It has to be public speaking. Just as Brad has said before, many people think that public speaking is the second closest thing to death. I must say I went into the presentation feeling both nervous and confident. On the one hand I was confident that my team and I had done our preparation and done all that we could. On the other hand, I was extremely nervous. I have a couple of reasons for panicking.
1. The first time
It was not the first time I presented in front of people. In the past I have never paid much attention to presentations or speaking in front of a group of people. I always thought that if you can speak you can speak, there is nothing much to learn. Apparently not. Probably something I have learnt from this course it that public speaking CAN be improved. There are so many things to prepare and so many things a speaker should try to take note of it is almost impossible to be fully prepared. One can only try to make it second nature by having more practice. It was mainly because I found out so much that I can actually improve on in my presentation that made me such a nervous wreck.
2. You can't see yourself but people can see you
This is closely linked with the first point. Just like singing, many people think they sing splendid. I always thought I sing splendid until I recorded myself. It was quite terrible I must admit. Similarly, I always thought I was fine when I spoke until it was pointed out to me about certain habits that I have when I am presenting. It really came as a surprise. Ever since I have been trying hard to keep those feedback in mind and try to improve myself. Of course with even more to add to the to-do list during presentations, I cannot help but get nervous.
3. Old habits die hard
This is probably the main reason for my anxiety. Certain habits such as turning to look at the powerpoint slides, shifting around, slouching or playing with my fingers all these bad habits are quite natural. To keep them in check, I had to constantly remind myself and coupling that with the presentation, I can feel myself shaking a little especially when I force myself to not turn to the slides for that brief few seconds of escape.
I must say I did enjoy myself even though it was a very nervous 30mins or so but I felt very happy that I learnt something from the course and also had a chance to put the things I have learnt into practice. Additionally I want to thank everyone for their attention. Things really became much better when I see everyone listening and giving positive non-verbal cues. Thank you everyone.
Okay I think it is getting a little bit long so I will end here. See you all for the last lesson this thursday.
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Hi 方大同,
ReplyDeleteUrgh...I missed the finalshow down for both teams today.
Public speaking can be improved.But more importantly, it really depends on your mentality. I believe that many people have taken some communication-related courses at some point of their lives.But how many actually put the skills learnt into practice? Some students feel that there isn't a need to learn how to speak well infront a huge mass of audience.
It takes weeks and months to prepare a 3min item on stage.Same goes for any projects or presentations. To eliminate fear or nervousness, I guess the only way is to learn how to get use with the audience.
Actually, being nervous is a good thing. Feeling confident and nervous at the same time is even better.The adrenaline secreted by your hormones is the culprit which makes one nervous and it helps one to be more alert.Again, it is all about striking a right balance. You would not want to appear overly confident or too nervous.
Last lesson for ES2007S? How could I not be there? I miss the class photo taking session. :(
Hey soon yee
ReplyDeleteI must say you did a fantastic job with your presentation today. The 1st thing that impressed me was how well rehearsed you are. This was reflected by you reciting the quote on the screen without looking at it.
Another thing that I felt impressed was how confident and at ease you were in front of the crowd. I don't think i could feel nervousness coming from you. This was good as you didn't appear stiff at all.
Thirdly I enjoyed your delivery style. I felt that you were talking to us rather than a formal presentation which was good. It had a personal touch there and I actually wished that your part of the presentation was longer as I wanted to hear more from you.
I'm sure you felt good when you could apply all that was learnt in class. At the same time I'm happy that you enjoyed yourself because that element also make your listener enjoy themselves.
Once again good job.
Cheers
See Chai
Hey Deenise
ReplyDeleteNo worries the lesson hasn't ended yet. Last lesson is Thurs. One more chance to take more pictures I guess. Haha.
Oh yes one more point which I think reinforces the fact that I was enjoying your presentation was I spontaneously raised my hand to your question. I wished more had raised their hands to make me not look so awkward.
ReplyDeleteHello! (: Yay! It's finally over! woohoo! (((((: Great job today! There was a lot of improvement if you compared this oral presentation to the peer teaching session that you conducted a few months back. In fact, I felt that everyone improved from their previous presentation. That's how amazing this session is, isn't it.
ReplyDeleteWell, everyone would definitely feel nervous before presentations. It's most probably because everyone has the same fear of embarassing themselves in front of others. Nevertheless, one of my teachers had taught me this trick before-clinch your hand into a fist, close your eyes and count to ten. It'll help in reducing nervousness. At least it worked for me. (: And probably because of your anxiety, you were a bit stiff at the beginning of the presentation. However, as you got into the flow of the presentation I think it improved. (:
Oh! Another thing! Probably the word "Revive" on one of the slides could be bigger and a brighter colour could be used to make it more impactful. Other than that great job! (:
Cheers!
hey!
