Reflection on Oral Presentation

The oral presentation was significant as it marked the end of this module. At the same time however, it marked the start of our journey in using all that we have learnt in the real world. To me, it was a culmination of all the topics we have learnt over the course of this semester. The use of the 7Cs of effective communication, nonverbal cues and presentation skills were all essential in putting the oral presentation together. In the following blog post, I hope to give an unbiased account of my oral presentation. Please feel free to give your thoughts on how I could further improve by writing in the comments section.

Promoting the solutions that our group had come up with was what I was tasked with delivering. I felt that it was important to put my points across in a persuasive manner. By using the statistics gathered through our survey, I augmented many of the proposed solutions that we had come up with. Hopefully, many of the students in class were convinced with the need for having the Bike Share system.

 
While preparing for my presentation, I realized that many of the points were going to be rather dry. To overcome this, showing my enthusiasm and confidence was important. By emphasizing the benefits of implementing the various solutions, I think that I have been effective in putting the points across.

In terms of verbal factors, I felt that I had spoken fluently and clearly. In order to achieve this, continual practice was important. Despite the practice however, the audience highlighted that I tended to use the word “actually” too much. On hindsight, I think it’s a filler word which I use instead of saying “errm” or “hmm”. I will definitely work on trying to cut out these filler words. Perhaps more practice would suffice.

The slides which I used had minimal words and more pictures. I felt that this was important in getting the attention of the audience. Instead of placing all my words on the slides, I used pictures to get my point across. Sometimes, pictures alone aren’t sufficient in informing the audience. Thus, I have realized that the content of your speech matters as well. As I’ve learnt in class, the slides aren’t the star of the show, you are! We have to be able to substantiate whatever we have used on the slides with our speech.

In my opinion, a good speaker is not only someone who can present well but someone who can inspire his audience. Just think of US President Barrack Obama or Apple’s founder Steve Jobs. It’s easy to be a speaker who can just present facts or figures well. But being an inspirational speaker is a whole new ball game. Through this presentation, I’ve realized that I may be good in putting my points across. Yet at the same time, I feel I’ve a long way to go to be an inspirational speaker. This is something that I will strive for in my future presentations.