"Practice makes Perfect."
This is an important quote to me when it comes to presentation. Although I can be very verbal when conversing, this does not makes me a good presenter. I was afraid of talking in front of a large group of people and thus not able to bring my points across clearly.
From my first peer teaching, I had to say I was not at all prepared and had to start off impromptu using a whiteboard. With subsequent practices, I feel more confident speaking in front of people and less nervous. I took note of all the common mistakes that I tend to make through my fellow classmates' presentations. I have also know the pros and cons of memorizing the script. As I have the tendency to use fillers such as "actually", "okay", by memorizing the script, I can eliminate these fillers. However, it appears to be very obvious when I cannot remember certain contents. I also learn that different tones is required when presenting to different groups of audience. This is an area which I also feel that I need to work on as I sound monotonous. Lastly, I need to learn to give purposeful pauses and eliminate that "staccato" when presenting.
In addition, through my experience of working with my peers through this project on "Autism", I have gain a lot of insights about the situation in Singapore. By presenting it to other peers in my class, it is a small step to increase the awareness about this community. On top of that, we are able to exchange pointers regarding the way we present when practicing for the presentation. Overall, I feel that oral presentation should appear to be natural when delivering any information and proposal and this comes with ample of practice and experience of giving presentations.
Hi Valerie, it's really awesome to see you improve on your presentation skills through this course. I was once taught by another from CELC (SP1202), she said:
ReplyDelete"The audience is here for you, and they are here because of you, so make them proud and be the best speaker for them. They know the purpose of your speech and they speculate everything that you'd be talking about; it can be pretty intimidating at times but do ignore all that.
Just remember, you are here to deliver something, so be ultimately sure of your purpose. Be firm on your stand and state it, then support it with your passion for the topic. Everyone has their style, but everyone will ultimately be able to deliver it if they believe that they have to."
I never forgot those words, because during that time, I lost my self-esteem, my home, and I was practically living on the streets trying to survive (1st year Semester 1). It is hard to understand, and I won't want others to go through the stuff I've been through.
Whatever it is, don't ever forget to find your purpose before making your speech. Purpose breeds courage, and courage fights fear. All the best for your future endeavors!