Thierry Laguerre - Post 1

 

Blog post #1

Many people have mixed feelings about presenting in public. Some feel it is their strong point and others shy away from it. After viewing the presentations and hearing other experiences I am confident that I will be able to present more effectively and engage audiences. I learned a vast amount of information from the different types of presentations and the various approaches to them.

 Group 1

First, Group 1 covered the importance of public speaking, presenting for an audience, and overcoming the fear of public speaking. Helder’s topics covered the common fear that plagues many people all over the world. Many fear messing up during presentations or even freezing. Next, he went into detail about the relevance of public speaking in society today. I totally agree that we need it to express ourselves and excel at work. Personally, on numerous occasions during internships, I have been called upon to speak up and present my results. It really is a skill that will need perfecting over the course of someone’s life. Next, Lianet covered the presentation plan. It was quite similar to an outline for an essay. There is the planning phase, presenting key points, and relaying the main message to the audience. I was also thrilled to learn the technical vocabulary terms like the receiver and channel. The receiver is referring to the audience and the channel is considered the format the message is being relayed. These may include virtual presentations, live demos, panels, and more.

 I was also fascinated to learn the various types of topics such as vital, current, and topics to improve audience. The most fun presentations throw in current events because they are controversial and engage new opinions and viewpoints. Hemer provided a list of the not to do, such as not complying with standards or promoting harmful content. A new insight into presentations is that the audience matters as much as the speaker because they give off energy to the presenter whether they are interested or not. Veronica also taught about engaging the audience by using ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos appeals to the credibility of the speaker and his/her background experiences. Logos covers the appeal to logic or validity and soundness of the information provided. The most powerful in my view is pathos because it appeals to emotions and can help people cope and/or provide motivation. 

Xavier made a great point that “authenticity matters more than perfection”. I also received great tips that color coding notes and outlines are beneficial when preparing for a presentation. The most useful tip is to practice continually for the presentations to ensure they flow and look natural. The outline for a presentation includes an introduction that should grab the audience’s attention, at least two key points, and a conclusion to sum up the presentation. The conclusion may also include a call to action. In my past internship, I was asked to give a demonstration presentation, and receiving this knowledge would have helped me greatly. Isabella gave tips that for a general rule, demonstrations should include visuals/graphics and logical steps. Next, Shanika and Aziz shared valuable tips about choosing topics that are relevant to the audience and something that you are knowledgeable about. I found that speaking about my experiences has had more success in connecting me with the audience. Furthermore, when evaluating and selecting relevant topics for the audience, it is important to consider age, gender, location, and more.

 Group 2

Moreover, Group 2 covered the main ideas and concepts that will be covered in the presentation. Milay mentioned the first step of the process is research. Research had to be representative of a wide variety of sources and credible. The most credible sources are those that have been peer reviewed and fact checked by authorities in the field. Some classifications for sources are personal experience, Library sources, and web sources. I know that the Miami Dade College Information Database is a valuable tool accessible to students. Elijah mentioned citing sources is key to avoiding plagiarism when ideas are not your own. I also agree with Alyah’s views that citing sources is also important to maintaining the ethics and reputation of the platform used for presenting. I also realized a key takeaway from Alyah’s presentation summarized that a presenter should never assume someone’s gender or produce bias for one group of people during a presentation. I have viewed presentations that have excluded certain groups of people and it created a feeling of alienation in the room.

 I find analogies quite hard to both utilize and understand but when effectively used, it can be a powerful tool. A quite controversial is the choice of supporting evidence. In the presentation, it was mentioned that there may be a black and white ethical perspective when including art. For example, when does art become too far or obscene? I was also astounded by Angelica’s templates of outlines. I saw different details like the main points being bulleted and sub points being indented. I plan to use this format in the future for either speeches or essays. I loved the clip Franchesco included in his clip of Denzel Washington giving an award speech. Mr. Washington was hilarious and hysterical with his short stories and salutations to the audience members. 

Tosha provided great advice about how to dress. She gave helpful tips such as avoiding distracting jewelry and avoiding colors that may distract the audience. I have been to presentations where the presenter’s choice of accessories had been distracting and it took focus away from the theme or key idea of the presentation. Yaelis covered the language that should be used. For formal events, it is best practice to use formal language and prevent grammar errors. I have made grammar errors in my presentation before and I felt a little embarrassed because it could have been avoided. Gabriela really emphasized how useful sensory aids can be to help the audience comprehend. She used the example of a speaker telling the audience how a turtle feels compared to if they were to bring a turtle that the audience could feel. These experiences are quite different indeed! Fernando also brings home the point about visual and sensory resources such as pointing or voice inflections.

 Group 3

Finally, group 3 provided an overview and practical examples of the delivery techniques for giving presentations. Victoria built on the point that visual aids help the audience comprehend topics. For example, charts and graphs show trends that reinforce the main points of the presentation. Abigail Lefont also emphasized the importance of not assuming the audience knows everything. During a presentation, definitions and examples of terms can be quite helpful and go a long way. In my experience, I have found that sometimes science sounds like gibberish to me, so having definitions and examples is beneficial. Arianna’s presentation was thought provoking. I sometimes find myself falling into the habits that she mentioned, such as repeating information and not adding to it or connecting with the audience. Of course, it was my fears getting the best of me. Sabrina brings up the previously covered point that information should be credible and fact checked. The last thing a speaker would want to happen is for the audience to lose respect or interest in their speech or presentation that they have spent time preparing. Yaismel, Juanita, and Javier made the point that collaborations are recommended because there is a shared workload and different perspectives from each member of the team.

 

Conclusion and Final Statement

Overall, the speech presentations were great. The key takeaways for me included engaging with the audience by making sure that I use personal examples and choose related topics. In addition, I learned that to combat my fears I need to prepare effectively whether it means highlighting notes/outlines, or practicing until I know it like the back of my hand.