Skip to main content

Jeissy Callard SPC2608

 One of the most important lessons i took away from these presentations is that anxiety does not always translate into a bad presentation. People may feel anxious when speaking in front of an audience since there are so many things to consider at once. You must talk correctly ,pay attention to your slides, gather the information and keep your eyes on the audience. Knowing that everyone is watching  you can make you feel anxious. I observed that while some people appeared more confident and prepared than others during the presentations, they were nevertheless able to complete their statements. This made it clear that being confident does not equal to being scared. Another important lesson was that the way you deliver information can be just as important as the information itself. Someone can have a lot of useful information, but the audience may lose interest if the speaker talks in the same tone the entire time or only looks at their slides. Throughout the presentations, I saw how things like eye contact, hand movements, facial expressions, and changes in voice can make a speech more interesting. Body language can also show whether a speaker is comfortable or uncomfortable. For example, constantly looking down or reading directly from a screen can make it harder to connect with the audience. On the other hand, looking up and speaking directly to people makes the presentation feel more personal. I also learned that your voice should not stay at the same volume and speed throughout the entire speech. Changing your tone or slowing down when explaining an important point can help the audience pay attention. These details might seem small, but they can have a big effect on how a speech comes across.  The project also made me realize how important preparation is before giving a speech. It is easy to assume that a person can simply get in front of the class and talk if they know their topic. However, the presentations showed me that there is a lot of work that happens before someone ever stands in front of an audience. A speaker needs to understand the topic, find reliable information, decide which points are most important, organize everything, create useful visual aids, and practice. Making an outline can also make a presentation easier because it gives the speaker something to follow without forcing them to memorize every single word. I especially noticed this while working with my own group. We had to decide what information from our chapters was most important and figure out how to fit it onto three slides each. We also had to think about how we were going to explain the information instead of simply putting paragraphs on the screen. Preparing the presentation made me understand why practicing beforehand can make someone feel more comfortable once they are actually standing in front of the class.Visual aids were another part of the project that stood out to me. Before this class, I usually thought of PowerPoint slides as something that was mainly there to give the audience information to read. However, I learned that slides should support the speaker instead of replacing the speaker. If there is too much writing on a slide, the audience may spend more time reading than listening. At the same time, if there is not enough useful information, the slide may not add much to the presentation. The best slides can give the audience an idea of what the speaker is discussing while allowing the speaker to explain the topic in more detail. Watching the different groups helped me notice how the design and amount of information on a slide can affect a presentation. It also made me think more carefully about how I create my own slides because I do not want the audience to feel like they are reading a textbook on a screen.
Something else I learned is that the audience is an important part of public speaking. A speech is not just about the person standing at the front of the room. The audience has a role too. Speakers need to pay attention to whether people are listening, whether they understand the information, and whether they seem interested. One example that stood out to me was when a student asked the class a question during one of the presentations. Even though nobody answered, the question still created an opportunity for the audience to become involved. It showed me that getting people to participate can sometimes be difficult, but it is still worth trying. Audience interaction can make a presentation feel less like a person simply talking at a group and more like an actual conversation. Listening is also important from the audience's side. While we were watching the presentations, we had to pay attention so that we could understand the material and learn from our classmates.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Election Blog Jeissy Callard SPC2608

  The first presentation was Group 4, who focused on the economic side of elections. They explained how much elections can affect the economy and why it is important to pay attention to candidates' economic policies. With the cost of living continuing to increase and everything happening in the country, it helped me understand how voting can affect our everyday lives.After that, Group 3 presented on education and its role in elections. Their presentation was important because education is something that directly affects students like us. Different candidates have different priorities when it comes to education, so it is important to pay attention to their policies and what they plan to do for schools and college students.One of the topics I found most interesting was learning about the history of education policies in the United States. Before this project, I did not realize how much the education system had changed over time. For example, schools were once segregated, and students...
Read more

Grace Espinosa| Blog 1

In SPC2608, our first big project split the class into four groups, with each group covering different chapters assigned to us. Every student had to make three slides for their section and present them to the class. On top of introducing us to public speaking, this project gave us real examples of how to take what we learn in class and use it when speaking in front of an audience. Seeing our peers up at the podium gave us a firsthand look at what works, what needs practice, and how different presentation styles can impact a room. It was a great way to break the ice as a class and get used to speaking in front of each other early in the semester. Group 1 started off by going over Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5, which explained the core basics for making a great presentation. They did a really good job and set a high standard for the rest of us. One smart thing they did was keeping their slides simple with bullet points, but then actually going in-depth when they talked. That kept everyone focu...
Read more

JImmy Valdivia Blog Jimmy

 The presentation about Chapter 1 clarified the notion of public speaking to include various factors that can impact the communication process such as an audience, message, feedback, surroundings and distractions. Most impressive thing for me in the presented information was that communication process is highly complicated even though a speaker feels he/she is well-prepared to communicate the message. This chapter concentrated on the problems of confidence and speaking anxiety. The material is realistic as it is common experience for many people to feel uncomfortable talking in front of other people. From the information received from the presentation, it became clear that practicing and preparation help to handle speaking anxiety successfully. What impresses about the chapter is the fact that confidence is an attribute one can develop and not inherent to him/her. Chapter 3 is devoted to the problems of listening and highlights that listening requires attention and comprehension wh...
Read more