your future presentations, I'm sure you will make for a highly convincing and attention-grabbing presenter indeed!
Also, you should try to keep your paragraphs shorter and more concise as I did quite often find myself lost in the swarm of words in your blog post this time round. :)
Nevertheless, I look forward to watching your continued progress in the next (and last) presentation of this semester..! :)
Yours sincerely,
Juncheng
Hi Juncheng,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments!
I also think I'm performing better this time round. As you pointed out my weakness in my presentation, I'll try to make myself more enthusiastic in future presentations.
Regarding my post, I think I really need to improve my writing skills :) Anyway, I'll try to avoid writing too much to make people confused. Thanks for your remind!
Yours sincerely,
Xiangyu
Hi Xiangyu,
ReplyDeleteIn general I think that you have done quite well in the oral presentation 2. You looked more confident and maintained good eye contact. Therefore your message is also more direct and clear to the audiences.
I think that nervous is your biggest concern (I spot 9 "nervous" in your post :D ). I think the only way to be less nervous is to familiarize yourself with the content, and keep practicing more and more. I believe that you will be able to present better in the future.
And all the best for your oral defense :)
Yours sincerely,
Tuan Vu
Hi Xiangyu,
ReplyDeleteAs my fellow teammate in CG1102, I can see that you have made massive improvements since the last presentation we had. You managed to portray a calm, collected and confident presenter to the audience. If you continue to work hard on these points, you will definitely be a very fine speaker! ( this is supported by juncheng's comment as well ) ;)
I noticed that most of the blog comments revolved around worrying about referring to cue cards or slides. Once again, I would like express my view that this is not necessary a obstacle that will hamper your presentation. By using them wisely, you can better present and place emphasis on your points and often bring back the audience's attention to the presentation via reference to slides.
Let's work hard together for oral defence!
Yours sincerely,
Junhao Quek, C04E
Hi Xiang Yu,
ReplyDeleteYou have made a lot of improvements for your oral presentation 2.You spoke with more confidence and maintained good eye contact with the audience.I feel that you should emphasize important points during your talk.You should also try to speak with a varied tone because I feel that you were monotonous.
Regarding the team,there was smooth transition between the speakers and your presentation slides were wonderful.Overall,it was a job well done:)All the best for oral defense!!
Cheers,
Meenu