Hey Everybody! It is hard to
believe that we are less than two weeks away from our final presentations. After
submitting my paper to Mrs. Haag, I must say that I am so proud of what I, and
everybody else, was able to do over the course of this year. It’s so hard to
believe that it is almost done, especially considering how hard we have all
worked. However, that being said, we still have our presentations to rehearse
and deliver.
Over this
past week, I made a lot of changes to my script and slides. Coming into this
week, my script needed to be cut down some, and made more cohesive, and my
slides needed to be beefed up quite a bit. As a result, I spent some time
making my script flow and transition better, and added quite a bit to my
slides. That being said, I still do not think that my presentation is perfect.
In my head, I envision an ideal presentation being one that engagingly and
effectively conveys your information to your audience. It should keep them
interested, and make them want to learn more about what you are talking about.
To do this, the main focus of a successful presentation should be on what is
said, and not what is on the powerpoint. The powerpoint should be a supplement
to what is being said, and should not be the backbone of the presentation.
When I
look at my presentation, I am still left not feeling very confident about my discussion
of my themes. This is the central part of entire research project, and so I
need to be able to convey what I found with these themes in a concise and
effective manner. However, because there is so much to talk about with them, I
feel like I go too far in depth, instead of talking about only what I need to.
Also, I feel like my slides still might be a little bit too bland. I tried make
them more interesting by animating my bullet points and including figures to
illustrate what I am talking about; however, I still feel like it is a little
lackluster.
Anyways,
moving onto my “memorization strategies.” Now that my paper is pretty much
finished, perfecting my presentation is going to be my main priority.
Truthfully, I don’t plan on using any specific strategies other than just
practicing my presentation a lot. In the past, with my seminar presentations, I
remember reciting my presentation in the mirror, and that worked then, so I
foresee myself doing that as well.
Until
next week!
(433
words)
Hey Brian!
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you have your paper all figured out. I just have a few comments on what your ideal presentation is. I definitely agree that your script needs to be the backbone, but the presentation should highlight whatever your talking about and emphasize the points you want to emphasize.
Basically, the presentations should have a lot of info on them because this is a research project and you want people to understand what you're talking about. For practicing your presentation, I definitely think you should watch a video of yourself.
Akash
This is a v weak comment.
DeleteBrian! Glad that we're in the final stretch!
ReplyDeleteI think that your presentation should be able to better the information you're conveying -- the focus of the audience should be on both what is said and what is on the slides, because having that visual aid should allow the audience to literally see what they should be concentrating on and what is most important about your presentation. Therefore, your slides should definitely pop. I would recommend using compelling images and then big words so that you can have your audience focus in on key points. Figures such as flow-charts and etc. are super awesome as well, especially to illustrate ideas in your lit review or methods.
In terms of practicing your presentation, I think that watching yourself in a mirror is a great idea and Akash's idea of a video is also super solid. I would ensure that you're under the time limit when you're practicing (give yourself a few extra seconds, prob like 20 to compensate for stress during the real presentation). Also, I would break it up in chunks and practice little bits at a time, adding on gradually so you know the transitions too.
Good luck!
Hey Brian!
ReplyDeleteI pretty much agree with what you think is a perfect presentation, but I would've liked to see what you think makes a presentation more focused on the speech rather than the powerpoint. Besides that, I think I have a good way of addressing the problem you have with themes! Find someone who knows your project and is willing to listen (in person or recording) to your presentation. Ask them to focus on when they think you start piling on additional unnecessary information and take note of it! That way, you will know what you are saying is important and not just you droning on and confusing your audience! Other than that, I like your memorization method but would highly suggest recording your presentation at least once because it lets you notice things you might skip over like body posture, hand gestures, and even the speed of your voice! Other than that, lets finish strong in the final stretch!
Brian -- After seeing your presentation yesterday, I have to say that I think we have a lot of work to do. You need to better show the relationship between the methods and exemplify what you're saying the themes are with the data. Moreover, people were confused about whether or not the themes were something you created or something you used to understand the data. I think that you DO have an amazing project and your presentation CAN be really impressive, but I right now the presentation doesn't reflect all of the work you've done all year.
ReplyDelete