There were many aspects of communication that I had learnt through this module, ES2007S: Professional Communication. This module focused a lot on the writing and presenting aspects. I was already fairly confident in my ability to write and this was exemplified by the fact that I was able to construct a reasonable first draft of the proposal within a total of three days. The finished proposal was completed with minimal fuss. In fact, the only time that I had some problems in writing came when I was constructing the cover letter for my resume. For some reason, I find it hard to talk or rather advertise about myself. Nonetheless, that assignment, along with the other writing assignments were completed satisfactorily.
However, the same cannot be said about the presentations. There were two presentations for this module. The first would be the peer teaching module and the other would be the final oral presentation for the proposal. Neither of these presentations were satisfactorily completed. However, I am fully aware that it takes time and experience to become a good public speaker and hopefully I would be able to use the experience gained from this module in my future presentations.
My overall impression of this module was that it was a good module which was not too difficult and would be useful for those who want to improve upon their spoken and written communication skills. I understand that taking one module on communication does not mean that I would instantly become a good communicator. However, the information provided in this module was certainly useful in teaching me how to write proper business letters, emails, cover letters and resumes, construct proposals and make professional presentations.
As a final note, I would like to thank the tutor, Ms Christine Lee for her guidance and also my groupmate, Jin for his share of the effort that went into the presentation for the peer teaching and the construction of the proposal and its presentation.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Reflection on Oral Presentation
Having completed the oral presentation, I feel a great sense of relief. As mentioned in my first blog entry, oral presentations are not my cup of tea. As far as I am concerned, it was far easier to construct the proposal than give the presentation. I believe there were a few positive aspects to my presentation as well as many negative aspects.
Looking at the positives, at least the proposal presentation was a little easier than the presentation for the peer teaching. There were many contributing factors for this. Perhaps, my confidence for public speaking was heightened slightly following the peer teaching. In fact, Jin and I managed to iron out some of the management issues, such as timing and transitions, during the peer teaching. This allowed us to be more fluent when it came to the oral presentation for the proposal. I also feel that the smaller class size during the presentation might have helped to alleviate some of the anxiety brought about by the presentation. Clarity has always been my main priority for all presentations and I believe that I was reasonably clear throughout the presentation. Moreover, I made a conscious effort to vary the volume and speed of the presentation so as to emphasise certain points and prevent monotony.
Having considered the few positives in the presentation, there were quite a number of negatives. I have to say that the presentation was not exactly a walk in the park. For one, the presentation times were longer for each presenter relative to the peer teaching. In addition, the question and answer section for my part of the presentation seemed to go on forever. Perhaps, I was not clear enough in my presentation or maybe I was just unlucky to have such a hyperactive audience. I always come away from most of my presentations thinking that I could have done a ton of things better, especially in the question and answer section. Futhermore, I have a strange feeling that I might have been a little too fast in some parts of the presentation and am not sure whether my body language was appropriate or distracting. Hopefully, my facade of confidence held up throughout the presentation.
Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to correct my mistakes for the proposal presentation, as it is over. The best that I can do for now is to learn from my mistakes and apply what I have learnt to future presentations.
Looking at the positives, at least the proposal presentation was a little easier than the presentation for the peer teaching. There were many contributing factors for this. Perhaps, my confidence for public speaking was heightened slightly following the peer teaching. In fact, Jin and I managed to iron out some of the management issues, such as timing and transitions, during the peer teaching. This allowed us to be more fluent when it came to the oral presentation for the proposal. I also feel that the smaller class size during the presentation might have helped to alleviate some of the anxiety brought about by the presentation. Clarity has always been my main priority for all presentations and I believe that I was reasonably clear throughout the presentation. Moreover, I made a conscious effort to vary the volume and speed of the presentation so as to emphasise certain points and prevent monotony.
Having considered the few positives in the presentation, there were quite a number of negatives. I have to say that the presentation was not exactly a walk in the park. For one, the presentation times were longer for each presenter relative to the peer teaching. In addition, the question and answer section for my part of the presentation seemed to go on forever. Perhaps, I was not clear enough in my presentation or maybe I was just unlucky to have such a hyperactive audience. I always come away from most of my presentations thinking that I could have done a ton of things better, especially in the question and answer section. Futhermore, I have a strange feeling that I might have been a little too fast in some parts of the presentation and am not sure whether my body language was appropriate or distracting. Hopefully, my facade of confidence held up throughout the presentation.
Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to correct my mistakes for the proposal presentation, as it is over. The best that I can do for now is to learn from my mistakes and apply what I have learnt to future presentations.
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