Oral Presentation Reflection

No matter how prepared I might be, I am usually quite nervous before, during, and after giving a presentation. Thursday was not much of an exception. I was still fairly nervous about it, and that affected my presentation. I had wanted to click on my slides without looking, but I failed to do so. However, I think that being with my group members helped me feel less worried about speaking in front of others. Being in the classroom that I have been spending my whole semester with also helped ease some tension. Plus, we interact with each other in class so much that we feel comfortable talking with each other and sharing our ideas. I think all this helped the presentations go very smoothly and it helped me focus on the material being presented instead of me being too nervous to pay proper attention.

In time of nervousness, effective body language is always the factor that boosts my confidence. I was able to use my hands and facial expressions to spark enthusiasm in the audience. I think body language can play a large role in making an oral presentation good.

For the familiarity of the content, I did have a better understanding of the content after constant rehearsals. I would still tend to refer to the slides while presenting. While some of the references were used to enhance my explanation, others were actually not necessary. This cause of behavior may be due to my nervousness in trying to ensure the accuracy of my content.

With the right posture, constant smiling and good eye contact, I believe that the image I showed is a confident one. I had also included some interesting ideas in my slides to constantly arouse the audience’s attention.

With regards to the team, the cohesiveness is good. The team was well dressed for the occasion. We included an interesting video to further enhance our presentation. The transition between teammates was smooth. Lastly, during the Q&A session, the way we address the audience is very polite, and the answers are quite complete.

Overall it was a very good experience, as nerve-wracking as it might have been.