5 weeks of late meetings debating over what URA might think, editing documents over Google Doc, spending hours checking the tiniest details to make sure everything is perfect and it all came down to one presentation to sell our efforts to URA a.k.a. Ms Lim on Thursday, 7 April 2011.
I don't think my own part was so smooth though, hence the following evaluation:
Preparation: 3/10
Having to write a speech text was a first for me; as with all firsts they are hard to accept. I didn't think it was that important to prepare a speech text as all my presentations until now have been based on elaborating the points on my slides. As they have gone fine so far, I didn't think anything was wrong with them, but writing a speech text and submitting them to critique has taught me otherwise. It has also forced me to make sure my speech is smoother and clearer than it was in the past.
However, I succumbed to my laziness as I definitely could have practised more in the days leading up to the oral presentation. I was too confident that I had practised enough to not use any cue cards; this decision turned around to bite me when I stumbled several times in my delivery, struggling to remember cue phrases that should have been ingrained in my memory by then. No doubt, we rehearsed several times as a team, meeting on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before the presentation. However, I definitely could have practised more in my own time.
Delivery: 2/10
Starting with the the good points first, I think I improved in terms of spreading my eye contact and showing my enthusiasm by smiling. However, I didn't keep these efforts up throughout my presentation, primarily because I started stumbling, panicking and finally choking towards the end of my presentation (I now know how important preparations can be). I also slouched despite advice not to do so by my teammates in rehearsals prior.
I don't know why, but I think I wasted the chance to impress and show URA a.k.a. Ms Lim how much thought and effort our team, Team Planet, has put into this project; on a more personal level, I felt I could have shown more how much I've learnt from Ms Lim's feedback on my presentation skills.
Use of slideware: 7/10
One redeeming factor (I hope) is that we used a Flash application, Prezi, for our presentation. It was, as Jeremy said, a gamble as it's unconventional and not everyone might take to it (Peizi commented that the 'rollercoaster ride' might make people dizzy). We also changed our slides to this the day before our presentation, which definitely instilled nervousness and questions about whether it would all be worth the effort. However, I think it really set us apart and made our presentation memorable.
There were other things that made our presentation memorable. Thanks to Peizi's awesome presentation skills, we started off with a strong, solid introduction that enticed the audience to know more about our idea. Ikhsan introduced us to Prezi and undertook the tough task of transferring our whole presentation to this Flash platform. Jeremy left the audience wanting more through our thoughtful conclusion (Imagine a Singapore that is no longer dependent on landfill).
How did all this happen? I have awesome teammates (:
I really want to thank Jeremy, Ikhsan and Peizi for always making suggestions for Team Planet to improve, for accommodating my anal rants towards aspects of the project that "just don't feel right", for agreeing unanimously on having so many rehearsals before the presentation, for staying up till 1am outside LT25 to make sure everything is right. I have never had a better experience working on a project, simply because I have never had a better team (: Thank you Team Planet!
Hey Amanda,
ReplyDeleteLooking at how you've graded yourself, I must say that you have underrated both your delivery and preparation performance.
However, I feel that is always good to set high benchmarks for ourselves. If that is the case, I would like to see your version of a good personal performance!
Preparation
I agree that a critiqued speech text allows for a smoother and clear presentation. I remembered refining my speech text multiple times after realising some sentences were too lengthy and some words were too troublesome to pronounce. Hopefully, we will be diligent enough to continue this practice in future presentations. Hehe.
Personally, I disagree with you on the use of cue cards. After practicing numerous times, I feel that all of us already had sufficient knowledge of the content. Using cue cards might only make us more dependent on them. You can take my presentation as a "Case Study". Haha. Perhaps Ms Lim might want to teach the future classes on how to utilize cue cards during presentations? =)
Delivery
Overall, I felt that you displayed confidence and were persuasive in explaining the reasons for the different phases. There were some moments where I could see you were figuring out the words to say. Other than that, I must say it was a good performance.
Use of Slideware
I do agree that using Prezi was a risk. Hopefully it will be well paid off? (We'll only know this when we meet Ms Lim. Haha!). I remembered us making sure that the animations were not overwhelming. However, I noticed some of the words on the 'slides' were small. I am glad the team unanimously decided to use it though!
It was great working with you and the rest! Hopefully the whole process has made you a better presenter and communicator!
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that this presentation was a great experience, your reflection on yourself was done in a very critically manner. I felt that you did well without the cue cards. You seemed clear in what you wanted to say. Facing the same difficulty in remembering cue phases, I agree that a lot of individual practice is needed to get them right.
About the use of Prezi, I find that it was interesting at the beginning of the presentation, but towards the end the transition did seem like a miniature ‘rollercoaster ride’. There was a slide that had four other slides linked to it, I think am not suppose to read the small words but when they first appeared they pose as a distraction. It took me quite some time to stop trying to read the words. The use of different software really made a good impression (at least to me).
Regards,
Peh Joo
Dear Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI think that you are too hard on yourself in your reflection! You deserve credit for the areas which you have done well in the Oral Presentation.
Firstly, I think that you were smooth and confident even without the use of cue cards. There were some parts when you were stuck but it did not affect your overall delivery. Overall, I thought that your part was well presented and you displayed very good knowledge of the content. You placed good emphasis on the appropriate parts by variation in your tone and volume. To me, the most impressive part was how you managed to explain the Mathematics behind the points system. I thought that your explanation was clear and easy to follow. A marked improvement from our first rehearsal!
Secondly, I thought that you made a good effort to smile. As I watched from the sidelines, I could see that you made a deliberate effort to smile and it showed during the presentation. Your smile helped to liven up the presentation and built a better connection with the audience. I thought that you made good use of gestures as well.
Good job Amanda! You deserve a lot more credit than what you give yourself.
Thank you for being such as awesome team member throughout the entire journey of the project and presentation. Your critical feedback was very useful throughout the entire project. I hope that our time and effort has paid off but no matter what the final results are, it was a great pleasure working with all of you!
Go Team Planet! :)