Mary Gonzalez- Reflection 1

The art of presenting the perfect speech

In my entire educational life this into to public speaking class has been the first class to have mt thinking on my toes. This class is very challenging, but you also learn a lot about useful information. As a biology major and getting a minor in business, knowing the different types of speeches and knowing how to properly present them, can become very challenging. The first week of class I learned about different tips and tricks to delivering a presentation, I learned about the background of public speaking and whose creator was, I learned how to manage the anxiety and stress that comes with speaking in front of a large crowd, and I even learned how to properly engage with your audience and feeling comfortable in what you're teaching.

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Tips for giving an awesome presentation

Group 1 was the first group to open everyone’s presentations, they presented chapters 1-5 which spoke about important tricks for a great presentation. Their presentation spoke about the art of public speaking which generally talked about the upcoming presentations. In all my 4 years of high school always being the first group to present would have me on edge since the week before. All the jitters, the lip biting, and even my eye twitching. I think the group did an overall great job. Each member from the group presented a chapter and there was even a duo for one of the chapters. Their presentation really emphasized the meaning of teamwork and getting their assignment done very organized. I really liked their power point slideshow because you can tell the different types of personality through the colors and images of each slide. In continuation, I recall one of the team members really going into details on how to manage stress and anxiety when presenting in front of a large crowd. Although this information was very helpful, I could feel through the tone of his voice the jitters rising his throat, and constantly losing eye contact with the audience. Losing eye contact plays a huge role when it comes down to presenting the perfect speech; constantly looking at their notes was a big no no that caught my attention. I like when people look me in the eye when addressing important information that I need to further my knowledge. Other than that, their presentation was very impactful, fun, and even helped my group get rid of their jitters.

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In continuation group 2 had a very well-structured presentation since the chapters assigned to them where related on useful advice that speakers can use to execute the perfect presentation. Their slideshow was perfectly organized and engaging. It had lots of color and personality and not so much information that will make us explode. I really liked the way one of the team members spoke in detail about all the key points they provided. They made sure that the audience wasn't falling asleep, they made sure that we were very interested in the information being provided, and they even made sure to always keep eye contact with us, and not just looking down at their notes when they got stuck. One thing I really liked about this group was that they were quick and not boring, they made sure that if they got stuck, they would improvise the overall topic of the chapter and execute it to perfection. As I listened through their presentation, I didn’t get sidetracked by anything going on around me. I would like to congratulate group 2 for doing an amazing job in their presentation and making sure that I as a member of the audience stayed engaged throughout the 30 minutes.

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NOW TIME FOR THE...... INCREDIBLEE PROFESSIONALSSS. Group number 3 was the most organized group out of all 4. They event went to the extreme measures of color matching their professional attire and coming as full businesswomen, and men. Their slideshow also had lots of personality and not so much wording. Although, their presentation was great I did struggle a bit to hear some of them because of the presentation jitters. It’s a normal thing that even happens to professionals. They made sure we understood their chapters regarding the development of the prefect speech. They introduced to us the correct way of developing our introduction, our conclusion, and the types of delivery methods like the extemporaneous method which is a planned speech that allows expertise and has the disadvantage of being very time consuming. Overall, they executed their representation beautifully and made sure to always engage with the audience.

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You know what they say best for last. So here comes my group, group 4. Our group had by far the best slideshow presentation, we didn’t use PowerPoint, instead we used Canva because it allowed all of us to personalize our slides by chapters and personality. Although, we all just got to know each other, we worked together like a family, and that’s what makes us stand out. Even though, I felt like some of us weren't completely prepared I think we did a great job. The qualities that we need to fix are, being more engaging with the audience, making sure that we aren't nervous and have a strong professional voice when speaking, making sure we get our point very clearly, and most important not stressing it. I absolutely loved that my group had humor, because it really made the audience be more attentive of us and not fall asleep. Xavier was a great example of using humor when he mentioned the Shark. Our presentation was on point with information about the different types of appeals and in what types of speech to use them, it talked about different persuasive techniques, and it even talked about Aristotle which was the Greek Philosopher to identify and write comprehensively about the role of an argument. Overall, I was very proud of my group and how we were all there when our teammate needed help, and on how we executed the presentation.