Abigail LeFont - Post 1

Abigail LeFont's Blog 1 

Chapters 1-12 

Presenting these chapters as our first presentation for a public speaking class was an amazing and smart approach to introduce ourselves to tips and skills needed to ace your speech. It gave all of us essential insight as to how to perfect our speeches for future presentations. It was a nice starter and our presentations will just keep getting better. We will become more confident over time. I’m going to go over Group 1 and Group 2. 

GROUP 1

Group 1 presented chapters 1-4, Preparing Presentations. This topic covered how to prepare your presentations with relevant information that is circling today’s society. Not only did this presentation go over the information you should cover within it, but it covered how to prepare to give the presentation as well. Many of us fear failure and that is normal. I know I fear failure. I fear messing up and making mistakes in front of people. But we are human and that can happen. We have to remember that failure is not fatal. But there are some ways to avoid mistakes during a presentation. There are some ways that we can lessen our chances of making a mistake while presenting. In the preparation itself. 

The Presentation Plan. Group 1 went over the presentation plan. Using this detailed outline will enable us to create an informative and well-structured presentation. Public speaking is a skill we all need and we need to be prepared. It includes steps and tips needed to give a good presentation. Essential items such as prioritizing content, setting the scope, and planning. But one of the most important items for me that the group went over is PRACTICE! 

Practice, practice, practice. I cannot emphasize this enough. I always had the mindset where I didn’t need to practice. I didn’t need to study. I didn’t need preparation. I could just ignore all of those skills and go in and ace whatever I was doing by a miracle. Boy, did I have a rude awakening. I grew out of that mindset, thankfully and grew to learn that study and practice won’t kill me. We just have to learn how to put in the work. You can practice in so many ways. My practice is repetition and this is what works best for me. Find what works best for you and stick to it. The saying ‘practice makes perfect’ really is true!

Public speaking will find us anywhere when we least expect it, especially in our careers. This was made clear in Group 1’s presentation. It is an everyday skill. Group 1’s presentation, also, went over that including our own experience in vital in order to connect with our audience. When we speak from experience, people in the audience may be able to relate to you because we all go through day to day similar situations. It makes your presentation more human, and less robotic. We have to remember that we are there to inform, teach, and inspire. We are not just saying random words and their definitions. But including our experience, we have to remember to not get offensive and possibly insult our audience. I always take into consideration that my audience are all different individuals who do not have the same thinking process as me. We are all different and that matters.

I can relate with including personal experience with job interviews. Anytime I do a job interview, I make sure to include my own personal experience when answering an employer’s questions. I don’t want to just give the employer a correct answer. I want to include my own opinions, thoughts, and feelings towards it. This way the employer will understand me better and truly listen to what I am speaking of. I remind the employer that I’m not just a worker, but also a human being. And this is what you want to do with your audience. 

Overall, Group 1 did an excellent job and their ideas were well formulated and to the point. It helped me A LOT with crafting my own presentation. 

GROUP 2

Now onto group 2. Group 2 presented chapters 5-9, Selecting and Arranging content. These chapters dove more into what material should be included in your presentations. What material meaning where said material should be found and how it should be set up in your presentation. Group 2 mentioned that research is a key aspect for any presentation. With research, your ideas are formulated and refined and I agree. Research will improve all aspects of your presentation but only will it improve your presentation, it will also improve your life as it is a daily skill that we need to succeed in life. Gaining knowledge everyday is power. 

The other key aspect was organization. Group 2 highlighted that when you have a well-organized presentation, your audience will understand it better and clearer. This enables your audience to connect and engage which is what we all want. I know I do. A skill for having a well-organized presentation is a well-crafted outline. Group 2 went over the principles of outlining and the types of outlines that there are. I learned the preparation outline, the formal sentence outline, and the keyword outline. All different and very useful. 

        Having a well organized presentation with good content in it isn’t simply enough to deliver a good presentation. It’s how you present and deliver it to your audience. Group 2 went over how to give an effective presentation. I learned that good delivery starts with basic skills such as eye contact, speaking clearly, and some hand movements like gestures. I, personally, struggle with it because I get more nervous when I try interacting with my audience but I’m working on it as it is very important to deliver a good presentation. 

    In summary, Group 2 did an amazing job explaining effective ways to make your presentation the best it can be with basic skills we need in our everyday lives. I took their tips and skills and incorporated it into my own presentation. 

GROUP 3

Lastly, My group. Group 3. We went over chapters 10-12, Appendix: Types of Presentations. I thoroughly enjoyed working with my group members. We all got together and planned everything accordingly and always helped each other. Absolutely no complaints. I’m very proud of our presentation and I know we helped our audience understand the types of presentations that there are. I really enjoyed the topic I spoke about, DDED. My other group members did fantastic.

    All in all, everyone did a superb job at everything that they were assigned. This team effort and group project was fun and informative and I’m excited for the next one.