ReplyDeleteat 8.45 am while we are rehearsing and you are still stammering but at 10.15 you are perfectly fine and sounded confident! how did you do that? You must share your secret! and yes! Like what see chai had mentioned, I wished more people had raised their hands when you asked the question so that to liven up the atmosphere. I wish the audience were more spontanous and enthusiatic!haha...
I agree with you that old habits die hard and all of us sub conciously have our habits during presenting and i guess this is something all of us have to work towards with. And i am glad that all of us improved from the previous session!
Haha... anyway, good job! ;D And thanks for the effort put it!
SOON YEE!!!
ReplyDeleteHi boss! LOL, me and Van don't call you boss for no reason you know. *Hint hint*.
Hey, I shall comment on your presentation yesterday in one word - awesome! Seriously, you did very well.
Firstly, you had good control of the audience and the pace was just nice. Perhaps, that was why See Chai pointed out that it was as if you were talking to them. Your conclusion was great too and it managed to capture the audience's attention when you reappear and reinforce on our points. I bet I was not imagining things when I heard "wahh!" the moment the slide about the outline of modules was shown on the screen.
Also, you spoke confidently about relevant content. I am sure you get what I mean. Haha, me and Van had to "endured" the 10mins of your very first introduction about radio, tanks etc. But your introduction yesterday was so well-done you remembered every single thing we pointed out to you. Moreover, you effectively linked everything and made it so cohesive.
Overall, it was great working with you. Thanks to you constructive feedbacks when we rehearsed. I am sure it helped us a lot in strengthening our proposed change. Good job man! =)
方大同 says: See Chai thank god you raised your hands. I would probably not know what to react if you didn't haha.
ReplyDeleteDeenise: female steve jobs didn't come to give pointers haha, sad.
Shihhan: Hey, I would try your technique the next time I feel nervous. Yeah it was a bit nervous at the start because I was wondering how I should start. I wanted to ask if everyone's fine. haha.
Van: I was super scared because I still sounded terrible during the last rehearsal. Luckilly everything turned out fine. I am not sure what happened. I just wanted to share my ideas with everyone plus I am really excited about the project not just trying to hard-sell it. Maybe that helped haha. I hate stammering man.
Hey Soon Yee,
ReplyDeleteAs I said during lunch, I really enjoyed your presentation the most. The content in your introduction was really interesting. It made me want to listen more. Thank god you trashed your WWII introduction! As for your presentation style, I thought you did really well. You amazed me as you did not display any of your "bad" habits. Even your posture was good. Ha ha. You projected your voice well and you delivered your presentation with much confidence and ease. I think your only flaw is that you could have answered some of the questions better during the Q&A session. Overall, good job man!
Geraldine
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ReplyDelete方大同, please don't call me female steve jobs,haha.Don't really want to be living behind his shadows. : )
ReplyDeleteI hope that public speaking is no longer your "second closest thing" to death.Because this is only the beginning...Today we only have 14 people sitting infront of you...next time, x 10( to the power of 3?4?) That is another hurdle to jump.
SOONYEE! :)
ReplyDeleteI think compared to peer teaching, where our group was really really unprepared, you did tonnes better this time.
Less pauses, less uhs, less fidgetings, and much more confident and focussed on your script.
On the whole, well done!
Now thank me for persuading you to join this module. :)
Kellyn
Hey!
ReplyDeleteI must say that it was an amazing job. You have come so far from the time you peer taught. Really saw the improvements. You were more focused this time. Furthermore, not using any cue cards showed the effort and your willingness to become much better.
It was a great job!
All the best for exams too :)
Soon Yee,
ReplyDeleteDespite being the first one to introduce your proposal to the audience, you really did fantastically well! You were calm, did not ramble at all, and best of all, you catch the attention of your audience! I really have to admit, you have improved a great deal since your peer teaching! Good job in that!
To everyone: Yeah I think I really had to take a huge step out of my comfort zone during the final presentation to try and apply what Brad taught us. It truly is something different from what I am used to. I think not using cue cards is actually much better because it forces us to memorise and understand what we are trying to say to the audience.
ReplyDeleteGeraldine: You and your 'PR' team's feedback gave me a huge shock and it was really useful feedback that I have tried to change ever since. Thank you to that 'PR' team!
Thanks, Soon Yee, for the detailed reflection on the OP. I'm very happy that you see lots of progress in your public speaking ability. I like the way you mention the fact that many folks think they sing well until they hear a recording, and how you apply that to speaking.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, you made a fine effort with this post and your project/presentation. Congratulations!
(Sorry, a better than never comment.)
ReplyDeleteIt was a really good OP although I could sense your nervousness. But you got it going. Some small gestures here and there, but those are fine. Just remember, not in your job interviews! =)