Thursday marked the end of Team Planet’s oral presentation of our proposal the URA concept plan 2011. Overall, I felt that the presentation went smoothly as most things fell into place. All of this is attributed to the entire team’s effort in putting together the proposal and presentation. One notable thing about Team Planet is that we have always prepared the proposal and presentation like we were going to present it to URA representatives. With clear idea of the reader and audience in mind, it helped us greatly in relating to the audience.
I am grateful to work with such an effective team who was extremely dedicated in getting things done properly and never compromising on quality despite facing the pressure of time. My detailed reflection on the different parts of the oral presentation can be found in the rest of this blog post.
Preparation and use of slideware
The preparation for this oral presentation was an unique experience with many first-times for me.
Firstly, it was the first time I wrote a speech text before an oral presentation. I used to think that with a good knowledge of the topic and the slides to remind me I could naturally elaborate on every point and deliver a presentation. My idea was proven wrong after my Peer teaching session (which was honestly one of the worst public speaking experience I ever had). After that experience, I truly comprehend what Ms Lim meant when she told us that if we do not make a deliberate effort to think about what we are going to do during the presentation, it will not happen during the presentation. Therefore, I told myself that I was not going to take chances for the final oral presentation. I prepared a speech text that contained the lines which I intended to say during the presentation and refined it until it can be completed within 5 minutes after the practices with my team.
Secondly, it was the first time I used the program Prezi to prepare slides for my presentation. It was a risk that we decided to take as a team as we only learnt about the software one day before the actual presentation. To be honest, I was initially sceptical about how much value a flash program was going to add to our team’s presentation and the fact that we were only left with less than 14 hours before our actual presentation made me question the idea even more. However, my team members’ determination reassured that it was a risk worth taking. Everyone was determined to make the flash presentation work despite facing the time constraint and technical difficulties along the way. I could not tell how the audience received the slideware. Personally, I was very pleased with the effect that the software delivered and I am proud of our work. I am confident that given more time, we are able to further refine the presentation slides to perfection.
Delivery
I would say that the overall delivery of the presentation was smooth. I was glad that after numerous practices with my team and on my own, I was able present confidently without the aid of cue cards even without deliberate memorisation.
Delivery of this presentation was an unique experience in its own too. I used to feel very nervous before a presentation but this time, I felt confident speaking to the audience after adequate preparation with my team mates. I was aware of some mistakes which I made during the presentation. One obvious mistake took place during the start of the presentation, I unknowingly snapped my fingers when I started speaking, I believe that it came across as rude to the audience. At the start of the presentation, I also forgot to gesture towards my team members while I was introducing them. Other glitches happened during the presentation when I stammered during some parts of the presentation (possibly due to my nerves). At some point during the presentation, I habitually crossed my arms and I know that this action was inappropriate as it meant defensiveness. I was aware of this action and I made a deliberate effort to not repeat it. Another mistake was when I replied Thomas’s question with “huh?” when I could not hear him properly during the Q&A session. This was grave mistake and there are no excuses for that. I’m sorry Thomas!
Other areas which I could improve on was my facial expression. I made a deliberate effort to smile during the presentation but audience feedback told me that it was not very obvious. I could not really tell my body language as I did not plan the gestures which I was going to do during the presentation.
Overall, I was very proud of my team’s presentation. As a presenter, I am aware that I have many areas which need to be worked on. Lastly, I want to thank my team again for their dedication. Practising for the presentation in front of LT 25 during the wee hours is an experience that I will never forget. :)
