Hey everybody! Its hard to believe
that our presentations are less than a week away. This is pretty terrifying to
know that we only have five days until we deliver our final presentations on
everything we have done so far this year. I think that the time has gone by so
fast, and it is hard to believe that we are here.
Anyways,
moving onto today’s topic. After presenting last Monday, and then again on
Saturday, I can say that my presentation was by all accounts rough. On my presentation
Monday, I did not have enough slides, and so there were gaps of time where I
was talking, but I did not have a slide to accompany the claim I was making.
Because of this, my script and slides were pretty disjointed. Over the course
of the week, I dedicated my time adding more slides, and improving the quality
of the ones I already had so that they better followed what I was talking
about. In addition to that though, I also tried adding more evidence to
strengthen the claims I was making regarding my themes.
However,
after presenting again yesterday, the teachers I presented for noted how
significant work was still needed. As they pointed out, I still had problems
with both my slides and script. In terms of my script, the literature review
needed to be reorganized, I needed to better explain my methods, and I need to
cut down on my explanations of the themes I found. For the slides, even though
I had more, some of the slides were either very generic, or they looked good,
but the background image was only vaguely related to my topic of charter
schools.
Since I
met with them yesterday, I rewrote my literature review section of my script so
that it follows the order that they suggested. I think that it makes a lot more
sense now, and so I feel better about that section. Currently, I am working on
finishing up editing the rest of my script so that it reflects the suggestions
that the teachers made. I plan on finishing that tonight, and then editing my
slides tomorrow, so that the rest of the week can be dedicated to practicing my
presentation.
For my
practice presentations, I had problems with the content in my script, the visuals
in slides, and the memorization of the script. On a positive note, though, I don’t
think that I had any weird mannerisms, or spoke too quickly or quietly. Anyways,
I know that I still have a lot of work to do, but I am confident that I will be
able to get it all done and deliver a well-rehearsed presentation!
Until next week! (for my final post :/)
Brian,
ReplyDeleteIt seems like your main problem is with the script, so I'm just going to comment on that right now. Honestly, it seems like your relying on your script a bit too much, and you need to let it go a little. You've been doing this project for an entire year, rephrasing explanations in the research paper a ton. So honestly, just say what comes natural to you. I feel like you should trust yourself more and just go for the explanation that works best in your head. If you don't want to do that, then just keep working on the script. Just remember that you also have to memorize as soon as you do edit it. Maybe try fixing the problems other people said about your script when your practicing, instead of rewriting it in your script.
Akash
Brian, I definitely agree with what Akash said, but honestly do what works for you. I do best by practicing after putting my script aside and just knowing my information, but if you want to just straight memorize sentences then do it! Whatever you use to best formulate your ideas is going to be the best route. And I know it's intimidating to try and put all your information into a 15 min presentation and 5 min oral defense, but really it's ok to simplify when you're presenting. You're just trying to show your audience the broad strokes of your findings, it's okay to leave some things out. Keep what's most important in your argument and what fits in the 15 min! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHey Brian!!
ReplyDeleteI see you also joined the not-enough-slides squad! Anyways, I think the best part of your reflection on your presentations to date has been that you acknowledge your weaknesses, which is the only way you will improve! It seems like you talked more about how your script needs to flow better and how it needs to be structured properly. I initially thought I was going to memorize mine word for word but after actually attempting it, I realized how much already felt natural (since we've been working on this for a year). I recommend you try and give your presentation with your script only as a last resort method. It feels more natural and at least for me, seems to flow better. However, its different for everyone, so do what is best for you. I'm also going to second what Daphne said, its definitely fine to simplify things in your presentation as long as it is not something that will harm your audience's ability to understand you! So with that in mind, keep practicing and you'll be more than ready for Friday!
Brian -- I agree that the first few versions of your presentation were rough, but I think in our meeting on Tuesday that you have some really good ideas on how to improve the clarity of your presentation. I think we're finally on the right track to getting this presentation be everything that it needs to be, so that it's something both you and I are proud of. I look forward to seeing it in its final form, as I know how hard you worked on this research. You've got this Brian -- do the work you've done all year justice!
ReplyDelete