Hi everyone, the semester is coming to close, so just hang
in there!
Today’s post will be my reflection on the FOP.
Preparation:
As mentioned in my earlier post, I worked very hard for this
FOP on several issues namely, my voice, my body language and the slides.
The voice and body language were explained in my earlier
post so I will not elaborate. In short, I just wanted to be as natural as
possible and deliver my presentation in a powerful and persuasive manner
especially the conclusion part. I wanted to end the presentation with a BANG!!!
As for my slides, I referred mainly to the Garr Reynolds
site (It is a very useful and insightful website, so I recommend everyone to
take a look at it -http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/index.html).
In addition, I watched some videos on Tedtalk for ideas and inspiration too.
Following Garr Reynolds’ advice, I kept my slides to the minimal and showed
only the very important stuff. I wanted the focus to be on ME, the presenter. The thought of presenting without slides did
occur to me but I felt some visual aid would be better.
In a way, I had to be the star of the show (presentation). And
if for some reasons, the slides could not work on that day, it would not have
mattered one bit. Throughout my preparation, I kept telling myself that if this
were a real show, people would pay to watch me and not the slides. Although I
know that this is a very good approach for presentations, I struggled with the
concept. This being my first attempt, I was constantly worried whether I could
pull it off or not. Eventually, I reasoned out with myself that since this
approach is used by some of the most successful speakers around, I am on the
right path and regardless of the result of the FOP; I am going to use this
approach for future presentations.
Just a little more background as to why I had doubts over
the above approach is because, prior to this module, I always thought that the
slides were as important as the speaker. But now I truly understand that “people don’t buy your ideas, people buy you”.
This is a quote from Eric Feng, one of the best presenters I have ever seen.
Presentation:
After analyzing the situation (FOP issue D), I personally
feel that NUS has been sitting on this issue for too long a time, hence, I believe
the best way to convince them to take action is be truthful, objective and
passionate.
Truthful in the sense that I needed NUS to understand the
seriousness of the problem and there should be no sugarcoating of it. Objective
wise, I wanted to show NUS how my recommendations will benefit NUS and lastly,
impress NUS with my passion. I want NUS to feel and know that I am equally
driven and motivated, as they are to tackle this issue.
Well, feedback from the class was mixed, the guys and Brad
liked it and they said they could feel my passion. On the other hand, the girls
thought I was too fierce and stern, they commented that it was like I was
intimidating them to choose my recommendations over the other three presenters.
Personally, I thought I did quite well for the FOP. I felt
more natural and confident this time. In fact, unlike the GT, I was actually
eager to get in front of the class to present. I attribute this eagerness to
two reasons:
1)
Confidence in my own work.
Firstly, you really need to know
your stuff - I could recite my whole report word for word. (Ok, I am
exaggerating here, but you get my point). The next step after “internalizing”
my work was to convince myself that my ideas are the best! This is because if I
don’t believe in my work, it will show in my presentation and the audience will
sense it. I truly believe whatever I recommended will work and should be
implemented even though feedback from the class suggests otherwise.
2)
Preparation
I filmed myself presenting multiple
times. Each time I reviewed those videos, I constantly asked myself whether the
things I said were relevant and what kind of impact it will have on the
audience. It was through endless amendments before I finalized on the content
and the best way to bring the message across to the audience.
Nonetheless, after reviewing the video, I noticed some
stumbles but the more problematic issues such as my voice and going into a
“presentation-mode” did not appear. Overall, I am pleased with the way I
presented. However, this is not the end; I will continue to improve on my
presentation skills for I am sure these skills will one day come in handy when
I am out there in the cut-throat corporate world. It could be the difference
that results in me clinching the deal over someone else.
